>Well, the stuff you covered gave some nice examples of sci-fi plots.
>Generally, most plots are going to fall into the Cool Widget catgory, the
>First Contact with Alien Species category, the Exploration of Unknown Space
>category, or the Humanity's Problems in 2*** category. I saw some decent
>examples of all of those mentioned. In general, imo, the genre of the plot
>is not nearly as important as the style or type of plot. The idea of a game
>based around being stalked by monsters is more central than whether the
>monster is a demon, a psycho killer, or the Terminator.
*shrug* Important or not, it's there, and is important enough to me to
write about. As you said, the genre is just part of the backdrop. Of
course, the backdrop is pretty much the most important part of the game.
Compare, say, Hollywood Hijinx, to Zork. Both possess nearly identical
plots, with only minor details changed. Yet, I found each interesting in
its own way. Partially because of the puzzles, sure, but if you've been
reading my posts, you see that puzzles make very little difference to me
as long as they are logical and fit in the game. In general then, the
only thing different is the setting, which often is a function of genre.
I have seen many games that might have been fun if the author had put a
little more thought into his setting, and spruced up the backdrop some more.
>It's important to work in the
>genre, I agree, but the genre should to my mind be more like the
>backdrop the game is set against, not the thing which defines the game.
But, there are only about 36 different plots. Everything else is details.
>Well, I'd like to see some thought put in about Real Life games. Most of the
>ones I've seen about real life just aren't that good. When I say real life, I
>mean modern-day, 1995, your basic city person. Now, part of this is because
>(let's all admit it), our lives aren't that interesting. Well, not
>interesting compared to say Robin Hood's or Captain Spiff of the Space
>Patrol's life.
>But surely there must be something we can do in this genre besides satires?
>(And there have been some good satires, and far more bad ones.)
I suppose you could say that. I would suggest, rather, that IF is a form
of escapism in its own right. I don't play a game just to look at the
same things I can see every day. Fiction, for many of us, is exotic
locales, dashing heroes, and dastardly villains. If you have an
interesting twist or idea that needs to be set in the modern day, by all
means. You'll notice that Tom Clancy does not write about every day
things. Neither does Stephen King, nor did Shakespeare. My (really far
in the future) upcoming game, Sight Unseen, is about a modern day college
student...who is not only blind, but is being stalked by a killer
vis-a-vie Cape Fear. But hey, that's just my opinion.
-- <~~TREV ERA~~~~~~~~~~~~~SIGHT~UNSEEN~~~~~~~~NO~RELEASE~DATE~YET~~~~~~|~~~~~~~> < I W In the jungle of the big city, a predator stalks one | ~~\ > < GO SOFT he considers easy prey, a blind student. Feel the fear | /~\ | > <______________________________________whizzard@uclink.berkeley.edu__|_\__/__>