Summer Camp 2019
This year for Summer Camp, rather than focusing on the big picture, my writing is going to be more focused on the smallest picture: a single town, built from scratch in the northern edge of the Midlands near the Koni Mountains. The town is the setting of a future story I'm working on, and while some of the characters and over-arcing theme is nailed down, the setting definitely not.
Ideally, this is going to be developed into a game over the next couple years, and (if I ever manage to finish it), my next goal is a more serious story based game.
For this project in particular I have four main influences. The first is Dark Cloud 2. Its probably one of the first games I really played, and I'll be honest, I never beat it. Despite that, some of the mechanics still stand out bright as day for me. In the game, you rebuilt towns and to have people move in you'd have to fulfill some request or another. One person wants their house to face the sunrise each morning, or another wants to live by the water so they can go fishing. Its so small but it made each town feel like a lived in space! It wasn't the main focus of the game, but its always caught my imagination.
Second is Radiata Stories, which came around the same time. Again, I never beat it unfortunately (haha), but the way they used NPCs was really good. Every NPC was unique with a separate daily schedule, and a way to recruit them into your party! Honestly, it made the towns feel much more alive than many of its peers. One character than stands out to me even today was essentially a magical girl archetype. During the day she was an unapproachable younger girl, and at night she was an idol giving performances. The only time you could talk to her was during a very specific 10 minute segment of the day when she was transforming. If you discovered her secret, then you could continue on the questline. Even if you'd never use most of these characters in battle, it made every town full of more rich communities with relationships!
Its an inspiring setting and I love playing around with the idea in my own work.
Of course, I have other influences other than these. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Breath of the Wild, .Hack, Persona, Stardew Valley... There's a lot of games out there that I love to bits, but those three are probably the ones that have the strongest influence on this setting.
Ideally, this is going to be developed into a game over the next couple years, and (if I ever manage to finish it), my next goal is a more serious story based game.
Games and Media
A lot of my initial and driving inspiration is video games that I love! Video games have always been a part of my life, and even now, the idea of the interactive and multilayered storytelling that you can get from games like Nier: Automata or Persona is very inspiring to me!For this project in particular I have four main influences. The first is Dark Cloud 2. Its probably one of the first games I really played, and I'll be honest, I never beat it. Despite that, some of the mechanics still stand out bright as day for me. In the game, you rebuilt towns and to have people move in you'd have to fulfill some request or another. One person wants their house to face the sunrise each morning, or another wants to live by the water so they can go fishing. Its so small but it made each town feel like a lived in space! It wasn't the main focus of the game, but its always caught my imagination.
by Dark Cloud 2
Second is Radiata Stories, which came around the same time. Again, I never beat it unfortunately (haha), but the way they used NPCs was really good. Every NPC was unique with a separate daily schedule, and a way to recruit them into your party! Honestly, it made the towns feel much more alive than many of its peers. One character than stands out to me even today was essentially a magical girl archetype. During the day she was an unapproachable younger girl, and at night she was an idol giving performances. The only time you could talk to her was during a very specific 10 minute segment of the day when she was transforming. If you discovered her secret, then you could continue on the questline. Even if you'd never use most of these characters in battle, it made every town full of more rich communities with relationships!
Third, I love the Etrian Odyssey series. I've beaten a few of these (unlike the last few entries on this list) and really enjoyed them! The thing I love most about it is the setting! In most of the games, it takes place in a town just outside of a humongous dungeon, and people are flocking to it for all sorts of reasons. There's researchers studying the dungeon, adventurers seeking their fortune, traders and craftsmen who are taking advantage of all the resources that a dungeon brings! The quests only help cement the feeling of an economy and society centered around the dungeon.
by Etrian Odyssey Nexus
Of course, I have other influences other than these. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Breath of the Wild, .Hack, Persona, Stardew Valley... There's a lot of games out there that I love to bits, but those three are probably the ones that have the strongest influence on this setting.
Thanks for sharing! I love your YouTube playlist.
Thank you! Glad you liked it!!