ID:30146
 
Keywords: article
RPGs draw their audience in the best when they have an intriguing, dramatic setting. But a setting is not only something to entertain the player. A setting can also be used as a tool for the game designer, acting as a rubric for content and a source of endless new ideas that fit well into a the world.

Many people come up with settings literally in their sleep. Others day dream and have it appear to them. Still other people can logically and methodically create an interesting world. We'll try to do the latter in a few steps.

1.Develop a Back story: This story should explain the basic plot of the world. What happened, why did it happen and why did it lead the the world being as it is now?

2.Decide on the climate: This may seem trivial, but it's a huge part of the game. This decides what kind of monsters you will be putting in, what the people wear, what tools and weapons they use ect. ect.

3.Subplots: Things that happened after the back story, these things range in size from the plot of the game(you can also use the back story for this) to the subplot of some ancient weapon.

4.Religion: Now you don't have to go about writing a huge book here, but it adds a nice touch if you define certain symbols as sacred or even create and anti-religion that bans all such thought and makes sure everyone is completely secular.

5.Kingdoms and the royalty: At this point you want to carve out any of the nations. Make sure to give them distinct cultures. You'll also want to develop the governing class of each nation, be it the Clergy, Kings or the Proletariat.

6.Monsters: You've now got all the necessary ingredients to place monsters in your game. I'm not talking about the little filler critters that you use for level grinding. What we're doing here is using monsters to improve the setting. Take for example a monastery. This monastery farms and prays and that's pretty much about it... until you add in an infestation of GIANT MAN EATING RATS! Well, you catch my drift.

Feel free to mix and match all of these to suit you best, of course.

If you've got some tips or critiques on how best to design a setting feel free to comment!
Exactly what I'm doing with Enoris, and have been planning to for a while. I suggest you add things about the importance of NPC interactions, though. This can really bring life to a game (as well as differing the cultures of a world if it's a big game).
Why is it that Giant man-eating rats are so common in typical online RPGs?
Zagreus wrote:
Why is it that Giant man-eating rats are so common in typical online RPGs?

I blame The Princess Bride for R.O.U.S.


One thing people always seem to leave out in BYOND rpg's are family. If you're human, you have (or had) parents. You could even have brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, ect. You need to tie your character to the story in some way. They wouldn't just wake up one day and say "Hey! I'm bored, I'm going to save the world!" Common ways of tying the character into the plot include an attack on your village, someone dear to you was kidnapped, a weapon of great power came into your possession, and the ever-popular "You killed my father, Prepare to die!"*

Be creative. The character doesn't always have to be a "nice" guy at the start. Maybe something was stolen from you (something that grants immortality?) and you set out to get it back, but make real friends along the way.

I know that these kind of fall under "back story," but I just wanted to point out that there's more history than just the world's that's important.



*I can't help it, it was a good movie!
Zagreus wrote:
Why is it that Giant man-eating rats are so common in typical online RPGs?

Who doesn't love giant man eating rats?
Worldweaver wrote:
Zagreus wrote:
Why is it that Giant man-eating rats are so common in typical online RPGs?

Who doesn't love giant man eating rats?

the people being eaten by them, I imagine
Gakumerasara wrote:
Worldweaver wrote:
Zagreus wrote:
Why is it that Giant man-eating rats are so common in typical online RPGs?

Who doesn't love giant man eating rats?

the people being eaten by them, I imagine

Technicality!