Going to post your story? Read this first

One of the biggest parts of writing a game is the story itself. It’s what captures the players interest and keeps them playing until the shocking finale. Its also one of the few parts of game design that requires no programming or technical knowledge, meaning anyone with a pen can come up with a good game story. And here in lies the problem: Everyone has a game story that they think will be the next big thing. Because this is usually one of the first steps people take when creating a game, they soon want feedback from people like those on Gamedev. But before you post your story, there are certain guidelines that you should be aware of if you want to get a sufficient amount of feedback. This is because the Game writing forum is flooded with half made stories that will never be turned into a game, and you want to make sure that your post is not one of those. Following the guidelines below will help you with this. If you don’t want to read the entire post, just read the parts in bold

++Stage 1. Before you post++

1. Be aware of the difference between game design and game writing when making your post. A lot of the posts that are made in the game writing forum are actually about game design rather than story writing. Make sure this doesn’t happen! Consider about the post you are going to write, and think if the word ‘gameplay’ come up at any point. If it does, you are going off topic. 2. Think about one section of your story you are wanting feedback on in particular, and just focus on that part for now. Many people will post huge 50 page posts that no one will have time to read. Don’t just copy and paste your entire ‘My_Story.doc’ file. You will get a much better response if you trim down your story to include only the integral parts needed for that question. Think of it this way, if it wasn’t your post, would you read through the entire thing? 3. Remember: This forum is flooded with people who will never complete their story or game project. If members suspect you are one of these people, they will probably not spend time giving you feedback. 4. Dont be afraid to search for similar story lines in past posts. You may be surprised to see that a few other people have had a similar idea to yours, so don’t be afraid to search. This is especially true if your setting or characters a semi-generic (ie. Dragons, wizard etc).

++Stage 2: The post itself++

1. Take your time to write a good post. No one will take you seriously if you post if it consist of ‘OMG! I AM SO l33T! My idea is awesome and perfect and you will all play it!!!!1. Try to act as mature as possible, and spend a good amount of time writing it. After you have written it, reread it, and then reread it again. Don’t rush, it shows through your writing, and just makes you look unprofessional. 2. Be careful what the title of your post is. I know you are trying to attract as many people to read your post as possible, but calling it ‘WHOAH! BEST STORY EVER! READ ME MORON!!’ will give people the wrong mindset about you (ie. A 12yr old immature kid). Just say something simple like ‘Supernatural Characters: Feedback appreciated’. 3. If also possible, include any experience you have had, and links to past stories or games you may of written. This will bolster people belief that their help isn’t going to go to waste, and they will be more inclined to give you more feedback. 5. Use formatting to make large posts easy to read. Nothing is more of a turnoff when reading large posts than one huge paragraph with no breaks or formatting. Get used to splitting your post into paragraphs, use the Bold or Header tags to make things easier to read. Most members are already pressed for time as it is, and you don’t want them to go to your post only to click the back button right after simply because it so hard to read.

++Stage 3: After you post++

1. If people don’t respond favourably to your idea, for heavens sake, don’t flame them for not liking it. Stay as mature as possible, and if they say ‘Bah, supernaturual characters suck big time’, simply say ‘what part about supernatural characters don’t you like?’ Remember, if you seriously want feedback, you’ll do everything possible to keep your post on track, and wont take anything personally. If someone really is being an ass, the mods will do something about it; that’s what they are there for. 2. If your post fails to get replies, don’t post a slightly amended version 2 days later. This applies to all of Gamedev really, but if you’ve changed the name of one character, don’t post the entire thing again. Tricking people into reading the same post over and over again isn’t going to make you or your post popular.

++Other general tips++

1. Never post the same post in more that one forum 2. Don’t post in the first hour you join up with Gamedev. Read some posts from SunandShadow, TechnoGoth, or other respected members and take note how they write. 3. Don’t use l33t speak. Ever. 4. If your story is a fan-fiction idea, you will probably get little to zero feedback. There are more than enough Dragonball-Z plots floating around as it is. 4. The following is a perfect example of good post writing. Granted it isn’t about a story directly, but it still highlights all of the points above: Technogoth: Questionable subject matter (that’s the name of the post, not what I think of it [grin] Here is another example the ideal post: SunandShadow: a story is when somebody wants something and... I am looking for feedback to help make this a better guide, so if you have suggestions on what to change, please let me know. Note: You may notice that this is in some ways similar to the post ‘Going to post your game idea? Read this first’ in the game design forum. This is because many of the points that were put across in that guide are applicable here. Its not because im lazy. No, really! [Edited by - boolean on October 10, 2004 5:16:46 PM]