I am always looking for ways to expand my skills, seeking out new techniques, and finding different challenges to tackle. Attached is an assignment I completed for a game writing class I took for professional development which asked me to create a character, write a plot outline, and choose a story structure for a game that fit the assigned parameters below.
This is a truncated version of the assignment for this piece of writing:
Develop a character around this set of gameplay and describe them to me:
A “medieval merchant” simulator, that creates historically accurate trade ala the 1300’s. The player manipulates a dynamic market over time in order to accumulate wealth. Here’s a breakdown of the basic mechanics: Goal: To accumulate one million “gold pieces”.
Objects: There are multiple different products to sell and multiple different merchants to sell them to, each offering their own price of each good. You can also explore the environment to find “objects” to sell, but there are no “enemies”. A basic list of objects would include:
Your products
Resources that can be turned into products
Other merchants
Your merchant cart and/or backpack
Actions:
You can buy and sell products or resources
You can gather information by talking to NPCs
You can travel, either on foot or by cart
Selling and buying changes the dynamic market, so one potential action is to “manipulate” the market for your own game.
You can search ruins and abandoned mines for valuables (though there is no combat).
Space: The game largely takes place by shuffling you between menus or between 2d landscapes. There is no 3D area to explore.
Next, outline a plot for that character and that gameplay. What adventure is that character going on? What’s their ultimate goal? What stands in their way and how do they overcome with it?
Finally, pitch me the structure you think you should use— traditional, multiple ending, branching, or modular, NOT emergent—you think would fit best and explain your choice.
See how I created a unique character and engaging story that fits within the above gameplay parameters here.
To see the character barks I wrote for Belinda Cato, click here.
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