Plotting and Naming

I've got most of the scenes mapped out for the first act, though only a bit of dialog. Still, having all the scenes planned out should facilitate further writing nicely.

I've also gone through and named over half the characters. Until I decide to change them as per my modus operandi. It still helps when writing out scenes to refer to someone by name rather than "girlfriend" or "best friend".

Building Up Character Bio For Rakesh

I spent tonight trying to get a sense of what this kid is like, what he's good at and what he's not. What his childhood was like and how that's affected him into his teenage years. I've thought about his reaction to being yanked out of school and how he'll behave once he's at the battle school. I've also thought a little bit about his family and his relationship with them.

There's a lot more to do but he's slowly coming into focus. Once I have something I'm satisfied with I'll post his official bio along with a polished portrait of him.

Writing Is Hard

So I have all these amorphous ideas in my head. General feelings of the universe for the game, vague emotions and traits for the characters, a sense of the gameplay.

Quantifying and distilling it into gritty detail when it comes time to write the story has proven vexing thus far. Even character bios have proven elusive. Back to the page!

Dipping My Toe in the Writing Pool

I switched gears a little today and decided to start on the plot. After doing so I realized getting more story done might be a really good idea as it will give me a better handle on exactly what scenes and characters I'll need in the end.

I've already waffled on the first couple scenes (kid is yanked from class and taken to his parents, where they're told he's been recruited for mech academy) because they feel too familiar, but at least they propelled me through fleshing out the first group of scenes up until you meet the first date-able character.

That's given me 9 backgrounds, 4 CG's (full screen event pictures), and at least 9 characters that need sprites, though not necessarily each with a full range of expressions. That's for maybe ten to fifteen minutes of gameplay.

I've got my work cut out for me.

(special thanks to Marc for letting me bounce some ideas off him and come up with the start of a nice metaplot)