2 questions about a game I'm writing

[[XblackfireX]]

So, I'm currently toying with a game idea. It's still in the "Sit around and think about it" stage, so who knows if I'll ever actually make it.

Anyway, what I've got so far of it is that the story is about a person who wants to be part of the "Heroes Guard" to a town. The Heroes Guard to each town protects the town from monsters and has to manage relationships between the other towns. Every Heroes Guard is subject to inspection by the king's advisers, and if a Guard is particularly good, then they may be promoted to guarding the king. The Heroes Guard is the face of the town.

For this game, I decided to make a male protagonist (Byron) and a female protagonist (Braelyn). I didn't want to make them identical except that one has a d**k and the other doesn't. Both of them are selfish assholes who will do anything to get their way, but neither of them will screw over someone if they don't absolutely have to. They also will never go back on their friends. However, Byron tends to spend more time thinking about his actions, and therefore tends to be able to find the path that screws over everyone the least easier than Braelyn can. Braelyn has a tendency to rush ahead and do whatever will get her what she wants now, even if it means trouble later, while Byron tries to plan more for the long-term. He does sometimes end up thinking too far ahead and miss opportunities now, and occasionally makes plans that will pay off when he's ninety.

I realize that their characterization is still pretty simple, and it's going to take some more development to really tell how their going, but is that characterization sexist? I'm worried about making Braelyn seem dumber than Byron, but I also don't really want to make her smarter, either. I kind of like the "For want of a Nail" sort of thing that's going on with them. I also didn't really want to make Braelyn too much nicer than Byron. I guess it could be helped by the fact that they screw themselves over in two different ways. Braelyn doesn't think and Byron thinks too much.

The second question I have is how much romance can I get away with in a kid's game? I want to make this game able to be played by all ages, but I don't really know how that would affect any romantic sidequests. I know that you can't have sex in a kid's game, but what's the verdict on hugging and kissing? Also, is it all right to have an openly bisexual character in a kid's game?

Tl;dr: Would it be sexist to make the female character and the male character more or less the same except that the female doesn't plan and the male plans too much? How much romance is allowed in a kid's game and can you put a bisexual in there?

Oh, and how do you pronounce Byron anyway? Is it BI-ron or BEE-ron?

[edyluewho]

[XblackfireX]

can you put a bisexual in there?

i don't see why you couldn't? go ahead. the more bisexual representation the better, especially if it's going to be geared toward kids. little kids could see themselves in these characters and not be so confused about what they could potentially be feeling. you know, that sort of thing.

[XblackfireX]

Oh, and how do you pronounce Byron anyway? Is it BI-ron or BEE-ron?

i always pronounced it like by-run, but that's just me.

[Maltese_Falcon91]

[XblackfireX]

Would it be sexist to make the female character and the male character more or less the same except that the female doesn't plan and the male plans too much?

No, not really. It only starts to get sexist when every woman in your game is impulsive, and every man is calculating.

[XblackfireX]

How much romance is allowed in a kid's game and can you put a bisexual in there?

If you're careful, you can kind of get away with sex. Just as long as you imply it, and don't outright show it. Final Fantasy VII pulled that off, fairly well. On the other hand, in general, it's probably for the best if you downplay the romance as much as possible.

I'm not really sure if you could get away with having a character openly bisexual. Back in my day, you couldn't, but, I know a few gay characters have been cropping up in movies like How to Train your Dragon, and Paranorman, so, maybe things are less restrictive now.

[[XblackfireX]]

edyluewho

i don't see why you couldn't? go ahead. the more bisexual representation the better, especially if it's going to be geared toward kids. little kids could see themselves in these characters and not be so confused about what they could potentially be feeling. you know, that sort of thing.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I am a little worried about offending people, though. My sister told me to drop the idea because I could offend parents, but I don't really see what's offensive about it as long as they aren't having sex.

edyluewho

i always pronounced it like by-run, but that's just me.

That's what I thought.

[[XblackfireX]]

Maltese_Falcon91

No, not really. It only starts to get sexist when every woman in your game is impulsive, and every man is calculating.

Okay.

Maltese_Falcon91

If you're careful, you can kind of get away with sex. Just as long as you imply it, and don't outright show it. Final Fantasy VII pulled that off, fairly well. On the other hand, in general, it's probably for the best if you downplay the romance as much as possible.

So, cut the romance sidequest? To be honest, I'm not really all that interested in putting a sex scene in the game, implied or not. I just want to know if it would be okay to put kissing in.

Maltese_Falcon91

I'm not really sure if you could get away with having a character openly bisexual. Back in my day, you couldn't, but, I know a few gay characters have been cropping up in movies like How to Train your Dragon, and Paranorman, so, maybe things are less restrictive now.

Yeah, I don't know if I should just drop that part.

[Maltese_Falcon91]

[XblackfireX]

Okay.

Yeah, I think it's also worth mentioning that the male character doesn't really have any special advantage over the female character in that regard. His overthinking everything is portrayed as being as much of a flaw as the the girl's impulsiveness, so, really, I don't see any problem there.

[XblackfireX]

So, cut the romance sidequest?

Hmm... I'm not sure I'd go that far. If it's just a sidequest, I'd call that fine. Really, even if it bled out into the main plot, as long as it was fairly simple, and reasonably non-physical, you're probably safe.

[XblackfireX]

I just want to know if it would be okay to put kissing in.

Hey, if Walt Disney can get away with it, there's no reason why you can't.

[XblackfireX]

Yeah, I don't know if I should just drop that part.

Well, I can't remember any gay or bi characters in video games from my childhood. Aside from maybe Tingle. But, yeah. I really don't know if you can get away with that, nowadays.

[edyluewho]

[XblackfireX]

Yeah, I don't know if I should just drop that part.

please don't drop it. if it's going to offend people, then it's going to offend people.
one of the questions you could ask yourself is if the world needs another straight video game character. and the answer is no. now, does the world need more bisexual video game characters? the answer to that is always yes.

[[XblackfireX]]

edyluewho

[XblackfireX]

Yeah, I don't know if I should just drop that part.

please don't drop it. if it's going to offend people, then it's going to offend people.
one of the questions you could ask yourself is if the world needs another straight video game character. and the answer is no. now, does the world need more bisexual video game characters? the answer to that is always yes.

I think I figured out how I'm going to do this. I don't know if it counts as making the character openly bisexual, but in the little romance sidequest, you get the option to go after Estrella or Kondwani no matter who you're playing. I guess this makes it more of a case of Shrodinger's Sexuality than actually being bisexual, but I hope it will get the message across in a subtle way.

I am still a little worried about putting in a romance sidequest in a kid's game, but then again, I've been playing Harvest Moon since I was little and that didn't scar me for life. I guess it will be okay if I keep it at that level of romance. Keep it more emotional than physical.

[edyluewho]

[XblackfireX]

I think I figured out how I'm going to do this. I don't know if it counts as making the character openly bisexual, but in the little romance sidequest, you get the option to go after Estrella or Kondwani no matter who you're playing. I guess this makes it more of a case of Shrodinger's Sexuality than actually being bisexual, but I hope it will get the message across in a subtle way.

I am still a little worried about putting in a romance sidequest in a kid's game, but then again, I've been playing Harvest Moon since I was little and that didn't scar me for life. I guess it will be okay if I keep it at that level of romance. Keep it more emotional than physical.

most video games, that i've played, actually have most of their non-heterosexual characters' sexualities set up like this: it's all up to the player. i would think it would still make the character non-heterosexual, since them having the possibility of going to a character the same gender as them would still make them bisexual or otherwise not heterosexual. like, for instance, in the video game bully, the main character, jimmy, is bisexual, but the player has the option if they want jimmy to strictly kiss girls and/or boys. because of the possibility of jimmy kissing more than one gender, the creators have said he is bisexual, whether or not the player actually dictates it so in their gameplay.

[wunleebuxton]

For a game you need to think of how the game will be played if you want to write for one.

If you are writing a story then it could be published as a short story or a novel. Game writing needs to be written while always thinking of the person playing the story. You need to think of how the game works with the story, where the player can interact with the game etc.

Work on the story first. The characters should develop into interesting people as you develop your story.

[[XblackfireX]]

wunleebuxton

For a game you need to think of how the game will be played if you want to write for one.

If you are writing a story then it could be published as a short story or a novel. Game writing needs to be written while always thinking of the person playing the story. You need to think of how the game works with the story, where the player can interact with the game etc.

Work on the story first. The characters should develop into interesting people as you develop your story.

Yeah, I am a little worried about rail-roading. This is the first RPG I've written.

I'm thinking that one way I could show the two player character's personality without restricting the choices too much is to put their canonical choice at the top and highlight it, and then have each choice be, from top to bottom, what they would think of first to what would be out of character for them.

[Maltese_Falcon91]

[XblackfireX]

Yeah, I am a little worried about rail-roading. This is the first RPG I've written.

Huh, are you writing a JRPG, or a WRPG?

Because if it's a JRPG, you really don't need to be worried about railroading at all. As long as your game isn't as obnoxious about it as Final Fantasy 13, then nobody is going to complain.

[[XblackfireX]]

Maltese_Falcon91

[XblackfireX]

Yeah, I am a little worried about rail-roading. This is the first RPG I've written.

Huh, are you writing a JRPG, or a WRPG?

Because if it's a JRPG, you really don't need to be worried about railroading at all. As long as your game isn't as obnoxious about it as Final Fantasy 13, then nobody is going to complain.

What's the difference between a JRPG and a WRPG?

I think it's more of a JRPG.

[Maltese_Falcon91]

[XblackfireX]

What's the difference between a JRPG and a WRPG?

Well, they both evolved out of Dungeons and Dragons, and use similar concepts, but Japanese Roleplaying games tend to be more linear and focus more on plot, and less on gameplay. Western RPGs tend to be non-linear, and a much greater emphasis on choice and consequence.

[XblackfireX]

I think it's more of a JRPG.

Well, if that's the case, then, again, I don't really think you need to worry too much about railroading. A Blurred Line is pretty much the most popular RPGmaker game ever, and it's very linear.

[wunleebuxton]

[XblackfireX]

Yeah, I am a little worried about rail-roading. This is the first RPG I've written.

I'm thinking that one way I could show the two player character's personality without restricting the choices too much is to put their canonical choice at the top and highlight it, and then have each choice be, from top to bottom, what they would think of first to what would be out of character for them.

Don't forget to play as many games as possible too. If you want to create a fun game then you need to analyse the successes and the failures of games already out. What worked in the story of other games and what didn't work? See how other writers have constructed the stories for the game.

You should always do as much research as possible smile . Don't think, "Oh I don't need to look at so-and-so because that's not the sort of game I'm making" etc. It doesn't matter where a game is made you can still look at the game and see how it's constructed and use the good points about it ^^.