Hi guys

Hello everyone!

My name is Christopher, I'm 24 years old, I'm from Germany and I study applied computer sciences. I always dreamt of building my own game. I play around with the RPG maker software since the 2000 version, but never released a game. That should change in the next couple months :)

I love creating stuff and writing stories in a fantasy environment. At the moment I am writing a few short stories as background for my upcoming game (I'm still planning it though), maybe I post some of them soon.

Well that's all.

Welcome to the group! ^_^

Another writer eh?

Usually for me I write the stories for themselves and then adapt them to a game rather than writing them for a game to begin with.

How in-depth do you go when designing the background and characters?

Hey thanks!

For this project I created a rough timeline for the major things happening. Then I imagine landmarks or characters and forge a story around them. For example I imagined a civil war because the king was literally crazy and wrote a diary of a soldier from the resistance. When the little story is finished I try to find a reasonable place in the timeline for it. I like to go very in-depth with my characters to let readers imagine them in front of their inner eyes, with strength and weaknesses etc.

A little different than my procedure. I normally start with a character and an event, generally at close enough to the same time that I can't tell which came first, then extrapolate a world and larger story from them.

What method do you use to design your important and/or recurring characters?

My own method is to fill out a little form I made up. Of course a character will evolve over the course of the story, but this gives a clear starting point.

     Name:

     Species:

     Race:

     Height:

     Build:

     Special skills:

     Weapons:

     Armor and/or clothing:

     Hair colour:

     Hair style:

     Eye colour:

     Eye shape:

     Skin colour:

     Scars, tattoos, and/or other markings:

     Family:

     Personality:

     Pet peeves:

     Cultural background:

     Personal background:

If you want to see a couple of my actual character descriptions you can check my blog. The MC of my book and interconnected short stories, and his elder sister, are described in the two most recent of the posts.

It can be interesting sometimes to compare what details an author focuses on when designing their characters.

I'll definitely check out your blog.

Well, I use a form too. (I won't post it because its in German, but if you like I can translate it when I find the time)

It is a little bit larger, with things such as nicknames (if they have one), strengths and weaknesses, goals in life, fears, things they like and general behaviour in different situations. I use this for the playable characters, major NPC's and villains.

For locations I actually use the RPG maker to map my ideas. I'm really bad at drawing, so I create maps and then try to write them out when I need them. (I hope you understand what I mean ^^)

Thanks!

A translation would be appreciated. I only know one word of German and I am not quite certain of the spelling; "Nein" meaning "No".

I didn't think of the cultural difference making slang hard to understand, a "pet peeve" is something that particularly bothers or angers a person, beyond how others would normally feel about it.

Honestly, I can't remember whether I simply forgot nicknames or simply included them in the "Name" category... Oh-well, a little review of the character forms for those who have nicknames will refresh that memory.

I also often use RPGMaker when first designing new maps. Even if the map is for a story rather than a game, the relative ease with which it can be altered makes it ideal for use when thinking through the details.

hello! welcome to the forums. ^^ it's always great to see another writer amongst us!

Hi Chris. Welcome to the community. Make sure to have fun!