So here's a couple of points about "story" from an editor (that's what I do in real life) who would dearly love to see some kind of Fallout 3.
1. Cause & Effect. One of the most special (pun intended) things about the Fallout stories is their well-balanced cause & effect. The classic example being the tie between F1 & F2. So your ancestor wandered off and started a village? See what happens when people live without contact with the outside? The irony being that the Vault Dweller simply created another Vault, albeit one without a roof. Consider cause & effect when planning your Fallout 3 (4, 5) plot.
2. Risk & Reward. Central to the idea of any sort of RPG, but central to story as well. Part of the reason the Fallout stories work so well is that you aren't "saving the world" - you're just trying to save your tiny part of it! You aren't discovering the reason for the muties - you're just going into the old base to find some weapons! And so the rewards (character points, experience, new guns etc.) are equal with the risks and the stakes. That makes good story. If your KNOWN goal is "saving the world" then there is no possible reward that can balance such an act, and the story feels silly. So many storytellers get this basic thing wrong. :roll:
3. Love & Hate. A good story must include characters we're fond of, and those we actually, genuinely dislike. That's why in Fallout 2 the original video of the tribesmembers (remember the "weeds in the garden of my soul" guy) is actually so important. Without actually seeming to, all of that stuff (saving someone's dog!?) gives us a connection to the village. The village is pretty cool, and we want to save it. By contrast, how many of you just felt dirty the whole time you were in New Reno? I know I did! I hated being "made" by one of those foul families, because they were all bad. Not "Muhahahah" bad, but icky, slimy, evil. Good storytelling makes you feel dirty sometimes! :oops: Of course, another of the clever things about Fallout 2 was that you could genuinely hate the village, and love New Reno and the story would still (mostly) work.
4. The "Feel". Nothing determines the feel of a story more than the stuff that isn't in it. How does this work? The feel of a story is often heavily dependant on the "backstory" and this is very evident in the Fallout series. The backstory includes the war and the apocalypse. Never fully glimpsed or fully explained (and that's intentional and important). The backstory includes the political development of the various groups which determines why their communities appear the way they do when you stumble across them. In the end of Fallout 2, depending on your choices, you are given a brief "and then what happened was..." for each major character in the story. Take that, run with it, and develop the backstory for your Fallout 3 world BEFORE you write a single word of the plot. It's not enough to say "and the village develops and then there's another threat..." or "things go normally and then..." Even if you want to say these things you must answer WHY the village continued to develop. What great leaders arose to steer the course of success? How did they continue without being absorbed into or absorbing Gecko? What about the radioactive caves? Etc. etc. etc.
: Anyway, I hope these points are helpful to someone, because I'd love to see some really great ideas for Fallout 3 posted. Perhaps ideas good enough to build a dream, I mean a game, on.
One final point. DO NOT and I mean EVER post your "whole" story. What would be the point of playing the game if we all knew how it went? No suprises! A much better way is to simply sketch it. Tell who your main protagonist is. Outline the political & social situation that makes the world how it is. Then pose a series of questions. Does the hero chase this lead, or that? Is this group responsible, or that, or even them? A fuller world or an emptier world? Why? What does this mean as our hero chases her goals? This way, your plot is actually more interesting, as it engages with the reader and forces us to see the world your way. This happens, and then this happens and then this happens is like being explained someone else's dream - and about as much fun! :mad:
Cheers All!
