I've been a member on the forum for a while now without giving much back. I did some feedback and gave some pointers here and there but I know I can do better. I'm an experienced mapper, but one can find enough tutorials about the mentioned subject. So, we are going to write!
Starting a Project
There can be many reasons to start a project. Maybe you've been reading a book or played a game. Or you were just simply chatting with some friends and found an interesting subject. All is great but you need to realise that you cannot start with an engine itself. Ohh, wait.. You can, but don't be surprised if you lose your concentration after a couple of hours. I want to bet that you'll be lost on what to do next. For this reason, you should write everything on paper. This will function as a guideline on how to proceed while creating the game. So, we'll be needing a subject to write about. Something we can use to make a fun game. Do not expect for something epic, such a status is obtained after having done all the basics. How do we start? With keywords that describe what kind of game we would like to make.
Medieval - Noble - Tournament
I want to bet that you can imagine a game with just those three keywords! I've always wanted to make a tournament game and I'm personally very fond of medieval stories. Hell, I cannot think of a medieval movie nor book that I haven't watched/read. Now that we have our keywords, we will need to write about our lovely world and its current situation. Developing the area's, naming them and giving them a history is a very important step. (Don't mind the history for now as I will talk about that subject in a different chapter.) It will not only shape the world itself but also the characters within it. We'll be using the three keywords in the back of our minds while we write. Don't worry to much about it while writing, they will only be our guidelines.
Naming everything can be hard if you have no idea what to name them after. A simple way I found is using latin. Visit Google and type something like 'Latin word for [word]' or 'Name with the meaning [word]'. I'll be using these methods to name most of our locations. By the way, I choose names that suite the location itself, something to keep in mind. So, to start off..
Purus (Pure) is the capital of Probitas (Honesty), our country, located north-east in the province Pulchra (Pretty). Beautiful forestry, lakes and sunny planes fill the province, making it a popular detour for wandering travellers. Its quite common for someone to call the Capital 'The White City', as almost every stone of and in the walls are white. You're warned to wear some sunglasses before entering the city! At the west end of the city you can find the Royal Palace, home of the royal family and the King himself. The palace contains the most popular and biggest arena in all of Probitas.Keep in mind that describing the locations doesn't mean that you should use a million words. The description above is small, yet detailed enough for you to understand the setting. You can write more detail later, when the time arrives to really work on the locations themselves. But remember that to much details can limit you when you start mapping and/or spriting. Leave some space for your imagination. I gave one example of how to start off, but I guess I can give you another example.
Nubila (Rain) is a province to the west of Pulchra, known for its swamps. While many try to avoid the area, the province contains the fastest yet most dangerous trading routes. Small villages are stationed around the province as checkpoints, always guarded and protected, as many travellers need rest after a long journey and many battles. The swamps contain a lot of monsters, but the real problem are the huge amount of bandits lurking in the mud for some loot.
Yet again a small description and I only named the province itself. I left out the villages, as they are of no importance for now. This may chance in the future, but as I said before, one can change it in the future. I managed to give a basic setting to the province, no more should be needed for now. The rest of the provinces and cities are up to you. Try to create at least four more provinces with a capital for each. It's a create way to practice early game development, something that should be useful in future projects.
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