How to Write a Good Game Thread (and synopsis)
http://i.imgur.com/80St3fe.png(2019: Hopefully fixed the formatting. Special thanks to the forum users who allowed me to use their game threads to cite examples)
Hi there, everyone! I've looked through the threads of a great many game projects, and can't help but notice that some users don't seem to know how to write a game thread that is Fun, Informative, and best of all, Short and Sweet. This bothers me a lot, because I feel many can do so much better.
Why should you – whether game developer or casual hobbyist - care about this? Well, you want others to be excited for your game, don't you? You want them to try out your demo, or post in your thread offering tips and encouragement, or otherwise show the slightest bit of interest in something you poured your heart and soul. (Or hard-earned cash)
Well, worry no more! Here are MY tips on what makes for an appealing game thread. Others are free to disagree, but these are the elements I feel would guarantee that someone will give your thread a few precious minutes of their time. I refer specifically to those projects posted in the Early Project Feedback, but this can apply to games in any stage of completion. (But not for games in places like Steam. That's another story)
HOW TO START
[*]Put some kind of Picture, Graphic, or Logo at the top of your game thread. Doesn't matter what it is. If you don't have money to commission an artist, draw it yourself! I argue that something you drew – no matter how 'sucky' - is 100% more charming than the wall of text that greets the visitor who gave your thread a chance.
[*]The reason for the graphic is that human beings are often visual creatures. As the game developer, you must think of your game like a product in a commercial. Your goal is to market that product to the public, to hook the attention of a visitor and pique their interest in the first vital few seconds before they click away. A picture or graphic is thus an easy way to draw the eye. What you include next – and don't include – keeps them reading.
[*]One good example is in Indrah's game thread Subject. Notice that she has not only put a graphic at the top, but added a two-line hook that tells you what the game is about, enticing people to find out more: You wake up in a dark room covered in bandages. Will you make it out safely?
[*]Tip – If you don't have art or logo to display, show off map screenshots! Or even just the title screen. User jwideman illustrates this well by posting the title screen at the top of their game thread, Lemuria. (Edit: Times have changed since I made this post, I would make that title screen screenshot much bigger, but the principle holds)
NEXT, PLOT / SUMMARY / STORY
Otherwise known as a synopsis. What is this exactly? I would argue that a good game summary is all the necessary information a player needs to decide whether to check out a game. This is different from Lore / World-building (which is covered further down)
Ready to know what the perfect game summary is for me? The perfect summary is no more than FIVE LINES OF TEXT, or EIGHT SENTENCES LONG. That's all you really need. Why five lines? Because anything longer risks becoming the Dreaded Wall of Text, to which most people either skim, click away or doze off.
http://i.imgur.com/GOILuyS.png
Boredom is your enemy. Never let a reader be bored!
What should be in your synopsis?
Spoiler1) WHERE / WHEN? One line about your world setting to give an idea of genre / tone of game:
[*]In a post-apocalyptic world ruled by elephants, Stacy struggles to catch enough mice for the Jumbo King's banquet.
[*]Cornelius Aravian is the greatest magician of his time – pity the Salem witch hunters don't seem to appreciate his chosen profession.
2) WHO? Name and identify your main character(s) in the first sentence of your synopsis, or at least by the second sentence. This establishes someone or some issue for the reader to quickly relate to.
3) CONFLICT - Next, mention what is wrong with the world, or what threat the main character is facing. Without conflict, there can be no growth nor character development. What is disrupting the status quo? A world-consuming darkness? Aliens? Dragons? A tyrannical mother?
4) WHAT NOW? What does the hero / heroine do to react to that threat? What powers does he have? What makes him special? He/she has super powers, Magic Gloves of Perfect Baking, super hacking skills, courage, idiot blind luck, true love, badass friends etc.
5) OH NO! What are the stakes? What happens if the hero fails?
[*]Bubba the vigilante cyberhacker must succeed at all costs, or watch the evil mega-corporation wipe out the slums full of refugees.
[*]Stacy must overcome her fear of animals, before the Jumbo King engulfs the world in a cloud of pachyderm flatulence.
That's it. Short and sweet. Taking one example, I argue that RPGcrafter07 wrote an ideal synopsis that's just three lines long in his game thread Blackened Souls.
For eons the Dark Jewel has spread throughout the universe devouring one world after another with it's darkness. Now it has fallen to Earth Realm, as Nyla and Shyma, The Guardians, descend to Earth behind it, in hopes of finding their mystery hero. Sadly, the jewel is discovered by Demons who plan to use it's power to take back Earth Realm. Little do these foolish devils know, the jewel has an agenda and a mind of it's own.
Grammar niggles aside, RPGcrafter07 quickly established the players, the conflict and the stakes. All this in four sentences. Not bad!
Here's another good synopsis example from Makio-Kuta's thread, Punch Bears:
After hours toiling away in the dredge of reality, Ulrika retreats in on herself and caves in to an overwhelming need to punch many bears. Luckily, there are many bears to be punched. Only Ulrika can punch all these bears and find true peace in her mind and soul. But, is there enough bears in existance to truly calm the raging heart of our heroine? Or will the bears run short and she will be forever stuck in a never ending loop of unsatisfactory levels of bear punching. There is only one way to know - Punch Bears until the end.
The best game summary never outstays their welcome, and leave you wanting to know more.
CAST OF CHARACTERS (OPTIONAL)
Know what I think? You don't need a list of characters in a game thread. You can skip this part entirely. After all, you already talked about your main characters in your synopsis right?
No? Alright then, if you HAVE to list your beloved characters:
[*]Make sure for the love of humanity to include pictures or portraits. Don't just list names, ages and profession without a face to go with it! If you don't care enough to put a face to your characters, why should your readers care? Use placeholder graphics if you have to, but don't leave it empty.
[*]Keep your character descriptions short. Do not write essays about each character's backstory, height, favourite colours, the name of their dogs or what they ate for breakfast. Unless it's someone or something really unusual, most readers won't care.
[*]User tlbearer did a good example of this in their game thread, Of Man and Machine. One-line description. Another sentence couldn't hurt, but short and simple:
http://i.imgur.com/GToxq1D.png
[*]Tip: If the pictures are small enough, I argue that you do NOT need to hide them in a spoiler. This is your game thread. If you have beautiful art to show off, DO NOT hide them in spoilers.
[*]Tip: The exception for the above is if you have lots of art and screenshots. Don't overwhelm the reader with huge screenshots or maps. Be selective. Scale down large portraits if you must.
SCREENSHOTS (Woohoo)
At last we come to the meat of the game thread. There are arguably only two things I look at when I visit a game thread, to decide if I want to read further – the first few lines of a synopsis, and the screenshots. That's just me. I want to see the pretty pictures first
[*]Choose no more than 5 to 6 screenshots. Show maps of at least a few areas, UI menu, an example of dialogue between characters, and - if any - at least one of the combat.
[*]Make sure the chosen screenshots are relevant, and communicate the tone and atmosphere of your game. (I'm still not sure why people show save screens – what exactly does that tell about your game? The windowskin?)
[*]This is your game thread. This is the chance to show off your baby. Do NOT hide your pictures in spoilers.
[*]Do not post screenshots so tiny that people have to squint to see anything.
[*]Do not post links of your screenshots telling people to go to another external site. In other words, do not make finding your screenshots like a rage game of hide and seek. Be proud of your screenshots and flaunt it! (Unless your maps are bad, but this is a post about making good game threads, not good maps ;P)
[*]If you have 10+ maps or concept art you want to show off, put these EXTRAS under Spoilers. Visitors who want to know more will definitely be interested enough to check these out.
[*]Again, do not overwhelm the reader with too many screenshots / maps / art. That's why I said no more than 5 to 6 screenshots. If I see 10 plus maps without spoilers, it just tells me that you didn't put any effort into choosing your BEST work.
[*]What happens if your game is too early to have screenshots yet? Try to post concept art, even if it's your own sketches. Or even placeholder art from existing resources. Give people something to see.
[*]Tip – Try not to use screenshots of maps as shown in the Map Editor, like the example below. I personally find the gridlines and the events make for unattractive screenshots. You can't see details that well either. Use a script or plugin if you need to take good screenshots of big maps.
http://i.imgur.com/GUDV00q.png
LIST OF FEATURES
You made a short and concise synopsis, hurray! Now list the other cool gameplay elements that will be in your game. This includes:
[*]Genre – Epic Fantasy, Modern, Futuristic, Dark Fantasy, Psychological Thriller, Horror, Mystery etc
[*]Main Concept / Premise – This is a good place to list your game's Unique Selling Premise. What makes your game unique, if any? For example:
[*]Puzzle-based game featuring slimes.
[*]You are a zombie in a post-apocalyptic world – hunt down good quality brains to win.
[*]Dinosaur dating sim. Date ten different dinos and take them home to your mom. (Hey, if Hatoful Boyfriend could do pigeons...)
[*]Engine - 2K, Ace, MV, Unity, etc
[*]Type of Combat, if any – Turn-based, ATB, CTB, so on
[*]Number of Characters
[*]Maturity Level/Warnings – PG13, Mature, Violence, Blood, Gore, Kid-safe etc
[*]Estimated Hours of Play
[*]Expected Date of Demo/Completion (if relevant)
[*]List your features in bullet points. This is a good way to convey a lot of information in easy-to-skim chunks.
[*]If you have a long feature list, put this under Spoilers.
[*]To cite one example, user firelad did a rather nice feature list in his game thread, The Life of Amarante. Each point is relevant and touches all the important questions about gameplay, the characters and the player's ability to interact with the game. Make a promise. Tease your reader's curiosity.
http://i.imgur.com/AFBPaeE.png
LORE/ WORLD-BUILDING (Go home, you're drunk)
Oh boy. This is the main reason I'm writing this post. I see this in game threads so many times that I cry a little inside each time sigh.
I get it, truly. You're proud of your game and the world you created for it, and you should be! You probably spent hours thinking up all of the exciting details. But I personally feel that a game thread is NOT the place to tell people how the universe was created/destroyed/abandoned by God/Celestial Moon Goddess/Demon King/Burning Yellow Monkey. It especially does NOT belong in a game synopsis.
[*]If you must tell us about the origin story of your game setting, put them under Spoilers. If you pique someone's interest through screenshots or your fantastic synopsis etc, then your reader will bother to investigate further.
[*]Yes, yes, there are exceptions. But most times, all that shining lore belongs in your development notes or website, not your game thread. Put it away. Please.
LINKS TO DEMO / GAME
You've finally got a game for them to try out? Congratulations! Now link people to it! This is the only time I suggest making the font size bigger, and perhaps a different colour, so that it's easy to spot.
[*]Do not make readers hunt up and down to find the link to your game.
[*]Do not include the entire RTP in your download. Not only does that smack of laziness, but the bigger the filesize, the less likely someone is willing to give your game a chance. Just take a few minutes to remove unused content from your game, and make sure to playtest your game with these resources removed to guard against crashes.
[*]If you are linking people to a demo, it's a good idea to add a list of issues you are aware of. This is so that people playtesting your game don't repeat things you already know of, and can concentrate on other areas that need improvement.
[*]Iliketea did this quite well in her game thread, Pali: Chapters of Resistence
http://i.imgur.com/9HwICPw.png
THE CALL TO ACTION (Fight for me!)
Now that you're written a stellar game thread and kept it short and sweet, and teased and intrigued your readers... don't leave them hanging. I've seen game threads that end abruptly, like a dinner date who just stood up in a restaurant and left you at the table without so much as a goodbye.
Puzzling! You need to end with a call to action. Ask for feedback and critiques. Thank people for taking the time to read. Be humble, be friendly, be earnest. Your game thread is like a love note to the world. People need to see the heart you put into your project.
CREDITS (I want to thank my Mom, my dog...)
Almost everyone gets this right in a game thread, mostly because someone will likely tear you limb from limb if you forget to credit them for something. But yes, please, credit the fantastic artists, musicians and scripters that helped you make your game.
[*]If the amount of people to list is huge, put this under Spoilers.
[*]Extra points if you take the time to credit people under categories like Music, Tiles, Sprites, and so on. But not necessary.
AFTERWORD (OPTIONAL)
I've seen some people do this in Completed games. This is not a bad place to mention if this is your first game, or how long it took you to develop your game, and the reasons you did this project. Use this also to thank people who especially inspired you, or meant something to you. Really, anything goes.
Again, if it's long, put it under Spoilers.
TIPS AND TRICKS
Spoiler
[*]Want a good way to snag reader interest? Write your descriptions with wit and humour. Make a reader laugh, and chances are they will keep reading. I said Wit, not fart jokes every other sentence. (Unless they are good fart jokes)
[*]Avoid huge font sizes all over the page. It gives the impression you are shouting.
[*]Avoid rainbow-colouredtext colours all over the page – not only is it painful to the eyes, it sends rookie signals. Stick to black, and if you must, one other colour.
[*]Use bulletpoints, number points, paragraph breaks to make long sentences easier to read.
[*]Bold your subject titles ie Synopsis, List of Features, Demo, Credit. Better yet, make them one text size bigger for easier reading.
[*]Updating your game thread title – If you have a demo or new version, update the title of your thread! Even better if you include a date. For example:
Sins of Dalph (Demo now uploaded!).
The Secret Life of Caz (new update! 25/12/2020)
[*]If you have a game-related website and/or twitter, Facebook accounts, list them at the bottom of your thread. This gives people the impression that you are active and dynamic, and serious about your game. (Not always true, but impressions are important)
[*]Goals / Deadlines / Future Features – Entirely optional. People like it if you have a clear plan or timeline of when you plan to finish your project, but talk is cheap. Keep them under Spoilers. Don't let them make your game thread too long.
[*]Be professional – No l33t speak. Punctuate. Capitalise. Have someone check the grammar and spelling of your game thread. The more professionalism you show, the higher the chances of impressing a reader, and the more likely you will earn respect as a game developer.
Remember, Boredom is the enemy of your game thread!
I hope this helps someone. Thank you for reading this far! I must emphasize that these are MY tips on how to make a good game thread. Me, Alkorri aka Chris. There are likely some points I missed or forgot about, so feel free to leave your thoughts, dislikes and other feedback.
I couldn't have done this post without the forum users who kindly allowed me to cite their game threads: jwideman, iliketea, RPGcrafter07, tlbearer, firelad. Thank you, Indrah, for first teaching me how to write a good game thread when I first released Tinkles Must Die, and to Maki for encouraging me to write this after I whinged about awful game threads, time and again
Thank you, Maki, also for the chibi art!
Think this topic is worth sharing? Here is a banner for anyone who wants it! (And thank YOU)
http://i.imgur.com/yf19NYF.png
本贴来自国际rpgmaker官方论坛作者:Alkorri处,因国际论坛即将永久关站,为了存档多年珍贵资料,署名转载到本论坛存档,由于官方帖子为英文原帖，需要中文翻译请点击论坛顶部切换语言为中文就可以将帖子翻译成中文浏览,方便大家随时查看,原文地址：https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/threads/how-to-write-a-good-game-thread-and-synopsis.55879/
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