Introduction
For those who didn't catch the news, my project Steel Hearts is dead beyond repair, because I'm a moron who doesn't back up files, and I lost the project file beyond any manner of repair or recovery. It's not like I was getting anything done recently, but it sucks I had to lose the thing.
I'm hoping to start a new game to make up for not getting SH done, and at the moment I'm still trying to figure out what story to work with. I'm hoping sharing whatever pops into my head here will help me flesh out my ideas a little more and speed up and improve conceptualizing a little more.
Concept
Much like the nature of Steel Hearts, which plays on the many established quirks of anime and manga, this concept will play on the many quirks of JRPGs. I was unfortunately reading through this list of 'cliches' and picked up some ideas there. The world of the story itself, although not directly stated, is reality warped into a fantasy JRPG, where you play the hero. The stuff of every below-average parody in existence, yes, but the plan is to actually give purpose to what seem like unjustified events and not just throw whatever cliche comes to mind just for the sake of showcasing the absurdity of it. This gratuitous use of the cliche may seem to many like an excuse for lack of creative ability, however from my observation of the 'list' and the many other quirks many so self-righteously call cliche, it seems any possible scenario is open to being labeled as such. I'd like to show that cliche as many see it isn't necessarily taboo. The trick is in the presentation.
I'd also like to point out that this will not be presented as a parody. I have a poor sense of humor, so I'd prefer not to work under that label. While I may be intentionally using the conventional cliches of a JRPG plot, they're not meant to be outwardly funny. I will be trying my best to make the most sense out of them in the context of my story, so you may treat this concept as you would any other serious concept.
Untitled Concept (First of probably several)
Characters
I see the project as something like a revamp of the Steel Hearts project. I'm actually recycling most of the designs of the old cast here. Only one at the moment.
Ryan
17 Male
Appearance
* Ryan is meant to appear as a very normal looking boy. His blue hair is nothing spectacular (moving under the assumption that blue is very normal in anime), perhaps only occasionally a mess because he may forget to comb in the morning. His complexion is fair, a sign that he doesn't go out too often as his days are often confined only to spending hours in class or in the labs. He has a slender, athletic body, built from regular engagement in sports and perhaps aided by the genetic modifications done on him. His eyes are a beautiful sky blue, complimenting the rest of features, only to be betrayed by his initially withdrawn disposition.
Weapon
* Ryan begins with no training in combat. He carries around a sword with him however, which he gains proficiency with as his journey continues.
Talents
* Ryan has excellent physical conditioning thanks to his active participation in athletics in school. He has a good ear for music; he can listen to a song for the first time and easily play it on a guitar. Ryan also has a knack for operating complicated machinery.
Occupation
* Ryan is a senior at Weyland Academy. He is also one of the first generation of children born of mothers injected with the Bodhi Growth Hormone, and thus spends a considerable amount of time being tested by scientists at a facility. It's not something Ryan is particularly fond of, but having done this all his life, he's grown accustomed to it.
History
* Ryan is the first born child of one of several mothers who volunteered to test the Bodhi Growth Hormone. This hormone was designed to boost the potential of the human body and strengthen several bodily functions of the unborn child it would be injected to- a panacea for a myriad of diseases already plaguing humanity. The developers considered this to be 'the next step in human evolution'. Many considered their tampering of human DNA to be unethical and sacrilege, however. Ryan and other children born of the drug grew up as the scientists had planned, but are shunned and/or persecuted by many of their peers, labeled as 'freaks' and 'outcasts'. They are protected by the government, however, so long as they participate in furthering research, so Ryan and his friends led rather comfortable, isolated lives.
Present Story
* Ryan awakes in an open field in a daze and with little recollection of what's happened prior to his waking up.
Notes
* My own default hero, born from Steel Hearts. We never really produced a lot of artwork of him, for some reason, and because he was meant to play as a silent protagonist, a la Crono of Chrono Trigger fame, I didn't have much to write about for him. A blank canvas, more or less. Perfect for the role of hero.
The name Ryan is tentative. I don't like it personally, since I have the same name. The original character made for SH was based on an old online friend of the same name. I haven't seen the guy since, and we've changed the character appearance up so much there's no resemblance to speak of, so we may as well change the name.
Backstory
2012 AD
A new experimental drug known as 'Bodhi' is developed, designed to help push humanity into the next level of human evolution. This drug supposedly produces a growth hormone that taps into the latent potential of the human body, theoretically endowing users with sharper senses and stronger bodies- a panacea for the myriad of diseases plaguing humanity. Several mothers become test subjects to this drug, in hopes of giving birth to what may be the future of humanity.
2020 AD
A new generation of healthy, genetically altered humans are born. Bodhi is considered successful, and is planned to be administered to the public. Researchers discover, however, that some of the first generation have begun to manifest unique abilities- faint pyrokinesis, telepathy, and the like. Eyeing this as another opportunity to push the envelope of human evolution yet again, they begin work formulating a new drug: 'Nirvana'.
Main Story
Outside the regular lab tests and counseling, Ryan is just another boy in high school. His unique ability hasn't manifested yet, if he even has one to begin with. Treated as a circus act by most, he finds solace among his friends, who like him are first generation Bodhi children. Things go awry when they're called into the labs to test the new drug. They are injected the new drug, and everything goes black.
Ryan awakes in a daze. His memory is a haze, unable to remember anything prior to waking up- only quick images flash in his mind. The facility is gone. He's in an open field, obviously nowhere even near the bustling metropolis he'd grown up in.
Before he's able to make sense of things, he's attacked by a pack of monsters. Unarmed, he runs for his life.
Jargon
While these terms aren't the final names I'm using for the final story, let me explain them anyway to spare anyone not familiar with them from opening wikipedia. Bodhi, is defined as the knowledge gained upon reaching enlightenment in Buddhism. Nirvana is the state of enlightenment itself, however these two terms were traditionally interchangeable.
Setting
While we start off in a not-so-distant future made to appear not too different from our modern day cities, we're probably only going to play on the modern setting in small doses, due to the story shifting into a more medieval-fantasy setting. I'm still actually fleshing this part of the story out, only having a large overview of what it is I intend to create- a traditional fantasy JRPG in the wake of an oncoming crisis. While the protagonist's main motivation is finding a way back home, he deals with several of the inhabitants in this world, learning of the fate of his own world and the plight the current one may face, should he choose to still pursue his own goal of returning home.
Uuuugh, text wall. I don't even know if I was still making sense halfway through, so if anything needs clarification, ask away.
Supplemental reading: http://www.creationasylum.net/forum/ind ... opic=26125
For those who didn't catch the news, my project Steel Hearts is dead beyond repair, because I'm a moron who doesn't back up files, and I lost the project file beyond any manner of repair or recovery. It's not like I was getting anything done recently, but it sucks I had to lose the thing.
I'm hoping to start a new game to make up for not getting SH done, and at the moment I'm still trying to figure out what story to work with. I'm hoping sharing whatever pops into my head here will help me flesh out my ideas a little more and speed up and improve conceptualizing a little more.
Concept
Much like the nature of Steel Hearts, which plays on the many established quirks of anime and manga, this concept will play on the many quirks of JRPGs. I was unfortunately reading through this list of 'cliches' and picked up some ideas there. The world of the story itself, although not directly stated, is reality warped into a fantasy JRPG, where you play the hero. The stuff of every below-average parody in existence, yes, but the plan is to actually give purpose to what seem like unjustified events and not just throw whatever cliche comes to mind just for the sake of showcasing the absurdity of it. This gratuitous use of the cliche may seem to many like an excuse for lack of creative ability, however from my observation of the 'list' and the many other quirks many so self-righteously call cliche, it seems any possible scenario is open to being labeled as such. I'd like to show that cliche as many see it isn't necessarily taboo. The trick is in the presentation.
I'd also like to point out that this will not be presented as a parody. I have a poor sense of humor, so I'd prefer not to work under that label. While I may be intentionally using the conventional cliches of a JRPG plot, they're not meant to be outwardly funny. I will be trying my best to make the most sense out of them in the context of my story, so you may treat this concept as you would any other serious concept.
Untitled Concept (First of probably several)
Characters
I see the project as something like a revamp of the Steel Hearts project. I'm actually recycling most of the designs of the old cast here. Only one at the moment.
Ryan
17 Male
Appearance
* Ryan is meant to appear as a very normal looking boy. His blue hair is nothing spectacular (moving under the assumption that blue is very normal in anime), perhaps only occasionally a mess because he may forget to comb in the morning. His complexion is fair, a sign that he doesn't go out too often as his days are often confined only to spending hours in class or in the labs. He has a slender, athletic body, built from regular engagement in sports and perhaps aided by the genetic modifications done on him. His eyes are a beautiful sky blue, complimenting the rest of features, only to be betrayed by his initially withdrawn disposition.
Weapon
* Ryan begins with no training in combat. He carries around a sword with him however, which he gains proficiency with as his journey continues.
Talents
* Ryan has excellent physical conditioning thanks to his active participation in athletics in school. He has a good ear for music; he can listen to a song for the first time and easily play it on a guitar. Ryan also has a knack for operating complicated machinery.
Occupation
* Ryan is a senior at Weyland Academy. He is also one of the first generation of children born of mothers injected with the Bodhi Growth Hormone, and thus spends a considerable amount of time being tested by scientists at a facility. It's not something Ryan is particularly fond of, but having done this all his life, he's grown accustomed to it.
History
* Ryan is the first born child of one of several mothers who volunteered to test the Bodhi Growth Hormone. This hormone was designed to boost the potential of the human body and strengthen several bodily functions of the unborn child it would be injected to- a panacea for a myriad of diseases already plaguing humanity. The developers considered this to be 'the next step in human evolution'. Many considered their tampering of human DNA to be unethical and sacrilege, however. Ryan and other children born of the drug grew up as the scientists had planned, but are shunned and/or persecuted by many of their peers, labeled as 'freaks' and 'outcasts'. They are protected by the government, however, so long as they participate in furthering research, so Ryan and his friends led rather comfortable, isolated lives.
Present Story
* Ryan awakes in an open field in a daze and with little recollection of what's happened prior to his waking up.
Notes
* My own default hero, born from Steel Hearts. We never really produced a lot of artwork of him, for some reason, and because he was meant to play as a silent protagonist, a la Crono of Chrono Trigger fame, I didn't have much to write about for him. A blank canvas, more or less. Perfect for the role of hero.
The name Ryan is tentative. I don't like it personally, since I have the same name. The original character made for SH was based on an old online friend of the same name. I haven't seen the guy since, and we've changed the character appearance up so much there's no resemblance to speak of, so we may as well change the name.
Backstory
2012 AD
A new experimental drug known as 'Bodhi' is developed, designed to help push humanity into the next level of human evolution. This drug supposedly produces a growth hormone that taps into the latent potential of the human body, theoretically endowing users with sharper senses and stronger bodies- a panacea for the myriad of diseases plaguing humanity. Several mothers become test subjects to this drug, in hopes of giving birth to what may be the future of humanity.
2020 AD
A new generation of healthy, genetically altered humans are born. Bodhi is considered successful, and is planned to be administered to the public. Researchers discover, however, that some of the first generation have begun to manifest unique abilities- faint pyrokinesis, telepathy, and the like. Eyeing this as another opportunity to push the envelope of human evolution yet again, they begin work formulating a new drug: 'Nirvana'.
Main Story
Outside the regular lab tests and counseling, Ryan is just another boy in high school. His unique ability hasn't manifested yet, if he even has one to begin with. Treated as a circus act by most, he finds solace among his friends, who like him are first generation Bodhi children. Things go awry when they're called into the labs to test the new drug. They are injected the new drug, and everything goes black.
Ryan awakes in a daze. His memory is a haze, unable to remember anything prior to waking up- only quick images flash in his mind. The facility is gone. He's in an open field, obviously nowhere even near the bustling metropolis he'd grown up in.
Before he's able to make sense of things, he's attacked by a pack of monsters. Unarmed, he runs for his life.
Jargon
While these terms aren't the final names I'm using for the final story, let me explain them anyway to spare anyone not familiar with them from opening wikipedia. Bodhi, is defined as the knowledge gained upon reaching enlightenment in Buddhism. Nirvana is the state of enlightenment itself, however these two terms were traditionally interchangeable.
Setting
While we start off in a not-so-distant future made to appear not too different from our modern day cities, we're probably only going to play on the modern setting in small doses, due to the story shifting into a more medieval-fantasy setting. I'm still actually fleshing this part of the story out, only having a large overview of what it is I intend to create- a traditional fantasy JRPG in the wake of an oncoming crisis. While the protagonist's main motivation is finding a way back home, he deals with several of the inhabitants in this world, learning of the fate of his own world and the plight the current one may face, should he choose to still pursue his own goal of returning home.
Uuuugh, text wall. I don't even know if I was still making sense halfway through, so if anything needs clarification, ask away.
Supplemental reading: http://www.creationasylum.net/forum/ind ... opic=26125