Idea A mature plot that isn't edgy (in need of input)

[Adel's Brother]

When I started outlining my first fan game 5 years ago, it was my way of processing everything I learned while studying abroad. I thought it would be a fun and effective way to share all I had learned on that trip without boring the audience. The largest struggle of that experience was how to depict the struggles and injustices I learned about first-hand without it coming off as "edgy" or "forced."

There is a tendency for fan games to be edgy. So much so that it has become a cliche. Yet some parts of life are dark and painful and still worth telling. I feel it is disingenuous to tone down such parts of life to make them more palatable. It is our task as creators to construct a plot, world, etc. that can accurately and appropriately tell these stories. This means being intentional in how and what we choose to show, as well as being mindful of how it will be interpreted.

Invitation
There is a lot of harm and injustice taking place around the world that affects people, communities, and the environment. I would like to make a game that includes some of these in the hope of showing how they are interconnected and how someone can navigate the challenges on the path to reduce them. The end goal is a level of sociopolitical commentary and edge roughly on par with The Hunger Games.

I would like your ideas:
What are the biggest issues you see threatening the well-being of the people and planet today? What are specific instances you think other people might benefit from learning about? What connections do you see between the things you mentioned? (Examples may include: sexism, climate change, food insecurity, lack of economic opportunity, homelessness, etc.)

NOTE! These topics are inherently political because of how policies shape the issues and vice versa; however, please refrain from taking blatantly partisan positions. There is a difference. We're talking about big-picture issue here.


If this thread gets traction, I may organize a VC in Discord so we can talk about what this game might look like.
Thanks!

 

[TheMentalOrder]

The biggest issues, you say? Hmm... I mean, there's a lot: climate change, overexplotation of resources, greed, ect. But at a more psychological level, one of the biggest issues are: the fatalism and the apathy produced by a news overload provoked by the media and the quantity of info we see online. Many have given up to the state of the world and that contributes to make it worse.

 

[AenaonDogsky]

When I started outlining my first fan game 5 years ago, it was my way of processing everything I learned while studying abroad. I thought it would be a fun and effective way to share all I had learned on that trip without boring the audience. The largest struggle of that experience was how to depict the struggles and injustices I learned about first-hand without it coming off as "edgy" or "forced."

There is a tendency for fan games to be edgy. So much so that it has become a cliche. Yet some parts of life are dark and painful and still worth telling. I feel it is disingenuous to tone down such parts of life to make them more palatable. It is our task as creators to construct a plot, world, etc. that can accurately and appropriately tell these stories. This means being intentional in how and what we choose to show, as well as being mindful of how it will be interpreted.

Invitation
There is a lot of harm and injustice taking place around the world that affects people, communities, and the environment. I would like to make a game that includes some of these in the hope of showing how they are interconnected and how someone can navigate the challenges on the path to reduce them. The end goal is a level of sociopolitical commentary and edge roughly on par with The Hunger Games.

I would like your ideas:
What are the biggest issues you see threatening the well-being of the people and planet today? What are specific instances you think other people might benefit from learning about? What connections do you see between the things you mentioned? (Examples may include: sexism, climate change, food insecurity, lack of economic opportunity, homelessness, etc.)

NOTE! These topics are inherently political because of how policies shape the issues and vice versa; however, please refrain from taking blatantly partisan positions. There is a difference. We're talking about big-picture issue here.


If this thread gets traction, I may organize a VC in Discord so we can talk about what this game might look like.
Thanks!

Broadly speaking, good writing (if we put the technical part aside) comes from a combination of the writer's life experience, intuition, social circle, and general knowledge.

When there's less general life experience accompanied by lack of general knowledge, the writer's personal interpretation of the broader scope of issues affecting the lives of fictional characters is limited. Oftentimes, (especially true with young adults), there is this illusion stemming from inexperience, that the presentation of a theme/issue per se, by virtue of it being deeper/"dark" equals a higher level/quality of storytelling.

However, that isn't true. If one story revolves around "wonder", and another around "disease", it's not the content of either that automatically makes one better than the other. It's how the story is being told.

Since most of the fangame writers are in their teenage/young adult years, their experience stands with one leg in childhood and the other in adulthood, they are facing the real world for the first time, and naturally gravitate towards presenting this in their writing. Navigating challenges and dealing with the real, (yet exaggerated) darkness and complexity of life is inherent in that age.

So, the defiling of the whimsicality and youthful happiness that Pokemon's presentation and world convey, seems like a sensible, attractive, and meaningful juxtaposition, when paired with the relatively newfound feelings of sadness and the grittier interpretation of reality that people experience in adolescence.

Essentially, Pokemon fangames tend to be "edgy" due to the devs' usually younger age combined with inexperience.

There is nothing wrong with that per se. What usually ticks people off is the presentation of the themes for their own sake, and the deviation from what the core of Pokemon is supposed to be about.

Ask yourself, why would Pokemon (whose setting is closer to a childhood utopia) have to even contend with these issues? Especially since the games are about whimsical "escapist" worlds. Many fangames lack this in-setting balance between the original work, and their own interpretation.

This exact balance is what players intuitively understand to be lacking in many fangames. Pokemon can speak (and it has) about deeper issues (even though it doesn't need to) without presenting these issues for their own sake, but by recontextualizing them inside the pre-existing fictional world and setting.

Pokemon does that predominately via subtext (though not really often), as it understands that the writing around a gameplay-focused game isn't about mirroring real-life issues; it's about in-game issues having internal coherence and validity, within the fictional setting.

If you want to take some inspiration from the official games, look no further than New Mauville's storyline in ORAS. Many people bring up gen 5 (and for good reason), but that gen was the exception to the franchise's norm, and tried a bit too hard to be a JRPG.

Pokemon is the kind of game where an adult who is playing along with their kid, can see the subtext and appreciate a potentially layered depth - while the kid is just enjoying it for what it is. Technically, all of the issues you raised can be used, if done correctly. Some exist in the lore even as far back as gen1.

So, if your aim is to make a Pokemon fangame with a more complex world, that is absolutely possible provided you maintain the balance between how the original work was put into context, and your own interpretation - and your game won't be considered edgy.

 

[Katelyn888]

Kinda hard to say since everyone and their mother seems to think that "edgy" is anything PG-13+. Like saying hell and damn in the same sentence. Just from my own personal experience over my 36 years. I guess just don't go overboard with the dialogue and such such as cussing every other word or the like. It's one thing to have one or two of them, if it's appropriate to the character, doing such things, but to turn a whole game into it might be a bit off putting. If you do have a character development that is rough like that or some minor language here or there, be sure to put it in the game's description as to not throw people off when they play it.

You could go straight up primal with it. Human nature when things are rough (think Dark Ages, but maybe not that crazy) like how people act when there is a situation happening in the world. Either modern or classic. An Oregon Trail type game (just popped into my head) might be an interesting concept for something like this.