Entry 11: MORE Voice Actors

I'm really excited because I found all of my voice actors except one. I still need to find someone to voice the medic-mage. Who still doesn't have a name...ahem... anyway, my brother will be voicing Declan, the main character. A girl named Kristen Johnson from my short story class will be voicing the wife, and possibly the bar wench, although I may have found another girl, Rachel, to voice the bar wench. My professor, Jack Mamais, will be voicing the disgruntled butcher, and Harald will be voicing Maya's best friend, who I've been calling Richard and Robert. That leaves the mage. ZOUNDS! On a lighter note, the man who coined that phrase, and also the man I'm going to be taking a class on next quarter:

Entry 10: Act I of the Script

I've written almost all of Act I of the script. I searched and searched for an awesome template that had a dialogue tree format, where I could just input the information and it would organize it for me. Alas, I found no such thing, not for free anyway. I'm modeling my script after the scripts in my text book for my Narrative Content class, Creating Emotion in Games by David Freeman.


Act I, Scene I – Warfield
Declan is on a warfield. The sun is setting and the sky is streaked with red clouds. There are dead bodies strewn everywhere. He turns to see his wife, fighting by his side.

(DECLAN V.O.)
We were commanded to fight and given no reason. I told my wife not to come, but she said she’d never leave me to die by myself, soaked with the blood of men from foreign lands. Her powers are waning and yet she stands by my side. Still, I’m glad of it. She’s already saved my life today…more times than I care to count.

BEAT

Act I, Scene II – Declan’s House

MAYA
Darling, how are your wounds healing?

DECLAN
They’re fine. I’m more worried for you, Maya. Why are your powers failing?

MAYA
I don’t know. I’m a mage. This is my livelihood, Declan. Without them, I… it takes so much energy to cast now, I’m exhausted afterwards.

DECLAN
You shouldn’t have followed me to war.

MAYA
(lovingly)
What can I say? I’m stubborn, I refuse to leave you, husband.

DECLAN
Yes, and now I must leave you. I’m going to find a cure, Maya.

MAYA
Leave me? I’m going with you.

DECLAN
(a) The townspeople already resent us, and their dependency upon us. If they knew you were powerless, there might be an uprising.
(b) Absolutely not, it’s too dangerous. You’re staying here.

MAYA (IF PLAYER CHOOSES A OR B)
(reluctantly)
I suppose you’re right. I hate that you must go alone, but I’m a liability aren’t I?

DECLAN
A liability? No, you’re my wife. Bar the door when I leave, and open it only for me.

MAYA
Alright. Richard might be able to help, be sure to go see him. And please, be careful.


DECLAN
I love you. I’ll return when I know more.

BEAT

Act I, Scene III – Town

Declan walks into town. It is quiet and sunny, yet there is an undertone of tension. Townspeople are busy going about their day, and pass by Declan with only cold regard.

(DECLAN V.O.)
I can only imagine what it must be like for Maya to lose her powers. Obsolete, like a priest who’s lost his faith, or a warrior succumbing to the infirmities of old age. She has always been faithful. I won’t allow her to fall. Not like this.

BEAT

NPC HOUSE 1

NPC 1 (MALE)
(brusquely)
Eh, what do you want?

DECLAN
(a) Sorry to bother you, but I have a problem.
(b) Cheerful, aren’t you? I’ve got some questions.
(c) I can see I’m not wanted here. I’ll leave.

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES A)
So? What about it?

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES B)
Snarky, aren’t you? That won’t make me want to help you.

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES C)
Good. I don’t sell to your kind anyway. (end conversation)

DECLAN
(a) Have you heard of anything strange lately? Any strange illnesses?
(b) I know someone who’s very sick, and I need help.

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES A)
Erm…no, not so much.

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES B)
What do you think I can do for you?

DECLAN
(a) I just need to know who I can talk to.
(b) You’re not going to be very useful to me, are you?
(c) I’m wasting my time here, goodbye. (end conversation)

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES A)
I don’t know anything, and you’re botherin’ me, so leave. (end conversation)

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES B)
Smart comments like that will get you in trouble. Say, aren’t you the sorcerer that killed all the crops with that ill-advised spell?

DECLAN
(a) I was trying to help, but the farmers didn’t follow my directions, so their crops died.
(b) Yes, I am. What of it?
(c) I’ll be going now. (end conversation)

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES A OR B)
My sister is a farmer. Her youngest son starved to death because of your foolishness!

DECLAN
(a) I’m very sorry, truly. But I was only trying to help.
(b) If your sister were more intelligent, I’m sure that could have been avoided.

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES A)
Save your apologies! It won’t bring my nephew back! (attacks player)

NPC 1 (IF PLAYER CHOOSES B)
You’ll pay for what you did, you bastard! (attacks player)

Entry 9: Names and Voice Actors

Currently, I'm trying to decide on names for my main character, his wife, and the rest of the NPCs.  I'm also trying to find voice actors.  NWN has sort of an old English culture, or more broad... old European? Either way, I'm trying to find appropriate names for the world setting; I'm using this site and this site. The girl that I'm hoping to have voice act the wife is African American, so I'm going to have to account for the fact that her voice is a bit lower and has a raspier quality than the typical white female.  I will probably end up making the wife's character be of a darker ethnicity so the voice matches.  Here are the name choices so far:

Main Character:
Aidan (little fire in Gaelic)
Braedan (broad/wide in English, salmon/son of salmon in Gaelic...wtf?)
Caelan (slender in Gaelic)
Declan (full of goodness in Gaelic)
Hadyn (heathen in German, not sure this meaning is appropriate for his character)
Eben  (stone of help/foundation stone in Hebrew)

Wife:
Nulani (can't find the meaning, was the name of my friend in 5th grade)
Maya (means illusion in Sanskrit)
Amala (means pure in Sanskrit, which I particularly like because of her infidelity)

Medic Mage:
Achan (to besmirch/change in a negative manner in Aramaic, could be a last name)
Shamir (a sharp thorn in Aramaic)
Yanai ( he will answer in Aramaic)
Besian (loyal, faithful in Albanian, this and the next would just be ironic)
Besnik (loyal, faithful in Albanian)
Liridon (longing for freedom in Albanian)
Valon (seething in Albanian, I really like this one)

Friend (of wife):
Richard (I know it's so normal but I keep coming back to it)
Kireg (benevolence in Breton)
Maden (good in Breton)
Winoc (meaning unknown, Breton)

Those are the most important characters.  There are also 3 other NPCs, 2 males and 1 female.  One of them I know for sure is a butcher, so he will probably be named "Insert Name" the Butcher.  Creative, yeah?  As far as voice actors, my brother, who has a Masters in Performing Arts, will be voice acting the main character, and I've been trying to scrounge up other voice actors from the Performing Arts major at SCAD.  We'll see how it turns out...

Entry 8: Word 2007 is better than Word 2003

I finally made a badass flowchart to map out the basics of my script.  It's been really helpful so far while I've been writing, keeping me on track and what not.  I don't generally like planning out the entire story before I start writing, I feel like it boxes me in.  Professor Williams, my writing mentor, has always taught us to just sit down and start writing, and the story will write itself.  It's always worked for me, and whenever I try to plan out my writing it makes me feel like it's stiff and contrived.  But I think it's working this time, at least I hope it is.

Entry 7: Inspiration

So, I was trying to think of other games with narrative that I'd like to emulate. Cookson showed a really great one to us in class that has yet to be released, called Bastion:



It's a brilliant idea. A narrator divulges the story as you play, so that gameplay and narrative are completely immersed. No cut-scenes interrupting your combat (though to be honest, as a gamer this never really bothered me, but I see the flaw in it), no weird plot holes or literary devices used to cover them up. The only downside to this is that it seems the narrator sometimes narrates generalized actions, such as picking up a potion. So every time the player picks up a potion he says the same thing? I'm not sure yet, since it hasn't been released, but if that's the case, then it's probably going to get pretty old, pretty quick. Still, it gave me the idea to use voice-overs to compensate for a lack of cut-scenes. This will really help me set up the relationship between the husband and wife when the mod starts.

Another game I drew inspiration from is Ico. Ico and Yorda hardly speak to each other at all throughout the entire game, yet through game mechanics you grow attached to her and develop a relationship. Their co-dependency is established from the beginning: Yorda needs Ico to defend her, and Ico needs Yorda to escape the castle.



The professor had a great idea to have a scene in my mod, in the beginning, where the man's wife saves him in battle. This will be hard to do "cinematically", but there's where the voice-acting will come in. Luckily, my brother has a Master's in Theatre!

Entry 6: Modding is FUN

I finally had a chance to get into the tool set about a week or so ago and made a short mini-mod for my final pitch presentation.  In all honesty, the tool set is awesome, and really easy to use.  There are a few bugs, but NWN is old enough now that there's lots of documentation on it and bug fixes.  Here it is:



It's short but shows all of the basic functionality that I'd like to have in my mod: area creation, item creation, character creation, dialogue, and combat.

Entry 5: Make It Relative

I hashed out the basics of the storyline a few days ago in 4 acts.  I'm thinking that this quest, complete with combat, will probably end up being about 30 mins. playable.  As I was brainstorming I kept trying to find a way to actually make the mage's disease relative to the player.  To just throw them into the world and task them with "saving the day" is poor writing.  Why should they care if other people have this disease?  And I didn't want the player themselves to have the disease, because it's too easy to build sympathy for one's own self.  I'd prefer to challenge myself and my writing by getting the player to sympathize with another character enough to care about saving them.  So here it is.  Keep in mind, it's rough around the edges, so please feel free to leave comments on ways to improve it!

ACT I – The Conflict – Town Nestled in Valley

            The player (a mage) wakes up to his wife (a mage) screaming.  She is beside herself, sobbing and holding her hands out.  She seems to be examining them but is horrified by what she sees, or rather, what she does not see.  The player asks her what is wrong.  She says she does not see her magic anymore.  She cannot cast and does not know why.  The player tells her not to venture outside of the house; the world is dangerous to a mage without her powers, and she could be easily overtaken if attacked.  He assures her that he will find the reason and the cure for this mysterious malady.  She thanks him and tells him to be careful.

ACT II – The Search – Town Nestled in Valley/ Mage’s Castle on Mountain

            The player goes through a series of sub-quests/NPCs in an effort to find the cause and cure for his wife’s deficiency.  He finds out, through a network of people, that the only person with the knowledge to help him is the medicinal mage that lives in the region.  The mage lives up the mountain and the player must fight his way up there.  Once he reaches the medicinal mage, he discovers that his wife has contracted a disease.  The medicinal mage tells him that this disease can only be contracted sexually.  If affects the entire human species, but targets only mages.  Humans who are non-magic users can get the disease but are not negatively affected by it.  He warns the player that he, too, may be infected if his wife has it.  He tells the player that he can make a cure for his wife, but that it will take some time.  In the meantime, the player returns to town…

ACT III – The Confrontation

            The player returns to town to talk to his wife about his discovery.  She denies any wrongdoing and begs her husband to take pity on her.  The player begins to suspect his wife’s good friend and study partner from mage college (he’s actually intro’d in ACT II).  He goes to talk to the man and threatens an answer out of him.  They were having an affair, and she must have contracted the disease from him because he had it also.  He has already taken the cure, and tries to stop the player from returning to his wife for fear that he will kill her.  A fight ensues.  The player wins and returns to his wife.

ACT IV – An Issue Resolved

            At this point the player has an “ultimatum” conversation with his wife.  He tells her he has killed her friend and lover.  Here, the player can either choose to kill his wife/ forgive her and give her the cure/forgive her and not give her the cure.

I've already sent this to Harald to look over, and he gave me some really stellar ideas on how to improve:

1. Preface the opening scene with some sort of indicator as to the husband (player) and wife's relationship.  Establish the love and up the stakes.

2. Create an uneasy truce between the mages and non-mages that live in the town.  This will emphasize the danger to the wife even more.  Why would she venture out of the house, powerless, when there are those with violent prejudices against her?

3. In Act II, set up false leads for the player.  (Whether I will do this depends on scope and time.  I do want to include things like this, but I don't know if I'll have time to implement it before the next 7 weeks is over.)

4. Make the medicinal mage the bad guy that the wife is having an affair with.  He'd have a solid reason to keep the disease from being known as an STD. When the player discovers the truth, the epic showdown with this recurring thought-to-be-good character will be pretty intense. (This is totally happening).

5. What if the medic mage, just before he is confronted by the hero, had sent someone into town to tell everyone about the Hero's wife? After he is slain, the epic final battle can be between the Hero and the entire village's human population. Or he can let them kill her. Or he can kill everyone and his wife.

Anyone else have any thoughts?