Books to read for RPG script writers

There’s a lot of exciting adventure and detective books. But reading some of them, I notice elements which fit RPG adventures nicely. I mean that sometimes described situations can be great quests, heroes can be bright NPCs, and things can be mighty artifacts and so on. I feel that most of cRPGs could be more attractive if script writers read books of that kind. Now I’ll name some “special for RPGs” classical novels, I’ve read recently.

1. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H. P. Lovecraft.

Actually this book is not of a great artistic value and on the whole I didn’t like it, but protagonist makes a great journey in it. He visits some areas which are described quite detailed and to my mind it could be a worthy setting.

2. Dracula by Bram Stoker

Well, as you can see it’s full of vampires-related details. I suppose Troika learnt it thoroughly, making Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. I’ve read the book before playing the game and I noticed some parallels. For example in the game the vessel with a sarcophagus is called “Queen Elizabeth”. In the book Dracula made a voyage by sea on a ship with the same name (as far as I remember). The book is quite unsophisticated, but it hits the mark.

3. Investigation by Stanislaw Lem

It’s an Arcanum style book to my mind: both are full of global conspiracies and mysteries (do you remember dwarves secret about half-ogres?). Lem describes situation with animated dead and it’s investigation. An old-style England atmosphere fits perfect. Thread of that kind would adorn any RPG project.

4. Kim by Joseph Rudyard Kipling

This book is full of Indian things. And its plot is quite tangled too. Reading this novel can bring a lot of oriental ideas to game scenario.

To be continued…

Feel free to tell about your "special RPG" books in the comments

Tags: rpg, books, scenario, script, Stoker, Dracula, Kipling, Lem, Lovecraft, reading, crpg, quests | Technorati Profile

Steve Irwin and September 11

Everybody goes mad. All that stir about Steve Irwin and September 11 tires me. I feel for it but think people don't need so much disclosures and sensations. Let them investigate by themselves. Don't thrust opinion on them.

Most of the sites I read are full of shocking detailes and absurd discussions.

Here is my image.



I've participated in Worth1000 Photoshop contest and the first comment I've recieved was "A reference to Steve Irwin ? (digger)". Really nice. Of course it's a reference. What an irony!

That image and comments at worth1000.com

Steve Irwin, September 11, Photoshop contest

The Battle for Wesnoth

The Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game with a fantasy theme.

Build up a great army, gradually turning raw recruits into hardened veterans. In later games, recall your toughest warriors and form a deadly host against whom none can stand! Choose units from a large pool of specialists, and hand-pick a force with the right strengths to fight well on different terrains against all manner of opposition.

Wesnoth has many different sagas waiting to be played out. Fight to regain the throne of Wesnoth, of which you are the legitimate heir... step into the boots of a young officer sent to guard a not-so-sleepy frontier outpost... vanquish a horde of undead warriors unleashed by a foul necromancer, who also happens to have taken your brother hostage... guide a band of elvish survivors in an epic quest to find a new home.

200+ unit types. 16 races. 6 major factions. Hundreds of years of history. The world of Wesnoth is absolutely huge and limited only by your creativity - make your own custom units, compose your own maps, and write your own scenarios or even full-blown campaigns. You can also challenge up to 8 friends - or strangers - and fight in epic multi-player fantasy battles.



Features

* Build up a formidable fighting force, starting from a single leader and a small amount of gold.
* Over 200 unit types in six major factions, all with distinctive abilities, weapons and spells.
* Experienced units gain powerful new abilities as they advance.
* Several multi-player options available, including internet play.
* Scores of different custom-designed maps, and unlimited random maps.
* Hundreds of campaign scenarios available for download via a simple in-game procedure.
* 'Fog of war' feature available for a true test of generalship.
* Sophisticated mark-up language lets advanced users make their own maps, factions or campaigns.
* Excellent language support – 20 different languages currently available.
* GNU/Linux, Windows, MacOSX, BeOS, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, AmigaOS4, OS/2 & eComStation compatible

It's really involving. If you like Heroes of Might and Magic 2 & 3, try Wesnoth. It's free :)

List of indie RPGs

Found a great thread at rpgcodex forums. Advanced gamers post links to different indie cRPG projects. So, CRPGs - post 'em if you find. I hope you'll find something useful.

Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome

Recently I've tried Ultima-like cRPG Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome. Developers assure that their game is just great. Here is the list of features:

* large and diverse game world
Meet kings and warriors, noble ladies and slaves, peasants and priestesses, legionaries and barbaric mercenaries. Explore Teutonic villages and farmsteads, royal halls and miserable huts, sacred groves and Roman camps, and countless forests, swamps and caves.

* eventful and exciting plot
Negotiate with stubborn chieftains, win legendary duels and bloody battles, overcome insidious intrigues, consult seers, liberate a village, fight for a woman, find treasures, capture Roman arms, overthrow a king, and many other adventures.

* multiple different storylines
Become farmer or merchant, warlord or pensioner, Roman mercenary, or king of your tribe. Countless sub-plots, and great freedom of action in every game situation.

* historically authentic and informative
While playing this game you'll learn a lot about our barbaric ancestors and the Romans. Game world, plot and texts are historically correct up to the smallest details. The game also includes an online encyclopedia on Teutons and Romans (100 pages).

* classic role-playing features
As you play your way through the game you'll gain experience, improve your skills, arm yourself with chain mail shirts or Roman weapons, learn wizardry, capture booty, hunt for treasures, or trade goods. What kind of skills and character you develop depends only on your actions.

* detailed and realistic game world
You can talk to all characters within the game world, barter with them, make friends or quarrel with them. All objects within the game world can be used and have realistic attributes. People produce new goods, merchants sell their wares. The entire surrounding of each location can be explored.

* strong artificial intelligence
All persons within the game have their own daily schedules, relationships, plans, and views. They act realistically in everyday life and interaction with others, and they react intelligently and naturally to everything the player says or does. All persons are aware of their surroundings, the player and other persons, or interesting events, and they can refer to these during dialogs.



Free demo version is only 6 Mb.

Promising RPG-projects

Last year I strongly felt lack of new RPGs. I mean old-fashioned well-designed RPGs with thousand strings of dialogs, unexpected plot turns, vivid characters and complicated gameplay. Now it seems RPGs are popular again. All RPG-playing world discuss Oblivion, approaching Gothic 3 and Neverwinter Nights 2. But Oblivion is so far from RPGs, which I mention above. Neverwinter Nights 2 disturbs me more and more. The only hope is Gothic, but who knows.

Luckily this year I noticed two pretentious projects by obscure teams. It seems these people are hardcore old-school RPG fans and they know what is needed. They concentrate on games’ filling, so graphics are simple (but in any case this is much better then Adom-like games).



“The Age of Decadence” by Iron Tower Studios



“Eschalon: Book I” by Basilisk Games

Upd.: both teams on realease date say: "It will be done when it is done"