Which has to be done first?

[Magnum-X]

i messed up bad on my game started making tons of maps (isn't that a good thing?, let me finish) WITHOUT A STORY
now i have to restart from begining...

so which has to be done first when making a game?
the story, character profiles, weapons, armor, etc..

(hope this is the right place to post this)

[WhiteRose]

It really depends on what type of game you plan on making, but for a general RPG, it's best to start with the story, then create some specifics for the characters. Once you have that in place, you can move on to the actual game design, such as battle mechanics, creating the databases (enemies, items, etc.,) and creating the maps. This is, of course, all just my opinion.

[PhoenixFire]

:nods:

I agree with WhiteRose.. That's about how I would do it, although, technically, my current game doesn't have a finished storyline. If you at least know the style of game, time period, etc, then you could in theory, design some characters first, so that you can get ideas for names and stuff for the story...

[brewmeister]

i messed up bad on my game started making tons of maps (isn't that a good thing?, let me finish) WITHOUT A STORY
now i have to restart from beginning...

Not really. I see no reason why that won't work. You create a world, then develop the story in the world.
It may turn out that as you develop the story you will either have to adapt the map to the story, or adapt the story to the map.
e.g. you decide you want a side-quest that leads into the mountains, but your map has no trail going to the mountains.

Mapping is relatively easy to so, you can SEE the fruits of your labors, and you get a sense of accomplishment
which can help keep you motivated to keep working on the game.

However, once you start adding plot related events, NPCs, puzzles, quests, etc...  it would be better to have at least
a detailed outline of the story to avoid inconsistencies, and reduce the amount of editing required.

I certainly wouldn't scrap all the work you've done & start over.

Be Well

[Bradley_Theory]

When you are going to make a game, you should start with making sketches from the characters.
Then it's handy to write little biographies about them, you'll need that later.

Note if you are writing their biographies: Every person needs a strong personality, that will give much more structure to the game. Just like in the Disney Pixar films.

Then you have to begin with making the basics of the story, you can do that like this:
- Wake up
- Find key
- Go sleeping
- Fight Dragon
- Get Cookies
- End

Before doing that you'll need inspiration, to get some inspiration the best thing you can do is watch movies, listen to music, read quotes, read stories, play games etc.
If you have the inspiration you need you can start writing a original story, with emphasis on original. A game that's like: "You are the hero, save us all from the bad guy" is cliche, except when you are putting it in an other perspective.

When you are done with making those basics you can start with expand the story, like this:

- You wake up in your house, that's in Elevanor. A small city with not much people.
- You go to a plain in the north of Elevanor, and you find a key... But it's getting late so you go to your home.
- You are going to sleep, you get a weird dream that could be a vision about a dragon. It's in the cave near your town, and in a few days he will wake up.
- You are worried about the dragon, you take some friends with you and you guys are going to borrow some swords to kill the dragon with. Then you are going into the cave, there are much battles, and then you find the dragon. There is an epic battle, and you defeat the dragon.
- You come back to Elevanor, to show the dead dragon. Everybody likes you and you are going to reclaim your chocolate cookies.
- Now the ending is coming up with nice music and the credits.

And like that you can keep expanding till you have a nice story.
I did it like this, and you'll see that starting a game with a good preparation will be much more fun, and easier ofcourse.

Success!