just starting a new concept pls help

[Zim2.0]

hi I am VERY new to this whole thing and this board to but I would just like to start with a storyline maybe a whole IDK if I want to say history through the eyes of many or through one or what. but could anyone please tell me first of all do you think that's a good Idea to write a story first or develop a game?

please help I am quite new....everyones gotta start somewhere.

Xander (WI)

[Grand_Commander13]

I guess it's best for you to hear it gently from somebody like me, but folks around here are quick to point out the uselessness of opinion polls ("what do you guys think about this?").  Mostly what the people are here for is to help you out when you can say "I'm working on this, but problem X is giving me trouble" or some such.

But since I wouldn't reply if I didn't want to give an answer, my two cents say that a story (at least one in your head) for your RPG is important, as it gives you something to focus on.  For the RPG I'm working on, The Company, my idea came from a story that hatched in my mind and kinda took on a life of its own.  I'm not all that great at fiction (I'm good enough to get praise at fanfiction.net, but how hard is that, really?), so designing an RPG to facilitate stuff like my story was a better option.  I like the way it's going so far, so I figure what works for me may work for you too.

[Anders Larsen]

Hi, and welcome to the Forge!

It is not very productive to sit down and write a rpg without any idea of what you want out of it. You will not know where to start, you will not know when you are finis, and it will properly not be a very interesting game. So it is important to have some interesting concepts to work with, before you start making the game.

These concepts can be some thematic ideas, or they can be based of on setting, or they can certainly be based on a story.

But please, tell us something about your ideas. As Grand_Commander1 mentioned, it is not very helpful for you if we just say 'yes' or 'no'. So, what is the story about, and what is it about this story you think will make a great role-playing game?

- Anders

[Sydney Freedberg]

Hello, Xander (that's your first name, right? Or am I reading your sig wrong?). Welcome to the Forge, etc.

Two questions/pieces of advice:

1) What have you read and played so far that's inspired you to start this specific project? The way we learn is by imitating what we love -- trying to "be original" for the sake of being original never works. And we might be able to recommend other sources (stories, games, etc.) that could give you other ideas of how to approach this -- it's amazing how often RPG designers in particular get fixated on certain ways of doing things (e.g. must have several numerical stats per character, must roll dice, must have list of equipment, must have a GM) not because those techniques actually work for what they're trying to accomplish, but because they've never seen anything different.

2) What part of your idea(s) are you really excited about -- the parts that make you want to jump up and down and tell other people and actually write something? If you think you can't work on the parts you love before doing something else that bores you silly but you think is necessary, usually (a) you never finish the project and (b) you were wrong about the boring part being necessary in the first place.