Mega Corporation

[Froley]

So far in my indie career i've made about 3 so far and i'm starting on my 4. My idea is a cyber-punk action rpg and i'm in need of some ideas for a "mega corporation" some things along the lines of SHINRA (ff VII)

[FLEB]

I haven't played the FF games, and I have only the cursory reference I picked up on Wikipedia in regards to Shinra, so you might want to elaborate on your own game ideas (settings, game goals, moods, etc.).

It's a clear reflection of my personal, more realistic style, but I've always liked the Jennifer Government style of oppressive "evil" megacorporation-- something that looks more to the "mega" evolution of a real corporation. 2% pure "evil" (if that), and 98% of mass, jockeying middle management, slimy-slick marketing, corporate team-built loyalty, and a sixteen-name spiderweb of mergers ("BPAmaco/Enron is now BP-Dow Consolidated"). Matters more of cloudy morality, departmental ignorance of consequences, and moral apathy drive the "people on the ground" more than cackling greed.

A thing that I've never liked about a lot of fictional megacorps I've seen is that the ubiquitous company is *too* ubiquitous-- you hear their name in every TV commercial or billboard, and it's always thrown in your face. Granted, it helps to move the plot along when you don't have to explain all the relationships, but it's glaringly unrealistic to my mind. Think of companies like ConAgra or Philip-Morris-- they're the unspoken parent companies to hundreds of household brands, but the only indication of that is usually a small logo or a "Produced by..." on the boring part of the label.

Now, there are gigantic companies that do advertise primarily under their own name, like WalMart, various banks, aerospace industry, but from a marketing perspective, this only works when the company is in a single or very narrow line of work, or perhaps if they're in a broader line of work with less public-facing marketing. If your megacorp was based on a single scarce resource or an important technological development-- if the company sells the drug the world is hooked on-- a well-known single company name can work, but it does limit how much of a slice of reality the corp can be a part of. You won't find the Omni-Megacorp label on both a power plant and a box of macaroni-and-cheese. That just creates offputting associations in the consumer's mind.

I think the best megacorp ideas are formed from a "growing" design. Trace the path of this fictional company from when it was a snake-oil outfit to its now-ownership of the world. What are some of the companies it does battle with, and who has it swallowed up outright? What third-world countries has it caused irreparable economic/ecological disaster to, and how can we spin that to our advantage? Who are its customers and how does it serve them? How do divisions of the company justify their existence and relevance to the core competencies of the company?

Oh, and you'll need a vaguely-worded airy internal corporate Mission Statement, like "We strive to empower our customers with client-centered solutions delivered by focused central logistics."

[LukeSineath]

why not just use Shinra itself?  Japanese video game companies seem pretty laid back about their IP.  At least you could use Shinra as a placeholder while you develop the game.

[David C]

Are you looking for names or for concepts?

Keep in mind that there are several power houses of a modern world; medicine, communication, transportation, knowledge, science, military, etc.
Soo, your megacorps should be things like.
"SSDC producer of weaponry"
"Biodyne producer of biomechanics"
These (and more) examples are from www.ssdc.com Battlelords game.

[Jarx]

Inspired by the satelite 5 episode in Dr. Who, one of these megacorporations could be one that holds power over all the media and therefore controls what is the truth, or to put in a more evil manner, what does exist and what doesn't.