Interest Check Thread

Hosted Games Works In Progress
6836

Blasphemy! Elves must have pointy-ears! :joy:

Two ideas immediately come to mind. First is the Baldur’s Gate 3 treatment. The player can pick from a cast of pre-existing characters or create one their own. No matter what, the story would be mostly the same with a few extra, exclusive scenes for each of the non-customizable character.

Second, don’t give the option to create their own character. Instead, the story jumps from POV to POV and players will control all POV character one at a time. “The Aegis Saga” did that.

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6837

I mean, my point was simply to explain what I meant by “based on Tolkien = non-pointed ears” (based on my personal mental image I got from when I read LotR as… 15? 17?), not to say that I shouldn’t tell in-story that my elves look like humans. Probably not the best choice of words from me, but I am too tired.

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6838

I understand

One reason I asked is at the moment I’m not confident in my writing abilities.

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6839

Brandon Sanderson tells me the best solution to that particular problem is to write. It’s a skill that can be honed through practice, not some gift that executes itself through an author’s natural talent. You will be more confident in your writing as you gain experience, which is the only way it will improve. I believe there are authors here who have better advice than me, but it seems there’s also a good community of beta readers who are happy to help with works in progress, if you are willing to share your progress and sift through their advice for something constructive.

I wish you luck!

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6840

Had an idea, wanted to see if people would be interested in it.

Genres and tropes: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction, Reality Show, Adventure, Action

Project Title: The Ultimate Galactic Survivor

In the distant future, humanity has expanded beyond Earth, colonizing numerous planets in different star systems. The most popular reality show, The Ultimate Galactic Survivor, challenges contestants to survive and thrive on alien planets, each season starring its own unique and unpredictable ecosystems. The show’s latest season takes place on planet Velathia, a recently discovered alien world rich in resources coveted by the corporate overlords, filled with neon-lit ruins, and bioluminescent flora and fauna.

Contestants are selected from various backgrounds — scientists, farmers, engineers, survivalists, and even celebrities. They are dropped onto Velathia with minimal supplies: basic cyber tools, seeds, and a single change of clothing. The goal is to survive, farm their food, craft their clothing, and build a community, all while competing for the grand prize: a fortune of interstellar credits and the title of Ultimate Galactic Survivor.

Core Mechanics

Cybernetic Enhancements: Contestants must leverage their cybernetic enhancements to survive. This includes augmented reality interfaces for mapping and identifying resources, robotic limbs for strength and precision, and neural implants for hacking the environment and other contestants’ gear. They must manage their cyberware’s energy consumption, often relying on Velathia’s unique resources to recharge.

Survival: Contestants must adapt to Velathia’s environment, dealing with extreme weather, alien wildlife, and limited resources. They must find clean water, build shelters, and hunt or forage for food. Each contestant has a unique skill set that can aid in survival, but cooperation is often necessary to overcome the planet’s challenges.

Cyber-Social Dynamics: Neural implants allow for direct mind-to-mind communication and manipulation, leading to complex social interactions. Contestants can hack into each other’s systems, steal resources, or sabotage cybernetic enhancements, adding layers of psychological and technological warfare.

Farming and Crafting: Similar to Stardew Valley, contestants must cultivate alien crops, raise native livestock, and craft clothing and tools. The alien nature of Velathia’s flora and fauna means they must learn new farming techniques and discover which plants are edible or useful. They also need to gather materials to craft clothing suited to Velathia’s varied climates, from its scorching deserts to freezing tundras.

Social Dynamics: While contestants must work together to some extent, they are also competitors. Alliances form and dissolve as they strategize to outlast each other. Contestants can trade goods, share knowledge, or sabotage each other’s efforts. Personalities clash, friendships form, and betrayals happen as they navigate the social intricacies of the game.

Challenges and Rewards: Regularly, the showrunners introduce challenges that test the contestants’ survival skills, ingenuity, and teamwork. Winners of these challenges receive valuable rewards, such as advanced tools, extra supplies, or clues to hidden secrets of Velathia.

Exploration: Velathia is dotted with ancient ruins and mysterious structures that hold secrets and advanced technologies from a long-lost civilization. Contestants who explore and uncover these secrets can gain significant advantages. However, the ruins are often dangerous, filled with traps, and guarded by alien creatures.

Origins of the MC

Players can choose the main character’s origin. An origin indicates their background and dictates their skills.

Celebrity Influencer:
Background: The celebrity influencer built a massive following through charisma, social media prowess, and public appearances.
Skills: Exceptional social manipulation and charisma. Able to use neural implants for mind-to-mind communication and persuasion.

Robot Engineer:
Background: Specialized in designing and repairing robots used in various industries, from mining to agriculture.
Skills: Proficient in building and repairing structures, creating tools from limited resources, and problem-solving.

Ex-Military Survivalist
Background: A former soldier who served in various off-world conflicts, trained in survival tactics, combat, and leadership.
Skills: Expert in combat, survival skills, and tactical planning. Proficient in hunting, foraging, and building shelters.

Craftsman
Background: A versatile artisan skilled in making various crafts, from pottery to textiles, using traditional techniques passed down through generations. Entered the show to explore the potential of alien materials for their crafts.
Skills: Diverse crafting abilities, including pottery, weaving, and leatherworking. Skilled in improvising with available resources and creating useful and beautiful items.

Ex-Con, Corporate Spy
Background: Formerly employed by one of the mega-corporations, the corporate spy specialized in espionage, data theft, and corporate sabotage.
Skills: Expert in hacking, stealth, and manipulation. Proficient with neural implants for infiltration and sabotage, as well as advanced knowledge of corporate technologies.

Still plotting out this idea and am very much still in the early stages.
I wanted to know if there was any origin that people would really like to see.
Also, I’m not sure what to call the reality show. Its based on Survivor, but is it okay to have Survivor on the title? I’m not sure.
Do people like this idea? Should I continue it? Any comments welcome.

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6841

Sounds like several possibilities if I’m understanding things right. To be honest I was a little confused if you were going to keep the multiple POV aspect or change it to single POV. If your keeping the multiple POV, you’d need something to overarc them, so I thought maybe the MC could be one of the prophecieis or one of the ancient oracles…just one idea.

Otherwise, if single POV, being an usurper king or an a scion of an usurper king sounded fun; being an ancient oracle still seems descent.

If I ever get the free time myself, I’ve had a game idea on the back burner for a while a little related to all that, loosely inspired by Terry Brook’s Druids from the Sword of Shinnara series. In the series, the druids kind of influence major events and then go to the druid sleep for decades, which would work nicely for a IF game where I’d have someone a bit similiar (maybe Sages living outside of the normal flow of time) go back and forth between the world they influence and their haven.

Anyway, on the elf ear question, yeah, I to find it hard to picture them without pointed ears. Back in the day when I did fiction workshops thats one thing readers suggested was changing my elf and fey characters to give them wings and all sorts of random things … idk…depends on what your going for.

Yes, reminds me a bit of one of my favorite games of all time, A Story Besides…lots of room for more stories of NPCs in a fantasy world. Offers a fresh perspective on the fantasy world and its tropes, and I like the idea of making it a cozy fantasy game. Love cozy fantasy.

Ha, I think a lot of people would like that sort of game. Especially if you know guns enough to make the punisher character and his gear pseudo realistic; there is a ready audience.

This sounds like a very solid foundation for a game. The background/classes you have idea boarded sound very interesting.

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6842

I think a semi-customiseable “wild card” entrant could be fun. A man on the street type pick, where the last contestant is literally just someone they dragged in off the street. You’d have to pick the customisable aspects to provide of course, but there should be something that everyone already listed doesn’t have. Also probably it’d be someone poorer-skilled than the above examples, who all would have had to apply/audition.

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6843

Thank you! I’m really glad someone else thinks this idea sounds interesting!

I love this idea! I think I will add it, since it sounds fun. They can choose their cybernetic enhancements and skills, but they would definitely be a person off the street. I think that sounds very interesting, thank you so much for your comment!

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6844

Does that mean it doesn’t even matter what I describe them as? Or the fact that “elf” covers quite a wide array of different subspecies here (some of which are trees)? Do they spontaneously morph to a specific image the instant word “elf” is mentioned?

To be fair, I wouldn’t mind calling them something else, but I don’t know what that would be. I’m using “elf” because that’s what the word I use translates to (and what elf is translated as), but the original word is such a catch-all term that with that concept, one could reliably call trolls and giants as elves, which might not work in English that well… Fae, maybe?

I don’t know what I’m going to do, that’s why I’m rambling instead of doing it.

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6845

Yeah, in English Elf isn’t a catch all term. Historically, “Fae” and “Fairies” have been used as a catch all, hence “fairy tale.” Fairies have since become more distinctive, but Fae can probably be used for you. At least in the US, they aren’t used as much and aren’t as specific as Elves or Fairies. Nymph can also work, if they take on a nature connotation.

Also, I don’t know what the word is in your language, or how hard it would be to pronounce for non native speakers, but you always have the option to just use the untranslated word.

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6846

Aren’t they all women?

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6847

Maybe? But I wouldn’t let that stop you, I don’t think people would mind if you added men as well.

6848

Anyway I was trying to follow the writing advice of not using a new word for things that already have a word (like, I wouldn’t call horses as häst or hest simply because they’re Norwegian Fjord horses), but I guess if the concepts don’t match, I could use a foreign-language word (I don’t think the Finnish one would work, it’d get too awkward grammatically, but I might call them alver) or, I dunno, name them Guardians or something.

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6849

Satyr is the male to the female nymph. But since it’s your world you can call both nymphs, either way works :relieved:

6850

I would personally be very interested in a work that leaned into Finnish terminology and perspective.

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6851

Mmh. The perspective is certainly leaning into that direction (in all my works), but I frankly prefer using Swedish terminology in English, since it’s easier for my brain to comprehend grammatically. Also it’s pretty.

(It’d also lose a lot of context, since a lot of names describe what they are.)

… … …maybe I should just call them Folk.

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6852

It used to be. Time was, fairies, trolls, goblins, even ogres could be described as “elves”, but these days it’s pretty much reserved for the fair folk. (And the Christmas Guy’s minions; that seems to be the one other place the word “elf” gets to be used.)

Also, if you want to say elves don’t have pointy ears…

“Why don’t you have pointy ears?”
[The elf] looks confused. “Is that something that your people say about us? I am afraid that my ears are as rounded as yours are.”

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6853

Incidentally, they’re clearly kidnapped Finnish house guardian spirits. I feel really bad for them.

I was just going to describe them looking exactly like humans (and forego telling they are elves until it’s relevant), but this still sounds so much like an uphill battle I’m not sure a change in terminology isn’t in order.

Still, that writing advice makes a lot of sense…

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6854

If you’re going high fantasy (and I think you are) unless you want to work outside the normal tropes and settings of the genre, you’re best using elf and only briefly mentioning ear tips I think. Fantasy readers will often just expect that when reading the genre unless the author states otherwise. It’s only when you have readers that aren’t high fantasy readers that they will get confused otherwise.

Sorry it took me a bit to stare that, but upon reading your reply and reconsidering that seems the best advice from what I know.

Note: but I do love some of the ideas posted on here if you want to adjust setting and tropes a bit. A high fantasy work that leaned heavily into a culture that isn’t always emphasized seems fun. Also, I’d love for a world to have male nymphs, but I also think Medusa should be a people and not an individual … playing with myths is fun and keeps it interesting. I would caution that while Satyr are the male companions to Nymphs they tend to be more goat like than Nymphs are more like river goddesses…so I think there is definitely ground and room to make male nymphs rather than using satyr. Depends if you would want to keep the Hellenic mythos and setting exact or expand on it.

6855

Fun fact, I did originally have dryads and naiads as subtypes of elves, but I’m also thinking unifying the terminology a bit might be beneficial.

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