What would a story-driven Star Trek game involve?

[Deckhead]

I am developing a game that came about because I was of the opinion that too many Star Trek games were pew pew lasers and there was nothing, to my knowledge, that involved the strategic use of diplomacy, or convincing an A.I. that it's last orders were immoral (as random examples).

So I am developing the game to be somewhat like a choose your own adventure, but I also want it to involve more "game" aspects, which at first I thought of as being like resource management. The gist is you're exploring a new quadrant of space, so there is limited resources. These could then be used in the story events as like a cost-benefit kind of deal with your limited supplies and your desire to help aliens.

I am not convinced this "game" part is fun. So I ask here, aside from gradually uncovering the story, multiple endings etc, what would make a star trek "exploration" game fun, in your opinion?

 

[Owain Taggart]

I would maybe make it rogue-lite with randomly generated story content along with exploration, which would give more replayability. Basically, you'd be tasked with exploring and establishing first-contact and maybe get secondary tasks such as maybe helping some aliens with relocation efforts or other cultural phenomenons. Normally, rogue-lites are focused on combat, but I'd make the skills that you get to keep based on diplomacy and persuasion, among other non-combat related things.

 

[JD]

I would put a focus on exploration and choice driven dialogue like you see in Bioware or Tell Tale style games. A big thing would be making sure that your choices have real consequences, a lot of games make it seem like there's consequences, but it really is the same situation with slight tweaks.

 

[Deckhead]

I would maybe make it rogue-lite with randomly generated story content along with exploration, which would give more replayability. Basically, you'd be tasked with exploring and establishing first-contact and maybe get secondary tasks such as maybe helping some aliens with relocation efforts or other cultural phenomenons. Normally, rogue-lites are focused on combat, but I'd make the skills that you get to keep based on diplomacy and persuasion, among other non-combat related things.

I would love to do this. The problem with any randomly generated stories, especially ones with choices, is that they are simple and would quickly feel "samey". It was actually my original idea, to do random story events, but when I realised how simple and repeated the stories would be, I quickly shifted to crafted stories.

I would put a focus on exploration and choice driven dialogue like you see in Bioware or Tell Tale style games. A big thing would be making sure that your choices have real consequences, a lot of games make it seem like there's consequences, but it really is the same situation with slight tweaks.

That's what I am aiming for. My first "story" /"event" /"episode" will affect decisions that you have available in later events. There's also wildly different outcomes within the same story event and lots of points where the decision you're making, as well as the options presented, are determined by decisions made far earlier.

I hope it gives the game replayability because it's only via playing through multiple options will the player learn all there is to know about the events unfolding in that episode as well as the wider story-arch I hope to insert through multiple events.

Does this mean you think I shouldn't worry about the resource management at all?

 

[Owain Taggart]

I would love to do this. The problem with any randomly generated stories, especially ones with choices, is that they are simple and would quickly feel "samey". It was actually my original idea, to do random story events, but when I realised how simple and repeated the stories would be, I quickly shifted to crafted stories.

Yeah, I tend to agree, although I think you can get around that by making the main points set in stone, with the rest of the details being randomized. I mean, even if you want a strong story-based game, I think you'd still want some amount of randomization, so that even if you replay it, they won't play exactly the same way, ie Aliens and where they are in the galaxy might be different and some such along with randomized tasks.

 

[Deckhead]

Yeah, I tend to agree, although I think you can get around that by making the main points set in stone, with the rest of the details being randomized. I mean, even if you want a strong story-based game, I think you'd still want some amount of randomization, so that even if you replay it, they won't play exactly the same way, ie Aliens and where they are in the galaxy might be different and some such along with randomized tasks.

Oh yeah, I should mention that there's some randomisation built in to some of the story ideas I have. Battles may play out with randomisation. I also plan to have quite a few short events that can occur multiple times that feature randomisation. Stuff like: you find a merchant ship travelling in this sector, what they have for sale, and even their race, can be randomised.

 

[Christopher]

Just check out Star Trek Adventures. It's already pretty story-driven and character-driven.

 

[Deckhead]

Just check out Star Trek Adventures. It's already pretty story-driven and character-driven.

Thanks I just took a quick look at the first rule-book, but considering I am developing a computer game, there's not much in there that can help me (unless I'm missing something).

 

[Christopher]

Sorry, I missed that you were thinking of a computer game. Still, maybe the STA format could help in figuring out how to codify rules and structure for a story-driven game, e.g. how to build in milestones based on character growth or challenges based on persuasion and social conflict.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I've seen Star Trek games go too far in the other direction too, being point and click adventures. I think it was called Final Unity.

There are lots of different approaches to how you could design a Star Trek game. If I were designing one, I'd use an idea I think I've talked about in "Your ideal series" threads.

In the early 25th century, they design an engine fast enough to get us to other galaxies. But, it takes several months to get there, so you can get home whenever you want, but you can't just call up reinforcements whenever you need. A small fleet of five ships is sent to explore this new frontier, seek out new life and new civilizations, etc, etc. When they get there, the intelligent life is not humanoid, completely unlike us. The dominant forms include one that is gelatinous, not shapeshifters, just amorphous. And maybe some fish-like aliens, insectoid aliens, etc, etc. They don't have values resembling ours in any way.

The gameplay is versatile in that whenever you're in conflict with them, you have both diplomatic options to win the game and combat options. The diplomatic option may involve learning the alien behavior and figuring out how to calm their aggression like Devil in the Dark. It may involve making a trade, it may involve figuring out how they communicate. And if all else fails, then there's still the pew pew.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The gameplay is versatile in that whenever you're in conflict with them, you have both diplomatic options to win the game and combat options. The diplomatic option may involve learning the alien behavior and figuring out how to calm their aggression like Devil in the Dark. It may involve making a trade, it may involve figuring out how they communicate. And if all else fails, then there's still the pew pew.

Yeah, that's along the lines of what I'd been thinking. Maybe keep the rogue-lite aspect to the skillset and the way you could possibly die. Starting off, you might not be very skilled, and some situations might very well blow up in your face, leaving combat the only option, with the possibility of failure. You'd die but still be able to proceed through the story via a new set of characters, but with a skillset that you maybe picked up along the way during your travels, so you eventually get better. Another idea would be the ability to have away teams down on planets. This would be a good time to have that randomization and exploration.

 

[Deckhead]

Yeah, that's along the lines of what I'd been thinking. Maybe keep the rogue-lite aspect to the skillset and the way you could possibly die. Starting off, you might not be very skilled, and some situations might very well blow up in your face, leaving combat the only option, with the possibility of failure. You'd die but still be able to proceed through the story via a new set of characters, but with a skillset that you maybe picked up along the way during your travels, so you eventually get better. Another idea would be the ability to have away teams down on planets. This would be a good time to have that randomization and exploration.

Away teams is definitely happening, both with and without the captain (you're the captain). The randomisation of what you encounter down there could be done, but as a choose your own adventure style, the options provided would be either:

1. Interesting and unique, revealing something interesting over time. But there would be relatively few of these.
   
2. Highly random to provide lots of different possibilities, but be largely boring.

It's not really possible to generate a random narrative, with branching paths, that is both coherent and interesting.

This is what's led me to only have crafted events that are (supposed to be) highly engaging with lots of branching paths and options. You encounter these all in a random order, and perhaps not all of them every play through, but they gradually reveal an overarching history of the new quadrant you're exploring, culminating in the player solving a crisis in multiple different ways (depending on their actions).

All this basically puts me back where I was. I have a visual novel, essentially, without much in the way of a "game".

 

[JD]

If it were me, I would set up the away missions the way a lot of open world games set up there stuff, with core story missions and side missions. I would have everything set for the core story missions, and then do the randomly generated stuff in the side missions.

 

[Owain Taggart]

All this basically puts me back where I was. I have a visual novel, essentially, without much in the way of a "game".

That's the trouble with most visual novels, in that there isn't really much game to them. Although I think the best one I've played was the Pillars of the Earth game. It follows the book fairly closely, and it's more of a hybrid of visual novel and adventure game, but it's not as linear as the TellTale style of visual novel as there's a lot more interaction and tasks to do. You might want to look that one up for inspiration.

If it were me, I would set up the away missions the way a lot of open world games set up there stuff, with core story missions and side missions. I would have everything set for the core story missions, and then do the randomly generated stuff in the side missions.

Yep, that was my thought as well. There are plenty of ways that this can be done and still have it be fairly interesting.

 

[JD]

After my last post it dawned on me that the Mass Effect games are a very Trek like example of the kind of thing I was talking about.

 

[Deckhead]

After my last post it dawned on me that the Mass Effect games are a very Trek like example of the kind of thing I was talking about.

But those missions are very very sparse. There's virtually nothing of interest, you just collect something after moving around a bit (unless I'm forgetting how Mass Effect played).

But again, I would love to have random missions, but how something like Mass Effects would translate to a text-based format is a bit beyond me. I guess I could make it a series of connected "rooms", like Zork... Maybe it's possible... There's just no drama in it. You would just wander around, and maybe the connected rooms could look and be described in an interesting way, but you would soon grow tired of it once you saw them a second time in another random mission. I think I just have to have enough crafted events with randomness in them for this to work.

All this talk of random missions aside, I'm still not sure where the "game" aspect is. I have a visual novel of sorts, I still need to make it a "game". Because it's exploration into unknown space, I think the "resources" aspect of it makes sense, but it would suck to lose the game because of a lack of resources when you've been playing a visual novel.

So I think I need to drop the whole "game" aspect and just accept I made a visual novel.

 

[JD]

But those missions are very very sparse. There's virtually nothing of interest, you just collect something after moving around a bit (unless I'm forgetting how Mass Effect played).

There were quite a few that were full on combat and story missions.

But again, I would love to have random missions, but how something like Mass Effects would translate to a text-based format is a bit beyond me. I guess I could make it a series of connected "rooms", like Zork... Maybe it's possible... There's just no drama in it. You would just wander around, and maybe the connected rooms could look and be described in an interesting way, but you would soon grow tired of it once you saw them a second time in another random mission. I think I just have to have enough crafted events with randomness in them for this to work.

Oh, I didn't realize this was going to be text based.

 

[Deckhead]

There were quite a few that were full on combat and story missions.



Oh, I didn't realize this was going to be text based.

Combat is probably fine, I can do combat missions randomly, the issue there is that I wanted to avoid a combat game. Tbh it doesn't really work all that well in a visual novel anyway.

Text-based in the sense that it's a screen with images and text. Example screens during development of ideas:

 

[Ronald Held]

Any beta testers needed?

 

[Deckhead]

Any beta testers needed?

When I'm done with the first demo build, yes, I think so. I will PM you when it's ready.