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A few days ago, I gave a quick talk for pathfindings titled "Brewing an experience about places you've never been to."
It's about the basic of how to tell stories for a game that's set in a real places you've never visited.
I'll try to summarize them in this thread
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It's about the basic of how to tell stories for a game that's set in a real places you've never visited.
I'll try to summarize them in this thread
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If you prefer the 15 minutes talk, you can check it here btw
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Writing about places we've never been might be pretty common ... I mean, I'm sure most fantasy writers never physically went to their world, and most sci-fi writers never made a jump to the future (lol .. "most")
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But real places have their own challenge, because the players might have better understanding of the settings than you.
And major mistakes might make them feel too disconnected with the intended experience.
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And major mistakes might make them feel too disconnected with the intended experience.
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I tried to divide the way to handle this to 4 categories:
1. Environment
2. People
3. Names
4. Rules
Most of the examples I have were taken from @coffeetalk_game
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1. Environment
2. People
3. Names
4. Rules
Most of the examples I have were taken from @coffeetalk_game
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1. Environment, obviously you have to do a bit of research on how the architecture looks like in the settings you intended.
Google will be your savior here to look for references.
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Google will be your savior here to look for references.
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Other than that, if you have an opening scene or overview intro of each setting, be sure to use landmarks.
This is a trick commonly used in films, comics, or any other visual storytelling medium.
Here's an example from Coffee Talk
Art by @Iceztiq & @i_am_dio
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![Other than that, if you have an opening scene or overview intro of each setting, be sure to use landmarks.This is a trick commonly used in films, comics, or any other visual storytelling medium.Here's an example from Coffee TalkArt by @Iceztiq & @i_am_dio [7/x]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Em-FazzVkAAv5HC.jpg "Other than that, if you have an opening scene or overview intro of each setting, be sure to use landmarks.This is a trick commonly used in films, comics, or any other visual storytelling medium.Here's an example from Coffee TalkArt by @Iceztiq & @i_am_dio [7/x]")
This is a trick commonly used in films, comics, or any other visual storytelling medium.
Here's an example from Coffee Talk
Art by @Iceztiq & @i_am_dio
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By having landmarks shown in the intro, you put the player's mindset that the game is set in the intended setting.
Even if the environments don't have specific characteristics, players will still have the mindset that they are in the place introduced in the beginning.
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Even if the environments don't have specific characteristics, players will still have the mindset that they are in the place introduced in the beginning.
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2. People
The people are what made a city, town, or country. Their culture and how they live define the place, and getting them right would be crucial to represent that setting in your game.
But if you've never been to the place, how would you know how the people lived?
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The people are what made a city, town, or country. Their culture and how they live define the place, and getting them right would be crucial to represent that setting in your game.
But if you've never been to the place, how would you know how the people lived?
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The easiest method would be to refer to other media (games, comics, films).
But how can we be sure how legit they are?
Thankfully, we do have a way to get a very authentic look on how people live by using social media.
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But how can we be sure how legit they are?
Thankfully, we do have a way to get a very authentic look on how people live by using social media.
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This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.
Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.
Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.
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![This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Em-HeGxVkAAI1qJ.jpg "This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]")
![This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Em-Hp0hUYAA1ikB.jpg "This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]")
![This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Em-Hs0DUcAAEIPL.jpg "This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]")
![This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Em-HzKmVoAAVgdO.jpg "This is a trick I learnt from my friend, @sarahhana.Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.[11/x]")
Before every events overseas, she would look at how the people there dress and how the weathers are.
Just go to Instagram, and search using the location filter.
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By using IG, we can see how the people there live, how their days are like, their nightlife, what kind of thing that are popular, and even what kind of memes the people shared. Because memes are something that's so attached to culture, generation, or lifestyle.
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I also used Tinder with passport feature to swipe anywhere on Earth and see how the dating life looks like in that city.
The profiles will show what kind of photos popularly used, how they write their intro, and so on. It shows how they "intro" themselves to strangers.
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The profiles will show what kind of photos popularly used, how they write their intro, and so on. It shows how they "intro" themselves to strangers.
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3. Names
Our names can be used to describe our background, our origin, our heritage, and so on.
Giving proper names to your characters make them feel real, and sometime it gives them enough introduction without saying anything.
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Our names can be used to describe our background, our origin, our heritage, and so on.
Giving proper names to your characters make them feel real, and sometime it gives them enough introduction without saying anything.
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Other than naming the people, don't be afraid to name the places that the locals love!
But how can you know about them?
Another example from CT, this was actually written by @kerissakti who helped writing several hundreds lines of dialogues for the game.
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![Other than naming the people, don't be afraid to name the places that the locals love!But how can you know about them?Another example from CT, this was actually written by @kerissakti who helped writing several hundreds lines of dialogues for the game.[15/x]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Em-LhppVoAANhry.png "Other than naming the people, don't be afraid to name the places that the locals love!But how can you know about them?Another example from CT, this was actually written by @kerissakti who helped writing several hundreds lines of dialogues for the game.[15/x]")
But how can you know about them?
Another example from CT, this was actually written by @kerissakti who helped writing several hundreds lines of dialogues for the game.
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It might sounds trivial, but by having Jorji said the place name, it made the setting feels more real.
In fact, I got a DM from someone who praised how realistic Seattle in CT was, and he even mentioned Rocco's ... which you can learn by searching for keyword like this
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![It might sounds trivial, but by having Jorji said the place name, it made the setting feels more real.In fact, I got a DM from someone who praised how realistic Seattle in CT was, and he even mentioned Rocco's ... which you can learn by searching for keyword like this[16/x]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Em-MJ9dVgAAoBNY.png "It might sounds trivial, but by having Jorji said the place name, it made the setting feels more real.In fact, I got a DM from someone who praised how realistic Seattle in CT was, and he even mentioned Rocco's ... which you can learn by searching for keyword like this[16/x]")
In fact, I got a DM from someone who praised how realistic Seattle in CT was, and he even mentioned Rocco's ... which you can learn by searching for keyword like this
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Of course you have to make sure the name you mentioned won't make you infringe any copyrights or whatsoever.
Hence, it'll be wise if you choose something local ... or maybe a little bit parody of their names.
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Hence, it'll be wise if you choose something local ... or maybe a little bit parody of their names.
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4. Rules.
After following the rules of the real places you use, don't be afraid to break them!
Yes, in the end, this is your story. Give enough and fair representation, then do your thing.
I mean ... I'm sure there are no elves nor orcs in Seattle, right?
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After following the rules of the real places you use, don't be afraid to break them!
Yes, in the end, this is your story. Give enough and fair representation, then do your thing.
I mean ... I'm sure there are no elves nor orcs in Seattle, right?
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