No, that's not the rating for this post, but I thought it makes for a funny coincidence. That's the number (18) of [M-VSL] rated RPG sign-ups on the first page of threads in the Adventure Inn sub-forum on OB. Only two RPGs are based on video games (one Resident Evil, the other Silent Hill), and both of those are also [M-VSL].
So what am I getting at? Well, I kind of miss the old, light-hearted, game-based RPGs that used to pop up fairly regularly. The Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc. spin-offs which wouldn't garner a rating any higher than [PG-V]. What happened to those? Charles' Project Gamer and Sage's Final Fantastic Survivor were the two RPGs I've had the most fun in during my entire time at OB. ... But I haven't seen anything like them since Zidargh's Plumber Bros. Inc., which died pretty quickly.
So lately, various RPG ideas have been swirling around in my head. One stands out the most, and if I were to actually start any of the ones I have ideas for, it would probably be the one. It's a Zelda RPG. (Big surprise, huh? All of my RPGs on OB have been Zelda ones.) But, it wouldn't be like any Zelda RPG OB has ever seen before, and possibly even completely original to OB. Ideas for it have come and gone from my mind, but I think I've got the framework for it pretty well nailed down by now.
The story would be half original, half based on existing Zelda lore, and center around the Imprisoning War. It would be original enough (and completely disregard OOT's storyline) that no pre-existing knowledge of the Zelda storyline would be needed; everything would be layed out in the sign-up thread or exaplained through the Underground thread. Only a basic working knowledge of OOT's main character races would be required, and that could also be included in the sign-up thread.
One of the big things I'd be trying to do with the RPG is provide a large amount of freedom within a few fundamental constraints. People would be free to choose everything about their character (short of playing a male Gerudo) and play them however they'd like, doing just about anything they want. Say someone doesn't like where the main story is headed. They can all but ignore it, and create their own interesting little sidestory if they want. Or they can jump right in, and actually affect future events (determined by me and maybe one other person) by their actions.
So how would I go about doing this? The key word is "journal." The story would be told in the format of a collection of journals, which were kept by various soldiers (i.e. the characters in the RPG) taking part in the Imprisoning War. Like I said, this would enforce a few fundamental constraints, such as everyone needing to conform to a few key events layed out at the start of each chapter. But each person would be free to describe those events from their character's own point of view. Details could vary, as they do in real world historical accounts. And each person would be free to choose what to include and what not to include, what to focus on and what to pass over, in their posts. Maybe someone would mention some event in their post, and then a later post would expand on that from a different character's point of view, and then another person would pick it up, and so on. ... I've thought about it quite a bit, and I see a lot of fun possibilities with this system.
And beyond simply freedom within the basic plot, the system would allow for complete freedom in the area of when/how much to post. And though I wouldn't want it, it would even allow for people to drop out and join in part way through the RPG. (A character died, and therefore stopped keeping their journal? Or maybe only part of a journal survived to make it into the compilation? With posts being independant of one another, anything would fit in without trouble.) People would be free to make as many or as few entries as they wanted in any given chapter, since the basic plot would already be outlined, and it would progress no matter what.
Though before I get anyone's hopes too high, this is still all "in concept." I'm not actually planning on making this RPG at the moment, I just like coming up with new ideas like this, and they've finally gotten to the point of being worthy of sharing. If I were to give this the go ahead and start actual production of the RPG, I'd still need to map out a basic plot line for it. (And I'd most likely consult with James and/or Shinmaru for that, since I'm not too great with stories of any decent length.) I'm mainly posting this to see if many people would be interested in seeing this happen. If they are, I'll seriously consider putting real work into getting it up and running, rather than just tossing ideas around every now and then.
Oh, and it would have a rating of [PG-V]. Sorry, but there's no adult language or sex in Zelda games.
