6 replies to this topic

[Writer_Gereon]

Hello,

I was once one of the million players around the world who enjoyed World of Warcraft. I recently quit the game after it became to tedious and just not fun anymore. (I'm a pure PvE'er and the challange was gone in that department and PvP never really interested me.) During and now more after my World of Warcraft adventure I always dreamed of making my own MMORPG around a world I imagined, because I've always been some kind of a writer, but, alas, I do not have the experience, nor even the skills to even begin realising it as a project, because I have no skill as an artist, programmer and so on.

Thus I would like to ask on this forum if it is possible somehow to sell or get your idea created into an MMORPG or any other type of game by just having a story in your head? How can you do this? All ideas and input would be welcome. I'm not doing this for the money, I'm doing this because I enjoy writing and I would love to see one of my stories realised into something more tangible.

Thank you for reading.

[fireside]

The short answer is no. You basically have no experience and very few will be willing to listen to a game player unless they are very desperate and idea-less, at which point the game will never happen anyway. There are very few people at the top end of the design part of game development and a lot at the bottom end of the programming and modeling part, so it's a somewhat elite job that you have to earn. Designing a pen and paper type d&d game would be a start. The point is you'll have to actually do something. Learning a programming language like python and doing a text type game would also be a good way to get started. You may be able to do a search for a MUD type program that involves adding story elements also, or you could find an open source MMO and contribute. Other things you could take up are simply writing of short stories where you could possibly get some recognition. Getting a good education in the writing arts will also help.
Barring all that, you might just need to try a game that has more creative input in order to stay interested. Some of them have editors and allow more. There are also programs like Yo-Yo's Game Maker that involve very little programming and let you design smaller games and post them on their site.

[alphadog]

Not to be a downer, but there are lots of good ideas out there, and a hundred times more "small variants on a theme", and a thousand times more of those in downright bad or unworkable ideas.

Also, given the ease with which ideas can be had, why pay for yours when a reasonably-sized development team can find their own for free?

But, inides exist, so what's the difference then? The difference is in the self-driven execution.

As fireside suggests, you have to figure out how to get up the execution ladder yourself to make it more than just an idea. You need tangible work where you've put in sweat equity or capital. It breaks down to 1) do the work all yourself (and collect a team as you go along), 2) win the lottery and fund the work (no VC will fund an unproven "idea man"), or 3) work in the industry and climb to a spot where you can actualize your ideas through your employer.

[TheNut]

If you enjoy writing, write a book. That's well in your capabilities and requires nothing more than your imagination. According to factual evidence collected in Sims 3, you can cash in up to 300 simoleons a week on your first published works. That's a lotta moolah to fund your operation.

[Tony Richards]

I'm helping to make an open world MMO (http://www.fractureduniverse.com).

I'd be interested in hearing your story ideas and seeing if it fits inside of one of the worlds we're creating.

[Inferno13]

I'd say no because theres like 10x times more ideas then programing teams..

[Sol_HSA]

TheNut said:

If you enjoy writing, write a book. That's well in your capabilities and requires nothing more than your imagination.

Seconded.

If you get a book done, you have something tangible to show if you want to write for games later on, as well.

And if you find you can't write the book, you didn't really have it in you in the first place.