[TuxKart-devel] The story

[Willian P. G. <wge...@za...>]

Hi, Steve

I'll make some comments here about what may be a plot for TuxKart or why it
is good to have one.

Every major console mascot since Mario had his kart game (Mario + Donkey
Kong, Sonic, Crash, Diddy Kong + Banjo + that Rare squirrel, etc.). That's
almost a shame that all others copied Nintendo, but hey, that's a great
idea, the games are funny. So it's natural that Tux get his own, too, being
such an important mascot.

That's where I'd grab a plot (we could call it a meta-plot): on the fact
that every mascot must have his kart game, no matter what. A humorous twist:
Tux is a penguin, he doesn't want to drive a kart, has no skill or will for
that. But he is a mascot, he MUST star in a kart game. So we grab him from
where he is safe and well, warm, and throw him in a kart game. The other
characters could be all very excited about the experience, to contrast with
Tux's initial mood. That's a start for the game: from the point where it is
stated that Tux must have a kart game till when he and his friends are
thrown in the main, central scenery, from where all tracks are accessable
sooner or later (like that part in Diddy Kong Racing). There are many ways
to make this intro look good.

The enemies that may be used

( I'd go for:
- a kiddie version of Bill Gates ( with a spirit along that boy who owns the
ball and wants to control how/when/where/if the kids get to play a little ).
A spoiled brat, without stressing that he represents Gates, in my opinion;
- the BSOD, a frightening creature (even for the young boy, of course) --
maybe a thin silver/light gray body, not short, with a monitor as his head,
with the Blue Screen of Death on);
- others we may add later. )

would enter on their own, to prove that Tux is inapt for a mascot (taken
from how they try to prove that Linux is not a good OS blah blah...). They
could now and then make comments (written or spoken, no matter now) like:
"these karts are hard to configure!", "this interface is ugly", "leave all
inner detais to us and relax", "we know better", "if we made the karts, Tux
wouldn't fit on our patented chairs (remember that Gates versus automobile
industry episode?)), etc., don't know about Microsoft slogans, but maybe we
can make fun of them too.

This is a light plot, not trying to come up with a stupid reason for the
races or none at all. It ironically makes fun of being another game on the
genre and settles nicely the place for Tux there. But it also sets the mood
of the game, frees us to use ANY landscape for each track (there just gotta
be icy ones, but also other new designs would fit well) without needing to
explain why/how they ended up on this or that terrain in the story -- think
about it...

Another point: with Tux unwilling to play, not knowing how, we can have a
first part of the game where all of the characters drive terribly (car
"dies" now and then, turns end up on the walls, jumps end badly, motor
doesn't start, car runs in "spurts" (my knowledge of English doesn't help
sometimes...). This all independent of the talent of the player, till he
practices enough (like raising an rpg character) that Tux or the others
actually become good racers. Of course this phase shouldn't take too long,
and should be restricted to a story mode.

This is a way of increasing the gameplay time and fun inside a single track
(which may be the central place I mentioned before, like in Diddy Kong
Racing). Since playing Mario 64, finding ways of increasing game time and
level exposure to the player has been a concern for me. There's so much more
to see in a 3D game.

Having a meta, self-referential story like that allows us to place the game
in a virtual world that at the same time is aware of our world, the
internet, the fact that it is a game, etc. Then there may be the possibility
for other people to add characters and tracks. It all fits nicely, even with
the plot. The characters 'know' they are videogame mascots of an open source
project, that people will download their game, make additions, etc. So they
may enjoy the appearance of new racers, new tracks to try (A character
says:"What about downloading some new tracks ? That'd be appreciated" or
whatever), etc. They may comment on their website, have special packs for
christmas, anything. Got it ?

So what do you say ? That's just one possibility, but as I said, it leaves
the design more open for different tracks, characters, etc.

Ah, one comment about different objectives: during a race, there may be an
event like: BSOD or the boy got the superuser password! Get him fast or
he'll become a deadly virus! Then that race is possibly forgotten (in story
mode) and it becomes a chase the pesky one game.

There are also many subgames and different modes that can be easily
implemented, but that's a topic for some other email. 3D landscapes with
basic physics laws, no matter how simple, are really playing fields,
entertainment parks, not 'just' a single game. Mario 64 told me so...

--
Willian, wge...@za...