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[Proposal] The World of Neko Tale
Topic Started: Feb 5 2016, 06:15 AM (77 Views)
Ivan Strider
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So, as some of you may know, I have been working on a game called 'Neko Tale' about a young Neko male (age 16) who ends up getting dragged into an expedition to unlock the ancient Neko Kingdom that was sealed away by the Nekro King.

Now, there won't be a huge world map and the layout will work similar to the traditional paper mario games. I have 2 places already with a plan.

Nekropolis:

Background - This place, despite its name, is filled with humans and very little Nekos. The only known Neko to be seen around the city often is Ivan. It's a bustling city, filled with tall, grandiose buildings. It is widely known for NU, Nekropolis University. Its the top school in the entire known world and it's located just 3 blocks away from the Nekropolis Park and the Museum of History and Science located in the center of the park.

Layout - Nekropolis is a circular city built more up than out. There are very few streets for cars as the city has strict transportation rules, mainly for environment purposes. In the very center lies the Museum of History and Science which inhabits a Castle-esque building. Completely surrounding it is the Nekropolis Park, which contains a multitude of plants and trees, but also has some clear spaces for people to relax and enjoy. Surrounding that is the shopping centre. All of the shops circle around the park and face toward it. Now going back even further into the 1st tier is all the tenant housing and convenience stores. Then back into the 2nd tier is the College district. The entire University encircles the inner portion of the city, which means in order to get into the actual city, one must walk through the University. This serves as a gateway to ensure that no outside vehicles get into the city and keeps the city environment friendly. Just outside the College District are the Suburbs (north-side) and Dorms (south-side) which also have convenience stores since it's such a pain just to go through the Uni to get food. These districts have minimal roads for vehicles to drive on.

Nekoport

Background - Once the largest trade station in the known world, Nekoport has now become a small, humble, port town. It's easily accessible by taking a highway that extends from Nekropolis and isn't too far off (only about a 2 hour drive). The main town has no roads for vehicles since it's mainly just a strip of buildings across the coastline. Its a great spot for tourists and is said to contain hidden passages leading to underground ruins.

Layout - Literally just a strip of random buildings whether they be stores, living spaces, or places to eat. The coast contains some shady cliffs. There are also roads not used much that lead to other places not far from Nekoport.
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Ignatius
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Have you fleshed out the wider world at all yet?

It maybe sounds like technology and thought are roughly parallel with current Earth, if not a bit more advanced. But what is the state of government here - is the world composed of nations, individually run cities, or something else? Is there magic? Are there any particular events that have shaped the world and people's attitudes? I think that especially when bringing in unique elements like catpeople, players are going to have questions about the world they're thrown into, and game creators/authors are best served by easing their audience into that world.

I know that personally, I find it off-putting to the point where I'll consider putting down a game if I feel I've been thrown into a specific scenario and plot without understanding enough about the world I'm in, because it makes me feel as if I'm be missing something that is critical to my full appreciation of the game.

I'm not sure what you mean by the layout working similarly to classic paper Mario; I've never played it. Can you elaborate?

Why is the city named Nekropolis, when it's so lively? One thing I always look for in books or games is a reasonable degree of realism, and characters who use some common sense rather than catering to plot all the time. So if the word "necropolis" carries the same meaning there as it does here, I'm wondering why people named their city that (or haven't changed it from that after they took it over from bad guys who named it that, or something)?
Edited by Ignatius, Feb 9 2016, 11:01 PM.
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Ivan Strider
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q8rNtmSRB4IXzhxQGRKX6sutzP_pHWqptlUXu4IIEng/edit?usp=sharing

This document will help clear some of the questions asked

Government: The cities pretty much run themselves as a type of Democracy. A governing power has not existed since the disappearance of the Ancient Kingdom.

Technology and Magic: The World in Neko Tale is pretty advanced. I'd say it's on par with our world, except much cleaner. Magic does exist, and while it's not mentioned directly in this game, humans have created devices that allow them to use magic, but only few can afford them, such as Madame Scarlet and Razzelle. Shyne (Razzelle's partner) is a Neko and by default can already use healing and buffing magic.

World Set-up: The Paper Mario worlds typically do not have a full scale "world map" so areas are reached through some off means of transportation. In Neko Tale, its mainly by finding special tunnels that were once the old streets of the Ancient Kingdom, sometimes its by off beat roads that are kinda hidden by nature. In order to go between Nekropolis and Nekoport you would have to exit Inner Nekropolis through the University and then take Professor Neki's van.

Nekropolis: The word 'Nekro' in this context has nothing to do with 'Necro' and more to do with the Alternate name for 'Neko'. It's explained in the link above what 'Nekro' is meant to imply.
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Ignatius
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Ah, cool. I have a couple more comments.

Quote:
 

“The King, sought to peacefully end the war, but the humans would not listen to his pleas. So, to prevent further conflict, he sealed away the kingdom below the earth and left the humans to begin life anew.”

“As time passed, many forgot about the old kingdom. Cities and towns were built upon it. But deep down, the kingdom lies dormant, waiting for its rightful king to unseal the kingdom and bring the two races back together.”

I'm not sure I understand this. What do you mean by the kingdom being "dormant"? Did the rest of the nekos and nekros get sealed away down there with the king? Humans lived in the kingdom too; how did he manage to seal the whole kingdom away and leave people living in it behind?

Regarding the whole "Nekro" thing, have you considered any other, more unique names? Necro and necropolis already have meanings, and Nekro and Nekropolis are virtually identical. Even knowing what you've explained "Nekro" to be, personally I find it difficult to read those words and not have the meanings of the already-established words come to mind. Until I maybe get used to, halfway through the game, seeing that spelling and capitalization and associating with a different idea, those words would carry different meanings to my mind than you would want.
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Ivan Strider
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Dormant can also be used as a synonym for 'Sleeping' or 'Resting'. The Kingdom lies below ground. It exists, but it has no significance to the surface people since it's not seen above the surface.

As for the rest of the Nekos. Perhaps I should have said that the rest were forced to flee, but I'd have assumed that people would understand that. If you, apart of a race of peace, was being persecuted, wouldn't you flee? Most of them were eliminated by the humans.

I will keep Nekro. I also say Nekro, since the the Humans had associated the physical magics, that the selected few had, with death since it was used to kill animals for food. But Necro just doesn't really seem plausible, so Neko to 'Nekro'
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