Search for:

How to Create Factions: Part 1

Starting with…

The World ready!

The easiest way to determine factions would be to simply split them by location, or world history.

Then, the conflict could revolve around gaining or maintaining territory, and that could include groups being pushed out of their original territories and then trying to take them back.

You can also split it by the each of the area’s history, using previous conflicts to shape the factions, i.e. political ones.

The Characters ready!

Build your factions around your characters’ core beliefs.

What do your characters care about? What is their worldview? What about the opposite?

With a focus on the characters, the creation of the factions can become integral to your OC’s story. Will they need to grow out of the faction? Will the faction grow and change as the character does? Will they leave one for another as their story moves forward?

And conversely: what does being in that faction say about the character? What does a monster being in a Hunter’s faction, for example, say about the monster? Are they guilty? Do they doubt their identity, or are they a wolf in Sheep’s clothing waiting to strike?

by Abby Zarakovich

How to Create Factions: Part 2

Video Games have long graduated from simple fights between good and evil. Games are now tied with intricacies and multiple sides, each believing that they are the ones that are correct.

The question now becomes “How do I put that into my game?”. As with my other articles, there are multiple ways to go about this!

It is best to begin at the beginning!

I want to start with the factions…

The Question to ask here is “Why are there factions in the first place?”

Usally a group splits over an arguement; as creator, you decide what kind of disagreement causes the breakup.

What do people believe in enough that their goals and ideals split? Is it something simpler, like a land disagreement or a family squabble? Are the factions gunning for power, splitting politically? Are the factions after a superweapon, an their reasons for wanting it are causing the divide?

In this way, the creation of the factions and therefor, their very existence drives the story.

Emphasis

By creating them first, it puts more emphasis on them, rather than other aspects. This works in your favor if you want to use your story to explore methodologies or philosophies, and what causes people’s differences.

Having factions be at the center of your story allows for discussions with lines drawn in the sand, and it’s up to you (or your players) to decide if they stay, move, or fade entirely.

Effect

A good way to gauge how much your factions affect the story you’re creating is this:

What happens if something about the faction changes?

If destroying the faction of choice does nothing, then it has no impact on the story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing: If it impacts the World or the characters, it can stay! Asking this question can help gauge how much you want to focus on that faction. If it’s deemed insignificant, than you can skim over it, or maybe change your story if you’re really attached to the idea of it.

What does the faction add to your story?

As mentioned above, if the addition of this faction bolsters other parts of your story, it should stay in. Depending on how much it affects the rest, you can draw the players/readers attention to it by having the story be more closely tied to the factions.

The Highs and Lows of E3, part 2: The Highs

Mario and Rabbid

One of the only highlights from the fist two days, people liked this game! From the responses, the first game was well-received, and people are looking forward to new characters/fusions, and the good-looking graphics quality.

New Halo Game

FPS-style gamers are Hype for the announcement of a new Halo game!!!

The Entire Nintendo Presentation

BOTW 2 Footage:

People went Hog-wild over the character designs and potential new abilities seen in a small preview. Whispers on the wind want to connect similar visuals to an earlier Zelda game, Skyward sword, as we’ve seen clips of Link dropping himself through the air.

Metroid Dread:

Initially a canceled DS game, it has revived as an upcoming game for the Switch!

The Highs and Lows of E3, part 1: the lows

Lows

Less-than impressive start by Ubisoft

Ubisoft spending its debut day re-hashing old games and discussing movies left an ashy taste on E3 viewers coming to this year’s video game trade event.

The companies actions left viewers feeling even more sour as many felt some of their lackluster interviews were trying to cover for Workplace Harassment scandals that saw news coverage in 2020.

Good for the Company, bad for the gamers

Xbox released tons of exclusives for its new device. While that is an excellent move company-wise (it lets the device compete with others on the market that also have exclusive games) it leaves most gamers behind. The latest Xbox goes for around $500, which is a significant chunk of change, and games for it go up to $80 as well, leaving those who love games but can’t shell out a minimum of almost $600 for a new console and a single game out of the loop.

Doing this also limits how many people can buy or even play the game, regardless of the people who are interested in doing so.

Morally and Ethically Dubious NFT Game aimed at kids

With Cryptocurrency on the rise, it’s no surprise that the latest kind (NFTs) are now being incorporated into videogames. For E3, Mythical Games launched an MMO dedicated to the creation and selling of NFTs, with minigames as a side.

The problem lies in both the game being aimed at children, and in the environmental impact of maintaining and mining any kind of bitcoin.

Most kids might not understand that the game requires actual money, or even the idea that they’re essentially selling artwork. Bitcoin is notorious for using up extreme amounts of electricity.

Larger than Light

from their site

Larger than Light‘s gameplay takes full advantage of the medium its made for, with a playful style that’s a feat for the eyes.

The gentle pastels and harsh shadows don’t just look good: they’re used for gameplay! You maneuver Characters that represent both Shadow and Light source to traverse this puzzle-platformer.

You help the main characters Skia and Lux overcome their differences and bond as siblings as you adventure, and listen to their conversations as you go along. This game not only looks good, but also sounds good, with fully-voiced dialogue!

This game can also be found on steam, for the more than reasonable price of $4.99!

by Abby Zarakovich

Ninza

from Ninza site

Currently in free-to-play beta mode, Ninza is a combination platformer and brawler!!! From Indie developers Klakmioch, this game has a homepage, twitter and discord.

I tried it out, and while I’m not much of a brawler -or platformer- it’s a lot of fun! I love the characters, and the actual controls are pretty simple! The concept of the game itself is gret, too.

The main menu is easily traversable, and there are 4 game-modes available for play (for now at least). The game is relatively easy on the eyes, with minimal of the bright, flashy, effects that can hurt your eyes, and the animations are very readable. The backgrounds are done in a way that reminds me both of Japanese woodblock prints and those old-style story books done in paints and colored pencils.

If you have your eyes open for a brawler to play around with your pals, this one may be the one you want your mitts on.

By Abby Zarakovich

Dies Mortis

This is a game made by architecture students. I see it more of an art piece, for those times when people say that video games are an art- which this game really proves.

The Stages of death mark the stages seen in the game, rendered lovingly by first-time creators, by a team of 3 students from National Superior School of Architecture of Versailles. It’s a variation on 3-D platformers with stunning lighting an easy-to learn gameplay.

Even if the entire game runs for a mere hour, I believe that it will be an hour well spent.

Link to download here.

from their download page

by Abby Zarakovich

Just Read the Instructions (yes, that’s the name)

Bored of Games where all you do is shoot a bunch of zombies? Just read the Instructions adds in puzzles as you mow your way through waves of robo-like enemies!

Explore a surreal environment with your friends! This game is a co-op, and solving the set of instructions given to yuo allow you to access the next level.

This game is for those who want just a little something more in their classic shooters.

Both the environments and the monsters give you something interesting to look at as you brainstorm your path through the game.

Just read the Instructions is available to Beta, and is due to come out sometime in 2021 on Steam.

From their Steam page

by Abby Zarakovich

Gaming News and the Ultimate Universe