Topics

1

General Chat / The Hidden Scepter's First Annual Creation Convention

« on: January 26, 2009, 07:26:53 PM »

(I'm sorry if this kind of thread isn't allowed, but there was that Contest for the Golden TEM Point, which is along the same lines, so...eh. Also, feel free to move this to Fan Creations if it belongs there.)

From tomorrow (January 27th) to February 3rd, my website, The Hidden Scepter, will be hosting an event called the Creation Convention. What's the event about, you ask? Well, I know many of you are working on or have released a creation of some sort - writing, artwork, music, movies, games, or anything else. The Creation Convention is meant for you to showcase your creations, discuss them with others, and receive genuine commentary and critique. That's right, we're going to go through every creation submitted and give it a full review.

I'll let the advertisement banner do the rest of the talking.



So, if you wish, use this Creation Convention as an opportunity not only to let others see your work, but also to receive a full opinion and get some perspective on how your writing/drawing/etc. is doing. We'll be giving out awards at the end based on each creation's respective genre. And as the banner says, your creations don't have to be Mario or video game-themed, although they obviously can, so all types of creations across the board can be submitted.

Get your creations ready, folks!

...Also, if you're wondering why there's no forum on the website right now, it's because I had to trash the earlier forums and start anew after my friends started treating it like a personal chatroom. The new forums are currently ready, and will be opened tomorrow at the kickoff of the Creation Convention.

2

Mario Chat / Canon, plot, style: What's your opinion?

« on: October 12, 2007, 05:10:08 PM »

Mario's always been the basic example of a video game hero, and that's because he was one of the first. He runs through worlds, saves Princess Peach, beats Bowser, and saves the day every time. He also has lots of spinoffs; golf, tennis, baseball, soccer, basketball, parties, racing games, you name it. And that's because he's popular. People around the globe love playing Mario, and they'll pay for just about anything that contains everyone's favorite hero plumber.

Focus a bit on the Mario's always been the basic example of a video game hero part, emphasis on "basic". Since Mario's that basic model, Nintendo can throw him into pretty much anything, and people will buy it. And because he's that basic model, Nintendo can use the same storyline over and over, and get away with it, because it's Mario, right?

And since Mario's that basic model, he has to be accessible to everyone. That means no overly dark or complicated plots, except maybe in the RPGs, and an easy gameplay style with not-too-difficult levels, right?

And since Mario has to be accessible, the plot of the games can't be too confusing, so each Mario game should be, for the most part, self-contained. Since he's just about fun and not about complex plots, there should be no real continuity linking the games. Right?

I disagree.

The fact that Mario's everyone's basic game hero is why Nintendo tends to keep Mario in a relatively simple, lighthearted environment. He's very "general"-the guy that saves the Princess and all that and can do pretty much anything Nintendo throws him into. Should he be more "specific"-should Mario games have more advanced plots? Should there be a stronger canon? I say yes. Mario's been in the same over-accessible environment for years now. I say it's time we get something of a darker atmosphere and more difficult games.

Of course, doing these things would make Mario less accessible-but not all of the games have to be like this. Some of the RPGs are considerably darker in tone than most of the other games, making them less accessible, but they're perfect for hardcore gamers like myself. And, there's always a brink-Mario shouldn't be too dark or too complicated, but a fair amount so. Super Paper Mario is a prime example of what I'd like to see in more Mario games nowadays, albeit being way too easy for my tastes; it had more in-depth plot, and, me being a big plot enthusiast, I enjoyed it every step of the way.

What are all of your opinions on the subject? Is Mario fine how he is, or should he develop in a more mature direction without going over the brink? Should the games have a stronger canon?

Feel free to disagree with me. Heck, feel free to take apart my argument and point out flaws. I'll gladly accept any agreement/suggestions/criticism/bashing I get (that is, as long as it's polite) so I can improve my argument and better define my position.

3

Fan Creations / Super Paper Mario 2: The Tribe of Darkness (Complete + Art Project)

« on: July 30, 2007, 02:48:25 PM »

WARNING: Do NOT read this if you haven't beaten Super Paper Mario.

So here's my first fanfic. Actually, it's not my first fanfic, considering I've co-written two 120-page books that are fan fiction, but it's my first one here, and it's called Super Paper Mario 2: The Tribe of Darkness. Now, you may already know about a fan-made SPM sequel in the Forum Games section, so I guess I'd better explain myself.

I got Super Paper Mario the day it came out, and I absolutely adored it. Except for the fact that it was a bit too easy for my tastes, it's everything I've ever wanted in a Mario game: creative and original gameplay, interesting new characters, a slightly darker plot, clever puzzles, etc, etc, etc, etc. But as soon as I completed the game, I started thinking about what a good idea it would be if they made a sequel. Who wrote the Dark Prognosticus? How did Count Bleck's minions get their abilities? Was the Chaos Heart truly destroyed, or was it just deactivated? In my opinion, these questions, while not essential to the storyline, deserve to be answered. Now, no Mario game in existence has been a direct sequel to another. So I figured, since there's a 99.99% chance we won't see a Super Paper Mario 2, at least not one that's a continuation of the original, why not make it?

Having Flash MX, I'm starting out in making my own games. But here's the thing; my moral conscience tells me not to make SPM2 as a game. Why? Because it's a direct sequel to an official game. If I made a game like this, it just wouldn't be right, since it would be like "I'm just as good as Nintendo because I continued their game!". And something inside me tells me that just isn't the right thing to do. So I feared that SPM2 would be forever trapped inside my imagination, never to see the light of day.

One day in this forum, I saw a topic called "Super Paper Mario RPG: Finding Tippi". I thought, wow, there's other people who like SPM as much as I do? Then I thought, this could be my chance to make SPM2 a reality!

If anyone has questions/comments/suggestions/etc, feel free to post them, as long as they're constructive; since I'm writing a sequel to what is, in my opinion, one of Nintendo's greatest masterpieces, I don't want to fail them.

I'm currently writing 1-1, but I'm having trouble making it...long enough. How do I describe an average SPM level in a story, making it a good length, but without making it too boring? Also, I'm not sure where Chapters 2 and 3 are going to take place yet (I know all the others), but I'm focusing on Chapter 1 for now.

So here we are. It's SPM2: The Tribe of Darkness, it's my fanfic, here you go.

(I have to make the Prolouge and the Introduction seperate posts because of the 20,000 character limit.)

EDIT: Removed some unneccesary things.