I just made a blog post over on Freegamer about the challenges of using FOSS development methods for putting together large, plot-heavy games (such as PS1-era JRPGs). If you're remotely interested in the topic, stop by and read it, and chime in with your thoughts. :)
Comments
Thanks for this post. I tend to get bored quickly when a game doesn't have a storyline of some kind and FOSS games are severely lacking in this area.
One thing to point out is that a plot-heavy game doesn't necessarily have to have a lot more programming or a lot more artwork. Plot can be as simple as having more dialogue-- that requires little in the way of extra programming or extra artwork. Extra artwork is involved when the player has to explore a thousand different environments and/or encounter a thousand different creatures; careful game design can avoid this problem.
One way to handle a long storyline is to split the game into multiple episodes, possibly releasing each as a episode as a separate game. A game that requires the player to obtain five magical rings in order to finish the game, for example, could be split into five separate episodes, one for each ring. Other types of stories might require being split at cliffhanger points (a la film serials). Some types of stories might be difficult or even impossible to split up effectively. This would have to be carefully done, I think.
Aosi: You might want to chime in on the freegamer post instead.
Plot could all be stuck in the F1 key - that was always good enough for me. ;)
Preferably (only) in the manual. That way it won't get in the way during the game, and you don't even have to play to get the story!