Story planning discussion thread

[thepanda]

Does it have to be marriage? Couldn't it start simple, like for a date?

A new threat has come to town; a guy/girl pair who specialize in Martial Arts Dating. A little bit Golden Pair, a lot of bit that one guy Nabiki battled. Ranma breaks up one of their operations and they challenge him formally. He has a week to pick a partner to help him in his upcoming battle. Unfortunately, this challenge was given via HUGE MEGAPHONE so everyone in Nerima knows Ranma is looking for a partner. Maybe the wording of the challenge or Ranma's reply make it seem like something more. So the girls are seriously trying to get him to choose, but Ranma's in Challenge Mode; he doesn't care who his partner is so long as they work together well for the fight.

So the first part is a series of small decisions with all the girls that build their characters and you can 'choose' by focusing on one more than the others. It's all Ranma+girl getting training from Nabiki (The Dating Pair have taken a lot of money from people. Her plan is to get a cut when TeamRanma steals it from them during the Date-off. Plus betting. And making sure they don't wage the house somehow)

The battle happens and you get to choose from the two girls with highest trust. This locks them into the battle and afterward is where you get to do their real story.

Or that might be too complicated.

[Brian]

Okay.  Hmm.  If we take your premise....  Actually, Panda, that's one of the best ideas I've heard yet.  It's a good excuse to get the ball rolling, and the Yakuza can be brought in for hilarity (or not) anywhere along the line.

So, using your idea....  Ranma gets challenged, Nabiki gets involved -- and why not say that because she's upset, and Ranma's (well, _Ranma_), the two of them practice together for a while.  It doesn't come up until later that Nabiki can't actually participate (maybe she sprains an ankle, maybe she just finds out that they have a habit of targeting the less martially inclined partner in the matchup).  By that point, Akane's really irritated about Ranma spending all that time with Nabiki -- Shampoo and Ukyou aren't exactly thrilled, but are less annoyed than she is (aiming to put them on largely equal footing).

This gives Ranma a reason to pick, but we lose the 'And Ranma's mother is coming' angle.

Well, this scenario lets us play Nabiki off as an advisor-type, too.  We can have Nabiki running interference and ... comedy of errors?  I dunno, in order to get Nodoka to go away so she can focus on training Ranma to win that match, she somehow lets slip that Ranma 'and his romantic partner' will be (somewhere) that evening?  Nodoka runs off, elated that she knows where Ranma's going to be and that she gets to see her.

Nabiki realizes that Ranma may be in trouble, so, um, while you're picking a partner, Ranma ... be prepared to be making longer-term decisions than you may think!

[Anastasia]

That is a nice premise. It's neat and fits the series well.

[Brian]

Okay, cool.  This isn't getting a lot of movement, so instead of letting this stall out, I'm going to say we move forward with this basic idea, unless someone objects.

[Merc]

Just start writing something already. If someone wants to complain, they can complain later on! =p

[Anastasia]

Yeah. Momentum's important, any progress gives us more to bite into than just ideas and speculation. The hard part of any project is moving past bullshitting and into the hard stuff that requires effort.

[Edward]

I don't like the idea of Ranma being forced to decide.  Plot lines with people or events trying to force Ranma to decide are fine, but I feel Ranma should make the choice because he wants to, not because he's forced into it.

I recall a story called "Pick One".  Faced with a no-win situation where he couldn't help everyone, Ranma found a way to do it anyway.  Ranma's the kind of guy who's even saved people who were recently tried to kill him. If multiple people need cash, Ranma would find a way to help all of them, not just one.

If faced with a curse from a kami, I'd expect Ranma to fight the curse.

The guidance councilor is a possibility, but it feels a bit too real world.  And it would be harder to work in action and comedy elements.

[Brian]

Mph.  I think we can get around that by not presenting it as Ranma being forced, but an opportunity.

If he CHOOSES someone (and wins the fight), then he'll be in the ideal position to meet his mother!  Otherwise, well, he can run away from meeting her, and you know Ranma and challenges.  (Assuming we avoid the 'Ranma grabs Ryouga' and solves things that way route, which, I'm pretty sure people were already against earlier. ;))

We just gotta spin it right.  And by 'we spin it,' I mean 'Nabiki has money riding on Ranma participating in that fight, and she can't do it herself.'

How's that sound?


Also, I plan on finalizing at least an outline for this by this coming weekend, so if you've got thoughts on this, contribute now~!

[Edward]

Sounds good.  Like Panda's idea.

[Brian]

Official outline for trunk--  From origin to the first branch.  Regular text is the basics, italics are areas we could possibly expand on to develop the story a little better (I'm settling into doing this at my own pace, since I've realized I'm doing it alone -- with a lot of advice from others (though, that input is appreciated!)).


Our premise is that Nabiki has somehow gotten herself and Ranma ensnared in a couple's Martial Arts Dating competition.
     (This would be a good opportunity to tie it specifically into the canon by saying that it happens right after Nabiki has her dating challenge with Kinnosuke (check spelling); in fact, he could have arranged for the couple (possibly relatives?) to challenge Nabiki (and thus, Ranma) because of his loss to her.  This seems like a pretty decent point to pin the divergence, considering previous discussion -- before Phoenix Mountain, after the senkens.  That plotline ... may not be an option if it takes place after Mother I'm Ranma, which I think in retrospect, it probably does.  Kinnosuke still might make an okay cameo in that instance, and one of the couple might be related to him (probably the guy, if we make him a jerk, like Mikado (oh, there we go, the girl is Mikado's sister?))


For whatever reason, Nabiki herself can't participate in the competition, though this doesn't come up until that moment (thus prompting the hectic decision).  Nabiki really doesn't want to lose this match (she could have money, or maybe just pride on the line).

Reasons for Nabiki not being able to participate?
     

• A minor injury (sprained ankle or the like)
• She needs to do something else to make the victory meaningful (I dunno, arrange a betting pool, try to counter some underhanded extortion/manipulation scheme) so can't be there herself.
• It just doesn't come up until right at that point that these people have a reputation for seeking out (and crushing) the lesser skilled martial opponent in the past, and Nabiki realizes she can't hold her own against them, so needs someone to stand in for her (though, this can become somewhat sketchy, if Nabiki supports Akane (because she's her sister) as Ranma's partner vs. (for example) encouraging Shampoo/Kodachi because they're more offensive fighters.
• Comedy other option (I dunno ... Nodoka scolds her and says it's not ladylike -- and it's okay for a tomboy like Ranko, or a martial artist like Akane, but Nabiki should sit it out?)

Somehow, things are miscommunicated, or through other (hopefully not too contrived) means, Nodoka finds out that her son is going to be doing something 'incredibly manly' because he's going to be dating some girl -- in a competition.  Oh, that's gotta be manly, right?!
     In retrospect ... I think a good possible solution is that the foes (gotta come up with good names for them) make public announcements about the challenge -- and Nodoka finds them the same day that Nabiki finds out about the publicity.  I think I can see this now; Ranma in the dojo training, Nabiki running in with a bucket of water and splashing him just before Nodoka pops in, super-excited about how she's absolutely going to meet her son tonight!  He's way too 'manly' to not show up to the challenge, right?  Right?  Nabiki's reason for not participating in the fight now becomes more justifiable and in-character: If Ranma's killed for not being manly enough, Nabiki loses the challenge.  This gives her a motive to spin things for Nodoka, and also ties Nabiki up with keeping Nodoka distracted.
     This can be a recurring thread, actually, with Ranma periodically checking in with Nabiki throughout the day and getting updates on how Nodoka is handling things, and how well Nabiki is preparing her (or trying to) for the reveal.  I'm liking this quite a bit, actually.  In fact, the idea that Ranma might end up 'comitted' to whoever he dates from this is a very good reason for Nabiki to not want to be Ranma's partner for the match....[/i]


Too busy to do it herself, Nabiki presents players with the first option, which is our (complete) joke option: "Well, Ranma, if you're willing to risk everything and get just any competent fighter, track down Ryouga and do it in girl form!"  To which the options are 'No!' and 'HELL no!' (because we've agreed that this is how our story is gonna roll ;D).  After that, Nabiki can tell Ranma a bit more seriously, "If you want to win the fight (and you do, because you're Ranma), then you'd better pick a girl to help you with the fight -- just ... keep in mind what it's going to be saying to your mother when you show up _dating_ someone for that fight."
     Option: Thus compelled to try and think about things seriously, Nabiki can tell him that he can either go to Furinkan and sound out Ukyou and Akane (both of whom are a bit annoyed with Ranma for all the time he's been spending with Nabiki until that point), or he can just hit up Shampoo or Kodachi for help.  (Ah ... Nabiki should probably not think that Kodachi's a serious option, but it'll let the player know what choices they're making here; 'School' is the Ukyou/Akane branch, and 'Skip school' is the Shampoo/Kodachi branch.)


For the purposes of storytelling, I think it'll work to start with Ranma waking up and thinking back on things, finishing with him catching up to the 'present' just as Nabiki runs in ahead of Nodoka with the bucket of water.  This can explain that Akane and Ukyou are both a bit miffed, but not (really) pissed off because until that point they were under the impression that it was 'just a date' -- something neither of them are thrilled about, but will tolerate ... mostly.


Thoughts?

[Jon]

I like this. However, what keeps Nodoka from thinking "Tendo Ranko" would be a great partner for Ranma in this circumstance?

[Brian]

Nothing.  Nothing prevents her from thinking that would be a great idea.

To address your point in story:

That item can be added to a list of things that Nabiki has to manage about Nodoka, and is part of why she's not more directly involved in helping Ranma out.

"Nabiki!  We were training together!  Why aren't you helping me?"
"Ranma, shut up and let me handle this -- unless you want your mom to get the bright idea of trying to make you show up with 'Ranko' for the match.  Do you want that?"
"...how would we even--"
"I don't think about it, and neither should you!"
"How could I possibly show up as 'Ranko' and still be me, anyway?"
"Well, you could grab a spare outfit and find Ryouga."

No/HELL no! option loop around to the same dialog:

"Right, so don't stick around, because 'Ranko' needs to lay low for a bit -- and you have seriously got to find a partner before tonight!"

[Anastasia]

Nothing.  Nothing prevents her from thinking that would be a great idea.

To address your point in story:

That item can be added to a list of things that Nabiki has to manage about Nodoka, and is part of why she's not more directly involved in helping Ranma out.

"Nabiki!  We were training together!  Why aren't you helping me?"
"Ranma, shut up and let me handle this -- unless you want your mom to get the bright idea of trying to make you show up with 'Ranko' for the match.  Do you want that?"
"...how would we even--"
"I don't think about it, and neither should you!"
"How could I possibly show up as 'Ranko' and still be me, anyway?"
"Well, you could grab a spare outfit and find Ryouga."

No/HELL no! option loop around to the same dialog:

"Right, so don't stick around, because 'Ranko' needs to lay low for a bit -- and you have seriously got to find a partner before tonight!"

I approve of that scene wholeheartedly. Anyway, I think the base presented there is solid.

[thepanda]

For whatever reason, Nabiki herself can't participate in the competition, though this doesn't come up until that moment (thus prompting the hectic decision).  Nabiki really doesn't want to lose this match (she could have money, or maybe just pride on the line).
Reasons for Nabiki not being able to participate?

Or you could go the comedy route and play up Nabiki being Nabiki. Rather than some emergency she just decides she doesn't want to do it. Maybe her freinds show up in the middle of training and invite her to a new store/movie/something inconsequintial that's supposed to happen at the same time of the competition.

Nabiki, being the antithesis of the normal Nerima martial artist, decides to drop out right then. Ranma is right there when it happens, but all he manages to get out is "What about the challenge?!"

She just smiles that devil-may-care smile, pats him on the back, and says "Don't worry, Ranma! I'm sure you'll do just fine."

A stunned Ranma watches as she walks off. Her friends are like "Is this alright?"

Nabiki, showing not the least bit of remorse, replies "Priorities, girls."

And I'm thinking I should redownload mirc so we can talk? At least so you don't feel like your left holding the bag, as it were.

[Muphrid]

One of the big things I was worried about was how to get Nabiki off the table; this seems to have addressed that (and the Ryoga "option"), so that all seems dandy.  That said, I'm not sure what you mean by...

     (This would be a good opportunity to tie it specifically into the canon by saying that it happens right after Nabiki has her dating challenge with Kinnosuke (check spelling); in fact, he could have arranged for the couple (possibly relatives?) to challenge Nabiki (and thus, Ranma) because of his loss to her.  This seems like a pretty decent point to pin the divergence, considering previous discussion -- before Phoenix Mountain, after the senkens.  That plotline ... may not be an option if it takes place after Mother I'm Ranma, which I think in retrospect, it probably does.  Kinnosuke still might make an okay cameo in that instance, and one of the couple might be related to him (probably the guy, if we make him a jerk, like Mikado (oh, there we go, the girl is Mikado's sister?))

"Mother, I'm Ranma" starts the Umisenken/Yamasenken arc and is the first chapter of 28.  The 10-yen battle arc with Kinnosuke is at the end of 29.  I'm not sure I understand the timeline dilemma here.


Beyond that point, though, everything seems very sound, and I definitely see a lot of possibilities for writing a branch.