I Got A Plan And I Need Your Help (Two-Way Story)

[Magilicous]

So I got a new idea for a game. Two games, same universe, same starting point. The difference being, the main character. Depending on the protagonist you choose (a boy, Atro and a girl, Atra) the characters, plot points and storyline are different due to the different ways the protags act (Atro is kind and helping, but with a Hero Complex and Atra is brash and rude, who uses her fists before her brains). The starting point is that the protag's friend, Sophia, turns 18 and is sent by her parents from a prophecy that she needs to journey to a destination to sacrifice herself and the protag is assigned as her bodyguard by said parents. How the story ends up and who joins your party depends on your protag. I'll put a short bio for the PCs in the next post. It will be Urban Fantasy, circa 2010's, so there will be a lot of modern locations like a dance club and a city park. What are some good ideas to kickstart the rest of the points?

Characters (except for the protags and Narrator, the bios are split between male protag and female protag):
Atro Anderson: The Male Protagonist. A kind-natured fellow, he is usually trying to help someone out. But he is also a bit fragile, trying to always be the hero. (18, 5'11", 112 lbs, AB+, light blue hair, green eyes, fair skin)
Atra Anderson: The Female Protagonist. Quite rude and brash, she mostly uses her fists to talk for her. Forced to go on a journey by Sophia, she tries to get it over with as soon as possible. (18, 5'11", 112 lbs, AB+, light blue hair, green eyes, fair skin)
Sophia Soylent: A mostly quiet woman, she has been raised to give her all. She tries to avoid everyone in case her life needs to be given. (18, 8'08", 262 lbs, O-, dark purple hair, magenta eyes, pale skin)/A quiet woman and Atra's voice of reason. Knowing her sacrifice, she tries to experience what she can before she dies. (18, 6'08", 62 lbs, O-, magenta hair, dark purple eyes, pale skin)
Colin Coden: A man who is cursed with some sort of power. He keeps following Atro for some unknown reason. (19, 6'01", 120 lbs, AO-, blond hair, dark purple eyes, pale skin)/A man who is cursed with some sort of power. He tries to follow Sophia to see if she can cure him. (19, 6'01", 120 lbs, AO-, blond hair, dark purple eyes, pale skin)
Elanor Eldridge: A shy woman who avoids everyone around her. She seems to like animals. (20, 5'09", 96 lbs, BB+, light pink hair, light brown eyes, pale skin)/A shy ghost who Atra forces to be in her party. She enjoys the company of animals and Danny. (20, 5'09", 2 lbs, BB+, light pink hair, light brown eyes, pale skin)
Ally Anderson/Agerline: The little sister of Atro. She is quite a brat, but will stick with him until the end. (14, 5'03", 101 lbs, AB+, light blue hair, light blue eyes, fair skin)/A spoiled brat of a child. Gets all her parents' love, she tries to force everyone to do the same. (14, 5'01", 92 lbs, AB+, light blue hair, light blue eyes, fair skin)
Zoey Zarde: A man trying to please his parents too much. He follows Atro to get a taste of freedom. (18, 6'03", 113 lbs, AA-, blond hair, yellow eyes, dark skin)/A man who obeys all commands. He is forced on Atra's party by his parents. (18, 6'03", 91 lbs, AA-, blond hair, yellow eyes, dark skin)
Danny Darlia: The lonely club owner and DJ of Void. Essentially empty inside, he keeps running into Atro and Co. (23, 6'00", 102 lbs, O+, orange hair, gray eyes, white skin (like white like milk or snow))/Atra's childhood friend and full of life. He'll follow her to the ends of the earth, and even after that. (23, 6'00", 117 lbs, O+, orange hair, gray eyes, white skin (like white like milk or snow))
Narrator: The narrator of the story. A metaphysical creature, he reads the story to the audience and messes around a bit with the story. (Infinite, 7'00", 125 lbs, black hair, white eyes, pale skin)

 

[Xilefian]

So I got a new idea for a game.

Without sounding rude, looks like you have an idea for a story rather than a game.

With story development the apparent most workable method seen so far is to come up with the beginning and the end first and figuring out what the player does and what events happen during these sequences, then do the industry classic method* for writing the rest of it, then figure out the back story as you go (back-story is the least important part of a game's story, but it's very effective at achieving a sense of discovery for players).

The characters should be written to fit in their world, you can come up with unique, interesting characters and think of events that involve them, but ultimately if one of them doesn't fit the world very well they should be cut and have their role merged into one or two other characters.

To comment on your premise; the idea of a journey to a sacrifice has been done rather well in Final Fantasy X, you should check out that game for ideas. Another RPG Maker game that had this theme and sense of impending death is Vacant Sky by Project BC, it's probably one of the best RPG Maker games you can find - but it's not without some critical flaws (in my opinion the characters aren't too great, the main protagonist doesn't express too much concern about her circumstances in the early phase).

*writing method that was used for pretty much all game stories from the early 90s to late 2000s; come up with loads of cool little "experiences" that the player goes through and try to figure out a way to connect them, rearranging as necessary, and most of all cut as much as you can.

 

[Jiriki9]

On your basical ideas: I do like the premise of a split game. It depends on how much impact it has and you should go for some balance there: Make it too different and the connection is lost. Make it too similar and the motivation to play through both is reduced. The general story seems interesitng, though not innovative.
For the characters: Little information so far. The main protagonists are of course very differen on purpose. The differences in the other characters I find sometimes interesting and sometimes a bit strange (why is Zoey seeking freedom in one line and forced in the party in another? Both motivations seem to fit in both storylines to me).

 

[Magilicous]

Thank you Xilefian, that sounds like a good idea. Though, with the link they say that the link for both act 1 and 2 (3 isn't out yet) are not working. Do you have another link for Vacant Sky?

 

[Xilefian]

Thank you Xilefian, that sounds like a good idea. Though, with the link they say that the link for both act 1 and 2 (3 isn't out yet) are not working. Do you have another link for Vacant Sky?

Here's the release blog post, which has a mirror that is officially endorsed (and still working, I'm happy to say).
The complete edition that's in the mirror there has both Act I+ and Act II+ contained.

Again, I also recommend Final Fantasy X as they did the journey towards a sacrifice angle very well.