June 30, 2015

Sample AQW Cutscenes

The following are examples of how cutscenes in AQW are formatted and laid out.

• Beginning cutscenes should lead into the release to follow, setting up the premise and giving the player a reason to begin the journey.
• End cutscenes should reveal new information and tease the player with more information they’ll learn in the next release.
• Interior cutscenes are typically short and keep the story moving along. Usually these are text-heavy (in order to fit into the week development cycle), but are on occasion action-heavy.
• // Action blocking is noted by double slashes and italicized, red text.
• NPC names are in bold with the dialogue in regular font.
• AQW releases always have an end cutscene and, post-2011, almost always have an opening cutscene. (These are called “bookend cuts.”) Interior cutscenes are included depending on the specific release.

Short Talk-Heavy Cutscene Sample

Cut 8: Hero > Germs

  //Open on Hero with anime tear next to face. Memet scribbles away.

Hero: GROSS. Seriously. This is NOT what I signed up for when I began this adventure.
Memet: Pffft. You get much dirtier in battle. It’s just not usually so… oozy.
Hero: Just give it up. You can’t scare me. I am a master of compartmentalization!
Hero: I shove all my fear into a little hole in the back of my mind when I fight.
Memet: Oh, really? Iiiiiiinteresting! //Fade to black.
 

Short Animation-Heavy Cutscene Sample

Cut 10: Hero > Dolls

//Open on an army of dolls advancing across the room towards the Hero. Memet is in the corner taking notes. Hero: Nope. Not going to give in. They can’t hurt me. Nothing’s been able to this far.
Hero: So you can just take your doll army and -

//Hero grabs Memet doll and yanks on its tail
//Cut to Memet doll’s laser eyes sweeping across doll army. Fade out to white. From off-screen, text box.

Hero: Yeah. That. Memet: Subject has unusual fondness for lasers in stressful situations. MOST interesting. //Fade to black.

Enter cutscene example

Enter cutscenes should set up the story for the rest of your release

Cut 1: To the Nightmare Realm 

//Open on Hero standing before the Phoenixrise Gate. Memet pops up as Hero cranes his head back to look up. Memet: @name! HI! I am SO GLAD to see you here! Memet: Remember me? I’m Memet, the best, most deceptively-cute not-moglin ever.
Hero: Greetings? I’m not - it’s, uh, great to see you again. But I’m a little busy here.
Hero: I’m afraid we’ll have to -
Memet: Afraid? You’re afraid? That’s perfect! That is exactly why I’m here!

//Memet swishes her tail. The screen flickers between the real world gate frame and the inverted dream gate frame.

//Cut to a shot in front of the dream world frame.
Hero: Woooooah. Neat trick! But… I really do need to get back. You interrupted a VERY important mission. Memet: That ain’t nothing! Wait til you see what comes NEXT!
Hero: I’m all for seeing the rest of your magic. LATER. There are people who need me right now.
Memet: One, you’re in the Land of Dreams and Nightmares. Time’s… frozen for now.
Memet: Two, I have a very important test to give you, and you can’t leave until it’s over. I promised you wouldn’t.
Hero: Who - ?!
Memet: Nuh-uh-uhhhh! That’s a secret. And I never share secrets OR break promises when nightmares are involved.
Memet: So you see, you’ll just have to take the test. Memet: It begins… NOW!

//Fade to black.

End cutscene example

End cutscenes should end on a memorable note, set the stage for a future release and leave the players wanting to know more.

Cut 16: Nightmares of Failure

//Open on Hero next to Twig, who is standing on a giant mound of food.
Twig: Still HUNGWY!!! Fwish and Ice Cweam is boooooorwing!
Twig: Need nom nom nom noms!
Twig: If you can’t bwing me enough, food, I will find it mysewf!

//Twig plops on the Devourer helm.
//Cut to a shot of Lore in space. A giant bite is taken out of the side.
//Cut to an action BG shot of the Hero, weapon unsheathed, screaming:

Hero: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

//Two more bites and the planet is gone. Fade to white out.
// Fade back in on NEW planet with devourer face.
// Hero wakes up next to memet on an asteroid overlooking the new planet.

Hero: Wh-what? You said this was all just a test. A nightmare.
Hero: You mean Twig really DID eat the planet?!
Hero: For REAL?!?!!?
Memet: For really real. You failed the test. The world is gone.

//Cut to an action BG shot of the Hero, weapon unsheathed, screaming:
Hero: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

//Fade to black. Fade in on the Hero next to Memet in front of the gate.
Memet: Goooood morning, sunshine!
Hero: We’re… we’re HERE! The world’s NOT made of Twig’s nightmare face!
Hero: I can still save us!
Memet: Oh, no. No, I’m sorry, you can’t. The test is over.
Memet: That’s the bad news. The GOOD news is that -
Memet: Your test results are in! You got… An “F”!
Hero: Wait, WHAT?! I wasn’t afraid of ANYTHING!
Memet: AHEM. An “F” for “Fearless… Almost.” You are afraid to fail. To let the world down.
Memet: The mysterious, shadow-faced stranger-thing who asked me to test you will be VERY interested in these results.
Hero: Yeah, about that. I don’t get to know who it is, do I?
Memet: Nope! Not yet, at least. But you will. I promise! And I -
Hero: “ - Never break a promise when nightmares are involved.” I remember.
Memet: Right! The deal is, *I* get nightmare-flavored noms to eat.
Memet: The client gets the test results.
Memet: And YOU get a mystery to solve! Sweet dreams, Hero!

// Fade to black