So You Want To Do A Media Arc
(A Discussion version of this is available here. )
Hello! Umbramatic here, with some advice on creating media arcs!
What is a media arc, you may ask? A miniarc or subplot that's based on media other than the Pokemon games. They have a long and storied history in WAAPT - mostly ones based on other video games, but movies and books and such have been used as well. As someone who's done two (Magic Mirror and Okamiquest) I felt I should help others by giving my advice. Here we go! (Note these steps don't need to be done in order, except perhaps the second and first.)
Contents
Do your research!
You can't do a media arc without knowing the media in question, right? It's best if you experience the work you're adapting. Watch the movie, play the game, (Or watch a Let's Play) read the book, even read a wiki if you're pressed. Even if you have before do it again so it's fresh in your mind. Take plenty of notes, maybe make an outline. It'll help!
Adapt it!
You can't just drop a non-Pokemon story into the WAAPT world and expect it to work without a hitch. You've gotta Pokemon it up first! The simplest way to do this is replace many or all of the cast members and/or enemy monsters with Pokemon. However, you've also gotta integrate it into the WAAPT world without changing the WAAPT world's rules too much. For this reason, you might need to find a setting within WAAPT where your arc works best, and scale or tone things down if necessary. Additionally, some sources may not gel well with the WAAPT playerbase (Things aimed at the very young, for example.)
Talk it over!
Make sure you talk your plot over with multiple people, either privately or in Discussion. Not only can they help you work out kinks, but they can help you with interesting interpretations, twists, and mon counterparts!
Remember: We all live in a Pokémon world!
So you have the mechanics and ideas of your media arc down pat! That's great! But do make sure to consider how Pokemon factor in to the setting of the media arc and make spaces for them. We want to avoid Human vs Human or Human focused/centric arcs where Pokemon take a backseat, because otherwise what's the point of doing it when at least a dozen other RPs offer that same conceit but more refined?
See who's interested!
These kinds of arcs are no fun to do by yourself, since they're a lot of work. Ask in Discussion to see who would be interested in your arc. Chances are, you'll have takers!
I hope you take this advice and use it to make fun media arcs for everyone! /cheesymode
