Play by Post Longform Design-A-Dex Workshop 2-getherness: Generation Nuz

[Trollkitten]

Hmm, an artistic theme could be interesting. Makes me wonder what the evil team would be for a concept like that though.

 

[Cirr]

team graffiti, like team skull but funkier

(is this really gonna be my first post here)

 

[Krashkube]

Hmm, an artistic theme could be interesting. Makes me wonder what the evil team would be for a concept like that though.

Modern artists?

 

[SprungGeoduck]

I can't think of exactly the right way to phrase this idea, but maybe an evil team built around the idea that there's a Correct way to do art? Could be a neat way to do an evil team who are more grown-up and stuffy rather than the rambunctious kids we've had the past few gens.

 

[ErazonPo3]

I can't think of exactly the right way to phrase this idea, but maybe an evil team built around the idea that there's a Correct way to do art? Could be a neat way to do an evil team who are more grown-up and stuffy rather than the rambunctious kids we've had the past few gens.

I like this idea! Building off of the idea of having a theme around freedom of expression / finding your voice etc, it would make a lot of sense to have an antagonist group that's all about stifling creativity. And I think it'd make sense for it to be less of an evil team and more like an existing institution that needs to be challenged (perhaps the Gym Leaders need to learn the power of unionisation...)

 

[Krashkube]

If we still don’t have a basis for the region btw Italy is basically free given that people seem to want an art theme

 

[Black Viper]

I can't think of exactly the right way to phrase this idea, but maybe an evil team built around the idea that there's a Correct way to do art? Could be a neat way to do an evil team who are more grown-up and stuffy rather than the rambunctious kids we've had the past few gens.

This would be perfect for a villain team in a "creative" world. You've got a bunch of stuffed shirts with strict guidelines about art being limited to self-portraits, landscapes and still life, while the younger generation is out painting soup cans and doing prints of pop stars, all in the name of free expression. What could be more oppressive than stifling free artistic expression by classing it as "not-art" because it doesn't fall within a strict set of guidelines and an established order?

Each city could represent a school of art, like impressionism, pointillism, surrealism, pop art and so on, with gym leaders being "masters" of an art style. Perhaps they even have their pokémon help in the painting process - and I don't just mean smeargle, but things like using donphan footprints or the tracks made by a rolling togedemaru etc.

It does seem to lend itself to Italy, though, I agree with @Krashkube on that, which is pulling it away from the north North America vibe people seemed to appreciate so far.

 

[SprungGeoduck]

While I feel like Italy is definitely an open goal for the artsy theme, I'm not 100% in love with it, not least because it almost feels too obvious. If we want to go back to the US, there are plenty of cities with tons of history and culture surrounding art and music and stuff – New Orleans and Nashville spring to mind, and while we seem more interested by the east, California could also be an option.

 

[Black Viper]

Maybe this is a Brit's perspective on New Orleans, but I can't think of it without thinking of Mardi Gras as the main focus. I think a Pokémon game set in that region with Creole influence would be great, but that doesn't immediately scream "art" to me. New Orleans seems ripe for a more supernatural vibe, perhaps a focus on superstition (as religion would be too taboo) and a bit of witchcraft, while also showing off festivals and joy, probably as a region with more dark, psychic and ghost types than the average to showcase the superstition. There would definitely need to be alligators and a black cat, too.

I also agree that Italy is a bit too simple, but I'm not sure what else to suggest that's on point for an art theme.

 

[Krashkube]

Maybe this is a Brit's perspective on New Orleans, but I can't think of it without thinking of Mardi Gras as the main focus. I think a Pokémon game set in that region with Creole influence would be great, but that doesn't immediately scream "art" to me. New Orleans seems ripe for a more supernatural vibe, perhaps a focus on superstition (as religion would be too taboo) and a bit of witchcraft, while also showing off festivals and joy, probably as a region with more dark, psychic and ghost types than the average to showcase the superstition. There would definitely need to be alligators and a black cat, too.

I also agree that Italy is a bit too simple, but I'm not sure what else to suggest that's on point for an art theme.

I'd be down for a supernatural/superstition based theme, gives way more to build off imo

 

[SprungGeoduck]

While I feel like we do want a cohesive main theme for the region/game, we can totally have different cities and locations within it that have different themes! Also, it's only been... two days? since I opened the thread, so don't feel like we need to push ahead with anything too fast (although I am loving our current momentum)

 

[estralita]

First, I'm glad some people are reacting positively to the Artistic theme!

Second, when I first suggested the theme, I was thinking of "art" in a more expansive form. Not just visual forms, but also music, writing, dancing, etc. That way, Pokemon Battling could serve as another form of art and self expression. Which do people prefer?

Third, I guess, I should throw in California as a potential place to base a region around. There are more biomes in the area than you might expect, and if we do open up the definition of art to include acting, Hollywood is right there (yes, Pokestar studios exists, but more can be done with the concept.) Don't feel super strong about the idea, just feel obligated to mention it.

 

[Cirr]

meleotta makes its comeback

I have no real opinions on regions lol

 

[SprungGeoduck]

Alright, everyone! It's been a lovely few days, and we seem to have narrowed down our focus to a few solid locations for our region. The five I've identified are

• US - South/East (Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina, etc)
• US - South (New Orleans, Tennessee, etc)
• US/Canada - Northeast (Vermont, Maine, Quebec, etc)
• US - California
• Italy

To inject some more direction into our planning, it is time to vote. Fill in this Google form with your first, second and third preferences, and we'll try to settle on the option that makes the most people happy before we move forward. If anyone has any objections or other thoughts/ideas, please let me know. I'll be keeping votes open for at least a few days. Make your voice heard, people!

 

[Norhian Samur]

So a bit late but I think there's kinda 2 different conversations going on somewhat about the "theme"
Essentially, I think one group is talking about theme in terms of like, name scheme, like what are the versions of the games based on the region in question called/what is the legendary based on. Meanwhile I think another group is discussing theme ala what is the central idea of the region based around.

The difference here is I think can be drawn from gen 7, the former group is discussing what do we theme the legends and games around (sun & moon) while the latter group is discussing the story themes (abandonment/neglect). Other gens might work better explanation wise. For the record, both conversations are important to have, we do want to figure out both ideas fairly early on. But I do think we need to consider both of those aspects for theme.

On a more relevant note, I'm down with a lot of the ideas, and I think art could be a really fun way to theme the region, so I'm down to go that route.

 

[KitkatKK2]

ooh

i participated a lot in the first edition of this thread (and fruitlessly attempted to revive it twice), so I take a great interest in this.

yeah i don't have any ideas yet just saying hello

 

[LHarm07]

Voting the South because I want to include my state of Arkansas. For real though, the Crater of Diamonds mine in south Arkansas would make for a great side location as it’s the only place in the world that you can mine your own diamonds and keep them.

 

[SprungGeoduck]

Voting the South because I want to include my state of Arkansas. For real though, the Crater of Diamonds mine in south Arkansas would make for a great side location as it’s the only place in the world that you can mine your own diamonds and keep them.

I admire your enthusiasm, but unfortunately, as far as I can see you voted for the South in all three slots. I should have made the voting system a little more clear. Please DM me with a valid ballot (three different choices for each sllot), or your votes will not be counted.

 

[SprungGeoduck]

Update: I know the votes have only been open for a day, but it seems like most of the regulars have voted, and especially if LHarm's vote is counted as a first choice, it looks like we're pretty close to locked in on the US South as the location/inspiration of our region. I won't 100% confirm this until at least tomorrow in case anyone wants to throw some big votes down for alternative options, but for now it might be a good idea to start throwing down some preliminary ideas.

Spoiler: Some Preliminary Ideas

If we're sticking with the artsy theme, I think it would be cool to theme our starters accordingly, since gens 6-8 did the whole "jobs/professions" thing. Some primary-type-agnostic ideas:

• Ghost... ghostwriter? Needs more workshopping, and I'm not sure how to adapt a writer into a Pokemon design, but it could be something
• Something to do with sculptures or otherwise working with big physical materials – could be Rock, Ground or even Steel as a secondary type
• Some kind of Electric EDM/music in general vibe?

 

[Black Viper]

Ghostwriter could be fun, maybe it's shaped like a quill pen to begin and evolves from there into a ghost/flying type, with the body as a source of the quills? The other option would be to go ghost/poison and attribute to both a ghostwriter and a poison pen letter, although that seems to be moving away from the creative theme to something more sinister.

A sculpture/sculptor could be all sorts of things! Rock/ground/steel as materials, but if it focuses on the sculptor, then perhaps a fighting type making use of things like rocks mash and rock polish? I'm thinking it could be a bit like a variant on the timburr line, but with a focus on sculpting the material instead of building with it.

You could also do something related to theatre, or a creature that swaps masks around, or bears some relation to the sock and buskin masks of ancient greek theatre. I'm not sure on the typing involved, this seems pretty open to all sorts. Although with ghost and fighting above, potentially, I'm inclined towards dark here for reasonably neat elemental triangle.

We've had a few pokémon based on music already, but how about something specifically playing an instrument like a fiddle or a banjo?