New storyline discussion

[Battler]

So basically, the old storyline wasn't really all that good, so I got an idea/proposal for the new storyline.

Basically, FunFrock is gone. Peace has returned to Twinsun. However, the decades of isolation between the two hemisphere are starting to have their toll. Two different regimes develop in the two hemisphere, while the Hamalayi mountains serve as the border, akin to the German-German border during the Cold War or the current Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in real life.
In the north, a King of Twinsun has been crowned, and is running a heavily industrialized regime with larger cities. The non-city architecture is mostly in East Asian style due to the large numbers of immigrants from the northern Hamalayi mountains. The northern peoples hold that the King of Twinsun is a descendant of the Sendells.
In the south, the current Dean of the School of Magic, finally coming out of secrecy after years of oppression by FunFrock, becomes the Grand Chief of Twinsun (the title is to be further discussed), with self-government by the people but the Wizards taking up government role during emergencies (we see that in action in LBA 2 as the School of Magic handles the Esmer kidnappings emergency). Most non-city architecture is western-style (as we see in LBA 1 and LBA 2), and people focus more on agriculture and magic than industry, though some industyr does exist. The cities are not as large as those in the north.

So here begins the story. In the south, the dean of the School of Magic retires and a new dean gets elected by the Wizards. At the same time, in the north, the King has passed away and his son, Angus Nizeda has succeeded him. The Grand Chief is in hopes of being able to discuss Twinsunian reunification with the King, but one day, a ship with colors similar to those of the southern navy is seen in northern waters, which the King interprets as the south having breached the border and trying to invade the north, despite the south's reassurance that no such thing was done and that no vessel was sent by the south to the north. The King declares war against the south.
At the same time, the King has abrogated the predecessor's peaceful regime and is starting to run a more and more isolationist, self-reliant and oppressive regime, a regime that is more and more reminiscent of FunFrock's dictatorship that was just deposed. This sparks a rebellion, or better, THE Great Rebellion on Brundle Island. At the same time, tensions with the south are escalating, with the actual start of war looking more and more imminent.

Twinsen has retired to his new Citadel Island house with Zoé, where he's living a peaceful life, hoping that the troubles don't escalate into armed conflict. But that comes to an end when the Grand Chief contacts him for help. A small island between Principal Island and the southern Hamalayi mountains has been shelled by newly installed northern artilley on the central peaks of the Hamalayi mountains - the very same peaks from which FunFrock's army was shelling Rebellion Island years before (which we see in action as the bombs raining on Rebellion Island in LBA 1).

Now, this is as far as I've been able to come up. Some things have to be discussed.
1. It is my intent to show the original monarch of north Twinsun as being a benevolent and peaceful monarch.
I envision the Twinsunian division as occurring peacefully, on agremeent of both leaders as an interim solution until the north-south cultural differences that arose out of decades of FunFrock-imposed separation, are ironed out.
I also want to propose that the initial, benevolent monarch of the north is the Queen of Twinsun as opposed to a King, we could call her, say, Maxine Nizeda (née Dal'eiid or something - I just came up with this last name using the LBA 2 name Ker'aooc as inspiration), crowned Queen Maxine I. of Twinsun. Then she passes way and is succeeded by her son, Angus Nizeda (he is carried over from the original storyline), King Angus I. of Twinsun.
But I'd like to see what you guys think of how this should be developed.
2. In the south, the School of Magic, and with it, magic itself, is shown to having an ever more prominent role. This serves to explain why they're basically the government in LBA 2.
But this is all under discussion.
An idea would be to separate the leader of Twinsun and the dean, maybe introduce the Damalalaï we've seen in LBA 3 concept art, and maybe make him the leader of Twinsun, much like the Dalai Lama is the leader of Tibet in real life.
But this all needs to be fleshed out further.

Basically, this is a radical departure from the original storyline. The original storyline was basically a "LBA 1 occurs again after LBA 1" storyline, while this is basically the Twinsuan version of the real-life Korean peninsula, with some differences of course.

Of course, this here is just an idea, a proposal for the new storyline. Every single member of this forum is strongly encouraged to give their own ideas, and help us make a new, better storyline this project.

[Battler]

So far, characters (only a few of which will appear in the first episode of the game):

Friends:
- Twinsen - The Heir. Well, this one is obvious. He was there in LBA 1, he was there in LBA 2, he'll obviously be there in between.
- Zoé - Twinsen's girlfriend, now wife. Not sure exactly what role she has.
- Tabata - The female Quetch wizard from LBA 2. The Elemental Wizard. She can tear and bend pretty much anything. Involved in the separation of Mt. Baiga from Citadel Island and its transformation into the Island of the Dome of the Slate (an event that needs an explanation and discussion). Also, I'd like to portray her as somehow related to Zoé, as it would explain why Zoé didn't explode in jealousy and rage when Tabata kissed Twinsen in the end of LBA 2. That, or maybe even better - she could be Twinsen's sister, who went into hiding at some point before LBA 1 when FunFrock banned magic, and Twinsen lost contact with her then.
- First Dean of the School of Magic - very important, possibly the leader of South Twinsun (but see Damalalaï). A sphero (but NOT Ker'aooc). In the game he might appear only as Dean Emeritus, retired and succeeded by the Second Dean.
- Second Dean of the School of Magic - very important, possibly the leader of South Twinsun (but see Damalalaï). The rabbibunny one we see in LBA 2.
- Damalalaï - possibly the leader of South Twinsun, or just the Twinsunian Head of Religion, basically like if the real-life Dalai Lama obtained the same influence and powers of the Pope.
- Pierre Chevay - commander in chief of the South Twinsunian Army, successor to the late colonel Kroptman whom we've seen in LBA 1. Twinsen's close friend and ally, and resents having to fight the war.
- Jerome Baldino - well he's obvious. Has to give the ProtoPack.
- Miss Bloop - she befriends Twinsen. Role undefined but definitely friendly. The friendship is then carried over to LBA 2.
- Mies van der Rooh - as per usual, gives us information. In the last quarter of the game, he is seen going to the Citadel cliffs to explore a newly discovered cave system there, but he never returns...

Neutral:
- First Monarch of Twinsun - leader of North Twinsun, kind of like the LBA version of the Japanese Emperors Meiji and Taishou, rises to power after defeating FunFrock, and pushes for industrialization, democratization and peace. Declares himself a descendant of the Sendells (much like the Emperor of Japan was considered a descendant of the Kami). We never see him/her in-game, as she dies before the start, and is succeeded by Angus I.
- The Female Elf - wears a pink costume. We need to discuss her further, at the moment I have no idea what to do with her.
- Bersimon - the Weather Wizard. I'd like him to have a role but not sure what.
- The Grobo Wizard - No idea what to do with him.
- Ker'aooc - the Healing Wizard. A sphero. We might have him in without revealing his identity to Twinsen. Maybe he secretly uses his power to revive the Female Elf who then instructs Twinsen to do something in order to get from her an item needed to advance with the game. Has to be discussed.

Enemies:
- Angus I. (Nizeda), Second Monarch of Twinsun - the main villain; the successor of the above, a quasi-psychotic absolute autocrat, some kind of cross of FunFrock, Emperor Shouwa (Hirohito), Hideki Toujo, and Kim Jong-un. Pushes for militarization, autocracy and war. Starts the war against South Twinsun.
- The Unknown Voice - sounds like a Sup, and is randomly overheard by Twinsen talking to Nizeda about a certain He the Unknown Voice is glad to cooperate with. LBA 2 makes it really clear who the Unknown Voice is (Emperor of Zeelich) and who the He is (none other than Dr. FunFrock himself).

[Necdilzor]

If I may give my opinion, this storyline is far more sensible than the last one I recall. I do not believe though, that there was too much time between FF's "death" and LBA2, maybe tribes of the races that lived on Twinsun take their leaders back to govern and half of the species are on the north and the other half are south. Like the rabbibunnies at Himalayi, or the Grobos at Desert Island.

[Battler]

Well, Zoé's diary in LBA 2 says the LBA 1 events happened "a long time ago".
Now, granted, it could still be as little as 10 years, but remember, in real life, World War II. lasted only 6 years, and World War I. lasted 4 years. The Korean War that this is loosely based on, lasted only 3 years.
Also, the North-South isolationism and cultural separation was a byproduct of FunFrock's policies. After all, LBA 1 clearly says FunFrock isolated the northern hemisphere and at least tried to expel the population to the south, though at least the population of Tippett Island seems to have stayed, plus the rabbibunnies camping on Fortress Island. And we also don't know what was going on in parts of Brundle Island which we never saw, though even in the part we did see, one rabbibunny still lived.
And we know the Halamayi Mountains already served as a barricaded border during FunFrock's times, maybe even before, as it seems there are only three ways to cross the Hamalayi mountains:
1. The Hamalayi metro, which was only recently constructed as of LBA 1;
2. The Sacret Carrot passage, guarded by the Rabbibunnies;
3. A Dino-fly, which however only The Heir can use.
And we know 1 and 2 were unusable under FunFrock since he heavily guarded the area and refused to let anyone through.

Now, it's only reasonable presume that the people who remained in the north, having had no contact with the south during all the time of the FunFrock rule, and most likely only sparing contact before, were quite different. The geographical distance helped the isolation and separation too.
Also, it wouldn't be surprising if the two hemispheres were also ruled separately before FunFrock, thus making the post-FunFrock separation a natural continuity.

So we have the following factoring in:
1. The likely separation and almost isolation before FunFrock, due to the difficulty of crossing the Hamalayi mountains - though the appearance of common cultural elements, such as the Runic Stones, on both hemispheres points at existing contact;
2. The complete separation and isolation during FunFrock, due to to the closure and barricarding of the Hamalayi mountains;
3. The north's reluctance to accept southern rule due to not having experience with southern rulers other than FunFrock.

And remember, the thing that united the north and the south, which was the old culture and the Cult of Sendell, was banned and almost eradicated under FunFrock, and that would also loosen the ties between the two hemispheres.

Now, it seems logical that the leaders that took over the two hemispheres after FunFrock's defeat, would be successors to the leaders that ruled over them before FunFrock, and it's reasonable to presume that while the original two post-FunFrock leaders grew up in the era before FunFrock, their successors grew up during the FunFrock era and thus have ended up seeing the world in radically different ways, but while the old ways survived in the south due to prolonged contact with the old culture even in defiance of FunFrock's bans (see the Principal Island Library giving secret access to the scriptures in their possession, and so on), they were lost in the north ways and replaced with a militarism that was taught by FunFrock.
Also couple that with the fact that the north would have a significant amount of former FunFrock loyalists, from the factories and so on, especially as they had no way to escape to the south after Twinsen destroyed the Teleportation Center, and they would have varying beliefs, from condemnation of FunFrock, to loyalty to FunFrock, and even to believing in the same core doctrines FunFrock believed in but disagreeing with FunFrock's interpretation. Also northerners who wanted revenge against the south for FunFrock's ways.
All in all, a very complex situation, akin to that on the Korean Peninsula after World War II., where you had communists, fascists, Japan loyalists, democrats, etc.
We see something akin to that in LBA 2 too, on Zeelich, with elite Sups, loyalist Wannies, neutral Francoes and dissident Mosquibees.
Similarly, in LBA: The Great Rebellion, we have this situation in both hemispheres: the elite, the loyalists, neutral people, and the rebels. Or, from the anti-FunFrock POV: the elite, the fascists, neutral people, and the good guys.
Now, in the north, the elite just so happens to be mostly Northern Fascist with the exception of the older generations who grew up in the pre-FunFrock era and are mostly neutral pacifists.
In the south however, the elite, thanks to culture preservation in defiance to FunFrock's bans, is on the side of the good guys.
And as soon as the Northern Fascists take power in the north thanks to one of them just so happening to be the son of the just-deceased northern monarch, all the dialogue and good relations between the two halves on the planet just disappears.
And that's why the conflict beings.

[Battler]

Originally Posted by Battler

So we have the following factoring in:
1. The likely separation and almost isolation before FunFrock, due to the difficulty of crossing the Hamalayi mountains - though the appearance of common cultural elements, such as the Runic Stones, on both hemispheres points at existing contact;
2. The complete separation and isolation during FunFrock, due to to the closure and barricarding of the Hamalayi mountains;
3. The north's reluctance to accept southern rule due to not having experience with southern rulers other than FunFrock.

Now then, if we look into the antiquity in real life, we notice that mountain ranges usually always worked as a barricade. Just think of how much the Alps protected the Romans from invasions from the north.
Now sure, in LBA 1, we know of the Okojo Pass from south to north in the Hamalayi Mountains but most likely, not many poeple crossed it at all, let alone on a regular basis. And the alternative, the Dino-fly, is only accessible to the Heir, so inaccessible to most people.

[Battler]

- Tabata - The female Quetch wizard from LBA 2. The Elemental Wizard. She can tear and bend pretty much anything. Involved in the separation of Mt. Baiga from Citadel Island and its transformation into the Island of the Dome of the Slate (an event that needs an explanation and discussion). Also, I'd like to portray her as somehow related to Zoé, as it would explain why Zoé didn't explode in jealousy and rage when Tabata kissed Twinsen in the end of LBA 2. That, or maybe even better - she could be Twinsen's sister, who went into hiding at some point before LBA 1 when FunFrock banned magic, and Twinsen lost contact with her then.

Twinsen's sister is looking more and more of a good idea to me. After all, Tabata does look a bit Twinsen'ish - the dark ponytail for one. She's also the only character apart from Zoé that actually kisses Twinsen, and now add to that the fact Zoé does not freak out when she sees said kiss, we might as well presume she's his sister. She could also be his cousin, though, but I prefer sister - especially since we need more of Twinsen's immediate family.
Also maybe we should take the occasion to maybe reveal more about Twinsen's family. For example, we could reveal that Twinsen's father also tried to rebel against FunFrock, maybe even have him as the founder and leader of the Rebels until FunFrock got ahold of both him and Twinsen's mother and gave them a bad end, at which point the Rebels chose Colonel Kroptman to lead them.
Maybe have it so that Twinsen's father was caught by FunFrock when trying to burgle into the museum to steal that key. That would certainly explain why that alarm system was recently installed.

[Battler]

So, the backstory being written, it's time to start with the storyline proper.

So where does the game start? The island is obvious - Citadel Island, as after all, both LBA 1 and LBA 2 start, and it is Twinsen's home island. But where on Citadel Island do we start? The Citadel does not exist anymore, and Twinsen's house is still being rebuilt.
I propose we start in the one house that was inaccessible in LBA 1, that was not far from where the robot is in LBA 1 and the kindergarten in LBA 2.
I think that was Twinsen's birth house, where Twinsen lived before building the big house in which he lived with Zoé. With his sister Tabata going into hiding because of being a wizard, and his parents ending up badly because of association with the Rebels, that house was abandoned, possibly even seized by the FunFrock regime.
In this case, it's safe to presume that after FunFrock's defeat at the hand of Twinsen, Twinsen would have obtained back the house, and he and Zoé would have gone live there while the big house was being rebuilt.
So we can start the game there.

Just under it, we have the Pharmacy, the Baggage Claim, Bersimon's house (he would later move into a newly built tent near the Flower Field of Sendell after becoming a Wizard and sell his house to Mrs. Bloop), and the original Motorbike Outpost (would move elsewhere by the time of LBA 2 and the Kindergaten built in its place).
In the scene above it, we have the ruins of the Citadel, and a pathway that leads on one side to a fence (behind it, a military training camp, where Bersimon would by LBA 2 build his tent), and on the other side, to Woordbridge Island, with the bridge still intact.
In the scene below it, we have the Shop, Zoé's birth house (would be demolished by LBA 2 and replaced with the new Motorbike Outpost), and Luc's Tavern.
From here, we can go two ways, to the Harbor which has the Inter-Islands Ferry building, and Mr. Paul's house, and to the residential district which was the WIP new Twinsen and Zoé's house, the Van der Rooh house, and Twinsen's Cave.
Then remains only Mt. Baiga where I think it's best to have Twinsen's Catamaran and Dino-Fly wait in the first part of the game.
In the second half of the game, Twinsen and Zoé move to the new house, Mt. Baiga is split off by the power of Sendell (come on, that can move the Emerald Moon at least slightly, surely it can move that mountain) and the Dome of the Slate is built there, so Dino-Fly starts waiting behind Twinsen's house already while the Catamaran has already been sold.

Now, on Citadel Island, Twinsen doesn't do much, at least at this point. Twinsen gets the Magic Ball and Tunic back from Tabata's house because he had entrusted them to his sister, then goes to the harbor (either by foot or pays the Motorbiker for a ride there), and departs for Kroptman Island (formerly Rebellion Island).
Also, Zoé's birth house had passed to Twinsen's sister Tabata (that's where he gets his stuff back from), but Tabata has seemingly disappeared. Most people tell him to ask Bersimon, and Bersimon tells him she was last seen on Krotpman Island but has no idea where exactly she is.

In the next post, the Kroptman Island part will be detailed.

[Battler]

Well, I will get to Krotpman Island later.
For time being, let me stop on the Desert Island a bit. Basically, we know that in LBA 1 it was put under heavy military control because it contained what I think was the second most important place related to the Legend after the Well of Sendell - the Temple of Bù.
We also know that the the original plan for this modification project had the Desert Island put under renewed military control, this time by rebels rebelling against Nizeda, who even built a military base around the Temple of Bù.
Now, that no longer makes any sense. We know the rebels are on Brundle Island and rebelling against the northern regime. We know north-south tensions are on the rise. We know Desert Island is replacing Principal Island (perhaps we should rename that island to something else - Belooga Island anyone?) as the main island at least of the southern hemisphere (after all, again, it has the second-most important place related to the Legend, and I would surmise it was also the capital before FunFrock too), which also explain why the principal service of the Inter-Islands Ferry has switched to Desert Island by the time of LBA 2.
Now also remember, while the northern regime resembles the FunFrock regime in many ways, and increassingly so, it differs from it in one key aspect - while the FunFrock regime loathed the Legend and even forbade any mention of it, the current northern regime instead uses the Legend as the key point for legitimizing its rule, for after all King Nizeda claims to be a descendant of the Sendells. We could surmise he makes regular pilgrimages to Polar Island/the Well of Sendell and encourages his people to do so too. Remember also that he has his capital on former Fortress Island, we could call it, say, Shinsha Island, shinsha being the ancient Japanese word for shine, and it most probably housed a Shrine of Sendell before FunFrock destroyed it, and I could imagine Nizeda rebuilding it.
In fact, in this aspect, while the FunFrock regime more closely resembled Nazi Germany and North Korea (ironically), the Nizeda regime of the north more closely resembles the regime of Imperial (= pre-WW2) Japan.
Now, what is the most likely southern island Nizeda might attack? Well, which if not the most important island of the hemisphere - Desert Island. This gives us a valid reason to have the southern regime increase the defense of the island (hence the military observatory where the Hacienda is in LBA 2, the military installations kept (and reinforced) at the LBA 1 landing place, and the military buildings in Port Ludo and surroundings). And of course, the heaviest defense would be around the Temple of Bù, for obvious reasons. That, and the installations around it also double as the sleeping quarters for the archaeologists working inside the temple.
Heck, this makes me wonder - the places where the race track is in LBA 2. The original intention was to have it a mountain that would be razed, but what if we make it a secondary town, one designed to house the archaeologists and the military personnel. It would obviously have heavy defenses around it and require an invitation or permit to be visited. It would be abandoned after the end of the events we portray and eventually a race track set up on its ruins. We could reuse the planned mountain's name for the town - Chattevau, an anagram of the French word chauvette which means a ponytail.

Now, a second island I wanted to expand on. That would be Brundle Island. This is where the rebellion begins. The recent Ukraine events of 2014 have given me an inspiration. Basically, just like in real-life Ukraine, the unrest could be on southern Brundle Island (with the northern part remaining in the north's hands), and it would start as peaceful protests against the regime, but then as the regime became more and more authoritarian and peaceful protesters were sent to a prison in the north of the island, the protests evolves into an armed rebellion to which the regime responds with an armed intervention.
Now here we could play the Crimea card and have the southern portion of the island eventually annexed by South Twinsun (after South Twinsun takes control of the Okojo Pass), and have it the turning point.
The reason for the intiial unrest could be simple - due to the presence of a FunFrock center on the island, people from the southern hemisphere might have settled in the island's southern part (for all we know, FunFrock might well have employed forced labor), and of course they wouldn't agree with Nizeda's statements and policies. Eventually, the regime's treatment of the protesters enraged the people to the point of armed unrest.
However, the Hamalayi mountains functioning as a DMZ with the Okojo Pass being basically the border checkpoint, made it impossible for the South to annex that portion of the island, but as soon as the South takes control of the Okojo Pass (it could be a Mosquibee event in reverse - during some event Twinsen is invited to, some people from the North do something stupid such as a accidentally firing some shots southwards and/or other provocatory actions, and the South responds with an armed invasion of the pass).
Or to avoid armed takeovers of the Okojo Pass (as that would be essentially a repeat of that happened in the same place in LBA 1), we could simply make it so that a place is spotted where the only thing between a South-controlled river and waters of the North is a layer of ice, and the Wizards are called to melt the ice (something that should be really easy for them). Heck, all we need is one Wizard, Bersimon (the Weather Wizard), launching a spell that causes a temporary rise of temperature for enough time to melt the ice and open the pass, and maybe enough permanent heating in the area to prevent re-freezing, and we have exactly what we need. A new pass, the South taking control of all of it because it was in a largely deserted area, and it being just south of Brundle Island, so annexation can be made possible.
Basically, TL;DR, a convient place is spooted in Hamalayi and unfrozen with a magic spell (by either Twinsen or Bersimon) which gives South a pass to Northern waters that it is in full control of, and the ability to annex southern Brundle Island.
And once the South is in control of southern Brundle, it's only a matter of time before they can march on northern Brundle.
We can then make Tippett spontaneously join the South (I can imagine the sewers being full of rebels and other weirdos much like in LBA 1, and the villges on the surface mountains largely consisting of people who don't care who they are ruled by), at which point we have Southern waters surrounding the Okojo pass, at which point the Northern positions there become indefensible, and the DMZ ceases functioning (we can just change a game flag of for that and the next time we're at the DMZ, it has been blown up and the South is in control of everything). Then all that remains is Shinsha Island where we get random skirmishes throughout, and then as we reach the pass to Polar Island, we see Nizeda who makes a monologue, utters a prayer to Sendell and heads towards the Well of Sendell. Then the final battle ensues and just as Nizeda is preparing to launch the fatal magical attack at Twinsun, Sendell intervenes. Twinsen then prepares to off Nizeda as Nizeda is frantically crying, wondering why Sendell has acted against him, only for Sendell to remind him that Twinsen is The Heir, and Twinsen then decides to show mercy and spare him. Then, a flash of light appears and Nizeda disappears. Twinsen flies out to restore world peace, wondering what just happened, assuming the flash of light was Sendell's doing, but we, the players, know it was certain people from a certain distant planet that was really behind the flash of light.
(Maybe the Emperor of Zeelich intended to invade Twinsun and first tried to work with Nizeda but as Nizeda demanded to be made the ruler of Twinsun after the invasion, the Emperor offed him, and then some sups who were exploring Emerald Moon, spotted a cryogenic capsule next to the ruins of a very primitive spaceship, and inside it, FunFrock's body, with a note left that the Emperor translates, revealing this is FunFrock, yet another former ruler of Twinsun, and the Emperor gives an order to revive FunFrock because he wants to try to do with him what he failed to do with Nizeda. The rest is history.)

Anyway this is it for this, it will all be developed further if/when we even reach the relevant part. The next post will be at the part we're currently chronologically in - Kroptman Island.

[Battler]

This thread has made me think.

I actually just got a great idea for my LBA: The Great Rebellion project (yeah, I never give up on that) - what if the great rebellion is made to be something planned by Mies van der Rooh disguised as a new character (Nizeda), but Twinsen ends it by destroying the rebels' base but never actually fighting Nizeda himself, causing Nizeda to simply go into hiding but eventually emerge in LBA 2 as the Dean of the School of Magic. There could still be a climatic battle in the end, but it could involve Nizeda's second in command rather than Nizeda himself.
And I could go with my original idea to have the rebel base be Desert Island, with the climatic battle taking place in the Rebel Fortress which in the end gets demolished, in fact, this could be used as the genesis of the Island across the Hacienda, which starts as a rebel-built coastal fortress on reclaimed land thinly connect to mainland Desert Island, but after its demolition, it becomes that island.
In fact, this island is NW of the Temple of Bù, and it could be surmised that the great sandstorm that coverted the Temple of Bù consisted of sand raised from NW, causing a valley between two peaks to be filled by sea water, dividing this island from Desert Island and changing its climate to milder due to this island now being surrounded by water. This would have made it the perfect place for the survivors of the great sandstorm to go to, and found a new temple there to replace the now lost Temple of Bù.
We can then presume that under FunFrock, the people would have been exiled from there and the place turned into a military installation. After FunFrock's demise, I can see Nizeda taking over the ruins of that military installation (and the temple) and using it as one of his bases where he did, among other things, crazy magical research. This could be the perfect place for the final climatic battle.
After that, the place would be demolished again, leaving it as an uninhabited but nice island, with however the Protection Spell cave, ultimately descended from the aformentioned temple and base, with the Protection Spell still guarded by monsters just like Nizeda/Mies van der Rooh set it up.

In fact - what if that was the original Temple of Bù, abandoned after the tilting of Twinsun's rotational axis combined with plate tectonics made it an unsuitable place and caused Bù to demand it be moved to the new center of the Southern Hemisphere. And after the new temple was destroyed in the great sandstorm, the original temple was revived under another name.
And here's one further pattern of thought - what if LeBorgne was an ancestor of Mies van der Rooh, which would make LBA: The Great Rebellion a replay of the battle between LeBorgne and Twinsen's ancestor Hégésippe. Note that LeBorgne is most likely a nickname - it means "The one-eyed" (though in real-life france there were some (colonial) generals with that name), so who knows what his real name was. For all we know, his real name could have been, for example, Joop van der Rooh (why not, let's borrow the name of my favorite #LBA bot, which is also a valid Dutch given name).

[Polaris]

Cool to see you overflowing with ideas

[Battler]

- Polaris: If there's one thing I've always had, is a vivid and never ending imagination.

Anyway, I was thinking the original story from this thread can still work even with my new idea, except that rather than Desert Island being fortified to prevent a northern takeover, it's actually fortified and militarized by northern operatives posing as archaeologists who offered to handle the island after LBA 1.
In fact, this makes the story of Nizeda (who in this case becomes Mies van der Rooh in disguise) creating a religious authoritarian regime à la real-life imperial Japan in the north all the more credible, and in fact it can also serve as an explanation as for why he was always double-dealing - he was against FunFrock because FunFrock loathed the religion he (Mies) was a fanatic of, but at the same he liked how FunFrock was able to take over the entire world and also aspired at becoming FunFrock's second in command in order to eventually off FunFrock and take over as the world's leader, amalgamating FunFrock's technology with the religion of Sendell into some form of heavily militarized State Sendellism, something he eventually achieves on the north (and on Desert Island).
Him never descending into battle on his own account and instead always using someone else (culminating with his second in command) would further echo Imperial Japan where the Emperor never directly fought anyone.
One thing I'd love to portray is a School of Magic that's out in the open, trying to openly promote the teaching of magic, to contrast it with its hidden nature in LBA 2 which would be Mies' (= Nizeda = LBA 2 Dean) doing as a way of transitioning it from an organization whose primary purpose is to teach magic to some sort of a Secret Magical Council ruling (or attempting to rule) the planet from the shadows.

[Battler]

So, let's make another attempt at the storyline.

LBA 1 is over, FunFrock has been defeated. But in the power vacuum, two factions have emerged.

One is run by Nizeda (a.k.a. Mies van der Rooh) and is religious theocracy, that also gives employment to a number of former FunFrockist scientists (a reference to real-life Operation: Paperclip, where the US employed a number of former Nazi scientists). They are Twinsun's equivalent of the US and the EU, except employing extreme environmntalist anti-technologism from the start.

The other is run by Lidma Chevay - my current idea has her as a female Bolivarian and Marxist technological leader, inspired by Dilma Rousseff (former President of Brazil) and Rosa Luxemburg (the original idea of Chevay was as a male, but I like the idea of strong females in leading positions). They are basically Twinsun's equivalent of the Soviet Union.

The game should start with Twinsen as neutral, undecided between the two, but then being tricked by Nizeda at the very end to side with him.

We could have the first faction run the Northern Hemisphere and the second faction run the Southern Hemisphere. The fortified Desert Island would be the capital of the Southern Hemisphere and whatever Fortress Island's new name is going to be, of the Northern Hemisphere, with the former planetary capital, Principal Island, being divided in half by a wall, with its northern half being controlled by the first faction. This would be a reference to the two Germanies and the Berlin Wall.

[Polaris]

I'm still lost as to why there would be a religious theocracy, and why it would be gone at the start of LBA2 while the wizards remain...

[Lightwing]

My recommendation: if you want a politically intense story like this one, I would create your own game based on your own IP, so that you have full freedom to realize the story you want without constraints of an existing franchise. Or, if you want to do an LBA fan-game, then I would make something that embodies the lighthearted tone, atmosphere, and simplicity of LBA. Imagine that it’s 1998, Adeline still exists and it has hired you to create an LBA1 sequel in which there is a rebellion. The target audience is still the same, ages 10 and up. How would you write that story? If you don’t want to do it, then you probably should think about looking into Game Maker or RPG Maker and creating your own game that you can sell on Steam when all your hard work is finished.

Also, it seems this project is 16 years old now and you are still working on the basic premise of the plot. Considering this, I would significantly reduce the scope of your project so that it embodies 2-3 hours of play time. Maybe less. If you actually want to finish it, then I would reduce the scope, lock in your story, and finish it in 3-4 years. Later, you can do a Part 2. If not, then I’d say goodbye to this project and move on. Maybe you just want to write a fantasy/scifi book instead.

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Lightwing

My recommendation: if you want a politically intense story like this one, I would create your own game based on your own IP, so that you have full freedom to realize the story you want without constraints of an existing franchise. Or, if you want to do an LBA fan-game, then I would make something that embodies the lighthearted tone, atmosphere, and simplicity of LBA. Imagine that it’s 1998, Adeline still exists and it has hired you to create an LBA1 sequel in which there is a rebellion. The target audience is still the same, ages 10 and up. How would you write that story?

I endorse that recommendation.



Keep it innocent.

[Battler]

Originally Posted by Polaris

I'm still lost as to why there would be a religious theocracy, and why it would be gone at the start of LBA2 while the wizards remain...

The Wizards are the religious theocracy. Notice how technology is basically gone and the Wizards run the planet with magic according to the word of Sendell. Even the children sing an ode to Sendell.

[Polaris]

I see what you mean, but there's no signs of them being a political force at the start of LBA2...

[Battler]

Originally Posted by Lightwing

My recommendation: if you want a politically intense story like this one, I would create your own game based on your own IP, so that you have full freedom to realize the story you want without constraints of an existing franchise. Or, if you want to do an LBA fan-game, then I would make something that embodies the lighthearted tone, atmosphere, and simplicity of LBA. Imagine that it’s 1998, Adeline still exists and it has hired you to create an LBA1 sequel in which there is a rebellion. The target audience is still the same, ages 10 and up. How would you write that story? If you don’t want to do it, then you probably should think about looking into Game Maker or RPG Maker and creating your own game that you can sell on Steam when all your hard work is finished.

Also, it seems this project is 16 years old now and you are still working on the basic premise of the plot. Considering this, I would significantly reduce the scope of your project so that it embodies 2-3 hours of play time. Maybe less. If you actually want to finish it, then I would reduce the scope, lock in your story, and finish it in 3-4 years. Later, you can do a Part 2. If not, then I’d say goodbye to this project and move on. Maybe you just want to write a fantasy/scifi book instead.

Well, as I explained in another thread, the original LBA games, in their simplicity, still reference politices. Eg. the developers have said FunFrock is inspired by French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, and there's clear inspiration from Mussolini and Hitler as well. My current idea for the story simply continues from that idea.

So LBA 1 would basically be a reference to World War II (the landing in Hamalayi is IMHO a reference to Day D in Normandy and I guess the constantly bombed Rebellion Island is a reference to Britain).

This project would then be a reference to the Cold War.

And LBA 2 is the post-Cold War era (the alien invasion being a common trop in the 1990's, in addition to another common trope that is the Nazi's or fascists hiding on the moon or on a foreign planet).

And from what little we know of LBA 3, initially (the Stellar Entity and all) it clearly had to do with space, but it has long since been retooled to become an allegory for global warming and the perceived return of fascism in the 2010's.

[Battler]

Originally Posted by Polaris

I see what you mean, but there's no signs of them being a political force at the start of LBA2...

Because most people don't know of them. In fact, most people seem to believe Twinsen is running the show but we then find out there's an entire School of Magic that noone knows about that's hidden from even him. And then we have the Dean of the School of Magic basically telling Twinsen what to do, and later, after Twinsen returns from Zeelich, Zoé tells him to go to Desert Island and talk to him.

Though, it makes me wonder how things turn out after LBA 2, after the wizards needed to be saved by Twinsen, and the Dean of the School of Magic could just sit powerlessly on Twinsun and had to have Twinsen (and Baldino!) do everything.

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Battler

Well, as I explained in another thread, the original LBA games, in their simplicity, still reference politices. Eg. the developers have said FunFrock is inspired by French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, and there's clear inspiration from Mussolini and Hitler as well. My current idea for the story simply continues from that idea.

So LBA 1 would basically be a reference to World War II (the landing in Hamalayi is IMHO a reference to Day D in Normandy and I guess the constantly bombed Rebellion Island is a reference to Britain).

This project would then be a reference to the Cold War.

And LBA 2 is the post-Cold War era (the alien invasion being a common trop in the 1990's, in addition to another common trope that is the Nazi's or fascists hiding on the moon or on a foreign planet).

And from what little we know of LBA 3, initially (the Stellar Entity and all) it clearly had to do with space, but it has long since been retooled to become an allegory for global warming and the perceived return of fascism in the 2010's.

Why keep making so many references/mirroring Earth's history and tragical events?



It is a magical fantasy made-up world of imagination! Like the imagination of a child. The adults ruining it with actual references to our world's sad history is no good.

Even if Adeline brought some inspiration from here and there in a ludique manner, I don't think it's necessary to perpetuate and intensify that whatsoever.

[Battler]

Originally Posted by Lightwing

Also, it seems this project is 16 years old now and you are still working on the basic premise of the plot. Considering this, I would significantly reduce the scope of your project so that it embodies 2-3 hours of play time. Maybe less. If you actually want to finish it, then I would reduce the scope, lock in your story, and finish it in 3-4 years. Later, you can do a Part 2. If not, then I’d say goodbye to this project and move on. Maybe you just want to write a fantasy/scifi book instead.

Well, once the storyline is done, I can then work on the project in parts. And yes, of course I have to make sure it's feasible to do. I did learn my lesson from the grand plans that originally both this project and the LBA Prequel had that led both project to failure.

[Battler]

Originally Posted by SpaceGuitarist

Why keep making so many references/mirroring Earth's history and tragical events?



It is a magical fantasy made-up world of imagination! Like the imagination of a child. The adults ruining it with actual references to our world's sad history is no good.

Even if Adeline brought some inspiration from here and there in a ludique manner, I don't think it's necessary to perpetuate and intensify that whatsoever.

Every fantasy world we humans create references the real world. The key is doing it in such a way that the story is enjoyable and understandable even if someone doesn't understand the real-world references. This is where the original LBA games excelled. And also some other francheses, such as Neptunia, which is intended to be a parody of the real-life game industry, but the story is still fun and enjoyable even if you don't understand the references.

[SpaceGuitarist]

Originally Posted by Battler

Every fantasy world we humans create references the real world. The key is doing it in such a way that the story is enjoyable and understandable even if someone doesn't understand the real-world references. This is where the original LBA games excelled. And also some other francheses, such as Neptunia, which is intended to be a parody of the real-life game industry, but the story is still fun and enjoyable even if you don't understand the references.

It's not about how understandable it is, it's about keeping it innocent and free of such references, because it taints it.


While the original team did dig some references of our world, everything in LBA is sort of ludic ("ludique"). Not too different from a boy playing with green toy soldiers for example. It's still quite innocent and detached from actual historical events. That boy is not wanting to relive the horrors of wars, much less a specific war that actually ocurred in history. He just finds it fun to have soldiers battling with each other. I don't think it's necessary to base yourself on real references that much, especially if you are a person who is very intense into world history and politics, you should be extra-careful.

[Lightwing]

If this is all true about the inspirations of LBA, I would say it hid them very well. But beyond that, the story is just much more simple and as SGK put it, innocent, like a kid playing with action figures. It is not politically complex and has a greater focus on fantasy adventures. Escape prison, meet your girlfriend, get your tunic, get enough money to go to a temple, pass temple trials, get green magic ball, get red magic ball, find a flute, etc. Also, whatever politics is there does not take it seriously. FunFrock’s dictatorship is kind of played for laughs, with his oversized jaw, his fat green soldiers, and his robot clones that fly in the air when you knock them back. It’s cute and whimsical. What you’re going for sounds a lot more serious and politically complex.

[Battler]

You say that but LBA 1 is quite dark. You literally start the game in prison after being told the entire plant is in the grips of Dr. FunFrock. You escape the prison and you see those white FF flags everywhere, as well as soldiers and clones guarding everything. You find your girlfriend in front of your house, but she instantly gets taken away by the regime. As you venture to other islands, you find out it's no better there. The only island on the Southern Hemisphere that's free from the regime is Rebellion Island and that island is being constantly bombed. You meet other political prisoners like the astronomer Bob Vortix.

Now, compare it to the 1940's - you could find yourself in prison as the world is in the grips of Nazism and fascism (and Japanese imperialism). As you escape from the prison, you see Nazi-fascist symbols everywhere, and every place is guarded by soldiers and organizations such as the SS. And you find out that the only place in Western Europe that's not like that, is Britain, which is however being bombed the Nazi Germany.

Of course, the reference is not perfect. It's limited to Western Europe (the USSR is notably missing, as are Japan and China), but that makes sense given that it's a French game so it's referencing World War II as experienced by the French. And stuff like Italy changing sides is also not referenced. But it's still a clear reference.

Now, sure, Nazi Germany did not have cloning, mutation, or teleportation. But that's where fantasy kicks in (though Nazi Germany was incredibly technologically advanced for the time, to the point that the US ended up employing several Nazi German scientists after the war in Operation: Paperclip in order to kickstart US technological advancement).

Originally Posted by SpaceGuitarist

Not too different from a boy playing with green toy soldiers for example.

I'm not sure that boy would would have a soldier seduced by a woman or a soldier looking for a woman for "friendship and maybe something more", just to give one example. Nor would the boy end up the adventure by implying that the protagonists are having sex. So the game is clearly not just targeted at children, but also at adults, which was the case with most family entertainment back then. It often made jokes and references that only adults would understand, yes, even Disney did.