So I've been working on writing a plot for my 2D platformer. I have what I believe to be a fun idea, but I have no clue where to go from here. I really enjoy stories with a light-hearted atmosphere, but a dark underlying plot. I am trying to think of this dark underlying bit, and where to go with the plot from here. Whoever replies gets a big hug and a big kiss.

PLOT SO FAR:

·

A young boy lives in a house with his mother.
The boy wakes up one night to a loud thump and bright lights outside his room (think alien abduction). He looks outside his window but he can't distinguish anything, except for a lot of banding, so he returns to bed.
Waking up the next morning, the boy looks out of his window to see a bunch of really buff men, glistening shirtless or in overalls, digging a big hole in the backyard. This may go on for a few days or may not, not sure) He eventually goes out to confront them, and catches the tail end of them all jumping down the hole they have dug. The boy goes over to look into the hole, but trip and fall in, landing at the bottom of a really deep pit unconscious.(maybe some other/better reason you are in the hole?)

During your journey through this underground world, you run into an old man, digging to China. This man scribbles down a picture of you in his notebook, thinking you are some sort of cave creature. (Save point) The boy meets a band as well, who had fallen down a similar hole and seem confused. Throughout the game you will get cutscenes of the band making their way through the caves, occasionally jamming out a tune or two, becoming boss music!

IDEAS:
·Villains must be able to dance
·have a non selfish reason for what the character is trying to accomplish (endearing). Should be able to identify, and be sympathetic towards the character.
·Want to gradually make it a lot darker in contrast
·You start out with a couple little fetch quests around the town by your mother, which introduce you to characters you will see later, including posters for the band.

THINGS I AM TRYING TO THINK OF:
·I would like to have the story gradually becomes very dark. How can I progress this story towards that.
·The buffmen work for some villain or something?
·Cannot think of a bigger conflict, and ending.

You could always go the "everyone is dead and we're digging to hell" route

I can't think of anything dark themed about that plot, it's just too goofy to be taken seriously. That's not entirely bad but I feel like I can't expand on your idea there when there are some issues about what you have so far:

Who is the boy and why does he particularly fall down that hole and not some other boy? Main character needs a backstory and motive and a story needs a conflict. What's the point of the night scene? Why can't I play as a band member, sounds a lot more fun than little boy who would probably just panic and miss his mum? About villains: Who doesn't know how to dance? It's a matter of wanting to dance or not and I can't imagine why people would dance in a cave when their top priority would be digging, getting out or opposing the main character.

Thanks a bunch for your help guys!

Sully: that's an interesting idea! Although I feel possibly a bit too cliche? I will think on that!

I believe games like the mother series, and movies such as those by Miyazaki do this sort of story incredibly well. Very whimsical and out there, but with an underlying comment on something they see as negative in society, eg capitalism.

It is purely chance that the boy falls down the hole, kind of "he is swept off into another world" sort of thing, therefore I don't believe he needs to be special. You are correct that I need more of a backstory and motive for him. I have been really trying to think of this, but I believe that will evolve when I get more of an arcing plot happening. At the moment his only goal is to get out of the hole, but yes I agree he needs something the player can empathize with. Any ideas?

The dance bit is just a note to myself ;) a reminder that I enjoy when characters have a lil' funky dance in the game, and a villain that does this kind of to rub in your face. I can't dance for beans;)

Just dropping into the hole seems so bad, the character doesn't make a decision or anything, he just happens to not look what he is doing.
I would let him go in to explore, maybe the men who dug the hole were looking for diamonds and the character wants one(or two) to put into a ring so he propose to his love.
He could get stuck somewhere in the hole, and needing to find another way out, by the time he does he may have many other reasons to get in again.

The villain could be an underground organisation that tries to control the diamond market at all cost, and the main character may notice that authorities don't do anything about them, so he sets out to defeat them in the only place he can, underground.

I believe games like the mother series, and movies such as those by Miyazaki do this sort of story incredibly well. Very whimsical and out there, but with an underlying comment on something they see as negative in society, eg capitalism.

Ok, mentioning Miyazaki there does paint a better picture of where you're going. But I think you are rushing it a bit. You need to first establish a "normal world" within the game. Prepare the contrasts you are going to use in the cave. In real world everyone needs light, nobody dances, things are grey and dull, for example. Then you can turn everything upside down in the cave.

So I think you need a thicker "frame" story for it in order to make the cave seem "out of this world". Perhaps some gameplay as well before the player is "swept into" the hole. You need to get player in the character and build a routine of sorts. THEN you can have the hole appear and shock the player. He wouldn't be able to do his routine anymore and inside awaits something he couldn't have prepared for. The "frame" for the weird cave-world would be complete and only then could you effectively paint whatever weird and wonderful picture you want inside.