How do you create a story that appeals to every demographic? (Omnipandering)

[Removed]

In short, you can't appeal to every demographic.

I guess that's only possible in games then =/ I mean the routes / side versions. xD

[joannekwan]

Haha that's a way to look at it! Still, someone might not like the overall story, certain story branches, the overall art style, and so forth.
So really, you can't please everyone.

[therosesword]

I know you were and the answer is still no. The men in the story are all older, no young hot guys. The youngest guy in the story is around 55. And if they used a female she would have to be at least 50. The first draft I've seen so far is sticking close to the story.

[Removed]

Honestly, my favorite animes (and really any media at all) are the ones that feel like they have a little something for everyone in them. Or at the very least, they make that attempt.

I try to emulate that with my writing. I'm not going to try and include every element under the sun that will appeal to everyone. But I love having enough variety in my writing to where it feels inclusive. Like a big party where everyone is invited. Not everyone will show up. But they've all got the invitation regardless.

I love your take, maybe your solution is the best path to take, since omni is impractical or impossible, I don't know why, but critical role came to mind. xD

[Removed]

I know you were and the answer is still no. The men in the story are all older, no young hot guys. The youngest guy in the story is around 55. And if they used a female she would have to be at least 50. The first draft I've seen so far is sticking close to the story.

You act like older guys, and young women isn't a niche in romance written for, and by women, lol, just kidding~ xD

[paracosmosfiction]

I'm flattered by the sentiment. But I cannot stress this enough. Whatever your original vision is for your art. Stay true to that! Too many people try to put themselves in a box by simply trying to do what everyone else is doing. Don't just try to be popular. Be you! Do your thing, and don't stress out too much about what everyone else is doing. If my words inspire you, great! Use that! But only in such a way that fits with your vision.

Whatever you're creating, just make sure you're still creating something that is you.

[therosesword]

you don't know the story and soooo we'll leave it however you want to take it

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Why would you want to create a story that appeals to everyone? The pressure to keep it entertaining for that many people would be excruciating xD

[thedude3445]

Pure luck! That's the only way. You can look at what's mega-popular among all demographics in a certain medium and KINDA see what the appeal might be, but it is very tough. Something like the game Undertale, or the movie Knives Out, or the manga/anime Kimetsu no Yaiba; those are all broadly appealing to basically every demographic that encounters them, but what makes them do that? I have no idea.

[Jophiel]

To be fair, you can have any of those present but it won't necessarily appeal to that market. At the same time, you can have those without it being the main focus so it's not something that's always made with appealing to a group in mind.

Just like you can have a cute art style but in a serious story, it may deter someone from reading it or it can interest someone. Some could stay or leave for any of those. I do agree some of the works nowadays are broader but it has something to do with execution rather than just putting as much things as they can encompass. There's still a main target and a subtarget or secondary market for such.

also don't worry about your english! I'm not a native english speaker too by all means haha.

[paracosmosfiction]

The thing about those big name media brands. (Undertale especially) is that as impressive as they are. They're also flash-in-the-pan moments of brilliance. No one who creates things like that expects them to explode the way they do. They often hope it will. But they're not expecting it to. And oftentimes when it does, it's for reason they weren't taking into account.

Which is what oftentimes makes their follow up installments so disappointing. Because once theirs multiple versions of it, or things that try to emulate it, it stops being unique. Nothing will ever be as good as that original. Ever.

Which is why I think it's better to instead focus on doing something that has been done before. But doing it really well, and adding your own twist. Personally, I take inspiration from the John Wick movies. Are they original? Not really. Are they fun as hell? Abso-freaking-lutely! And what's so great about that formulae is that, they can conceivably go on forever and no one is going to complain. Say what you will about the Fast and the Furious franchise, but they're on a similar boat. And until they stop being profitable, until they stop being fun for general audiences, you can bet there's gonna be more.

[thedude3445]

John Wick is probably a better example of how to, over time, appeal more broadly. The first movie was a low-key small-scale sleeper hit that got very good reviews but went a bit under the radar and appealed mostly to action fans. Thanks to a growing fanbase over time, the sequel a few years later exploded and made double the original's money and got even better reviews. After that, the franchise reached such blockbuster heights that the third movie made double the second movie, plus a video game, a Fortnite tie-in, and all the kinds of stuff that ended up making John Wick an iconic pop culture character who will be remembered for decades to come.

It certainly helped, of course, that all three of those movies are absolutely great. While they weren't flash-in-the-pan like some of the movies I've mentioned, they follow a similar path in that the best way to broadly appeal is to just make something that's really damn good.

[paracosmosfiction]

I've run out of likes unfortunately, but yes, absolutely. Stressing out over one hundred percent originality versus just making a story that's fun and engaging is, in my opinion at least, the key to success in a medium such as writing or comics.

[indagold]

I don't think you can do that at all cause what appeals to some people makes other people drop it. People say disney movies appeal to everyone but I haven't watched a movie from them since god knows how long. You can't get everyone.

[darthmongoose]

As people have said, it's impossible to make something that appeals to everyone, but for the lols, if I was told with a gun to my head I had to make the most broadly appealing thing possible, here's what I'd make....

It's an adventure story set in a medieval sort of Fantasy world with a Lord of the Rings sort of aesthetic.
About an attractive young white man who discovers he has a great destiny and gets some kind of special magic sword or artifact.
He has a cool older mentor who is PoC because that's progressive, but not TOO progressive, wouldn't want to upset anyone, but this way nobody can say "all the important characters are white".
He's in love with a beautiful elf princess who can fight a little bit with her bow or magic, but not too well because that'd upset some people, she definitely needs to not be as strong as the hero and to need rescuing on exactly ONE occasion (because if she needs rescuing more than once, she "needs rescuing all the time" and is "annoying", but once is okay).
But while he has a clearly hetero intended main romance, he also has a male companion or frenemy who is super-hot and he has sexual tension with and it's totally shippable, but it'll never actually play out, it's just queerbaiting to keep the people who are into that reading.
He takes his shirt off at least once to show his amazing abs, so the people who are into dudes can ogle, but for people who aren't into dudes it's like... aspirational/power fantasy because this guy represents you!
There are lesbian minor characters to keep the lesbians happy and to make it lightly progressive, but they're both hot femmes and it has no story impact or social commentary so it doesn't upset anyone too much.
The bad guy is an evil lord of an evil empire that wants to take over the world and enslave everyone or something, nothing that might be politically outrageous to anyone. His army is made up of undead skeleton soldiers who are grateful to be killed because it's a release from service, so it's GOOD that the hero slaughters his way though armies, you can enjoy the spectacle of violence completely guilt-free without having to think!
There will be a SHOCKING twist where the hero discovers that he is in fact actually in some way related to the villain, let's go with... he was actually created as a magical clone replacement body for the evil lord and was spirited away by his mentor figure who was one of the evil lord's knights and has been trying to atone ever since. The mentor dies almost immediately after imparting this info.
In the end, the hero overcomes the villain partly due to the villain's own hubris and the oppressed village folk rallying behind the hero and he takes his place as rightful king and unites his kingdom and the elf kingdom and everyone lives happily ever after.

[paintword]

There is an actual industry term for this in Hollywood, called the four quadrant movie!

Four-quadrant movie

In essence, demographics are broken up into four quadrants: male and female, over 25 years old and under 25 years old. Movies will try to hit at least two of these quadrants, but the big blockbusters will try to hit all 4.

What’s the formula fo a four quadrant movie? Here are some elements from screencraft.org

• A “high-concept” premise. Whether it’s a superhero’s adventures, an amazing fantasy, a sci-fi quest , or a compelling true story, four-quadrant films live in this realm: an irresistible story idea that can be grasped in one or two sentences.
• Heroes and villains. That doesn’t mean heroes are flawless or villains can’t have a sad backstory, but concrete-thinking kids struggle with too much complexity in characters. You have to find the balance.
• Plots filled with EMOTION, ACTION and DANGER; and yes, that probably means violence and/or death. The trick is to find the right edge without crossing into inappropriate territory. And thus comes another potential shocker…
• Chuck the G-rating! Unless it’s animated, nothing is perceived as more boring to the moviegoing kid than a G-rated movie. The film must have enough edge to go beyond, but again, not too far.
• Theme. Kids and adults both like a story that says something and has genuine resonance, whether they can articulate it or not.
• Humor. Comic moments always enhance enjoyment, no matter how serious the story might be.
• Kids in lead or major supporting roles. Including kids of course targets the “young” quadrant but also adds new levels of dramatic tension and/or comedy for adults. And let’s dump that “child protagonists can’t carry a film” idea for good! Harry Potter, E.T., Super 8, The Wizard of Oz and more say otherwise.
• A-List stars in some roles. Stars still open movies, particularly with the right packaging.
• Hints of romance. Except for the rare, truly committed misanthrope, everyone responds to a well-done love story; it’s universal. Even 9-10 year-olds (particularly girls) enjoy a bit of titillation here, and the adult quadrants love it, but again, striking the right balance re tone and content is important. Stop at innuendo and kissing.
• “Big-budget” not necessary; in fact, five of the above films were made for $50 million or less, and three of those for under $30 million.

Of course, just because you hit all these elements doesn’t equate automatic success, as many a blockbuster flop can attest to. There are also exceptions to the rules. Still, this is a general guideline if you’re looking to make a broadly appealing work.

[WOSTR]

I don't think it's possible.
Best you can do IMO is included as much as possible without reliance on cliches tokenism by investing in characters and situations as best you can, whilst leaving plenty of room for suggestion in other areas to keep people interested and guessing, then offer plenty of material that's stand alone in it's own right, so people can pick up at any time without returning to the start, like a soap opera?

[milejdyvan]

Interestingly, this question actually fits me a lot I do actually try my best to appeal to as many readers as possible. Do I have more than two main characters? Yep! I have 20 lol! All are very diverse and unique. And while the first book heavily focuses on one character, slowly as the books come, they all will get their time to shine. I honestly believe that representation is really important in story-telling, especially in this time and age when everybody is so divided. It's really important to show that everyone matters. Plus the diversity in my story isn't forced either. It makes canonical sense why everyone is the way they are. Plus, the power system in my story "spirit" heavily enhances their "Individuality" hence the title of the story but I do not like to call it "pandering". Calling it that is actually pretty offensive to someone who genuinely cares about inclusivity. I am not pandering to anyone, I am merely writing what I want. Not sure if you are interested but if you are, here it is.

Individuality Book 1 - The Burning Rose | Tapas

[ChaoticConstellation]

I don’t think a long form story can do this. Too many opinions, and characters, actions or personalities are likely to turn some people off. But typically a short story, can have a very wide appeal. Certainly nothing can appeal to everyone. But something like Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is fairly well known, and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but people usually will read the whole thing, and want to talk about it, which is appealing in and of itself. Since you can’t appeal to everyone at least make something worth reading, discussing and that you personally like.

[Kelheor]

It's only offensive if you think it's offensive. No one is calling you out on creating a huge diverse cast. But if someone wants to create a huge diverse cast just to please everyone and hit every possible person, then it is pandering. Nothing really bad in its core too, but it is what it is.