scribble-games

[scribble-games]

storytelling rule 1: contradiction

Everybody knows that a character has to have conflict to be interesting. I have become disenchanted with the use of the word "conflict" in storytelling. Some conflicts in stories are better described using words like: movement, transformation, or even decay. My favorite concept of conflict within a character is contradiction.

I made a rule for myself that, no matter how small a character's role in the story is, even if they exist for only one sentence, they must contain an element of contradiction.

Viewing a character from the outside, their internal state can't be known, so this contradiction often takes place in the mind of the POV character, or even in the mind of the reader, rather than necessarily being inherently part of the character.

Tropes and stereotypes are deeply related, overlapping things, in fact almost the same thing. As background characters populate the background of a story, they become sorted into recognizable forms: bratty children, air-headed teenage girls, sweet old ladies. As we traverse the world around us, a similar process occurs where we understand the people we encounter according to categories.

We can't know very much about a stranger, so they aren't complex to us, they are simple. This simplicity can take away the humanity of people, deprive them of value, and lead to treating them badly. That is the harmful action of stereotypes.

I noticed that many writers evoke the reader's feelings and attitudes using stereotypes. If a character is fat or ugly, the story is shaped so that we are meant to dislike them; if a character has some foreign characteristic, we are supposed to fear them. It's mean-spirited, and a betrayal of the purpose of literature. Literature illuminates humanity; to use a stereotype to strengthen a response of disgust or fear is the opposite of illumination. Stereotypes simplify and obscure humanity.

The rule of contradiction means that each character must change the reader's perception of them. Even within a single sentence, the reader's understanding must break into two parts: an initial impression, and a deep and fundamental change to that impression. The reader's first picturing of the character and their second picturing of the character must be incompatible. Contradiction.

For example, let's say I mention a character who is a little old lady. The reader pictures a trope or a stereotype. How can I contradict that first picture? I can say that she is carrying a large python. I can say she is wearing thigh-high leather boots and a jacket with spikes. I can say that she is covered in mud and twigs, or that she is reading a book about penguins, or that she has a gun holstered at her hip. Even if she only exists in the story for one sentence, I can communicate that she is fully human and has complexity.

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Hey, just checking in, wanted to make sure you were alive and hydrated lol. Hope to hear from you soon, 180 Files is one of my favorite IFs and I can't wait for the sequel!

Hello! Now every time I come on here and say "I'm not dead! I can write again!" something goes wrong lol. So maybe I shall say nothing, but thank you for the well wishes 🥰

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It’s my birthday! 🎈 I’m officially joining the 40s club now. If you’d like to give me a little gift, I’d humbly ask for a reblog of my work today. It would mean the world to me. ❤️

Chenria @ Patreon | Chenria @ Bsky

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I finally remembered to update the demo link to the new CogDemos one!

I also added Awoken to CogDemos (even if looking at my old writing is awkard lol)

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Too many writers are using generative 'AI' to make their book covers, so I've written a guide on how to make your own cover for free or cheap without turning to a machine.

If you can't afford to pay an artist, you CAN make your own!

I hope this is a helpful overview that covers the basics and points to some free resources.

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Hi, will you port over Awoken too? I know it's not your active project, but it would be a shame to lose the demo.

Sure!

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hey scribble! i don't know if you've seen but dashingdon is getting taken down at the end of january. lots of people are moving to cogdemos :) love your work and i hope you're doing well <3

Thanks for letting me know! (and the others who have messaged me about this). I’ll definitely try and move the Crossfire demo over. What a shame about Dashingdon though!

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I forgot to ask my question lol, I was going to say is there an ending in the aegis project where angel doesn’t run off without you? and do they actually even like you

Angel always runs off because they have a job to do! As for whether they like 180, well if you’ve earned their respect they definitely have a fascination with you. But them liking you doesn’t mean they trust you.

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do you have any updates on the aegis project sequel?? im dying to know what happens next 🥹

Still in progress, a bit of a mess right now! I don’t tend to write in a very linear fashion so there are branches that just say “fill in here”.

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hi!! just discovered your blog & games and am immediately and whole heartedly devoted to 100 (making him worse. coughs)

i was wondering if being trans is an option/plays into the game at all? not at all a factor in how much i know i'll enjoy the game, just curious!

I'm very sorry for the late answer, I did my thing of seeing this ask, thinking 'ah, a question that deserves a thoughtful answer when I get home' and then, uh, completely forgetting about it.

So, in Aegis Project the gender choice is supposed to encompass trans and cis people; 'man' could be a trans man or cis man and I've tried to make sure that nothing in any description of the MC makes any assumptions (if anyone thinks anything does, please let me know).

Clothing styles are open to everyone and I tried not to present it as 'gendered' clothing. Maybe one person imagines the 'suit' option as a very masculine style; maybe another sees it as a bright pink floral number. Maybe it's bright pink, floral *and* masculine!

If I recall correctly, being non-binary can get you a teeny bit of extra dialogue with Hex but that's it.

[scribble-games]

making a collection

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Hi, i hope it's okay to ask. How get a drive from Vicki? I'm struggling and I've tried so many times and still i can't get it 😭

I thought this had an easy answer and then I checked and it was somewhat more complicated than I remembered; cue me staring at my own code like wtf was I doing here...

There's a stat check in Chapter Four during the conversation where you meet her in a hotel.

If you take the truth serum during the equipment scene in Chapter Two, you can drug Vicki during this scene and it will make the stat checks super easy. Otherwise the difficulty is based on what you told her the last time you met. If you lied to her before but now pick the 'come clean' option, it will make the stat check harder, as will going the other way around and lying to her now but hinting at the truth before. Keeping the same approach is best for this particular stat check, but bear in mind that Vicki will be mad when she figures out you lied, and 313 will be mad if you tell her too much. Your approach also affects the overall coverup/expose stat.

As for the actual choice, it's:

Tell her that you're absolutely committed to solving the crime. (tests Justice, needs 45+ for 'super easy', 55+ for normal, 75+ for hard)

Tell her that this will boost both your careers. (tests Ambition, same stat boundaries as above)

Keep cool and downplay the importance of getting her help. (tests Composure, same as above)

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Hi, back again with another 180 files question (sorry if it's bothersome). What would happen if a high-suspicion Agent 180 gets captured by security in chapter 6, and Angel doesn't come to rescue them?

Oof this is a really late answer and I'm sorry!

The security guards are taking 180 to Faustus, the evil scientist. He would put an Aegis in them and get 180 to tell him everything that they knew. I think then that would spur him to make his escape earlier than he was intending to. What I'm not sure is what he'd do with 180 then. He might send them back to the IIA to act as a mole for him. He might keep them to do evil science stuff on. Whatever happens, not a good fate for poor 180.

(Angel knows this, which is why they're smug about the rescue)

[scribble-games]

Hi, hope you're doing well. I've got a question about 180 files. Say 180 somehow managed to capture Angel at the casino. What would happen then?

Hmmm, they’d probably be ordered to take Angel somewhere to meet up with an extraction team who would then whisk poor Angel off to some secret blackops site. I don’t think they had these people standing by nearby because the Agency wasn’t really expecting you to capture Angel all on your own, just ID them for later. But they wouldn’t turn down the opportunity if 180 did manage it.

Now, you would probably do well to keep Angel unconscious/drugged, or else they’ll spend the whole time trying to escape. But, there is that pesky mole you didn’t know about, and as soon as DIABLO finds out, there’s going to be a lot of people trying to intercept you!

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guy who has mistaken adrenaline for love and isn’t interested in correcting the mistake

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New Crow Time 🎀🏅

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The aegis project still rotates in my mind like a microwave meal. Along with all the cliffhangers!

Who is the DIABLO contact? Negating that the mole is in connection with the director or 300, do they know?? Does the mole know 100 knows something is up?? In the parents bg, who set the hit? Why was it cleared??; who was on the phone to 180's mum, why?? 

What is anybody's real name??? (313, you don't count, I love you)

Love the book, sorry for the gushing. Demo is still holding up. Wishing all the best. 🥺

Oh my gosh, thank you for such a sweet message!

Most of these questions I cannot answer yet 😅 hmmm... I think the mole doesn't know that anyone is onto them yet BUT Azazel knows, and is counting on it.

Real names.... eh you'll learn 100's in an earlyish chapter. 196's is Esther!