Post AWoivZvPkzHT2KIoT2 by Liquidream@mastodon.gamedev.place
 (DIR) More posts by Liquidream@mastodon.gamedev.place
 (DIR) Post #AWogpUKhR4pY2y672O by Liquidream@mastodon.gamedev.place
       2023-06-18T12:45:22Z
       
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       TFW you're struggling getting a story to work. 😒So you finally employ Dan Harmon's "Story Circle" to fix it, and wind up with (quite possibly) the BEST story you've ever come up with. That! 😊Now time to re-write most of the dialog... 🤦‍♂️#WritingIsHard #GameDev #AdventureGames
       
 (DIR) Post #AWogpVGTyF3EwB8G6S by wogan@mastodon.africa
       2023-06-18T13:05:27Z
       
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       @Liquidream
       
 (DIR) Post #AWohQK6qPQrP3PBIXY by Liquidream@mastodon.gamedev.place
       2023-06-18T13:12:02Z
       
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       @wogan LOL, well-played! 😜
       
 (DIR) Post #AWoivZBKWKPwjOk0dU by Liquidream@mastodon.gamedev.place
       2023-06-18T13:26:07Z
       
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       @wogan Yes, I have (+thought Dan admits as much/refs how it he drew on other well-known mentors/influences?).However, for me just liked the simplicity of the structure.What helped me most was visualising the story balance: -order/chaos (familiar/unknown)-the steps in journey crossing down/up-opposites forces (need/take, go/return, etc.)As someone new to story writing, this helped me to see the story first from what my protagonist needs, then the rest of the story started piecing together.
       
 (DIR) Post #AWoivZvPkzHT2KIoT2 by Liquidream@mastodon.gamedev.place
       2023-06-18T13:26:14Z
       
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       @wogan P.S. - Not sure about the anti-hero/new evils/everyone worse off (just says changed, could be for the better - as in MY story), but perhaps this is just how it was typically applied in R+M? 🤷‍♂️
       
 (DIR) Post #AWoivabFFSk183sDfU by wogan@mastodon.africa
       2023-06-18T13:28:57Z
       
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       @Liquidream That's generally how it was applied in R&M, because it subverts expectations (and the entire identity of the show is that it exists to subvert expectations).I think if you were to run through every episode synopsis and group them up as:* Characters end up better off* Characters end up worse off* A last-second twist renders the entire episode functionally pointlessThe latter 2 categories would account for most of the writing 😂
       
 (DIR) Post #AWoj8H1fKou2BcHPyS by wogan@mastodon.africa
       2023-06-18T13:31:15Z
       
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       @Liquidream For eg, "Rixty Minutes" (Season 1 Episode 8) is one of the best-rated episodes of the show, and the conclusion at the end of it is basically that "as shitty as this life is, it's the best you're gonna get" (for Jerry and Beth), Summer learns out that her real brother is a buried corpse in the yard + learns that "nothing matters, you may as well watch TV", and Rick just does Rick things.
       
 (DIR) Post #AWojTjJ1Nz33yad3g0 by Liquidream@mastodon.gamedev.place
       2023-06-18T13:35:07Z
       
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       @wogan Ok, sounds like this is all more of a reflection about R+M than the "Story Circle" as a technique to writing stories. Either way, thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
       
 (DIR) Post #AWojjD6SsjQ4je8aO0 by wogan@mastodon.africa
       2023-06-18T13:37:56Z
       
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       @Liquidream R&M is probably the reason Harmon's as famous as he is! And (at least as far as the writing goes) he got there by following well-established structures with unique subversions, so if anything, the takeaway here is that "frameworks work". Vonnegut's brief speech on story structures laid out a few more good ones, and I reckon it's worth knowing that they exist + seeing them in practice :)
       
 (DIR) Post #AWotLRRAw4XJmc85po by leon@peoplemaking.games
       2023-06-18T15:22:39Z
       
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       @Liquidream @wogan the key thing that Harmon did was really extrapolate Campbellian mythic structure to *episodic television*. Harmon maintains that writing episodic is much more challenging than serial, which is why we see so much less episodic shows where everything is artfully reset at the end in a way that makes you believe it isn’t reset, and way more 40 hour movies that have a 5% chance of ending well.I absolutely believe there’s a lot games can take out of the story circle because it’s pulling a similar act - episodic TV is tricking you into thinking the characters have agency and consequences, but they can’t because then it wouldn’t be episodic (and it would alienate new viewers). Game writing is frequently tricking players into thinking their player character has agency and consequences but they can’t because then it wouldn’t be implementable (or a game).
       
 (DIR) Post #AWotLSEnxYEeGXLjBw by wogan@mastodon.africa
       2023-06-18T15:25:40Z
       
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       @leon @Liquidream That's some 10/10 insight 🙏 I haven't yet dug into it, but someday I'd like to understand how streaming impacted the way shows are written (and/or cancelled, which is the big topic lately).I think the constraints under which "old-school" network TV shows were pitched, developed and flighted are very different in the modern era, and I have a spidey-sense feeling that it's changed *what* we consume, not just how we consume it.