Thursday, February 20, 2020
Storium Basics: Subplots
Welcome back to Storium Basics - today, I'd like to briefly discuss the Subplot card type.
Subplots are actually my favorite card on Storium. The other cards show your character's impact on the story—a subplot shows the story's impact on your character.
Subplot cards are considered neutral, so they don't affect the Strong/Weak balance of a challenge. They do, however, push things closer to a conclusion. I like to use them to set up situations that might go either way, or to emphasize the way the challenge is currently going while moving events forward.
It takes some time to get used to writing subplots, but here's the basics: When you play a subplot, it's time to get a little introspective. Show how the subplot has been affected by the story events—how are the events of the story shaping your views of your subplot? Or, alternatively, you can show how your subplot is driving you to take the actions that you are taking. I use a mix of both. As you play subplot cards scene after scene, show how it is developing in your character's mind.
Now, that doesn't mean that your move is entirely internal! As I said above, this is still a move on a challenge, and thus it still moves the story of the challenge forward. So, this move needs to be both about your character and about the story of the challenge. It is tilted more towards your character than other moves, but the challenge's story shouldn't disappear.
A great way to do this is to tie what's going on in the challenge specifically to what's going on with your character's subplot. You can, like I suggested above, show how your subplot drove you to take the actions you're taking in the challenge. Or, you might instead decide to show how the actions you took affected your view of your subplot.
For example, if you're playing a character with the subplot Prove Yourself, reflecting his desire to have his abilities acknowledged by those around him, that subplot might be involved in a few ways. Now, these aren't the only ways you could do it, mind - but here's a couple thoughts:
Neutral cards can be a little hard to picture this way at first - how do you progress the story while not making things Stronger or Weaker? That's a bit of a misconception, I think.
When you play a neutral card, like a Subplot in this case, you push the story forward. This can feel like it's pushing closer to one of the endings, based on which ending the challenge was headed towards. If the challenge is already going Strong, your subplot can feel strong. If the challenge was already going Weak, your subplot can feel weak.
Why? This is because a neutral card leaves the status quo where it is, but leaves less slots to change it. So while you aren't actually making things Stronger or making things Weaker, you are progressing the story of the challenge and there is now less "time" for the challenge to turn around.
So, while a subplot play shouldn't feel exactly like a Strength or Weakness play, there's no problem with using it to emphasize the current story direction. With a neutral card, you're saying that things continue along the same path they've been continuing on...if that's a good path, that's good, if it's a bad path, that's bad.
That assumes you're playing a neutral card on its own, of course - playing multiple cards at once is an option in most Storium games, and I'll discuss that technique and its effects on moves another time.
When you play the last subplot card in your stack, it is time to move the subplot forward in a notable fashion. Show how the story's events have led the character to some kind of development point—some place where their views change, or perhaps harden and evolve to a new level. Moves where you're finishing up your subplot stack should feel significant. Even if they're in the middle of a challenge and other things are going on, be sure to take some time to leave a sign of development of your character's story. You don't have to know precisely where it's going yet, but you should make clear that something has changed in how your character views or interacts with the issue covered by the subplot. Leave yourself some cues, some thoughts on how this might develop
It's okay - even fun - to leave the full development a bit up in the air here more solidly decide when you pick your new subplot a little later. You can ask yourself a new question the subplot inspires rather than providing an answer. This doesn't have to be a full conclusion to the subplot. It's a major development, not necessarily an ending. You are moving forward in a way, but you aren't necessarily moving forward to something totally different.
You also get a wild Strength card any time you play the last subplot card—you'll get it at the close of that scene.
At the start of the next scene after you finish your subplot, you'll also have to define a new subplot. It's pretty simple—just click the "Define a New Subplot" button that replaces your Move button, and write one like any other custom card.
What you want to do here is think a bit about what happened regarding your prior subplot. Where did your character start out regarding that issue, and where did he end up? What is he thinking about now? Is it the same issue, with some new color to it, or has he moved on to some other thing?
This is why it helps to be thinking about your subplot each time you play it, and get a little introspective each time. If you take the time to think about this along the way, you don't have to think about it all at once. And, if you use that final move of a subplot to leave yourself some thinking cues, you'll more easily find direction in writing your new plot.
Don't forget to consider how the game's story itself has been going, either! Subplots are about how your character and the game interact.
Subplots are, as I mentioned, how you show the game's impact on your character–and when you define a new Subplot, that's a big chance to show it. It's one of my favorite times in Storium–when I get to write a new subplot, I can definitively show everyone just what my character has gone through and what issue he's working through now as a result. Sometimes my new subplot is a development of the prior one, a furthering of that issue with a new name and new stakes. But sometimes things have gone totally sideways and unexpected things came up, or the character realized that what he was working through wasn't what he thought he was working through, leading to a subplot that's pretty drastically different.
Here's an example of one that developed over the course of "Sorrow's Shores" for my character, Brennan:
Subplots are actually my favorite card on Storium. The other cards show your character's impact on the story—a subplot shows the story's impact on your character.
Subplot cards are considered neutral, so they don't affect the Strong/Weak balance of a challenge. They do, however, push things closer to a conclusion. I like to use them to set up situations that might go either way, or to emphasize the way the challenge is currently going while moving events forward.
It takes some time to get used to writing subplots, but here's the basics: When you play a subplot, it's time to get a little introspective. Show how the subplot has been affected by the story events—how are the events of the story shaping your views of your subplot? Or, alternatively, you can show how your subplot is driving you to take the actions that you are taking. I use a mix of both. As you play subplot cards scene after scene, show how it is developing in your character's mind.
Now, that doesn't mean that your move is entirely internal! As I said above, this is still a move on a challenge, and thus it still moves the story of the challenge forward. So, this move needs to be both about your character and about the story of the challenge. It is tilted more towards your character than other moves, but the challenge's story shouldn't disappear.
A great way to do this is to tie what's going on in the challenge specifically to what's going on with your character's subplot. You can, like I suggested above, show how your subplot drove you to take the actions you're taking in the challenge. Or, you might instead decide to show how the actions you took affected your view of your subplot.
For example, if you're playing a character with the subplot Prove Yourself, reflecting his desire to have his abilities acknowledged by those around him, that subplot might be involved in a few ways. Now, these aren't the only ways you could do it, mind - but here's a couple thoughts:
- Inspiring Actions: Out of a desire to Prove Yourself, you charge headlong at the enemy, filled with ambition to win the day and be acknowledged by the other heroes.
- Reflecting on Actions: You charge headlong at the enemy, and X happens. In the moments afterwards, a thought goes through your head about how that's likely to affect your goal of proving yourself - do you think you've gotten closer, or further away?
Neutral cards can be a little hard to picture this way at first - how do you progress the story while not making things Stronger or Weaker? That's a bit of a misconception, I think.
When you play a neutral card, like a Subplot in this case, you push the story forward. This can feel like it's pushing closer to one of the endings, based on which ending the challenge was headed towards. If the challenge is already going Strong, your subplot can feel strong. If the challenge was already going Weak, your subplot can feel weak.
Why? This is because a neutral card leaves the status quo where it is, but leaves less slots to change it. So while you aren't actually making things Stronger or making things Weaker, you are progressing the story of the challenge and there is now less "time" for the challenge to turn around.
So, while a subplot play shouldn't feel exactly like a Strength or Weakness play, there's no problem with using it to emphasize the current story direction. With a neutral card, you're saying that things continue along the same path they've been continuing on...if that's a good path, that's good, if it's a bad path, that's bad.
That assumes you're playing a neutral card on its own, of course - playing multiple cards at once is an option in most Storium games, and I'll discuss that technique and its effects on moves another time.
When you play the last subplot card in your stack, it is time to move the subplot forward in a notable fashion. Show how the story's events have led the character to some kind of development point—some place where their views change, or perhaps harden and evolve to a new level. Moves where you're finishing up your subplot stack should feel significant. Even if they're in the middle of a challenge and other things are going on, be sure to take some time to leave a sign of development of your character's story. You don't have to know precisely where it's going yet, but you should make clear that something has changed in how your character views or interacts with the issue covered by the subplot. Leave yourself some cues, some thoughts on how this might develop
It's okay - even fun - to leave the full development a bit up in the air here more solidly decide when you pick your new subplot a little later. You can ask yourself a new question the subplot inspires rather than providing an answer. This doesn't have to be a full conclusion to the subplot. It's a major development, not necessarily an ending. You are moving forward in a way, but you aren't necessarily moving forward to something totally different.
You also get a wild Strength card any time you play the last subplot card—you'll get it at the close of that scene.
At the start of the next scene after you finish your subplot, you'll also have to define a new subplot. It's pretty simple—just click the "Define a New Subplot" button that replaces your Move button, and write one like any other custom card.
What you want to do here is think a bit about what happened regarding your prior subplot. Where did your character start out regarding that issue, and where did he end up? What is he thinking about now? Is it the same issue, with some new color to it, or has he moved on to some other thing?
This is why it helps to be thinking about your subplot each time you play it, and get a little introspective each time. If you take the time to think about this along the way, you don't have to think about it all at once. And, if you use that final move of a subplot to leave yourself some thinking cues, you'll more easily find direction in writing your new plot.
Don't forget to consider how the game's story itself has been going, either! Subplots are about how your character and the game interact.
Subplots are, as I mentioned, how you show the game's impact on your character–and when you define a new Subplot, that's a big chance to show it. It's one of my favorite times in Storium–when I get to write a new subplot, I can definitively show everyone just what my character has gone through and what issue he's working through now as a result. Sometimes my new subplot is a development of the prior one, a furthering of that issue with a new name and new stakes. But sometimes things have gone totally sideways and unexpected things came up, or the character realized that what he was working through wasn't what he thought he was working through, leading to a subplot that's pretty drastically different.
Here's an example of one that developed over the course of "Sorrow's Shores" for my character, Brennan:
- It started out as "Learning the Basics," reflecting Brennan's unfamiliarity with the situation he was in and his desire to be able to at least help out a little and learn what he could to take care of himself.
- From there, it moved to "I Have to Do More!" as Brennan learned to do his part but saw the group struggling and dealt with the loss of one of the group's members–he felt like he hadn't been strong enough yet and wanted to push himself.
- Finally, it became "When it isn't enough…" as more bad things still happened, and he began to realize that sometimes no matter how hard you tried, sometimes you weren't strong enough on your own, and maybe it wasn't just him that was like that, maybe it was everyone. So he started wrestling with what that meant and learning that it was okay if he had to depend on other people.
- Develop Those Subplots!
- Establishing Character Arcs
- Character Arc vs. Game Arc
- Subplots and Character Arcs
- Writing a Move: Neutral Cards
- Build Towards Something
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
My GaryCon XII / 2020 Games Approved And Scheduled!
I have four games at GaryCon XII/2020 this year! I'm so glad to be returning to one of my favorite events in the Midwest. If you get a chance, come play some games with me!
Friday - 10am
A discrete summons has reached your ears, for the good people of Hommlet are in fear for their lives! A militia of foul brigands from Nulb have been spotted near the old Moathouse of ill reputation! What evil lurks there and beyond? Find out, brave heroes, using Chainmail (and a bit of Original D&D) as the rules of engagement as we explore this famous Greyhawk setting!
Those of you who are part of the Chgowiz Henchfolk army have seen previous postings on my models and rules for this scenario. I'm so excited!
I'm doubly-excited that GaryCon has invited me to run this game in the "Legends of Roleplaying" room as well!
Legends of Roleplaying is an ongoing series of events at Gary Con that pay special attention to the early days of roleplaying that led to the development of Dungeons & Dragons and the legacy of games created to further expand the hobby.
These nostalgic events bring Gary Con attendees the fun of classic roleplaying games that were a staple during the early days of the hobby and Gen Cons past. The original rules, vintage figures, and authentic accessories will be used during play when possible. Sometimes the events will involve individuals who played, refereed, and authored the games during this golden age of roleplaying. Most events will be taught and so all that is needed is interest to play. This gives Gary Con attendees a chance to experience what it was like to play these games at the earliest Gen Cons and even Gary Gygax's own home at 330 Center St. in Lake Geneva!
So no pressure... *gulp*
Friday 6pm
Go underground in dark tunnels and chambers filled with horrors or treasures! Brave Lawful allies fight against foul Bestials! Who will emerge victorious? Fight in a unique terrain setup using Chaos Wars fantasy miniature wargaming rules and all genuine Ral Partha armies!
I'm bringing fantasy wargaming underground, using my modular tile system and Ral Partha Chaos Wars wargaming rules. I've been looking forward to running this at GaryCon! Instead of a skirmish or small party, bring an army into the dungeon and see how it goes!
Saturday 7pm
It's an easy enough job: Get into the Royal Palace, steal the King's Secretary's Seal and return with it, for a reward worth ten years' wages. But nothing is ever simple, is it? Especially when you interrupt something far, far worse, and the opportunities may be far, far bigger. Come experience the world of Etinerra, a campaign ten years going!
I'm continuing a tradition almost a decade old, of running a Saturday night AD&D game at GaryCon and having it take place in my Chronicles of Etinerra world. This year, I'm doing something different. Inspirations from Ocean's Eleven, the Lut Gholein Act of Diablo 2, my twisted imagination and a game I ran for my wife in her campaign. It should be a lot of fun!
Sunday 10am
Same as Friday 6pm game. I like closing out GaryCon with a miniatures game. Sometimes Sunday morning games are very low key and lightly attended, so we'll see how it goes.
I hope to get some playing time on Thursday and on Saturday. Plus check out the vendor room and drool over the things I'm not going to be able to buy. Ha!
Are you going to GaryCon? What are you looking forward to playing or running?
UCLan’s cJAM Media Event, Friday 22 November
The games design course was excited to take part in cJAM: Media last week!
The event that enables our talented students to meet face-to-face with senior industry professionals, to share ideas, make connections and pitch for opportunities.
cJAM events are hosted by the Faculty of Culture and the Creative Industries and the objective is to give our students the opportunity to win placements that will help launch their careers.
The Creative Innovation Zone in UCLan's Media Factory was buzzing with conversation as hundreds of students queued for 'speed dating' style interviews with their industry heroes and mentors.
See details of the programme HERE.
Tania Callagher, UCLan Resources Co-ordinator and Richard Albiston, Creative Producer of The Great Northern Creative Expo, must be given utmost credit for arranging this inspiring and exhuberent event which led to 88 placements being awarded to Media students.
The event that enables our talented students to meet face-to-face with senior industry professionals, to share ideas, make connections and pitch for opportunities.
cJAM events are hosted by the Faculty of Culture and the Creative Industries and the objective is to give our students the opportunity to win placements that will help launch their careers.
The day included:
FREE breakfast and lunch
Giant speed pitching session
Chance to win industry placements
Industry guest speakers
Industry Q&A panel
Networking throughout.
We were so proud to welcome our Alumni, Saija Wintersun, now Senior Environment Artist at Rebellion, Oxford.
Saija spent much of the day reviewing student portfolios and offering her expert advice.
FREE breakfast and lunch
Giant speed pitching session
Chance to win industry placements
Industry guest speakers
Industry Q&A panel
Networking throughout.
We were so proud to welcome our Alumni, Saija Wintersun, now Senior Environment Artist at Rebellion, Oxford.
Saija spent much of the day reviewing student portfolios and offering her expert advice.
The Creative Innovation Zone in UCLan's Media Factory was buzzing with conversation as hundreds of students queued for 'speed dating' style interviews with their industry heroes and mentors.
See details of the programme HERE.
Tania Callagher, UCLan Resources Co-ordinator and Richard Albiston, Creative Producer of The Great Northern Creative Expo, must be given utmost credit for arranging this inspiring and exhuberent event which led to 88 placements being awarded to Media students.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Brave Browser the Best privacy-focused Browser of 2020
Out of all the privacy-focused products and apps available on the market, Brave has been voted the best. Other winners of Product Hunt's Golden Kitty awards showed that there was a huge interest in privacy-enhancing products and apps such as chats, maps, and other collaboration tools.
An extremely productive year for Brave
Last year has been a pivotal one for the crypto industry, but few companies managed to see the kind of success Brave did. Almost every day of the year has been packed witch action, as the company managed to officially launch its browser, get its Basic Attention Token out, and onboard hundreds of thousands of verified publishers on its rewards platform.
Luckily, the effort Brave has been putting into its product hasn't gone unnoticed.
The company's revolutionary browser has been voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019, for which it received a Golden Kitty award. The awards, hosted by Product Hunt, were given to the most popular products across 23 different product categories.
Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt said:
"Our annual Golden Kitty awards celebrate all the great products that makers have launched throughout the year"
Brave's win is important for the company—with this year seeing the most user votes ever, it's a clear indicator of the browser's rapidly rising popularity.
Privacy and blockchain are the strongest forces in tech right now
If reaching 10 million monthly active users in December was Brave's crown achievement, then the Product Hunt award was the cherry on top.
The recognition Brave got from Product Hunt users shows that a market for privacy-focused apps is thriving. All of the apps and products that got a Golden Kitty award from Product Hunt users focused heavily on data protection. Everything from automatic investment apps and remote collaboration tools to smart home products emphasized their privacy.
AI and machine learning rose as another note-worthy trend, but blockchain seemed to be the most dominating force in app development. Blockchain-based messaging apps and maps were hugely popular with Product Hunt users, who seem to value innovation and security.
For those users, Brave is a perfect platform. The company's research and development team has recently debuted its privacy-preserving distributed VPN, which could potentially bring even more security to the user than its already existing Tor extension.
Brave's effort to revolutionize the advertising industry has also been recognized by some of the biggest names in publishing—major publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, NDTV, NPR, and Qz have all joined the platform. Some of the highest-ranking websites in the world, including Wikipedia, WikiHow, Vimeo, Internet Archive, and DuckDuckGo, are also among Brave's 390,000 verified publishers.
Earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) with Brave Web Browser
Try Brave Browser
Thursday, February 6, 2020
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