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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 17, 2018 23:28:52 GMT -5
THE WRITER'S PERSPECTIVE
PART TWO: THE CREATIVE PROCESS AT WORK
How do writers take ideas and turn them into stories? This post isn't about world-building (that comes later), but rather about the creative process in general.
In general, it's about taking ideas and translating them into a narrative; written words that tell a story through action and dialogue. Let's consider the first short story of the Literary Mosaic Universe- From the Desk of the Crown Prosecutor. When the story was written at the time, the fifth Literary Mosaic was going to be considered a celebratory novel; something that tied all the previous stories together. But to get there, an important character had to be introduced: Crown Prosecutor Henry Taylor.
The idea was there- introducing the character; but how to execute it? For that I turned to the second story in the series: Assassin. The ending to that story was rather confusing, to say the least. Although the evidence clearly pointed to Franz Gelb, one of my fellow writers lead us down the direction that the murderers were Elvira the assassin, and Reginald Walters, her supposed employer. But there was no build up or foreshadowing to this moment. Sure, Elvira had appeared in some prior scenes in this book, but it was more as a subplot in a parallel action rather than as part of the main action. To say this was a plot hole was an understatement... this "twist" ending came off as forced and confusing.
This loose end provided Taylor with the motive for his actions in the fifth Literary Mosaic- opening a case against Gunnarson to bring him to court. As it turns out, this was not the first time that Gunnarson overlooked evidence in favor of a hunch in a case... Taylor mentions to his assistant that he has had eleven cases involving Gunnarson thrown out because he was unable to actually prove who did it with evidence; instead relying on hunches and theories. This brings Taylor to his ultimate decision- he finds it suspicious that Gunnarson would simply ignore evidence in favor of a hunch and makes a decision- he opens a case against Gunnarson, having reason to believe that a conspiracy exists where Gunnarson is letting criminals get away and having scapegoats arrested in their place.
Now that the idea is there, the process comes with turning the chain of ideas into a narrative of action and dialogue. Remember, the key to a good story is you "show, don't tell" so with the exception of small stuff, we "see Taylor" come into his office, read his file, get angry, and decide to open a case against Gunnarson. A good narrative flows naturally, and doesn't force the plot in any particular direction. Taylor comes into his office because he just finished up a case; the next case he's going to tackle happens to be the assassin case, Gunnarson investigated said case, Taylor is furious Gunnarson was involved because of his unorthodox style, etc.
Henry Taylor marked a departure from other characters in Literary Mosaic. Until him, Gunnarson had been regarded by everyone as this sort of "great master detective" who always saved the day and was infallible. Taylor was the first character introduced to have zero respect for the Swede, and call him out on his methods.
But sometimes you cannot plan a story from beginning to end. Sometimes you need to take it as it comes. Like The Past Never Truly Dies. That story, as well as every other Literary Mosaic Entry, was written on a "post by post" style, with only a vague idea of what the ending would be like as a whole. Here, its more about taking what you are given, and building off of what came before. In this case, its about determining a logical progression of the narrative. For example, when confronted in court, Gunnarson doesn't pull out his gun and kill Taylor, he doesn't freak out and try to run away, nor does he do something like turn into a dragon and destroy the courthouse and fly away. Rather, Gunnarson maintains his composure, and goes along with the case, with each post building off of the last one in a manner that makes sense in the context of the story. It is true that different writers can often have different ideas concerning a story, but more on that in another post.
The creative process takes many forms; this post only highlighted a couple of them. But regardless of planning a story through from general ideas to specific details, or being given a framework to work with, anyone can write a good story... it just takes some inspiration, a little thought and the time to write it down, and let it flow.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 18, 2018 1:19:12 GMT -5
THE WRITER'S PERSPECTIVE
PART THREE: To Trope or Not To Trope
It's no secret that when it comes to media of any kind- movies, novels, video games, there are these patterns that exist across vastly different stories. For example, take a look at these three sentences.
......
1) The villain has kidnapped someone of great prominence. A ransom is demanded for their safe return. The victim's people are unable or unwilling to pay the ransom. A hero emerges willing to save the victim. He goes on a perilous quest to save the victim, including having to overcome several detours before finally confronting the villain. The villain is defeated in a climactic showdown and the hero saves the victim. And if the hero is male and the victim is a damsel in distress, then sparks of romance form between them. They journey home and the hero is celebrated for successfully saving the victim.
2) An evil organization has taken over a public facility and taken civilians hostage. Their only hope is an unassuming guy who is actually rather brilliant and effective. One by one he takes down the organization, until a climactic showdown with the ringleader who personally guards a key hostage. The villain gets an overly dramatic death and the hero saves the hostage. The outside authorities, till now unable to do anything, commend the hero and he goes home.
3) A group of teenagers find themselves in a remote location, when they are suddenly killed off one by one by a nearly unstoppable stalker killer. Eventually only one female remains, who successfully defeats the killer and lives... only to find out that the killer is still a threat and she is not out of the woods yet, thus setting up a sequel.
Sound familiar? In fact, does these sound like they could apply to the plots of multiple movies each? You're not too far off; these three sentences alone could apply to dozens of movies or video games. These recurring motifs and patterns in media are called tropes; and they are far more common than you would think.
Whether it is character archetypes, plot elements or even something that pokes fun at the medium itself, tropes are arguably unavoidable in any form of media. So that brings the question- is it better to use tropes, even if intentional, or is it better to try to avoid them when possible?
The simple answer is... there is no simple answer. While there is truth in the fact that many are overused, such as "redemption in death" or "damsel in distress," at the same time some tropes are incredibly useful, and in some cases help explain things that would otherwise require overly complicated explanations.
For example- Vile Evil Confederacy has an army of clones of The Duplicator. Granted, they aren't very intelligent, but that is because that is the point; major villain organizations usually have an "army of generic, nameless grunts" whose intelligence is often not that great. So instead of calling to question how an organization would recruit such an army to their cause, it is explained away as, literally, all these grunts are clones of a single individual who is capable of cloning himself. (NOTE: We're not discussing Vile Evil Confederacy here; just how this trope applies). Hence, a literal interpretation of generic, nameless grunts.
So does that mean tropes need to be avoided all together? Of course not; tropes as a whole are pretty much unavoidable in this day and age, so it is not so much a question of how to avoid using common tropes, but rather the execution of said tropes.
Take the ever classic "damsel in distress" trope. Traditionally, the trope is rather straight forward: the female hostage taken by the villain is what drives the plot forward; motivating our male hero or heroes to take action and try to save her. There's a confrontation with the villain that ends with his defeat or demise and the damsel is rescued, and everyone lives happily ever after.
We won't discuss this trope in too much depth here (saving that for another post), but what I can say for the time being is that while this trope has been used in everything from fairy tales to video games, chances are it isn't going away any time soon. It's not so much a question of the trope showing up all together... but rather, how it is executed. If used correctly, Damsel In Distress could survive in 21st century media, but more on that when we talk about the trope itself.
So back to the original question: is it better to use tropes or try to avoid tropes? I think the best way to think about it is to consider the tropes themselves and how they impact the story as a whole. There are tropes which have their uses, and then there are some that are better off avoided. Sometimes the best way to go is to take a well-played trope, invert it and create a situation no one sees coming.
In Conclusion, tropes are arguably the cornerstone of the written medium; they offer both tools for the writer to tell his or her story, and obstacles for the writer to create tension for the protagonist. In some cases, tropes could even be obstacles for the writers themselves; by trying to avoid certain tropes it can encourage a writer to create more original material for stories or series.
In my next post, I'll make my case for why one particular trope should be avoided if possible.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 18, 2018 13:35:47 GMT -5
THE WRITER'S PERSPECTIVE
PART FOUR: Why the "Dream Twist" Should be Discouraged
"It was all a dream..." we must have seen that in many a story, tv show or film. Something dramatic or outrageous happens, only for us to find out that nothing that happened matters; it was all a dream.
The problem with this twist is that it is a very delicate one to execute... it is either hit or miss, there is no in-between. Sometimes, it can work- in many children's shows, the main character will often experience something scary or outside the "norm" of what the show is about; the ending revealing that it was all a dream reassures the viewers that everything is ok. But the dream twist can also damage. Consider the popular 1970s/80s Soap Opera Dallas. Without going into the complicated background, season nine of this show was revealed to be a dream in the season 10 premiere, in order to bring back a character that had died at the beginning of season nine.
Unfortunately, this twist did not work out; this moment is considered to be when Dallas "Jumped the Shark," and the show declined. That is the problem with the Dream Twist; to say that "none of this matters" doesn't make much sense, and it really makes you wonder what was the whole point of watching/reading what just happened.
So how does this apply to 3WSR? Well, let's look at Literary Mosaic 11; from one of the more recent adventures of Adolf Gunnarson. When a man is murdered in a cave, Gunnarson works to solve the case. In the end, the suspect is the last person he would have thought, it is Phillipa Catherine "Cricket" Hartley; James Hartley's wife, to whom he only recently married. We find out that Cricket is actually an assassin sent to kill Gunnarson, and only used Hartley as a way to get close to Gunnarson. Well, long story short- there's a confrontation, Hartley declares he wants a divorce, and Cricket goes into hiding after failing to kill them by causing an explosion in the cave. Hartley then muses on the situation afterwords and decides that perhaps love was more complicated than realized. And that would have been the end. Ignoring "behind the scenes" things, an epilogue at the end says that this story was actually inspired by a dream Hartley had, and he wrote it to share it with his loyal readers. And he was still married to Cricket.
Now, what is the problem? The problem with dismissing this story as a dream is that it weakens the impact of the ending and scenes that were supposed to be powerful and poignant suddenly become meaningless. Take this post for example; after Cricket disappears and Hartley is on his own again, he muses to himself and talks to his brother, resulting in this:
In the end, I realized her love was not true. As I look back on those months I was married to Cricket... or whatever her real name is... I came to realize something important though. Love is not something that develops overnight. Love is more than passion alone... it is something more, something deeper. Though I am once again a single bachelor, I do feel that one day, I will meet the right woman, and after spending time with her and developing our relationship to be more than based on passionate feelings, we will experience a truer love than what Cricket was able to offer me. I guess a fool will always have a foolish heart, and with a fool like me, I couldn't ask for more.
Since the events of this story, I have returned to Scotland, and moved back in with my brother's family; I could not continue living in the home Cricket and I shared; it brought to mind memories I would rather not recall. Roger does not mind though; after our father died, it's just the two of us now.
He is married and has children, and after I shared my story with him, he had this advice for me.
"James, love may seem simple, but the truth is it is more complicated that you can imagine. Sarah and I have known each other since we were ten, but marriage was never a thought until just before I entered the service. Look at where we are today; a loving family with two sons and a daughter. I always thought of her as a good friend, but it took that one party we went to in 1937 to realize we were meant to be more than friends. You can say your experience with Cricket was extraordinary, but that doesn't change the fact that your relationship was based on passion and extraordinary circumstances. Remember this James- I know you will find love one day, but until that happens, just know that you can't expect an overnight miracle. Maybe you will meet her tomorrow, or ten years from now, but you will find someone out there, who will make Cricket's "love" seem insignificant" he assured.
And I have taken that to heart.
After Tug wrote the big twist in Literary Mosaic 11, I was so impressed with what he wrote, I decided I had to follow it up with something just as brilliant. So, I went outside my normal comfort zone with writing, and decided to create something that I felt would have lasting impact in the Literary Mosaic lore; not just as a form of character development for James Hartley, but a scene that would become special in its own way, as a true apex of the Literary Mosaic canon, as one of its finest scenes. James Hartley realizing that the extraordinary circumstances in which he met Cricket resulted in feelings based on passion, and his realization that love is something more, was meant to be a powerful scene for the story, and a poignant wrap up for our protagonist.
And yet, to say that this whole story was a dream, and "none of this matters" it hurts to an extent. Although Eyes says there are plans for Cricket in the future, that is not the point- the point which is important is that a scene that I wanted to stand out as a poignant and powerful, and of a kind of scene that I normally have difficulty writing... was basically rendered meaningless, since Cricket and Hartley remained married.
This is why the dream twist should be discouraged; because it takes away from a story more than it adds. While it is true that The Literary Mosaic currently in progress, Murder in the North Atlantic, is meant to have a dream twist, context is key- the nature of the story requires a dream twist, since it will involve Gunnarson going back in time (in a way that isn't science fiction) to solve a mystery.
So in conclusion, the dream twist may seem like a good idea for some scenarios... but in reality, it is something to be very much discouraged, because if not executed properly, it can take away from a story more than it adds.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 18, 2018 13:37:23 GMT -5
All right; there's my introduction and the first three entries in the series.
I think it's safe to say they all need different posts Eyes; the topics aren't really that connected beyond a (loose) overarching concept, and the fact that more entries are planned for the future
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 18, 2018 15:18:17 GMT -5
In that case, lengthen your introduction or find a way to attach it with the first entry.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 18, 2018 15:20:24 GMT -5
All right; I will do that as soon as I can
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 18, 2018 17:56:57 GMT -5
Intro expanded; that work Eyes?
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 18, 2018 22:49:37 GMT -5
Yes, that works. Iโll start planning these postings.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 18, 2018 22:51:58 GMT -5
thanks
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 18, 2018 22:57:59 GMT -5
Would you like these released once a week?
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 18, 2018 23:08:01 GMT -5
If you think that will work, go ahead (though maybe do the intro and first one in the first week)
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Post by Toz76 on Jun 19, 2018 23:07:46 GMT -5
NO ONE'S LAUGHING: HOW 3WSR STOPPED BEING FUN
When the original "3WSR" began, it was just a goofy game based off of Thomas the Tank Engine. Continuity was minimal, and people felt free to do whatever they wanted. But then Frank and I came along. We were still goofing off, trying to tell a funny story, but we also incorporated some continuity. Rather than being a random events plot, stuff started mattering as soon as the colorfolk showed up. They could easily have been a one-off gag like Boulder getting stuck between two hills, but they persisted and became antagonists, and an actual story with a beginning, middle, and end popped up.
And this worked, for a while. We used to be great at writing short, concise arcs that lasted a few pages tops, were easy to follow, and were memorable. But around the time of Impel Down, we started thinking bigger. Impel Down turned out amazing. But it marked a turning point. When the Magic Railroad arc stagnated in the middle of summer, we should have seen the signs. But we didn't.
There have been signs of the decay of 3WSR from that very first arc. We would go ages without referencing the engines, we would occasionally forget that a certain plot point had been retconned, and focus more on worldbuilding and planning ahead than we would on just telling jokes and having fun.
Old 3WSR was fresh and inventive. We had so many random quirky jokes, like the Gift Of Carrot and Tale of Tail, the Pants Into Rockets spell, "I guess my horoscope did come true", Man In Green's stilts, and more. It was generally less adult, due to the forum it was posted on, and we made no real effort to keep track of what was going on.
Nowadays, 3WSR has become heavily continuity-focused. Arcs are planned YEARS in advanced. An extensive backstory has been crafted. Posts can take hours to write. It's become primarily action, foreshadowing with little payoff (coughSOMcough) and character development. What humor remains is primarily snark, fourth wall breaking, sexual/squick, or callbacks to other, better jokes. I admit this is mostly my fault. Even when good jokes worth repeating do emerge (shoutout to Mr Piggles), they soon become a shadow of their former selves, as we slowly run it into the ground. I actually gave the Tale of Tail a canon summary just to justify still using it, because in a universe where canon matters so much, jokes that Percy Silver actually knows the Tale of Tail despite being the wacky dumb one no longer work.
Continuity creep can have mixed effects. Star Trek, in the TNG/DS9/VOY era, is at its best when it has continuity between episodes. But on 3WSR, the increased emphasis on canon hurts all our games. Literary Mosaic had no continuity until book 5. Now it's planned out further than the MCU, and has about as many crossovers too, to the point that the original creator has flat-out stopped caring. The Sitcom filled the 3WSR-shaped hole in my heart for a time, and characters like Riley and Alberto were the Man In Baby Blue of their time, but that game has become a victim of continuity creep too. I bet y'all forgot how funny Baby Blue used to be. He was great. The evil colorfolk were great. Much as I dislike the "objective morality" thing in fiction, I liked having villians who were comically, ineffectually evil, and it's part of why I wanted to refocus 3WSR on Brainiac, instead of all these many-member, morally ambiguous, powerful chessmasters, many of whom I created.
This is the problem with 3WSR. Our writing styles have matured. We want grander stories with a strong backstory that say something meaningful. But we've lost sight of what made 3WSR so fun. Much as I love Fark Devonshire or the gradual corruption of Percy Silver, they will never be as funny or wacky as Bachmann Edward or the original, dense Percy Silver.
Maybe this is what 3WSR needs. A reboot. Have evil colorfolk who are evul for evulz sake. Make the VEC much goofier, and emphasize the wacky recruits. Same with SOM and GOD. Bring back the 7-sentence posts. Have goofy subplots with our OP author avatars.
But have a second thread for more modern 3WSR. One where the current interpretation of 3WSR is more closely held to, where all the backstory stuff is still used. Heck, here's an idea. All the writers work together, not holding stuff back to avoid "spoiling the surprise", and release one chapter of dramatic 3WSR every month or so. It's not devoid of humor, but it allows us to focus on character development and planning arcs like we want to.
And when we want to relax, we go back to wacky, but still continuity-having 3WSR, write a 4-sentence post about Man In Green losing a battle to a sentient angel salad, and laugh when someone promptly posts an inspired, laconic reply. But it shouldn't be devoid of drama and arcs either. It should just focus more on the lols. We get the best of both worlds.
I realize this is somewhat incoherent, but the current plan, "retcon the TTTE stuff and focus on a few specific characters" is only a temporary patch. We may start by focusing on the Colorfolk dealing with GOD, but soon we'll reintroduce SOM. Then VEC. And we'll be back to square one. Modern 3WSR simply doesn't work as a play-by-post forum game. But Old 3WSR does. It's time to make a choice.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 20, 2018 17:16:12 GMT -5
Put toz's up before mine Eyes; I think he's got some great points and they should be heard
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 23, 2018 0:46:53 GMT -5
Toz's post is up.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 23, 2018 0:54:05 GMT -5
Thank you Eyes; I will get more writer's perspective up soon; hopefully
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jun 23, 2018 1:00:09 GMT -5
Good to hear. I'll add all of your posts soon, and schedule each for releases on Fridays.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 23, 2018 15:29:29 GMT -5
Remember everyone- if you want to weigh in at any point with the Writer's Perspective, you don't necessarily have to co-release it with mine; feel free to release your perspectives after the fact, if you so desire
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 11, 2018 0:30:26 GMT -5
Toz, tug-
Just a reminder to please finish up with your thoughts on LM villains; that list kinda ties into a future writer's perspective post so it needs to be finished
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 18, 2018 13:23:04 GMT -5
3WSR: The Great Reboot
Was it Inevitable?
Recently, the decision was reached among the admins here that the time has come to reboot 3WSR and take it in a new direction. This was not an easy decision to make, but all things considered, we feel it is the best route to go. In hindsight though, it would seem that this reboot, which I personally was a bit hesitant for at first... it was almost certainly inevitable. But we've been at this for so long, why reboot now? Well, upon reflection it would seem that several factors influenced this decision. Most notably:
1) The need for a direction of the forum
For more than two years, this forum was little more than a vehicle to continue a game that was deleted on the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki forum... Three Word Story Revolution. A fun game on that forum, "3WSR" as it became affectionately called, shifted focus from Thomas the Tank Engine to... well, what it is now. What were originally gag characters became the focus of the story and developed a history all their own. And yet we still called ourselves a Thomas forum... sorta. But as the forum grew and became more complex it became clear that we were not a Thomas forum and TTTE had little bearing on what we did. So ultimately the decision was made to reboot everything and start over... namely a new main game, while the "old" game would continue as an original canon without TTTE connections. (More details to be released when the time comes).
Given everything that has developed, we have embraced what we have become and now are in the process of turning ourselves into a Creative Writing Forum... a much more accurate moniker for us.
2) The momentum of the main game died
Once, we'd be making 20 or 30 posts to the game a day. Now, weeks go by without a post. Although tug and toz do have ideas, Eyes and I do not- my interests have shifted more to developing the history and lore of our world, and the "present" in our timeline I have reached a point where I can no longer meaningfully contribute to the game; lest I risk holding it back.
3) The loss of one of the core members and need for "new blood"
Former head admin TGC was active for the first year or so before he started appearing less and less... eventually reaching a point where he would go a long time without appearing. Now only making occasional appearances, he does not even post anymore... he has not even posted in the main game in over a year.
While the four of us could easily continue working as is, the time has come to bring in some new talent and other views to the forum. The point of creative writing is to go off in various directions, and we feel that by making ourselves more welcoming to outsiders, we can open up new directions we haven't even thought of.
4) Distancing ourselves from TTTE will open us up for a wider audience
Thomas the Tank Engine has a... niche audience to say the least. It is one show targeted to a specific demographic. But writing can appeal to a wide range of demographics and open up much potential for who we bring in, and what we write about.
While the core group did form on TTTE, in recent months we've more or less become our own thing as well, and I am happy to say that I'm proud of what we've accomplished these past couple years.
5) The game became...well...
a mess. Retcons, in-jokes, lost material due to a deleted thread on another website, deviating away from the original source to something... well, original in itself. So much so that it has reached a point where even among the core four, sometimes it can be tough writing for it. It would be difficult to get new blood in on the game in its current state, if not impossible. So a reboot of the forum, and creating a new game will allow a window for new people to join. The old game and canon will still exist, but more on that in another post.
6) Growth of the forum beyond its original purpose
Originally created solely for the main game and nothing else, the forum subsequently grew and became more varied with its content. It is clear now that we cannot define ourselves by the original game alone. Therefore to embrace our new identity as a Creative Writing Forum, we will relaunch the forum as such. Heck, sometimes our other projects get more attention than the main game.
7) Make ourselves more welcoming to others.
Beyond the core five (now four), few people have visited this forum (relatively speaking) and even fewer stick around. Part of the reason could very well be that after what we've been at for nearly three years, much of what we do has become so esoteric that outsiders wouldn't even understand what we are and what we do. Relaunching ourselves and making our forum more approachable will offer the opportunity for new blood to come in and perhaps the opportunity to go in directions the core group would never have thought of.
Even though on the surface this forum looks like a playground for four guys to just hang out and write, we want people to know they are welcome to contribute here.
I suppose in perspective when all this is considered... the reboot was inevitable because the game was not sustainable for the long term. Our original intention, a TTTE story, got lost when we focused on our original characters and canon, and in the end... became so convoluted that the reboot is now our only chance to open up to outsiders.
It's impossible to know what the future has in store; so I hope this all works out for the best. More details on the reboot itself will be revealed when the time comes.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jul 19, 2018 13:03:12 GMT -5
All right; post is ready. Maybe get it up when you get Writer's Perspective set up Eyes?
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