Trying to Not Play Favorites - Devlog #3

Current game word count: 16,318 (+ 2127 since last devlog)

Hi everybody!

Today I want to introduce you to the one and only Isola Bedford.

Playing with emotion

It's often been said that no matter what kind of character you make, a part of you pretty much has to love them, so that the writing is authentic. To this end, characters often become extensions of the writer. We tend to apply our own characteristics to our literary children, as it were. 

I love all my characters, and there's a part of me in every one of them, but I might just love Isola the most. Right now, anyway.

Also known as Ice, she is the self-stylized "Queen Bitch of Anxiety". Her outspoken attitude, crass language and penchant for cracking lame jokes is contrasted with a crippling sense of anxiety that often prevents her from doing what she wants. During the game's first chapter, she ends up being the last of the main cast that you meet. Having lost weight in an effort to improve her confidence, you do not recognize her at first... and she remarks that going outside is still "very fucking hard". But she's trying her best.

Outside the comfort zone

It can be a very liberating feeling to use your characters to convey emotion; therapeutic, even. Anxiety is a constant part of my life and I've spent countless years trying to fight my own demons. So to have Isola talk about it is to put those feelings out there in the open, and it's helpful as well as creatively fulfilling. At the same time, I don't want my characters to simply be avatars of me, of course. They should be, and hopefully are, three-dimensional and alive.

I spend a lot of time writing my characters, perhaps even more than I spend outlining story beats. I believe that strong characters are the foundation of any story worth telling. And when they well-written, the words they say kind of write themselves. Because to me, they are alive.

I find that also injecting parts that specifically are not me helps, as well. I've never been much of a sports guy, but Isola loves soccer, and knows famous players and strategies by heart. In order to make that authentic I've had to read up on that stuff myself. It's almost like method acting through my creations!

Playing favorites

I remarked to my wife before writing this devlog that I feel a bit worried about giving Isola "all the best lines". She is just so fun to write, wearing her emotions on her sleeve and using whatever words she feels like, yet complex in how she approaches situations. But, I do hope that turns out to just be me worrying about nothing. It's fine to have breakout characters, and if my game ever has one it might be her, but it might as well be any of the other core five. Because I love them all.

I just love Isola a little bit more...

Thank you for reading, and have a Riva-tastic day! <3

/Tymedust