Mark Hennigan

Steam Curator: Games From Ireland Games developed in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, from Irish creators, or playable in the Irish language (Gaeilge).

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#screenwriting #storystructure

Yo be fair, you might be right Tyler! Not sure a game could ever get me more excited than a remake of FFVII. But still, the stuff I'm talking about here are the basics in a lot of ways. Just, sadly, basics that tend to get overlooked a lot in modern stories

So, this verse tells a whole story in 5 acts, complete with a setup, refusal & acceptance of the call, foreshadowing midpoint, false resolution for the active character, and revelatory true resolution.

And that story makes a thematic argument: It's hard being an anti-hero.

That. Is. Storytelling!

In her own dream, Taylor Swift imagines someone saying that she is laughing at them from hell.

Michael Corleone "won", but did he really?

And sure, TS "won". Technically. But who needs these kinds of wins? She's dead. And, more importantly, people speak ill of her at her own will reading.

And so: Act V — our climax and true resolution, and the 2nd shoe from our midpoint drops.

They hear that they're out of the will. But we never hear that, cos TS has already set it up in our midpoint.

So, instead, we have something much, much more important: a thematic revelation.

Act IV brings us to the end of the long middle of our story. The family gathers to hear the will. The Daughter-in-Law can taste victory! That money will be hers!

But we already know from our midpoint — this is not how our story will end.

This makes for a textbook "false resolution" beat!

But then we have our midpoint! This is "the first conscious move" towards our climax. Luke uses The Force for the 1st time!

And here, TS hints at what's really going to happen: they THINK she left them the money.

Like any good midpoint, this heavily foreshadows where we're finally headed.

Well, that took a turn. Act III starts with the "acceptance of the call", or the "first unconscious move" towards our end. Luke agrees to go with Obi Wan.

And so, what our story is really about kicks in here — some pretty intense bitterness and scheming. The Daughter kills Taylor for the money.

But it's richer than that! Act II of any story is always defined by "the refusal of the call". Before our story moves towards its true ending, it always lurches backwards away from it. Luke tells Obi Wan he's needed on the farm. Here: Taylor has a daughter-in-law! That's nice!

Right?

Right??

Ok, so Act II to Act IV in any 5 act structure has a UNITY OF ACTION. Luke is going to save the princess, Vito is trying to keep the mafia out of drugs, etc.

Here, we have the story of the daughter-in-law's foiled plan! We start to learn about it in Act II; we know she failed in Act IV.

Act I is a classic setup. First, it tells us what she's about to tell us is a dream. But also it's pregnant with revelation. Once we find out the contents, we know so much about her. But of course, we don't know what the dream is yet, so like any good Act I, this is throwing us into the future!

Act I: I have this dream
Act II: my daughter in-law
Act III: kills me for the money
Midpoint: She thinks I left them in the will
Act IV: The family gathers 'round and reads it
Act V: and then someone screams out
"She's laughing up at us from hell"

There is a SO much I want to say here! But...

I have this dream my daughter in-law kills me for the money
She thinks I left them in the will
The family gathers 'round and reads it and then someone screams out
"She's laughing up at us from hell"

And yes, because it's me, I thought "Look at that structure!"

I realise I might literally be the last buffalo here, and she doesn't always hit for me, but man #taylorswift knows a thing or two about storytelling.

I've been listening (a lot / too much?) to Anti-Hero — a great pure pop song — and I've become a little obsessed with this verse:

I really we don't let these CEOs overly influence the future of our artistic mediums, because — honestly —they really don't get it!

AI will definitely help people make music and write stories, but it can never replace the human experience at their core. It can never replace Shop St on a nice day.

But that's not the point. That has never been the point.

We make music and we tell stories because we need to. We need to express ourselves. And we relate to other people who do so. These things don't need to be perfect, because what method of connection is?

I recently read an interview with a CEO that said AI music tools are great because, apparently, people don't like learning to make music.

On Shop St, these musicians of all ages are not perfect. And they're playing music you could listen to perfectly on your phone.

One of my favourite things about Galway is that on a sunny day, Shop St is filled with buskers — of all ages — performing music, and passers by — also of all ages — stopping, listening, and recording on their phones to remember their time in Galway or the performance itself.

If the characters don't behave like people, their story has nothing to do with the truth of the human condition.

And if we’re not exploring the truth of the human condition, why are we even telling this story?

There's only one reason: we remember when these stories used to mean something.

And that's for one simple fact.

I didn't care about the characters, because I didn't believe them. Their actions were increasingly divorced from basic human incentives.

The original FFVII's story was shaped by its character choices. Rebirth's character choices are shaped by its story.

When we muddy or water down these character motivations to prioritise what the audience expects... we muddy our very connection to story.

I ADORE the original FFVII. It might be the single most important video game experience I've ever had. By the end of Rebirth, I didn't care about the story.

We tell stories because we connect with them, and through that connection, stories tell us something about the human condition.

But the way we connect with stories is through its characters. And the way we connect with characters is through their flaws, their wants, and their fundamental change.

2) The real problem is that this is not a tension for the characters — it's a tension for us. It's a tension that prioritises audience over character. Which is the same thing as prioritising expectation over story. And ironically, it will make most of us at least less engaged.

1) "Will Aerith die?" is not something that gives the characters in the story purpose throughout. It could... if, say, Cloud knew it was coming. But he's not meant to. Even though the story KEEPS hinting at it constantly. But it refuses to pick a lane, and it makes everyone SOOO PASSIVE!

But worst of all is the question of what gives us our REAL TENSION.

Can Luke resist and survive Vader's wrath?
Can Aragorn hold Helm's Deep?
Will Aerith die?!

One of these, you'll notice, is not like the other. And there are A LOT of problems with that fact.

Who is the protagonist in FFVII Rebirth? Cloud?
What is after? Sephiroth?
Does he find him? Ah... not yet??
How does he change? He becomes... more broken??

None of these questions, to my mind at least, have solid answers. Because this is not a unified story. It's an arbitrarily sliced up narrative.

Furthermore, the protagonists are changed by the events. Luke learns the dangers of giving into impulsiveness. Both Frodo and Aragorn are tempted to give into despair at the odds stacked against them... but are both inspired to continue and resist.

Both are powerful stories in and of themselves.

In Star Wars, Luke and Leia lose Han, but survive. In Lord of the Rings, the Battle for Helm's Deep is won... but the greater battle lies ahead. We can see how these stories throw us forward but also have their own integral, dramatic shape.