#36: Why Marrach Isn't the Movies, Part Twoby Shannon Appelcline
FADE IN:
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Last time, on "Why Marrach Isn't the
Movies."
EXT. CASTLE MARRACH - DAY
SHANNON
(smiling broadly)
I want to talk about how Marrach
isn't the movies ... about the
differences between the two mediums ...
EXT. CASTLE MARRACH - DAY
PIMPLY LAD
A sword! I want a sword! Where can I
get a sword?
INT. DINING HALL EAST - DAY
SHANNON
(looking up from his
notebook)
Movies are primarily a visual medium.
INT. DINING HALL EAST - A FEW MONTHS AGO
OMMALE
Would such beauty exist if there was
no one to see it?
INT. THE SKOTOS OFFICE - DAY
SHANNON
Next ... I want to talk about those
other two topics ... how movies are
discontinuous and how they're contained.
EXT. CASTLE MARRACH - NIGHT
Castle Marrach explodes.
SCREAMS and SHOUTS arise from the crowd of Castle Dwellers, which
begins to huddle together. One BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED SERA's voice can be
heard above the DIN.
BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED SERA
My gowns! My chemises! My beautiful
snoods!
FADE TO:
INT. THE SKOTOS OFFICE - NIGHT
Shannon's desk is piled even higher with papers, carbon copies, and
triplicate forms than before. The paperwork looms in a vaguely ominous
manner.
Behind the desk is a whiteboard which is now covered with gibberish in
six distinct primary colors. Above them all, in black is, scrawled the
phrase "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn ... for
now!" Whatever that means.
SHANNON is slumped most unergonomically in an ergonomic office
chair. He is in his late 20s, sloppily dressed, and looking quite
tired. SUPERIMPOSE: MAY 31, 2001.
SHANNON
The Castle is fine folks. That was
just a hook to grab your attention.
(pauses)
I can't speak for the snoods however.
Shannon sort of rolls out of his chair, then gets to his feet,
stretching as he does. Glancing at his whiteboard, he frowns.
SHANNON
(looking at the
whiteboard)
I'm not sure what that means.
Shannon shrugs then erases the whiteboard and writes in big letters
"Why Marrach Isn't the Movies (Part Two)"
SHANNON
I appreciate your patience folks. It's
been a busy few weeks. But, I'm
finally ready to continue with my
topic of late April ... how Marrach
isn't the Movies.
(pauses)
I've got two more thing to cover and I
want to jump straight into them: how
movies are discontinuous and
how movies are contained.
(pauses)
And I'm afraid I've come to the
conclusion that I'm only going to get
to the question of discontinuities
today ... so containment will have to
wait
Shannon SNAPs his fingers and a movie screen descends from the
ceiling, eclipsing the white board and the words written
there. SUPERIMPOSE: PART II: MOVIES ARE A DISCONTINUOUS MEDIUM.
SHANNON
So, discontinuous, what does that
mean?
(pauses)
Mainly it means that movies jump
around without showing you what goes
on between. You don't have to go on
long car trips with movies
characters, unless that's the point
of the movie. You don't even have to
walk with them from room to room.
(pauses)
Movies jump about chronologically and
geographically in order to give
maximum impact to their stories.
(pauses)
On the other hand in Castle Marrach
you have to trudge all about the
Castle and you have to wait for days
or weeks for plots to reach conclusion.
Shannon points at the movie screen and numbers begin to pop up on the
screen: "9", 8", "7" ...
SHANNON
To try and demonstrate this a little
better, I've strung together a few
scenes from the Castle. They show what
life would be like if Marrach were a
movie.
The number count on the screen continues: "2", 1". Then the screen
goes black.
FADE TO:
INT. THE LECTURE ROOM - A WHILE AGO
A crowd of people are milling about a room filled with chairs. A
DARK-HAIRED WOMAN is speaking from a lectern at the front of the room,
but no one seems to be paying her much attention.
Suddenly VICTOR bursts into the room. He's unshaven and scarred, and
thus clearly must be a bad guy.
VICTOR
The Queen sucks!
Members of the milling crowd glance fearfully at each other.
VICTOR
And you're all Nancy Boys!
MARTINI, a muscular, dark-haired man steps forth from the crowd.
MARTINI
Uh, I don't think I am.
VICTOR
(cackling gleefully)
Then it shall be ...
(he pulls out his
sword)
... a duel!
A grimace, or perhaps a shadow of fear, crosses Martini's face.
INT. PRACTICE ROOM - A WHILE AGO
Martini is beating a practice dummy with his sword.
MARTINI
Must ... duel ... better ...
EXT. OUTER COURTYARD - A WHILE AGO
Martini is jogging in place.
MARTINI
Must ... build ... endurance ...
INT. PRACTICE ROOM - A WHILE AGO
Martini is beating that dummy again; it's not clear who's getting the
better of it.
MARTINI
Must ... kill ... dummy ...
EXT. GATE COURTYARD - A WHILE AGO
Martini is doing push-ups on the cold, stone cobbles.
MARTINI
Must ... ask Ermingarde ... for
mittens ...
INT. PRACTICE ROOM - A WHILE AGO
The practice room is now filled with the thronging hoards of the Outer
Bailey. They are whispering, joking, and pointing, much to the
distress of SIR LAUNFAL, the uptight chamberlain, who is trying to
keep everyone in line.
SIR LAUNFAL
It is clearly stated in the Queen's
Capitulary that fidgeting during a
sanctioned duel can be punishable by
three days in the stockade or ...
No one's listening to him, and very soon his voice is lost amidst the
RUMBLING OF THE CROWD.
In the center of the room stand Martini and Victor. Martini has a
proper dueling blade, engraved with a quill. Victor has a huge
two-handed blade covered with rust ... or perhaps dried blood.
Victor licks his two-handed sword just to be gross.
A SNIDE WOMAN in the crowd comments to HER FRIEND.
SNIDE WOMAN
He's compensating ...
Suddenly Victor lunges at Martini who just barely gets his sword up in
time. The duel has begun!
SIR LAUNFAL
Ah ... Ah ... You may begin!
Swords clang! Victor has the upper hand! Then Martini! Then Victor!
Then Martini again! This is very exciting!
MARTINI
(softly)
You shouldn't have brought my mother
into this ...
Victor looks worried. He's losing! How could he have said anything
about Martini's mother? No one fights better than a cornered son!
Then, Victor has a sudden inspiration. He kicks Martini in the ribs!
MARTINI
Agh!
Victor seizes the moment and stabs Martini through the right arm!
Martini falls to the ground!
VICTOR
(hopping up and down)
Who's your daddy? Who's your daddy?
Victor goes dancing out the door, waving his sword over his head.
MARTINI
(sobbing silently)
I am shamed ...
EXT. THE STAIRS IN THE GATE COURTYARD - A WHILE AGO
Victor is dancing down the stairs, still waving his sword.
VICTOR
(shouting)
Me! Me! Me!
INT. THE PRACTICE ROOM - A WHILE AGO
Martini has collapsed to the ground now, his sword fallen to the side.
MARTINI
(still sobbing)
Shamed ...
INT. THE DINING HALL - A WHILE AGO
Victor now sits at the round table in the dining hall. He raises a mug
of beer above his head.
VICTOR
(loudly)
To me.
His words ECHO LOUDLY. He lifts the mug to his lips and drinks the
beer down. The mug disappears in a puff of white smoke.
Victor looks at his hand, and then about the empty room, sadness on
his face.
INT. THE PRACTICE ROOM - A WHILE AGO
The crowd has thronged around Martini. They are patting him on the
back, touching him on the shoulder, or just giving him the thumbs up
sign.
SNIDE WOMAN
(running her hands
through Martini's hair)
You won today just by fighting,
Marty ...
Martini looks up at Snide Woman and smiles.
FADE TO:
INT. THE SKOTOS OFFICE - NIGHT
A bright light now shows on the movie screen until Shannon wiggles his
nose, making the light go out.
SHANNON
Whoa .... sorry about that folks.
That last line was worthy of Titanic.
Shannon shakes his head, then quickly gestures toward the ceiling with
his right index finger. The movie screen goes flying up into the
ceiling.
SHANNON
In any case, I hope my movie helped
to demonstrate how a discontinuous
movie can be very different thing
from the continuous experience of
Castle Marrach.
(pauses)
I used the discontinuities in my
mini-movie to do a number of things.
(pauses)
First, I jumped in when things got
interesting.
(pauses)
Second, I skipped over boring details
like asking Launfal for permission to
duel.
(pauses)
Third, I increased the impact of the
plot by placing it all at the same
moment in time ... without breaking
it up with lots of irrelevent stuff.
Shannon glances up at the whiteboard, almost empty now, and realizes
that it doesn't offer any help.
SHANNON
In Castle Marrach, a similar plot
took a few weeks to execute. Though
it was a lot of fun I'd like to think
that my tight shooting offered more
emotional impact.
(pauses)
But this doesn't help you a lot when
you're considering plots for Castle
Marrach because the game is by nature
continuous. So, how can we learn from
movies here?
Shannon strides up to the white board and erases it again.
SHANNON
It won't surprise you to hear I have
a few suggestions.
Shannon writes "Movies are discontinuous."
SHANNON
And it's my belief that introducing
some discontinuities into Castle
Marrach can improve your plots.
Shannon writes "1. Don't be afraid to start en media res.
SHANNON
We creative people come up with
strange foreign words to hide the
secrets of our craft. I'm probably
violating my Masonic oath here when I
tell you that en media res means "in
the middle of things", more or less.
(pauses)
The point is that you can start a
plot without what went before
actually happening. You just need to
introduce the backstory via other
methods.
Abruptly the white board is filled with images as a new movie starts
up. Shannon frowns a bit and looks up at the movie screen which is now
hidden up in the ceiling. Finally he shrugs his shoulders and
concentrates on the movie.
FADE TO:
INT. A MOVIE SET PORTRAYING THE PRACTICE ROOM - DAY
The room is filled with people sparring and people watching people
sparring. VICTOR stands off to the side, heckling duelists.
VICTOR
You're holding that blade like a wet
noodle!
(pauses)
You're not guarding your right side!
(pauses)
Your momma dresses you funny!
Suddenly, a BIG MAN bursts into the room. He's big! He's muscular!
He's the spitting image of Victor except he doesn't spit. He clean
shaven and unscarred too, proving that he must be an OK-guy. He
doesn't even sneer!
BIG MAN
You won't get away with this Victor!
I know you poisoned my love,
Beatrice, because she fell for me,
your twin brother, Victee, rather
than you.
(pauses)
I know you stole her precious
Sapphire of the Fallen Snow and hid
it away somewhere in the Castle.
(pauses)
I know that a servant witnessed your
evil deed and I shall find who they
are.
(pauses)
Who shall join me?
A loud cheer goes up, and many members of the crowd throng around
VICTEE (BIG MAN).
Victor looks non-plussed, like this happens every day.
FADE TO:
THE SKOTOS OFFICE - NIGHT
Though a light is still shining on the whiteboard, the writing on the
board is visible once more.
SHANNON
Right into the middle of the
action. That's the way to go, and the
first way to make discontinuities
your friend.
Shannon writes on the whiteboard "2. Don't be afraid to introduce
discontinuities into the middle of the story."
SHANNON
This is pretty much the same idea, so
I'm not going to try and work up a
clever clip.
(pauses)
If you're running a plot just
remember ... if there's going to be
anything somewhat boring you can just
pretend it happened, and report out
in whatever way is appropriate ...
just like you'd report backstory.
Shannon writes "3. Don't be bound by quaint notions of time and
space."
SHANNON
This last one is tricky because you
can really blow every one's
suspension of disbelief if you're not
careful. But, remember, you're gaming
in a virtual world, and thus you're
not bound by the rules that you'd be
bound by in physical reality.
(pauses)
You really want to keep your plots as
tight as possible ... mainly meaning
tight in time. And you can do some
stuff to help that out.
(pauses)
You can quickly pop from location to
location to conduct different scenes.
(pauses)
You can ignore your characters' other
concerns for a short time to
concentrate on your core plot.
(pauses)
And, you can allow those off-screen
discontinuities to occur very
quickly.
Shannon glances back at the whiteboard which is growing dark once
again as new images appear there.
FADE TO:
INT. A MOVIE SET PORTRAYING LAUNFAL'S OFFICE - DAY
Bookcases adorn the walls of Sir Launfal's office and it's obvious
that everything is in perfect order. All of the books are organized by
color, then by ascending height.
Launfal's desk is equally neat. A pile of a dozen inboxes are each
partially filled with neat stacks of paper. The actual surface of
Launfal's desk is remarkably empty.
Sir Launfal sits behind his desk, his posture perfect. A BEAUTIFULLY
DRESSED SERA stands opposite Sir Launfal. She is not wearing a
snood. A COURIER leans against the doorway to the office.
SIR LAUNFAL
These allegations you bring against
Mark are most serious. I will
investigate them.
Sir Launfal motions to the Courier who goes running out of the room.
SIR LAUNFAL
Is there anything else I may do for
you, Sera?
BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED SERA
Yes, I was wondering if I might
get ...
SIR LAUNFAL
No swords! I have no swords! You may
not get a sword!
BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED SERA
(gasping)
A snood! I just wanted a snood!
She begins to cry.
Sir Launfal looks around to see if there's anyone to help. There
isn't. He brightens up when ...
The Courier runs back into the room.
The Courier whispers something in Launfal's ear. He brightens up even
more.
SIR LAUNFAL
Good news, Sera.
Her cries come to a gasping halt. She looks up at Sir Launfal.
SIR LAUNFAL
It appears that you are quite right,
and that Mark is not romancing just
one, but several other women
currently.
The Beautifully Dressed Sera begins sobbing uncontrollably again.
The Courier shrugs his shoulders, then runs out the door.
Sir Launfal looks uncomfortable for a moment, then tries to look busy
by starting to rearrange his books.
FADE TO:
THE SKOTOS OFFICE - DAY
Shannon SNAPS his fingers one more time to turn off the light
projecting onto the whiteboard.
SHANNON
There you go. A slightly unrealistic
crunching of time lends impact to the
scene without necessarily destroying
suspension of disbelief.
(pauses)
Just use it with care.
Shannon paces back and forth for a few seconds, looking ominously at
the piles of paper on his desk.
SHANNON
And that's it for me this week
folks. Sometime soon I'll finish this
off by talking about how movies are
self-contained. It's kind of a
mirror-image to this episode because
it also talks about how text games
can be improved by making them less
like real life.
(pauses)
And just to tantalize you, let me
offer the following preview: one of
our actors from this week tries to
jump off the parapet.
Shannon waggles his eyebrows.
SHANNON
See you then!
FADE TO:
EXT. A SNOWY PARAPET - NIGHT
A shadowy figure stands on the parapet, leaning out into the
wind. SUPERIMPOSE: WILL IT BE ...
The figure's face is revealed as Martini's. SUPERIMPOSE: MARTINI?
MARTINI
(sobbing)
My shame is as deep as this ravine.
Martini FADES OUT to be replaced by a much more shapely figure who is
revealed to be the Beautifully Dressed Sera. She too is leaning
dangerously into the wind. SUPERIMPOSE: THE BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED SERA?
BEAUTIFULLY DRESSED SERA
(sobbing)
I can not go on without my snoods!
The Beautifully Dressed Sera FADES OUT to be replaced by a large,
unwieldly figure. He too is leaning out into the wind. It's Victor!
SUPERIMPOSE: OR VICTOR?
VICTOR
(belching)
I think I dropped my beer!
Victor begins to flail his arms and fall forward, then the screen
FADES TO BLACK.
END
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