The more a character(s) speak about a topic, the more key it is to your hero's journey. If a major questline is solving the "cursed mist", then the slow revelation would be a strong 1st step. If rescuing the grandson is more important, then the fast revelation is better.
This would also hold true w the emotional revelations. Are they at all relevant to how I play the game? Does this NPCs depression, guilt, regret, etc help me solve a mystery, unlock a secret, or complete a quest?
In novel writing all this is also true, u can think of emotional exposure & revelations as backstory. Info dumping is never good. The better option is to "hit it & quit it". These NPCs have come to grips w their world as normal. They have no reason to dump info. Instead they drop words or sentences that hint at the reality they all know & aren't willing to talk about, but u aren't privy to. Every statement in the beginning should be vague & raise more questions than answers?
* Ever since that night, I haven't slept well.
>What night? What happened?
* I don't dance. Guilty feet have got no rhythm.
> Guilty of what?
* If I hadn't said that, maybe she wouldn't have done what she did.
> What u say? What did she do?
* We deserve this fate. Why do u fight it?
> Why do u deserve this fate? What makes u feel so guilty that this world is considered a just punishment?
As u get to the middle, the statements are less questions & but still not revelatory.
* Sure, that worked, but you're just making things harder for yourself.
* I thought like you once ... until HE showed up.
* Your quests have been easy thus far. U do not know the true power of the dark side.
Did u watch or read the "Game of Thrones" series? The BIG secret guarded & denied in book 1 becomes common knowledge that no one cares about by book 3. Instead, they're working on a newer, bigger mystery or challenge w new rumors & inuendos flying & being denied.
People rarely say exactly what they feel or think. There are almost always other emotions and meanings hidden beneath the surface. What they don't say can be just as important as what they do say.
You're trying to discuss "subtext" aka lying. Those annoying conversations where people say x but mean y. They say, "We need to get together sometime", but they really mean, "I never want to see your face again for the rest of my life."
I'm trying to discuss "topic avoidance". I haven't figured out what I'm doing yet, but I know I need to lay the foundation for some big reveal that I will need to eventually work out exactly what it is ... later. This is also key for people who are emotionally scarred by some event. IYKYK, but they're not going to tell you directly.
Example: Little kids were playing with a ouija board on a stormy night when a tornado destroyed the house and killed their parents. Was there a direct correlation? Probably not, but they're traumatized by their believed patricide and refuse to speak it aloud out of guilt and shame.
The more a character(s) speak about a topic, the more key it is to your hero's journey. If a major questline is solving the "cursed mist", then the slow revelation would be a strong 1st step. If rescuing the grandson is more important, then the fast revelation is better.
This would also hold true w the emotional revelations. Are they at all relevant to how I play the game? Does this NPCs depression, guilt, regret, etc help me solve a mystery, unlock a secret, or complete a quest?
In novel writing all this is also true, u can think of emotional exposure & revelations as backstory. Info dumping is never good. The better option is to "hit it & quit it". These NPCs have come to grips w their world as normal. They have no reason to dump info. Instead they drop words or sentences that hint at the reality they all know & aren't willing to talk about, but u aren't privy to. Every statement in the beginning should be vague & raise more questions than answers?
* Ever since that night, I haven't slept well.
>What night? What happened?
* I don't dance. Guilty feet have got no rhythm.
> Guilty of what?
* If I hadn't said that, maybe she wouldn't have done what she did.
> What u say? What did she do?
* We deserve this fate. Why do u fight it?
> Why do u deserve this fate? What makes u feel so guilty that this world is considered a just punishment?
As u get to the middle, the statements are less questions & but still not revelatory.
* Sure, that worked, but you're just making things harder for yourself.
* I thought like you once ... until HE showed up.
* Your quests have been easy thus far. U do not know the true power of the dark side.
Did u watch or read the "Game of Thrones" series? The BIG secret guarded & denied in book 1 becomes common knowledge that no one cares about by book 3. Instead, they're working on a newer, bigger mystery or challenge w new rumors & inuendos flying & being denied.
Every challenge follows that same pattern:
1) Not true.
2) I wish it were true.
3) It's kinda true but the details differ.
4) It's regrettably true because it's your fault.
5) Of course, it's true. It's a good thing.
Agreed. Mysteries create excitement; definitive answers create boredom.
People rarely say exactly what they feel or think. There are almost always other emotions and meanings hidden beneath the surface. What they don't say can be just as important as what they do say.
You're trying to discuss "subtext" aka lying. Those annoying conversations where people say x but mean y. They say, "We need to get together sometime", but they really mean, "I never want to see your face again for the rest of my life."
I'm trying to discuss "topic avoidance". I haven't figured out what I'm doing yet, but I know I need to lay the foundation for some big reveal that I will need to eventually work out exactly what it is ... later. This is also key for people who are emotionally scarred by some event. IYKYK, but they're not going to tell you directly.
Example: Little kids were playing with a ouija board on a stormy night when a tornado destroyed the house and killed their parents. Was there a direct correlation? Probably not, but they're traumatized by their believed patricide and refuse to speak it aloud out of guilt and shame.