Perpetual Change Questions 10/5/2020

5th chapter is going to be the last chapter. And honestly, I'd never considered writing any kind of fiction for the world after the game ends. If I did, I'd most definitely only do it with Piece of Soap's blessing.

How many more chapters will there be passed the 5th and, if the game ends will you be continuing writing about this world after? Sort of like an anime manga relationship?

154Charlie

For me? Easily the characters, and it's for the most selfish of reasons. The squirmy crinkly hot under the collar scenes? Those are helped SO MUCH by Piece of Soap's programming and gorgeous art, and all of the game's pictures and cut scenes with awesome moments illustrated by Soap and a bevy of other artists. The world building is fun, and that's a true collaboration between me and Soap. We're going back and forth and pitching ideas to each other and checking and double checking and working together. (Also, Soap is a hell of an editor when it comes to finding pieces of the story or optional bits that we missed.) But the characters? The bits of dialogue and funny quips and moments that might make you tear up a little bit at points? The parts that people have told me have made them care about the game as a story and not just as a kinky experience? THAT'S WHERE I GET TO FLEX. That's where I feel I have the most ownership and responsibility and things to be proud of. With a few exceptions, I didn't get to name or design or pitch the concept for a lot of the initial characters when Perpetual Change was starting. But I feel I got to breathe some life into them and give them their personalities.

In general, I'm an "Architect". Lots of plans, lots of notes. Lots of written scribbles as it were. They don't all make it into the final product, and not everything that makes it in was a note first. For example, in Unfair, I KNEW from the beginning that Clark was gonna meet Janet, make friends with her, and ultimately get adopted by her after going to an IEP meeting that decided he should be a baby. I'm pretty sure I know the ending. There's an entire chapter on my harddrive yet to be released because I haven't caught up to that part yet. (there were several chapters like that for Unfair) That's another advantage of notes. You can write out of order if you want to. And if I do my job right, you might never know what I wrote first unless I tell you. But I leave room for improvisation too. Like the Gwiffin Party; that weird mix of "Tall Face", and a highschool rager was something that just came to me a chapter or two before I actually wrote it. I tend to have a plan, but I'm allowed to change the plan if something isn't working for me or if something just strikes me as inspired. But in general, I tend to know how a story is going to end by the time I start. Stories like Narnia, Better Late Than Never, and Perpetual Change, are much the same, too; but they have the added effect that in some way or another they're collaborations. Several scenes in all of those stories were stuff that my collaborator really wanted to happen, and so I tried to figure out a way to adapt and add it into what had already been discussed, planned and published to make it seem natural. And once again, if I do my job right, you might never know unless I tell you.

For PC, what aspect is your favourite part to write? World building, characters, the bits designed to get make everyone feel a little hot under the collar?

When you start a longer form story, such as Narnia, Unfair, The Program, etc....how formed is the story in your head before you start writing? Do you outline, or just let things free flow as you go? Basically, what's your process?

Absolutely! So I'm writing this assuming you only ever played through chapter 1. The biggest influences came from pop-culture and my own internet geek brain, and they were the starting point for a lot of different characters and comedy in the story. I'd just watched Cabin in The Woods when I started writing the script, and I really liked that idea. That there were two guys in a control room who were releasing horror movie monsters to follow a pre-ordained ritual script. That's where the camera bit came from, and L.R. and C.S. were created just for that bit. L.R. and C.S. themselves are references to Long-Rifle and C.S. Fox, who were two that I read a lot before I got into the game myself. So they became the folks behind the controls. I tried to work in a lot of titles and references to their stories into the dialogue. Personality wise, L.R. and C.S. (the characters not the people they're named after) are basically my own version of Wiz and Boomstick; too characters from a youtube show called Death Battle. Karlton the scientist is a jumble of my favorite wacky scientists tropes. More specifically Professor Frink from the Simpsons and Dr. Insano from Spoony Experiment (which there's a lot to unpack there about the creator I'm sure. Doesn't mean I can't like the character). Molly the coffee shop owner is basically every hipster trope mixed with a valley girl accent that I could think of. The new She-Ra wasn't around when I started writing her, but now I can't help but hear her lines in Mermista's voice. And of course as the story goes on I try to work in plenty of abdl tropes, too.

Can you name some of the influences? (without spoiling where the story progresses to)

It wasn't an intentional parallel, I promise that much. There are many purposeful, conscious influences on my writing for that game, but Sample Pack wasn't one of them. Many of them aren't even directly abdl related.

I played the first chapter of Perpetual Change a long time ago. It reminded my a little bit on the Bee-Corporation (or Universe?) from "Sample Pack" and Co. Is this just a coincidence?

I said I won't be streaming. lol.

You stream? Wild. I could never do that. Seems way too demanding.