Meeting in James Felder’s office, Tisch building Broadway.

Question: If the arena already tests the player, how does the antagonist fit into this picture?

Answer: Antagonist and protagonist are two sides of the same coin and usually either 1. want the same thing but go about it in different ways or 2. want conflicting things. Throughout the story, the writer has to keep in mind what the antagonist wants to achieve. This is what the protagonist is constantly tested for. Remember what the antagonist intends and show that in all encounters, even if it’s not a direct face off. As a rule, antagonists are stronger than the protagonist.

Question: How do you pace tension between pro and ant and ensure their encounter isn’t anticlimactic?

Answer: Throughout the story the specter of the antagonist looms over the scenes. They are not necessarily directly involved, but they are alluded to a lot and their existence (indirectly) influences many events that happen in the story.

A few good references that I’ve watched that confirm this theory:

The Third Man (film, Carol Reed 1949)

A murder mystery in which people disappear and continuously talk about the late Harry Lime (subject of the murder investigation) who turns out to be alive and well and a criminal at the end. He’s constantly talked about, feared, his absence or suggested presence is acted upon etc.

Them Bones (novel, Carolyn Haines, 1999)

A murder mystery in which the supposed killer comes home after 20 years in exile. Protagonist is enlisted to solve what happened, but the killer’s family has a grip on the whole town. Everyone knows them, fears them, she is constantly warned to stay away from the case; people start disappearing as she progresses in the investigation. The accused killer is mainly talked and thought about from many perspectives in different interviews the detective conducts, and only appears in the book halfway through.

Other references from James:

Prince of Darkness Brigadune (plot synopsis) At the mountains of madness (Lovecraft, for embedded narrative)

Question: How does one write a good lovestory with interesting tension?

Answer: Dig deep in the dysfunction of the lovestory. It becomes good and unique when you delve into the specificity of the characters involved. A lovestory in a movie/story functions as a microcosm for larger issues in the world, it is a way of telling the larger story. It’s important to decide on the stakes of the love story, what are the specific considerations and sacrifices.

In my case:

The priestess is torn between the islanders who made a wrong choice and her religious duty. The sea captain is on the evil side of the coin, he’s convinced that trade is how to keep islanders alive and the island flourishing. Both are torn between their love for each other and these different ideals. Eventually they meet a tragic end, because they both die: the sea kills him and the islanders kill her.

A note from James:

Decide why the player gets the story, this is metatext but necessary to make the story logical. They should be at a crossroads in their life, you could add this as an addendum in the package. Additionally, decide what happened to the islanders that forced them to adopt a new lifestyle as historically islander civilizations live in harmony with their environment.