It’s obvious that stories need a setup, but what does that mean, really? The setup is the status quo of the main protagonist. It’s what he does on the regular. It also introduces supporting/side characters and the protagonist’s tangible goal (that which he thinks will make him happy, also known as the protagonist “want” or “external goal”). But that’s not all the setup is designed to do. It’s also demonstrating the problems that need to be fixed with your protagonist (his flaws) and the world itself (the setting’s flaws). Ideally, these things will be “fixed” or remain “broken” by the end of the story (depending on whether you’re telling a tragedy or a comedy). So how do you show the setup? It can be intimidating to figure out where to start, but the way to do it is to show your protagonist in three different stages of their life: what does your protagonist do for work? What does your protagonist do at home? What does your protagonist do during play? You don’t have to show all three and certainly you can blend them, that’s totally up to you. This is just a framework to help setup the Setup, so to speak. How did I do this for Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code? Let’s take a look (beware, spoilers ahead for the beginning of the game!) [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41609742/125d0913361d471efec2973df5f33f207fb3337f.png[/img] Under Mount Sinai – The game starts here and it’s a kind of tutorial dungeon. It introduces the main mechanics of combat and lets you play around with the controls and get used to the customization of the game. Of the three, this part of the game is actually Joshwa’s “play”. You think it’d be work, since this is a mission for judges and prophets, but it’s actually not, mainly because Joshwa isn’t a judge and he shouldn’t even be there, so he’s “playing” as a judge. It’s what he wants to become, a judge. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41609742/b406ccf617b93363993844c33961b01e85656df0.png[/img] Jericho – The next area and story sequences are at Jericho. This is the work part of the Setup beat, mainly because Jericho is the HQ of judges, soldiers, and prophets. It’s their “office”. And lastly we have… [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41609742/2ce86a7096dff08909d3a7a6722f00d593088c0c.png[/img] Nurya’s Villa – This one’s easy: it’s literally Joshwa’s house, the place where he grew up. This one’s the home part of the Setup beat. As you can see, for Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code I showcased all three of the components that can make up the Setup: home, work, and play. But what about what needs fixing? Well, let’s see: you’ve got the Jehudans and Attikans hating each other; you’ve got Cainites dying out; you’ve got the existence of still more Cainites when it was believed they were eradicated; Joshwa is wounded severely; Ruthia is imprisoned; the Idinites aren’t in the Kingdom of Heaven even though they really think they should be; and to make matters worse, Jericho is falling apart and is in need of constant repairs. That’s a lot of stuff that needs fixing! The thing about Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code is that the Setup is layered, and that mainly has to do with the complex worldbuilding. In Screenplays and movies, the Setup is usually within the first 10 minutes (sometimes first 5 minutes!). For novels, the Setup is usually the first 10 percent of the book (which can range depending on how long the book is). For video games? Well, that also depends on the game and the story. It's totally fine to have a shorter Setup and totally fine to layer in the other beats (like the Opening Image and Theme Stated) with the Setup. The last thing I want to leave you with is that the Setup should include a feeling of impending danger or death if things stay the way they are. In other words, if things don’t change for this world and your protagonist, it could spell doom. It doesn’t have to be a literal death, but it can be. I do this by showing that Joshwa’s external goal of becoming a judge (his want, the thing that will make him happy) is seemingly dashed after he’s wounded. Joshwa has to figure out something, he has to change, if he has any hope in obtaining the thing he thinks will make him happy. And that’s the Setup beat. The next beat I’ll be talking about is the Catalyst beat.