Hello and g'day, Lunan! I've been viewing the code for Gud-Cursed recently, and I'd like to ask how the code you use to track MC's personality through various choices works. I'm trying to do a similar thing and as a complete noob, I don't know how to approach the matter. Thanks for helping out in advance!
Good day to you too, my dear Nonykins!
I will try my hardest to paint the picture for the code system. You can also refer to this old post that has a bit of info as well, but doesn't get too specific. Keep in mind this is all for the SugarCube language in Twine.
I got specifics below the cut, and had a good time with this, so I hope I didn't go overboard for what you were asking, lol. This was a major thing I had to read up on and research when I first started learning. It took a lot of hours combing through resources and testing, so I wanted to break it down as best I could. Let me know if you (or anyone else) has any follow up questions!
I hope to the gods this makes sense because I have only had 4 hours of sleep in the last like day and a half, and my brain is in a funny place right now, lol. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
The personality system I use in GC basically is a sliding scale between (technically) 2 traits which are opposites or somehow opposed to each other. I know other creators use this same thing to some extent as well, and here's what I use:
Reserved to Outgoing
Gentle to Assertive
Serious to Playful
Reckless to Cautious
Bold/Neutral Flirt to Shy Flirt
You could use any traits you can come up with, add even more for extra flavor, or add a couple to get more specific for certain characteristics. I used this set to keep a more narrow focus on the MC's personality. Having tons of traits can be fun but it is a nightmare to code for little quirks, especially when a lot of interactions can be reduced to a few basic traits. But, you should do what you feel motivated to work with!
With my traits chosen, I use the Math.clamp function. This will set a minimum number and a maximum number for the range of the traits to slide back and forth to. My system goes from 0 to 100. Every trait starts at 50, which you can set in the StoryInit passage.
This is what that looks like in that passage:
<<set $ReservedOutgoing to 50>>
<<set $GentleAssertive to 50>>
<<set $SeriousPlayful to 50>>
<<set $RecklessCautious to 50>>
<<set $BoldflirtShyflirt to 50>>
When you have selections for your reader to choose which will influence their stat (to add or subtract from the base score of 50), there's a few ways to do this. For me, I put the code right in the link for the choice.
Here's what that looks like in the Twine passage, and I'll break down the parts for you:
Passage text/prompt: A wild Social Situation appears!
Choice 1: [[Oh no, too shy, too shy!|next passage][$ReservedOutgoing to Math.clamp($ReservedOutgoing + 10, 0, 100)]]
Choice 2: [[Hell yeah, brother, I'm not shy at all!|next passage][$ReservedOutgoing to Math.clamp($ReservedOutgoing - 10, 0, 100)]]
I hope this is legible and easy to understand, lol.
Side notes:
You can set these scores in different ways, like in the next connecting passage; however, doing it this way may save you on creating multiple passages. Putting the scoring in the link itself means you can go to just 1 passage after the choice is made from as many selections as you want. If you set the score in a corresponding passaged, you will have 1 following passage for each choice.
So, as you can see, you can add or subtract from the trait range you're going for. And you can add or subtract any amount from your minimum to your max. A helpful tip to keep in mind with these variables, is that you're really just taking that first trait listed and adjusting it. So, in this example, you are adjusting how strong the "Reserved" trait is. The + 10 response adds to how reserved they are, the - 10 makes them less reserved, and therefore more Outgoing. Remembering that will help you track your selections and code.
Now, to implement the score in your passages to give flavor to your character, you will need to decide what constitutes a low score (say, 0-49) or high score (say, 50-100), and also if you are coding for a middle-ground score. (You could break this up 0-40, 41-50, 51-100 if you really want to do neutral options in the middle.)
For GC, I dropped the middle ground/neutral score completely. Even if someone scores a 50 in a trait, they will still exhibit one extreme of that trait. I did this for my sanity because every single time you code for that trait, I will need only 2 variations as opposed to 3. I felt like doing a "neutral" to most of these traits wasn't going to add anything of value to readers and would just frustrate me. I don't feel equipped to try to come up with middling reactions, not my forte.
If you keep some things more simple for yourself, your variations will come out more authentic. There's no sense in struggling to come up with filler just to satisfy some code.
When I want to reflect the character traits in the text, this is what it looks like:
As you can see, I use 49 here as my dividing line. If the $ReservedOutgoing score is higher (>) than 49, the "reserved" type text will appear. Then, just using the <<else>> function is an easy way to code for the opposite trait. If you are coding for more than 2 variations, you will need more coding for each range you're using. Keep in mind, that you can use > or < depending on which way you want things to swing (with the score being higher > or lower < than your chosen score.
The only characteristic that I did differently is the bold/shy flirting. My range is technically Neutral&Bold Flirting to Shy Flirting rather than just bold/shy, but I do not use 49 as that pivot number/score. I actually use 40. I decided to do this because players who want only shy flirting are going to consistently pick those shy options and drop that score hard and fast. Other players may do a mix of things and keep the score floating in the middle to the high range, so I felt like for this characteristic, it was more balanced this way.
This is what that one looks like:
<<if $BoldflirtShyflirt < 40>>shy flirt<<else>>neutral to bold flirting<</if>>
Hope that gave you what you needed, deary. Let me know if I can help anymore. ^_^
Attitudinal Psyche is a personality system that seeks to explain the fundamental attitudes of each of the types. Each of the 24 types has four distinct attitudes. It is similar to the system of myers briggs in that there is a hierarchy to each of these functions. Each function is notated by the number of its position in the hierarchy and the letter that stands for it- i.e. 1L, 2E, 3V, 4F. The first function is in the Confident position. The first function is your dominant function, your dominant subconscious attitude that governs your behavior and the way you see the world. The second function impacts your behavior quite a bit as well, but a function in the Flexible position is just that- flexible. It’s not as frequently utilized as the dominant function, but still greatly affects how you see the world. The attitude in the third position is the Insecure function. This is a function that you struggle to use, but are still conscious enough to feel insecure about using. You may subconsciously overdo it, or avoid it entirely. Finally, the fourth function is in the Unbothered position. This function is so weak that you don’t even notice it or pay attention to it. You’re simply unconcerned about it and it doesn’t really impact your day to day life.
The four functions that make up every APTI type are Logic, Volition, Physics and Emotion. These four functions also make up sixteen attitudes- 1L, 2L, 3L, 4L, 1V, 2V, 3V, 4V, 1E, 2E, 3E, 4E, 1F, 2F, 3F, and 4F. The different combinations of these attidues make up 24 different types.
Those with a strong attitude of Logic are analytical and rational. They tend to be very academic and precise, enjoying discussions of the theoretical. They are very logical and value reason, especially those with Logic in the Confident position. They become frustrated with those who do not adhere to reason.
Those with a strong attitude of Volition have strong willpower and know what they want out of life. They are driven and determined to achieve their goals, and are very efficient. They are confident in their ability to make decisions and will not question themselves, especially if Volition is in the Confident position. They become frustrated with inefficiency and those who do not see the logic behind their decisions.
Those with Physics in the Confident or Flexible position are very focused on their own health and their physical environment. They put a lot of effort into their aesthetic and prefer to experience the raw experiences their environment has to offer. They are interested in material objects and put a lot of effort into having their environment aesthetically appealing.
Those with Emotion in the Confident or Flexible position are fixated on their feelings and the feelings of others. They are not ashamed of their emotions and won’t apologize for them. They accept others for who they are and don’t expect others to apologize for what they feel either. They have a strong sense of culture and empathy for other people. They enjoy being social and types with lower Logic can become annoyed at others trying to apply reason to human emotions.
Don't you miss those says where you can choose your Sims aspiration instead of a Lifetime Goal? We'll your in luck. Instead of playing The Sims 2 again, we now getting it in The Sims 4.
o Sim BR has reported that there will be Aspirations in The Sims 4. There has been no report on what the Aspirations will be, but there may be a wait on The Sims 4 news. Since the game is in Pre-Alpha, we don't really know if we'll get lots of new information about The Sims 4, since they still are perfecting the current features.
But what could they possibly add? It could add to the new Personality System the Sims have themselves now, along with a Lifetime Goal or something similar along those lines.
What do you think the new Aspirations will be?
penig replied to your post: penig answered your question: Not to suggest...
We all gotta do character the way we gotta do character. What I know about mine, they tell me, and I can analyze later. If I try to quantify up front, I wind up with types, not people. The map’s not the territory & all categories are imaginary.
That makes sense to me. As I've said, it's far from a blueprint. I do a lot of thinking on those types of things, but then in the moment of writing I usually let the character go wherever they want to take me. And it's not at all always where you'd expect them to go. Characters can be full of surprises and contradictions.
sushigal007 answered your question: Not to suggest that any of us sweet and innocent...
I honestly hadn’t thought about it! I tend to imagine how they’d behave based on their bios and behaviour rather than the personality scale.
That makes sense. I would certainly look to their bio and overall presented character in relation to their family and surroundings as a major factor in how they might behave, and I would never use personality too restrictively (because all of those personality traits can be interpreted in different ways and can be taken in many different directions, even in the same sim).
I was just thinking about how their personality points could be a useful source to draw from to add more specific details in the sexual dynamic and interaction between any two (or more, hey) given sims. Something to make the scene more distinct and keep it from falling into the same ol', same ol' patterns.
lauraraeamos replied to your post: Not to suggest that any of us sweet and innocent...
Embarrassing as this may be, I actually wrote about this once, a couple years ago, lol! lakesideheights.blogspo… But my scale was more related to aspiration type than just personality.
That's not embarrassing at all, in my opinion. I think it's really thoughtful of you to give that much consideration to your characters and their inner workings. It's just like analyzing any other aspect of character, isn't it? Even if you're not going to write about it explicitly (and all the power to those who do), it still makes sense to know these things even as you write around the sex in a romantic scene.
Taking a quick glance through your post, I think it's really interesting how you've used the aspirations to categorize the overall way they would approach sex and then breaking that down into sub-types based on the specific person/sim. That feels very real to me. In combination with their personality, you can develop a very well rounded view of their behaviour and the motivations behind it. All very fascinating stuff!
Not to suggest that any of us sweet and innocent sim writers would ever write (or have ever written) sex scenes featuring the premades (*cough*sims_anon*cough*), but if we ever did... don't you think the entire TS2 personality scale can easily be read to be specifically related to sex?
