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Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

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Act 3 Story Beats

8 Apr

WARNING – spoilers ahead!! It is recommended you finish the game before reading further!

We are finally in the homestretch for story structure in Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code. This is the last post in this story structure devlogs and we’ll be covering all of Act 3.

But first we have to Break into Three, which is the moment in which the hero realizes what he must do to fix all the problems created in Act 2, and, most importantly, fix himself.

In Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code, this is the battle between Joshwa and Lamech. Joshwa learned that his uncle was the reason for the tragic event at the Battle at Mount Sinai with the use of the infernos and that his uncle is essentially a tool of the tyrannical Kosmokraters. Confronting Lamech, Joshwa has now started to pursue what he needs—he’s critical of the Kosmokraters, he won’t blindly follow them (or anyone, really), and he’s taking matters in his own hands to discover the truth and stop the plot from the Kosmokraters.

After the Break into Three we enter the Finale beat. In this beat we see the hero, having learned the lesson/embraced the theme of the story, is taking action. Bad guys are defeated, mistakes are remedied, lovers are reunited. Not only is the world saved, but it’s a better place than it was before—in the case of a happy ending.

Think of some of your favorite endings in movies and books. It usually involves some form of preparation or rallying your allies. There’s also usually a last-ditch effort from the antagonist, and the hero is forced to dig deep down for a solution.

How does the finale represent itself in Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code? Well, for starters, Joshwa is gathering his allies, both Beyoz and Ruthia. They then together storm Mount Sinai and reach the peak where the transmigrator is located (the device needed to teleport one to the Kingdom of Heaven). You might think the last-ditch effort is when you have to fight Nike twice, but the last-ditch effort is actually from the Kosmokraters when they detonate all those infernos, effectively destroying Mount Sinai and the transmigrator. Lastly, Joshwa does everything he can to save the people he loves and cares for, even if they aren’t a Jehudan like himself. He’s gone beyond just being a soldier for Jehuda, or even a judge, he is a leader and a true hero.

The last beat in any story structure is the Final Image. This should mirror the Opening Image at the beginning of the story and is the first hint at the hero’s transformation. In the Opening Image, we learned that Joshwa is a low-ranked soldier, a blind follower of the Kosmokraters, and we have Mount Sinai as a place shrouded in mystery and tragedy. What we get in the Final Image is pretty much the opposite of that. Joshwa becomes a leader—a king actually! He’s no longer following blindly and begins questioning everything in an effort to find capital “T” Truth, and Mount Sinai has been destroyed, its mysteries unveiled, its tragic past finally laid to rest.

And that’s it! The entire story structure of Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code and my thoughts behind it. Thank you so much for following along with these posts and I hope you enjoyed it.

Special bonus – You might be thinking that Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code ends on a cliffhanger. I would argue that it does not. The “cliffhanger” in question revolved around Beyoz and Ruthia, both who play critical pieces in the story, but are not the heroes/main protagonist of the story. They certainly get their own satisfying arcs and transformations, but The Babel Code is about Joshwa, and Joshwa’s story is complete in that he learns the lesson the story is intended to teach him and he undergoes his transformation.

You could technically apply the same story structure on a macro level, too, for an entire series. In that case, Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code is really just part of Act 1 of the Elohim Eternal universe. So stay tuned for more!

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

Wishlist Elohim Eternal: Exodus!!

1 Oct, 2024

I've just announced the Steam page for the next game in the Elohim Eternal series!

Please check it out and wishlist! The game (about 4-5 hours in length) will be FREE and available in January 2025!

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

Two Storey Beats: All is Lost and Dark Night of the Soul

30 Sep, 2024

WARNING – spoilers ahead!! It is recommended you finish the game before reading further!

Today I’m going to talk about the last two story beats of Act 2. They are among my favorite beats to write for and really help to keep the player glued to the story.

The first beat we’ll talk about is called the All Is Lost beat. It follows the Bad Guys Close In beat and is kind of like the Catalyst beat in that it’s usually something that happens to the hero. It’s called the All Is Lost beat because whatever happens to the hero it seems like it’s the worst it could ever get. It’s bleak, depressing, and feels like a total defeat. It’s usually the part of the story where the mentor character dies (think Obi Wan). Almost always there’s a whiff of death. It’s dark stuff, and it's supposed to leave you with a sense of…well, how is the hero going to get out of this one?

In Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code, the All is Lost beat is featured when Joshwa, Beyoz, and Ruthia finally return to Jericho with the Babel code in hand. They are greeted to a scene where a Jehudan soldier kills an Attikan soldier. And if that wasn’t already bad, we see that this Jehudan uprising is Lamech’s doing and he has both Gemara and Alkandros tied up and has already killed Beyoz’s father, Kaisar. Worse yet, he kills both Gemara and Alkandros. We don’t just have a whiff of death, we have an ending like Hamlet.

To make matters worse, Joshwa is seemingly in league with Lamech, giving Lamech the Babel code and allowing his friends, both Ruthia and Beyoz, to be imprisoned (and when they go to Jericho’s jail cells what do they find? A massacre of the Cainite prisoners—even more death!).

Clearly this is the lowest our heroes have ever been in the story. It almost seems like their entire journey was for nothing and they’ve just relinquished the Babel code to a murdering, religious fanatic.
This leads us into the next story beat – the Dark Night of the Soul.

If the All Is Lost beat is like a Catalyst beat, then the Dark Night of the Soul is like the Debate beat. Here, we have the hero absorbing the loss of the All is Lost beat and coming to grips with what he needs (remember, the need is that internal goal/life lesson for the hero, totally separate from the external goal/want of the hero). It’s at this moment that the hero humbles himself, admits that he is only human, and yields control over his want. It’s here that he gets a glimpse of that life lesson he needs to learn to succeed in the story. It’s a moment of surrender. It’s like needing to hit rock bottom to discover what it is you really need. That’s the Dark Night of the Soul (and we have all had our own—perhaps several!).

For Joshwa, this is when he returns home to his mother’s villa. He mopes around, he questions himself, he questions all he’s believed in, including his uncle. His mother realizes what he’s going through, and she gives him the journals his father had left them, and in one of the journal entries, Joshwa discovers something shocking: it was Lamech who placed the infernos in Mount Sinai, and it was Lamech who detonated him. This was all Lamech’s doing.

With that realization in mind, with Joshwa starting to piece together all the questions he’s been facing, Joshwa decides to set out and confront his uncle Lamech.

This leads us into the start of Act 3.

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

Bad Guys Close In

29 Jun, 2024

With the Midpoint beat completed, the player has experienced about half of the game’s story. Now starts the second half of the story and where we switch from the protagonist’s want (or external goal) to their need (or internal goal).

The beat is called Bad Guys Close In because things start to ramp up for the protagonist. The Bad Guys are both external and internal (psychological). External Bad Guys can be literal bad guys, whereas the internal Bad Guys are all the anxieties and fears and inner critiques we all face on a day-to-day basis, but on a much grander scale. The internal Bad Guys is the protagonist wrestling with what he needs and soon coming to the realization that he does really need it.

In Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code, Joshwa’s external Bad Guys are Goliath and the other anakim, the giant azars that come crashing down from the planet Kenoma, and eventually Ham and the judges, the civil unrest between Jehudan and Attikan coming to fruition, and the Kosmokraters coming after Joshwa at the Dead Sea. Even the Dead Sea itself is a Bad Guy as it’s a dungeon full of poisonous traps. That’s a lot of Bad Guys coming after Joshwa and company, trying to stop them from returning to Jericho to deliver the Babel code.

The internal Bad Guys also ramp up. Joshwa is losing his rapidly losing his faith in the Kosmokraters, and isn’t sure what the Jehudans, led by his uncle Lamech, are doing. He starts to question a lot about his life. If we go back to the theme of Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code, which I’ve summarized in a previous post as “Who is the bad guy?”, then we see that Joshwa is faced with more and more doubts in the Bad Guys Close In. He doesn’t know what’s right or wrong anymore.

And that’s the Bad Guys Close In. Generally speaking, the author typically throws rocks at the protagonist that they must avoid and overcome. In the Bad Guys Close In beat, those rocks become boulders.

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

The Midpoint

26 Apr, 2024

WARNING: This post contains spoilers, so please play the game first before reading!

The middle of a story is crucial to maximize the impact of a story. It also lays out the foundation of the story's second half.

This beat is known as the midpoint. The event of this beat is either a “false victory” or a “false defeat”. It’s false because the story isn’t done at the midpoint, but it can feel that way. That is to say, the hero might feel that he’s gotten what he’s wanted in a false victory (but the truth is, he hasn’t gotten what he needs!) or that he’s lost what he wanted in a false defeat (but the truth is, it’s never as bad as how it will be in a future beat known as the All is Lost beat).

Essentially, it’s not as good as he thinks it is (false victory) and it’s not as bad as it could be (false defeat).

This beat also marks a shift from the hero’s wants to needs. The journey so far has been about the hero’s want, and the focus will now shift to what the hero needs (or the lesson he needs to learn). The simplest example of this is in romance stories—the midpoint is where the hero and heroine kiss or make love.

Midpoints are also usually (but not always) public affairs. Think big parties. I’m thinking about the Golden Age Arc in the Berserk manga (spoilers ahead!!) where the Band of the Hawk end the Hundred-Year War, return home as victors, and, at a banquet, Griffith is poisoned. What happens after that? A lot of terrible things for Gutts, which then leads him to leave the Band of the Hawk because he’s shifted from his want (proving himself as a fighter to everyone around him) to the lesson he needs to learn (struggling to stand on his own and finding his purpose).

In Elohim Eternal, the midpoint is where Joshwa and company climb Mount Tsaphon and face off with the guardian, Quetzalcoatl. It is here that Joshwa’s want (reach Ur to get information on the Babel Code) shifts to Joshwa’s need (he starts questioning his faith, which leads him to the capital “T” Truth).

In the Fun and Games beat (leading up to the midpoint), there were hints that something wasn’t right about the Kosmokraters, Hosanna, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the worlds they, supposedly, created. And then of course, there’s those mysterious figures of light that appear and speak to Joshwa. These doubts start to take center stage, illuminating the shift from Joshwa’s wants to his needs. He still wants the Babel Code and he’ll eventually obtain it, but even its use and purpose will shift for him.

And that’s the midpoint beat.

We are halfway through the story beats in Elohim Eternal. Next time we’ll talk about the Bad Guys Close In beat.

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

Hot Fix and some small changes

27 Feb, 2024

Hi all,

It has come to my attention that the game freezes randomly, especially on Steam Deck. I believe I've implemented a fix and that should work now without a hitch.

As well, I've updated the battle backgrounds and there's a couple of new music tracks by Ryan Fogleman.

Thanks, everyone! Happy gaming!

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

B Story and Fun and Games

30 Jan, 2024

WARNING: This post contains spoilers, so please play the game first before reading!

Now that we’re in Act 2, it’s time to introduce some new characters and get in the fun and games of the story.

The B Story beat is a secondary story from the main plot that often involves side kicks or a love interest. It usually means a new character or cast of characters are introduced. You see this in movies with a love interest in a romantic comedy, or a mentor figure in an action flick, or a long, lost family member in a family saga. This B Story character is supposed to help the protagonist learn the lesson they need to learn to change/transform (which is the whole point of your story, after all).

But here’s the thing – I treat all characters that aren’t the main protagonist as B Story characters. So, in a way the B Story could be part of Act 1. Here’s the other thing: each character is either trying to help the protagonist learn the lesson or trying to hinder the protagonist from learning the lesson (and not always intentionally). Think of it like this: have you ever wanted to change something about yourself and you had friends who were very supportive while other friends would tell you that you don’t need to change and you’re perfect just the way you are? Those are B Story characters in your life. Some of those friends are encouraging you to change while some are encouraging the status quo (stay in the Act 1 world).

For Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code, Joshwa, as the main character, will learn to question his gods, the Kosmokraters. You can pretty much say any Idinite Joshwa meets is going to reinforce his faith in the Kosmokraters, except for Beyoz. Both Beyoz and Ruthia are B Story characters that represent change in Joshwa. Add onto this all the people Joshwa meets along the way to Ur: Og and Sihon, Anne, the Cainites of Ur, even Goliath.

The main part of Act 2 (which is technically split up into Act 2A and Act 2B with the Midpoint beat dividing the two parts) is the Fun and Games beat. The best way to describe this beat is that it is the promise of the premise. In movies, this is what you see in the trailer or on the poster. In Bruce Almighty the Fun and Games is getting to play God. In Harry Potter it’s going to a school of magic. In Hunger Games it’s participating in the game of survival. In the Matrix it’s finding out about the matrix and starting to manipulate it (“I know kung fu!”). Another way to look at it is that it’s the journey, and while the beat is called Fun and Games, it doesn’t have to be fun for the protagonist (but should be for your player, viewer, reader).

For Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code, the journey to Ur is the Fun and Games. Joshwa and his companions, Beyoz and Ruthia, are heading into enemy territory. If you look at the promotional materials for the game, you’ll note that I always mention a journey to find the Babel Code. Heck, it’s even in the name of the game! The premise is to find this code and the promise of that premise is the journey to get that code. It’s through the Fun and Games that we head through the Jordan Crossing, the Fortress of Dan, Ugarit, the Abzu, and up to Mount Tsaphon. And it’s at Mount Tsaphon that we’ll talk about my favorite beat, the Midpoint.

p.s. Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code actually has two Catalyst beats. Some stories get these, and I find they usually occur in video games or in epic novels. The second Catalyst beat is after Joshwa and Beyoz return from the Sidon Sewers, when we learn about the Babel code to open Mount Sinai.

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

Debate and Break into Two

18 Nov, 2023

We’ve just talked about the Catalyst beat, which is when something happens to the hero that sets them off on their journey. Once that something happens, the next story beat kicks in: the Debate beat.

The Debate beat is the hero’s reaction to the Catalyst. In most cases, heroes are reluctant to change and go on their journey (even when they know they absolutely have to) and so they have this moment of debate. A kind of should I go or should I stay? In some cases, if the hero has no reluctance at all, then this debate can be a training beat or a preparation for the journey beat.

In Elohim Eternal, the Debate beat occurs after Joshwa has been given a mission from his uncle, Lamech. He’s thrilled about it. Finally, a chance to prove to his uncle that he’s ready to be a judge of Idin. But first he must prepare for this journey, so he does some reconnaissance. He talks to three people: a prophet, the head of Jehudan judges, and his mother, and it’s his mother that has the reservations about him going on this or any mission.

The Debate beat isn’t particularly long. The hero has his reaction, and then it’s time to set off on the journey. That’s where the Break into Two beat kicks in.

The Break into Two beat is where the hero decides to go the journey and the adventure begins, leaving behind the status quo world of Act 1 and entering the new world of Act Two. (Note that it doesn't have to be a literal new world!)

For Joshwa, the decision is easy. Of course, he’s going on this journey. Even with one arm and his mother worried sick about him, he’s going. So sets off for the Golan Heights. But when he gets there, he’ll run into a new friend, and that new friend is what’s known as the B Story, the next beat we’ll explore.

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

Catalyst

31 Aug, 2023

This time I’m talking about the Catalyst story beat. This is an important beat as it’s what starts the hero off on his new journey.

The catalyst (sometimes known as the inciting incident or the call to adventure) is always something that happens to the hero. It’s not something the hero does to himself. This can take many forms. Getting bad news from a doctor. A tragic accident. A cute meet (in the case of romantic comedies or buddy love stories). A declaration of war. A tournament. Whatever. It’s the thing that catapults your hero out of the Setup world and into a new world or new way of thinking.

You could also double-up on your catalyst. That’s the case for Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code. We’re going to talk about those two here (warning, spoilers ahead!!).

The first catalyst is when Joshwa finds the gate under Mount Sinai and then a Cainite surprise attacks him, cutting off his arm. This is a huge event. Not only have we just learned that Cainites still exist (and so the war never ended), but Joshwa has just lost his right arm, his dominant arm, the arm he uses to hold his sword and fight. It’s also something that quite obviously happens to Joshwa. He didn’t cut off his own arm. It’s after the catalyst that we then get to the Debate (the next story beat we’ll talk about).

The second catalyst is after Joshwa and Beyoz return from confronting Balaam. Again, here we have another call to adventure. The gate into Mount Sinai won’t open and it’s discovered that the Idinites need a special code (called the Babel code) to open the gate and the only way to get that code is to venture into enemy territory in Ugarit. Someone must go retrieve the code, hence the call to adventure. And who takes on that call? Joshwa and Beyoz, with Ruthia. Again, something has happened to our heroes: they can’t open the gate and they need a special code. A new adventure begins! Off to a new “world”: Ugarit.

It is, of course, much cleaner to have just one catalyst and then you’re off on your adventure, but sometimes it’s necessary to have more than one.

The Debate beat comes next (sometimes also known as the gathering allies and equipment beat). Stay tuned!

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

Hot Fix

30 Jul, 2023

Just a very quick and small fix.

Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code

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