Author Topic: On writing for Solaufein  (Read 8925 times)

Tsuru

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On writing for Solaufein
« on: April 05, 2003, 05:49:57 PM »
Writing for Solaufein can be difficult, but it is do-able. We just have to remember that he is Wes's creation and follow his lead in how we write our flirt pack, Sola-initiated flirts, dialogues and interjections. There are many discussions on Solaufein both in this forum and in the Solaufein forum that explore who he is and how he came to be how he is when he meets the PC.  

The Solaufein romance is complete, we are not re-writing it. What we are doing is adding content such as the flirt pack and additional banters/interjections. Wes has final approval of all content.

From the Solaufein Readme file:

Quote
So although Solaufein is "an Underdark Heathcliff, brooding and comely", he
shouldn't require babying. He mostly asks philosophy questions. The BGII
dialogue medium does not really lend itself to exploring such issues
fully. You should imagine that your character and Sola actually have
detailled discussions that aren't made explicit. Similarly, you may find at
some point that you want to say something that isn't an option in the
dialogue. At this point you should realize two things. One is that you can
write to me and I'll add your response to the dialog tree. The other is
that you must actually care about the issues involved for this to be
happening, so the romance has attained its goal of being interesting.

I highly recommended that you read this file, as well as play through at least once or more with Solaufein to familiarize yourself with his style. You can also read through the dialouge with Infinity Explorer, or extract the .D file with Weidu. If you read through the current threads, you can see flirts and banters posted that also show his style, Sphira and Hendryk are good examples of this.
 
Sola’s style is a bit formal, and he is even a bit shy for a drow. After all, he’s in what is a brand new world for him, and unsure of his reception by those above ground who have long hated Drow as a race, and don’t bother to know them as individuals. He does tend to quote poetry, but Wes has said he doesn’t have to do that every banter. He also has a philisophical bent.

And at this point, I’ll ask the others who have written for our darling drow to chime in with their own hints and tips :)
 

kozand

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On writing for Solaufein
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2003, 06:11:01 PM »
I suddenly thought my additions. I think my Sola looks like Weimer's Sola. What say u?

I played Sola 3 times.

I suggest this: We ARE adding depth to Wes's Sola lovetalks by adding flitpack and all. We should try to think how Wes's Sola would react in a given situtation. Wes Sola is a bit too shy at first. As it should be. Since he is a new surfacer. He is a brave man but surface is new so he feels like a child. but after getting to know u sessions, Sola's real inner stregth appears. He is a caring and sensitive man. And he is not naive or stupid. But he is a philosopher and an artist. Maybe he is even more sensitive than PC in regards of killing and violence. Because PC can be everybody and Sola is one and has been elaborated a lot. Personally it is the best BG character I have known.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2003, 06:19:21 PM by kozand »

Sphira

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On writing for Solaufein
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2003, 07:06:59 PM »
'Auntie' Sphira's Solaufein Tips: # 1

"Don't sweat the small talk."

More or less small talk deals with one’s self, more or less. And due to Solaufein's nature, he's not going to just tell anyone about his past or history. He wants to avoid it and drow society hasn't helped promote such a concept. Solaufein would prefer to talk about ideas or talk about the PC rather than him self. Later on, the romanced PC should be able to get infomation from him.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2003, 07:14:32 PM by Sphira »

Hendryk

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On writing for Solaufein
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2003, 08:14:46 PM »
Couple things, maybe.  Sola's experiences in Ust Natha have made him expert at hiding his true feelings in order to survive.  This is not a habit that's easy to lose so he shouldn't openly display feelings very easily.  When he wants to discuss something that affects him emotionally, he's still apt to frame the discussion in intellectual terms - for instance, the banter about summoned monsters and constructs ties into questions about slavery and the individual's relations to the gods and Sola is clearly using the PC's responses to learn how to feel about such things but, in public, he keeps it on an intellectual level.

Second, while Sphira's comment on "personal" small talk is right on the money, Sola is new to surface so all sorts of things and incidents will be new to him.  So 'impersonal' small talk can be used to show him adjusting to his new environment.  His reactions to the cycle of day and night and to the beauties of nature are examples of this but there could be lots more on this line.

Blue

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On writing for Solaufein
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2003, 11:19:48 AM »
Yes. I finally delurked.

Wish there was something better to say than this, but..:

It's a rather impairing factor, not having the mod, let alone the game. It calls upon me to do some rather extensive reading.

I have some questions about this Sola..

1) Can/will Sola use humour in flirts? (Drow can have humour you know, albeit a crude and generally wicked one)

2) Exactly what kind of interaction is possible in the game. eg a kiss?

3) Where are those files I should be reading?

Athena

  • Guest
On writing for Solaufein
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2003, 08:33:32 PM »
This probably would have been better off in another thread, just FYI. :)
That aside, on to your questions:

1.) Sola does use humor in his flirts. Sphira has written a lot of those, check Flirt Ideas.
2.) Pretty much any kind of interaction is possible in dialogues, though we're trying to stick to a PG/PG-13 rating.
3.) The Sola Readme file is avaliable on Weimer's site. You don't need to have the game to read the .tra files of the mod; you can just download the mod and unzip the files to pretty much anywhere.

 

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