Cosmic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2018
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So, I wanted to have a discussion on the interesting use of things like Invisitext, Colored Text, Blue Box, Illustrations, Emojis, Modifiers, Punctuation, Font, etc. that add to the reading experience as well as add more tools to storytelling.
The biggest example of this, in my opinion, is the lit-RPG Status Text which can often be just bold or italicized text. It can also be the Blue Box, which is just a colored table that displays the lit-RPG text elements. It's often a standard blue or white box, but many authors change the color sometimes for different types of pop-ups like red for damage/hostile or have it be different for different people via the characters customizing it. I see this a lot in the Royal Road Community.
There's also the atypical illustrations, picture text, kaomojis, and emojis that can add to the story. Besides text message conversations, they can be used to better illustrate a character's thoughts and personality. For example, I read a lot of Quick Transmigration and kaomoji appear a lot such as _(:3」∠)_ to show the System or the quirkiness of the FMC.
@Sinpathy's work comes to my mind especially when it comes to atypical illustrations/images like the status window in Re: Rabbit Eyes. The art style and illustrations (in general, but especially of the characters) are already great, but the added emojis in the text to symbolize icons of things like if it's a herb as well as the custom status screen adds so much to the reading experience. There's also the crop/zoom to certain parts of the status window like the health which really directs the reader's attention.
Another interesting one that I know is Invisitext which is invisible text or just camouflaged to the background text that is read via highlighting the text or via a plugin. Spacebattles, SufficientVelocity, and QuestionableQuesting are places that use this. Some hate it, some love it.
Hi, Invisitext here!
Still, it's an interesting way to hide then show text that tells something more mysterious, enigmatic, or magical. Maybe it's the true thoughts of the MC whose often an unreliable narrator or maybe it's to hide the actions and comments of otherworldly observers. Or maybe to highlight the eldritchness of a character such as Invisitext signifying it's inaudible soul language, a chantless spell, or reality warping.
You also have colored text. With This Ring by Mr. Zoat and other lantern fics comes to mind. Due to the strong theme of Laterns and their Emotional Color Spectrum, Colored Text is often used such as yellow for fear. When blue text appears, it can really uplift a reader due to its association with hope. It can also show a character's feelings and emotions to a specific area of a conversation without actually saying it like dialogue in indigo that show the character feeling compassion. In WTR,
Then there are characters and punctuation like 【Status】, [Spell], {Whisper Spell},『Artifact』, (Author Text), 'Thought', and "Speech" which help differentiate actions, thoughts, and speech and add flair.
There's also Zalgo text: T̶̲̰̗̮̦̼͕ò̱̠ ͓͇͕̞͚͕i̬̝̖̦̳̭͈ṇ̛v̥̲͙̲̺͈͕o͉͉̬k̴̫̖̞̺͍̳e̴͎̻̲̮͈ ̘t̸̯̝͉͎̝̣h͓̫͎͔e̕ ̟̯͇̣h͙̼̙̗̫ͅi̲̩v̻͔̗̮͕̞e̪̭̘̫̹͝ͅ-̵m̠į͙̰n̸̼ͅd̥̥̻͙͍͙͟ r̸̖e̲̘p̝r̼͔̫͠e͔̤s̰̪͔͔̺̕e̟̯̕n̵t̷̯͚̟̠̼̱̳i̵ng̳̪ c̷͕̲h̙͓̬͍̻a̙̦̲̪o̟͖̣͜ͅs͙̜.̸̮. This can really add to a story like when it relates to an eldritch being, a demon, curse, etc.
There are also traditional things like bolding, italics, underline, ALL CAPS, using different typefaces, or changing the font size. Additionally, there are things like Spoiler boxes, hyperlinks, andstrike-throughs. Other tools include changing the alignment or lists.
There are also stories where code language is kept in to, well, show actual coding. There's also site features like polls, hearts, and comments which add to reader engagement and feedback. Some link music that's listen alongside reading. Some people even create accounts for their fictional characters to comment on chapters, give hints, etc. in a break the fourth wall manner.
Edit: So basically, I want to discuss some of the interesting uses and examples of these types of uses/tools/features you've encountered. Any that stand out? Any that you hope to see more of? Any that you use in your own writing? What are some ideas that you thought of that you'd like to see be implemented?
The biggest example of this, in my opinion, is the lit-RPG Status Text which can often be just bold or italicized text. It can also be the Blue Box, which is just a colored table that displays the lit-RPG text elements. It's often a standard blue or white box, but many authors change the color sometimes for different types of pop-ups like red for damage/hostile or have it be different for different people via the characters customizing it. I see this a lot in the Royal Road Community.
There's also the atypical illustrations, picture text, kaomojis, and emojis that can add to the story. Besides text message conversations, they can be used to better illustrate a character's thoughts and personality. For example, I read a lot of Quick Transmigration and kaomoji appear a lot such as _(:3」∠)_ to show the System or the quirkiness of the FMC.
@Sinpathy's work comes to my mind especially when it comes to atypical illustrations/images like the status window in Re: Rabbit Eyes. The art style and illustrations (in general, but especially of the characters) are already great, but the added emojis in the text to symbolize icons of things like if it's a herb as well as the custom status screen adds so much to the reading experience. There's also the crop/zoom to certain parts of the status window like the health which really directs the reader's attention.
Another interesting one that I know is Invisitext which is invisible text or just camouflaged to the background text that is read via highlighting the text or via a plugin. Spacebattles, SufficientVelocity, and QuestionableQuesting are places that use this. Some hate it, some love it.
Hi, Invisitext here!
Still, it's an interesting way to hide then show text that tells something more mysterious, enigmatic, or magical. Maybe it's the true thoughts of the MC whose often an unreliable narrator or maybe it's to hide the actions and comments of otherworldly observers. Or maybe to highlight the eldritchness of a character such as Invisitext signifying it's inaudible soul language, a chantless spell, or reality warping.
You also have colored text. With This Ring by Mr. Zoat and other lantern fics comes to mind. Due to the strong theme of Laterns and their Emotional Color Spectrum, Colored Text is often used such as yellow for fear. When blue text appears, it can really uplift a reader due to its association with hope. It can also show a character's feelings and emotions to a specific area of a conversation without actually saying it like dialogue in indigo that show the character feeling compassion. In WTR,
only colored quotes signify a character being a paragon and linked with the embodiment of a color/emotion like "Paul."
Then there are characters and punctuation like 【Status】, [Spell], {Whisper Spell},『Artifact』, (Author Text), 'Thought', and "Speech" which help differentiate actions, thoughts, and speech and add flair.
There's also Zalgo text: T̶̲̰̗̮̦̼͕ò̱̠ ͓͇͕̞͚͕i̬̝̖̦̳̭͈ṇ̛v̥̲͙̲̺͈͕o͉͉̬k̴̫̖̞̺͍̳e̴͎̻̲̮͈ ̘t̸̯̝͉͎̝̣h͓̫͎͔e̕ ̟̯͇̣h͙̼̙̗̫ͅi̲̩v̻͔̗̮͕̞e̪̭̘̫̹͝ͅ-̵m̠į͙̰n̸̼ͅd̥̥̻͙͍͙͟ r̸̖e̲̘p̝r̼͔̫͠e͔̤s̰̪͔͔̺̕e̟̯̕n̵t̷̯͚̟̠̼̱̳i̵ng̳̪ c̷͕̲h̙͓̬͍̻a̙̦̲̪o̟͖̣͜ͅs͙̜.̸̮. This can really add to a story like when it relates to an eldritch being, a demon, curse, etc.
There are also traditional things like bolding, italics, underline, ALL CAPS, using different typefaces, or changing the font size. Additionally, there are things like Spoiler boxes, hyperlinks, and
There are also stories where code language is kept in to, well, show actual coding. There's also site features like polls, hearts, and comments which add to reader engagement and feedback. Some link music that's listen alongside reading. Some people even create accounts for their fictional characters to comment on chapters, give hints, etc. in a break the fourth wall manner.
Edit: So basically, I want to discuss some of the interesting uses and examples of these types of uses/tools/features you've encountered. Any that stand out? Any that you hope to see more of? Any that you use in your own writing? What are some ideas that you thought of that you'd like to see be implemented?
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