[YLW] an exhaustive terminology

July 19, 2025

“Throughout the twenty-fourth century, five passengers arrived at Tsiolkovsky station, the base of a recently completed space elevator…
…and ascended the orbital lift into the heavens above to chase something tachyonic.
A scholar awaits a miracle from the stars.
A professor spearheads a controversial project.
A rationalist executes his newfound doctrine.
A revolutionary seeks to topple nature herself.
A vagrant returns to the only place it truly knows.
Of course, none of them will get what they want…
…and all of them will pay dearly for their choices.”
-prologue, page 7.

today i will discuss a variety of terms. i will keep going until i’m too tired. that’s why it’s exhaustive

Term: Reviewer’s Edition
i recently (just now) reached a milestone in the script of this project and am rewarding (punishing) myself by consolidating my writing in a single document.
this is partially because i was curious as to what the word count was and partially because i wanted some feedback before continuing.
anyways. the “reviewer’s edition” of the script is 19573 words and about 60% of the length of the intended full project. i think that’s a pretty expected number.
if you are unlucky enough to be chosen to review my writing, expect this messy, eighty page behemoth on your desk soon.

Term: Kinetic Novel
i was speaking to one of my friends about this project recently and came across the term “kinetic novel,” which may actually be the most accurate descriptor for what this project is.
nonetheless, the significance here is that i realized lately that even for a visual/kinetic novel, (bear with me here, i’ve literally only played one)
this project is almost entirely comprised of some kind of dialogue: bickering, emails, presentations, oral storytelling, negotiations, and the like.
most of the time, this is a story that operates in two-object systems.

Term: “Hard Sci-Fi”
i am also realizing that i have not really discussed the concept of genre. i didn’t think it was important, but you might.
there are some rather niche scientific/academic concepts used here. the idea of limiting my audience to people familiar with genre conventions seems rather dull, though.
“hard sci-fi” is a term that some reviewers in the past have been able to immediately identify upon reading. (this kind of sucks imo)
i’m considering on adding a glossary? for both made up stuff and very real concepts. entries could range from “Janus Conjecture” to “Primary Investigator” to “Superstructure.”
i want to transcend genre, and i also want players to have a chance to learn and engage with some concepts that are rooted in real discourses as well,
insted of punishing the player that doesn’t know. :)

Term: Public Decorum
last night i threw up out of my car door after several hours of writing and dawdling and not being normal.
i was stopped at a red light and just could not hold it in anymore.
some of it… did not make it out. and i had to wipe it up later. it was real nasty and shameful.
don’t tell anyone. it’s our secret now.

-yellowtail