Characters and Emotions

When writing interactive stories, one of the most important questions is:

Who is speaking? What emotion are they feeling right now?

NovaMark uses @char to define characters and Character[emotion]: to express dialogue with emotions.

Why Define Characters First?

You might have already written dialogue like this:

Shen Yan: The weather is nice today.

This works. But if your story has 5 characters, each with 3 emotional states, things get messy:

• Who is who?
• What color should each character’s name be displayed in?
• Which sprite corresponds to which emotion?

@char solves these problems.

The Simplest Character Definition

@char Lin Xiao
  color: #E8A0BF
@end

This means:

• The character’s name is Lin Xiao
• When she speaks, her name will be displayed in pink #E8A0BF

Adding Sprites to Characters

If your game uses a visual novel style, you might want to assign character sprites.

@char Lin Xiao
  color: #E8A0BF
  sprite_default: linxiao_normal.png
@end

This means:

• sprite_default is the default sprite
• When you write Lin Xiao: dialogue, the client knows which image to use

Emotions and Sprite Switching

Characters don’t always have just one expression.

NovaMark handles this in an intuitive way:

Defining Multiple Emotion Sprites

@char Lin Xiao
  color: #E8A0BF
  sprite_default: linxiao_normal.png
  sprite_happy: linxiao_happy.png
  sprite_sad: linxiao_sad.png
  sprite_angry: linxiao_angry.png
@end

Using Emotions in Dialogue

Lin Xiao: Hello.                    # Uses sprite_default
Lin Xiao[happy]: This is wonderful!  # Uses sprite_happy
Lin Xiao[sad]: I don't know what to do...  # Uses sprite_sad
Lin Xiao[angry]: How could you!      # Uses sprite_angry

You don’t need to write manual “switch sprite” commands. Just write Character[emotion]: and the client knows which image to use.

Emotion Naming Rules

NovaMark doesn’t restrict which emotion names you can use. Name them according to your game’s needs.

Common Examples

@char Shen Yan
  color: #4A90D9
  sprite_default: shenyan_normal.png
  sprite_happy: shenyan_happy.png
  sprite_worried: shenyan_worried.png
  sprite_surprised: shenyan_surprised.png
@end

You Can Also Use Non-English Emotion Names

@char Lin Xiao
  color: #E8A0BF
  sprite_default: linxiao_normal.png
  sprite_kaixin: linxiao_happy.png
  sprite_nanguo: linxiao_sad.png
@end

Then use them like this:

Lin Xiao[kaixin]: That's great!
Lin Xiao[nanguo]: Why did this happen...

The only requirement is:

• Define with sprite_emotion_name
• Use with Character[emotion_name]

A Complete Example

---
title: Character Example
---

@char Lin Xiao
  color: #E8A0BF
  description: A traveler from afar
  sprite_default: linxiao_normal.png
  sprite_happy: linxiao_happy.png
  sprite_sad: linxiao_sad.png
@end

@char Shen Yan
  color: #4A90D9
  description: The silent tower keeper
  sprite_default: shenyan_normal.png
  sprite_worried: shenyan_worried.png
@end

#scene_meeting "The Encounter"

@bg forest_clearing.png

> Deep in the forest, you meet for the first time.

Lin Xiao: Hello, where is this place?

Shen Yan: ...This is the area around the Star Tower.

Lin Xiao[happy]: The Star Tower! I finally found it!

Shen Yan[worried]: You shouldn't be here.

? Lin Xiao seems to sense something is wrong.
- [Ask more] -> .ask_more
- [Stay silent] -> .stay_silent

.ask_more
Lin Xiao: What happened?

.stay_silent
> You decide to observe the situation first.

All Character Definition Fields

Currently @char supports these fields:

Tips for Writing Dialogue

Dialogue Without Emotion

Lin Xiao: The weather is nice today.

This uses sprite_default.

Dialogue With Emotion

Lin Xiao[happy]: The weather is nice today!

This uses sprite_happy (if you defined it).

Consecutive Emotions

Lin Xiao[happy]: That's great!
Lin Xiao: Let's go.

The second line doesn’t specify an emotion, so it switches back to sprite_default.

How Clients Handle This Information

NovaMark’s design principle is:

The script provides data and state, the client decides how to present it.

So when you write:

@char Lin Xiao
  color: #E8A0BF
  sprite_happy: linxiao_happy.png
@end

Lin Xiao[happy]: Hello!

The client receives state like this:

• Current speaker: Lin Xiao
• Current emotion: happy
• Character color: #E8A0BF
• Sprite to load: linxiao_happy.png

Then the client can:

• Switch sprites in a visual novel interface
• Change name colors in a chat interface
• Ignore this information in plain text mode

The script doesn’t need to care about how it’s ultimately displayed.

What’s Next

Now you know how to define characters and emotions.

On the next page, we’ll cover:

• How to control background images
• How to display sprites
• How to play music and sound effects

Next page:

• Media and Presentation