palette · dna1In the files
Sugar-almond seaside on faded seventies stock
Anchored to
quirky quality · own predictionpastel surface · own predictionnostalgic 1970s grain pacing · own prediction
Translates: quirky · pastel
Through the convention: Cut-away dollhouse sets seen dead-on: a building sliced open like a cake, each room a lit box in its own pastel
InterpretationQuirky order, drawn the way cut-away dollhouse sets are: each building its own flat pastel box (salmon hotel, duck-egg bandstand, mustard studio) on an olive marsh, with plum ink instead of black so the whole frame reads like lifted-black 1970s film stock rather than digital pastel.
#ee9f95#a9d6cb#e2b13c#7f8f4e#4b2e3e#b9cfe8
Made with source for “Dollhouse symmetry”: The game draws on a canvas, so the palette lives as a PAL object of hex constants in the game script, used by every draw call; the page frame uses the same values as CSS custom properties.
Away from the sketch: 3 colours
typography · dna2In the files
Centred geometric title cards, typewritten dialogue
Anchored to
quirky quality · own predictiondeadpan whimsy pacing · own predictionvintage surface · own prediction
Translates: quirky · deadpan whimsy
Through the convention: Centred chapter title cards: a single line of geometric sans capitals on a flat coloured field, framed by a thin border
InterpretationChapter and place cards are set as the centred geometric sans capitals of film title cards (Jost, the Futura stand-in), always on a flat colour field with a thin border; every spoken line is typed in Courier Prime like liner notes or a screenplay page, in sentence case, never as small uppercase labels.
Hold still. Symmetry is a kind of kindness.
Jost
Hold still. Symmetry is a kind of kindness.
Courier Prime
TITLE_FONT = '600TYPE_FONT = '
Made with library-font for “Dollhouse symmetry”: Jost and Courier Prime are fetched into fonts/ and loaded with @font-face, then the canvas waits for document.fonts before drawing the title card so the cards really render in them.
imagery · dna10In the files
Flat pastel diorama under film grain
Anchored to
flat pastel illustration art style · own predictionfilm grain surface · own predictionhand-drawn art style · own prediction
Translates: flat pastel illustration · film grain
InterpretationEverything is drawn in flat filled shapes with no gradients except the sky, then a fine animated grain and a soft vignette are laid over the frame so it reads as a projected print of a little built set.
#grain-overlaydrawGrain(
Made with source for “Dollhouse symmetry”: Flat shapes are drawn with fillRect and arcs; drawGrain paints a pre-rendered noise tile with a small random offset each frame, and a vignette, over the whole canvas.
Away from the sketch: 1 new part
motion · dna9In the files
Lingering holds and an iris close
Anchored to
slow lingering takes pacing · own predictionnostalgic 1970s grain pacing · own prediction
Translates: slow lingering takes
InterpretationEvery chapter card holds a beat longer than needed and every scene change closes on a slow circular iris; the dusk sky eases from powder blue through rose to plum while the player stands still.
HOLD_MS = 2600IRIS_MS = 1400
Made with source for “Seventies tape warmth”: Holds and the iris are timing constants and a transition routine in the script, with a reduced-motion check that shortens holds and replaces the iris with a cut.
voice · dna8In the files
Deadpan neighbours, wistful asides
Anchored to
Twin Peaks TV · own predictionwistful tone · own predictioneccentric characters quality · own prediction
Translates: wistful · eccentric characters
InterpretationSmall-town eccentrics speak in grave, exact, slightly absurd sentences about tiny matters, and the narration answers with short wistful asides about leaving.
I have hung these keys since 1974. They have never once hung themselves.
The tide does not wait. Neither, I am told, do ferries.
Made with copy for “Wistful leaving”: Dialogue lines are written into the neighbour data in the script, in the deadpan register.
layout · dna3In the files
Mirror-symmetric town on one pier axis
Anchored to
symmetrical framing pacing · own predictiondollhouse diorama surface · own prediction
Translates: symmetrical framing · dollhouse diorama
InterpretationThe whole walkable map is mirrored about a vertical pier axis: hotel and studio face each other, bandstand on the axis, marsh and lighthouse below; the hotel is drawn sliced open like a dollhouse with lit rooms.
#pier-axis#hotel-cutawayPIER_X =
Made with source for “Dollhouse symmetry”: The map is data in the script: a scene list mirrored about PIER_X, each building with an id such as hotel-cutaway that the draw and collision code use.
Away from the sketch: 2 new parts
structure · dna5In the files
One last summer day: four favours, four songs, one tide clock
Anchored to
found family quality · own predictioncoming of age quality · own predictionStardew Valley game · own prediction
Translates: found family · coming of age
InterpretationProgress is the village-day loop: a tide clock runs from morning to dusk, each neighbour has one errand, and each favour done hands you a song for your record; the songs you gather and the neighbours you helped are what the ending gives back.
Four neighbours. One day. Then the ferry.
#tide-clock#favour-ledger
Made with source for “Found family, coming of age”: The day loop is the game's state machine: a tide clock in game minutes, a favour ledger of four neighbours, and songs awarded per favour, drawn as a HUD.
Away from the sketch: 2 new parts
structure · dna7In the files
The held goodbye at the ferry
Anchored to
Lost in Translation film · own predictionbittersweet tone · own predictionslow lingering takes pacing · own prediction
Translates: bittersweet · slow lingering takes
InterpretationThe game ends by holding a shot: at dusk the neighbours you helped stand in a symmetrical row on the pier, someone says something the ferry horn swallows, the track list of your record types out, and only then does the end card offer another day.
Whatever she says is lost under the ferry horn.
Saltmarsh grows smaller, and then it is a postcard.
#ferry-goodbye
Made with source for “Wistful leaving”: The ending is a timed scene in the script: neighbours placed symmetrically on the pier, a held dusk sky, typed track list and the end card with play again.
Away from the sketch: 1 new part
interaction · dna4In the files
The level shutter: a portrait only takes when the frame is dead centre
Anchored to
symmetrical framing pacing · own predictionAmélie film · own predictiondeadpan whimsy pacing · own prediction
Translates: symmetrical framing · deadpan whimsy
InterpretationSymmetry becomes a skill: in the photo studio the viewfinder drifts on the swaying pier and the player presses Space to take the twins' portrait; the closer the centre line sits to the axis, the better the shot, scored in deadpan words.
Hold still. Symmetry is a kind of kindness.
#shutter-frame
Made with source for “Dollhouse symmetry”: The shutter is a playable minigame state in the script with its own update and draw, scored by distance from the axis.
Away from the sketch: 1 new part
interaction · dna6In the files
Tambourine for a retired singer: play back a half-remembered song
Anchored to
Stevie Nicks music · own predictionnostalgia quality · own prediction
Translates: nostalgia
InterpretationA rhythm favour: shawled Mrs. Varga rehearses an old song at the bandstand, beats slide along a lane and the player keeps time on Space; the notes are synthesised in the page, a little detuned like a worn record.
#tambourine-lanedetune.value =
Made with source for “Seventies tape warmth”: A rhythm state in the script with a beat chart and Web Audio oscillators, slightly detuned, all synthesised in the page with no files or network.
Away from the sketch: 1 new part
