INTRODUCTION DANCE is a two-player game depicting tense interaction via a language of action and elements. DANCE can represent both competative and collaborative situations and is conflict-ambiguous, meaning that a single set of rules can represent a wide variety of stories, including fights, romances, and conversations. The players will take turns entering secret commands. (Even in a collaborative game, I suggest that one's choices remain secret.) The actions of the players are executed simultaneously. The DANCE ends if a player leaves the stage or if their Will reaches zero, but what that represents will depend on the context. I suggest that the players should define the context before running the program. IMPORTANT NOTE Reading this manual is no substitute for reading the source code, which describes the game's rules with more precision and complexity than I could ever hope to do here. Python code is simple and beautiful. Understanding the game should be an easy task. If you are interested, I suggest you begin with dr_default.py, which is the pure Platonic form of the game's rule set. (Okay, not really.) CONTROLS : Jest : Evade : Touch : Retreat : Breathe : Advance : Immediate quit. : Quit with a gameover message. ELEMENTS A player's personality and status is represented by their affinity for the four classical elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. These affinities remain constant throughout each dance. Each element has a sub-stat: Will, Calm, Heat, and Balance, respectively. You can think of the element as if it were a maximum value, and the sub-stat is its present value, but this is not precisely the case for every element. Each one behaves differently. ELEMENTS::EARTH Earth represents one's fortitude and determination. Will cannot exceed Earth, and if Will is less than zero, the dance ends. If a player exhausts their Will, they have been conquered or defeated. If both players exhaust their Will simultaneously, the game ends in a draw. In a romantic situation, especially a representation of sex, this is the optimal ending. (So, you see, a fight is a contest to reduce the opponent's Will to zero, and a fuck is a collaboration to reduce both Wills to zero simultaneously.) The remaining three stats all influence the game by spilling over to will in some way. ELEMENTS::AIR Air is about peace and diffusion. Calm is like the breath in one's lungs. It cannot exceed Air, and if it is reduced below zero the difference will spill over into damage to will. So, for example, if Calm is 1, and is due to be reduced by 2, the new Calm will be 0 and Will will be reduced by 1. Most moves cost Calm. The management of Calm is a matter of minimalism. ELEMENTS::FIRE Fire represents passion and intensity. Heat is like one's present emotional state or one's degree of pain, while Fire is like one's ability to tolerate this intensity without being distracted. Fire is the maximum, 0 is the minimum. Should Heat fall outside this range, the difference will spill over into damage to Will. Some moves create Heat in the other player. Thus, a low Heat can protect you, like a shield for your Will. However, having a higher Heat than the other player will power up those moves: so the element of Fire rewards risk and brinksmanship. ELEMENTS::WATER Water is about flow and grace. Balance is nearness to the center. Thus Balance can safely fall below 0: 0 represents perfect balance. Its maximum bound is Water, its minimum bound is negative Water. Falling outside these bounds, it will cause damage to Will. Positive balance is forwardness, negative balance is backwardness. But perhaps more importantly, having a better balance than the other player will cause them to receive more Heat in certain interactions. (For specific information, see EVENTS::FRICT.) In collaborative situations, it may be to your advantage to set yourself off balance to aid your partner. ELEMENTS::DISTANCE Unlike the other elements, there is only a single distance stat, which is shared by both players. A distance of 0 means the two are touching, embracing, grappling, wrestling, etc., while a distance of 1 represents close proximity. ! Not yet implemented ! If DANCE is played with a maximum distance, the game can end with a Flight, and the responsible player or players will be noted. This is another kind of draw. ! End not yet implemented ! EVENTS Some events can occur as a result of a certain conjunction of elements, moves, and positions. Right now, there's only one. EVENTS::FRICT "Frict" is short for "Friction". It signifies a close contact involving an exchange of heat. This might be a clash or a collision, or some sort of rubbing-together. A Frict has three effects. First, the player with less Heat will receive a Medium amount of Heat. This is how Heat can make some moves more powerful. Second, the player with less Will will receive a Small amount of negative Balance. Third, the players will both receive Heat. The one with better balance will receive Small Heat, and the other will Large Heat. If both balances are equal, both players receive Medium Heat. But how is "better balance" defined? The equation is: | Balance / Water | Which is to say, the value compared is equal to the absolute value of Balance as a percent of Water. So 1/11 beats 1/10 and -2/21 beats 1/10. Important note: The advantage of a Frict will be calculated before the Distance effects of an Advance or Retreat are applied. (This is why you should read the source code.) ACTIONS There are six actions. Mastering all six, and knowing when to use them, is the key to advanced gameplay. Actions cannot be used twice consecutively, so planning ahead is important. The effects of these moves use variables to allow for easy recalibration. There are only three strengths: Small = 1 Medium = 2 Large = 4 These values can be changed in dr_default.py#MODULE SETTINGS. ACTIONS::ADVANCE An Advance is a movement towards the other player, either literally or figuratively. It could represent a bold word or a simple closing of physical space. Advance costs Small Calm. It reduces Balance by Small. Since Retreat increases Balance by Small, a negative Balance signifies that one Advances too much, and a positive Balance signifies that one retreats too much. If the distance is already 0, it will not change. In this situation, Advance might be called "Push" or "Grind". The Balance will change, but according to the rules of the Frict. If Advance causes the players to touch (ie, to arrive at 0 Distance), a Frict will result. See EVENTS::FRICT. ACTIONS::RETREAT Retreat costs Small Calm. Retreat reduces Balance by Small Retreat increases Distance by one. ACTIONS::TOUCH Touch could represent an instance of innocuous contact, or a sensual caress, or a strike. Touch costs Medium Calm. As such, it can be a bit of a gamble. It can also be very rewarding. A Touch is considered successful if the Distance at the END of the turn is -1, 0, or 1. This means a Touch works if the players move into close proximity. So, if the Distance is 1 and the target Retreats, a Touch will fail, but if the Distance is 2 and the target Advances, the Touch will succeede. If a Touch is successful it results in a Frict that gives Heat to the target but does not give Heat to the actor. ACTIONS::EVADE Evade represents a dodge or evasion. It could be a subtle social maneuver, or a literal leap to the side. Evade is the antidote to a Frict. It prevents the Frict effect of an Advance or a Touch. If a Frict is prevented in this way, Evade restores Small Calm (since you look so cool). If Evade fails, it costs Medium Calm (since you look so silly). ACTIONS::BREATHE Breathing is essential. Breathe restores all Calm, restores Will by Small, reduces Heat by Small, and moves Balance toward 0 by Small. Note that the latter effect is extremely important, as it can give one the advantage in the event of a future Frict. However, it will be interrupted if the other player uses a move which results in a Frict. In this case, it will restore Calm by Large, but produce no other effect. ACTIONS::JEST A Jest is a joke or a tease. Jests are powerful if used properly. A Jest costs Medium Calm. It gives Small Heat to the target, and increases their Balance by Small. The latter effect is important, because it can be used to gain the advantage in a future Frict. This might force the target to Advance. These effects will not occur if the target has chosen to Breathe. This is equivalent to a joke falling flat. If the target chooses to Retreat or Evade, however, a Jest will add an additional Medium Heat (for a total of Small + Medium). In this case, it is presumed that the actor was teasing the target for their reluctance to engage directly. GAME END The game will end if one player is exhausted (ie their Will is less than 0) or if the Distance exceeds the maximum. Depending on what the game represents, any end condition could be a victory or defeat for either player. That's up to you. I mean to deconstruct the ideas of winning and losing. No victory or loss is ever complete.