Vignette #3 ran as a playtest installation for three days at the end of January 2026. This playtest was organized so that playtesters could book 1 hour slots for their "volunteer shift," which would include an exit interview. While one or two playthroughs were 20 minutes, most ran between 40 minutes to over an hour.

TOC
Summary
Task List
Documentation
Scraps

Summary

Tasks

Fiction

• make a real timeline with character names and dates now that they're growing.
• organic vs inorganic technology
• Freewriting & voice research for each character
  • stealing voices
  • freddie
  • Linus
  • Violet
• Writing characters for Vignette 2
  structure Jan 2026

Artifacts

• some stone art of the language moving from the stone to the plant
• woodcut of evil teenagers joining a lichen cult (not sure this fits anymore really)
• naturalist documents
• failed oracle device
• fake religious text
• replacement glyphs
• letters to the editor newspaper
• meeting notes QVS
• cave drawing
• illustration of energy moving through the earth to humans
• Linus letter to Rebecca
• Linus diary #1 Linus thesis writing
• Freddie diary #1 freddie journal
• ancient religious cult text (vynous manuscript? fake language someone deciphered)

Narrative Mechanics:

• ??? more bleed more metalepsis more more more.
• Force players to cross reference a physical artifact or exterior-to-software data to advance.
  • entry with no fauxID that they need to entry accurately? Something more interesting?
  • entry with a missing JPG they can find in a loose file folder? upload checks for filename?
• At this point a lot of the metalepsis and bleed references are coming through in the characters writing rather than more than software mechanics, but I will keep watching for more opportunities.
• Artifacts of writing technology coming in through character voices, depending on how characters recorded their original documentation. This is also reflected in how the players are constrained in expressing themselves by the mechanics provided to do so. This doesn't have much to do with metalepsis or bleed, I just think it's cool (and it's an affordance of the interface genre so it probably still answers the research question?)

Uh-oh new major features

Free-writing has revealed a bunch of possible big-feature mechanics.

• Timeline page (for me, not for players.)
• Allow players to cross reference entries in the system, tagging them with each other. Mid game unlock.
  • Working on searchable drop down for this (for me and for players.)
• A node graph that shows these connections.
  • During end game the animation becomes quickly flipping through pages editing with your username
  • so fast you can't see what happens
  • settles on the node page so you can see connections furiously stringing together into an organic whole.
    • Until the game crashes and closes?! Already issues with players not knowing the game is over.
    • Until the game "crashes" and an angry error message pops up and yells at you cryptically that you're finished. (And has telemetry data question on it.)
• Console tab - opens along bottom. Allows players to see list of broken entries, as well as entities "speaking" to them as console warnings.
  • Has an icon on the status bar to open and close.
  • Icon only shows up after the first hash import? Adds when I tell it to add.
  • Can print from entries, from trigger. (So only prints first time it's visited, that system already exists.)
  • Final convo moved into console.
• Players need to find the "correct" image in the data?
  • Looseleaf files on desktop or whatever.
  • USB drive
• Duplicate entry - getting to the point that I'm reusing entries.

Bug Fixes and Technical Features

• Password special character error as you type

  • eyeball to show plaintext

• no valid id "profvided" TODO check this is actually fixed

• [-] straight up just close the app when game finishes? I don't love that for log in purposes though. Popup?

• "Add entry" lights up before actually reading Ficus Elastica - check logs page for wrong checkpoint

• unknown user on QA3952? (dont know why this broke, seemed fine in playtest. people referred to character by name.)

• Fix back button to actually be back button record page changes in telemetrics (like click bookmark and stuff)

• allow bookmark locked entries

• set max image size for entry main images. They are too big right now.

• Fix web view for holiday writing

  • "New entry" bool for web entry - so it exports without an ID number to prevent overwriting in the mother database.

• [-] make other database! electron builder? Kept spreadsheet for now. People like it but the terminal will prevent brute-forcing more.

• [-] Change look of form text boxes when they've been edited since last save. (This does not feel like a good use of time right now.)

• Register page

  • (Variable for entities to reference info?) I don't think I want it in the story it should happen later, but should prep for it when making registration page
  • Since I'm collecting usernames on consent form, this can also be part of the "registration" process.

• NEED a way for players to track unlock entries/links, even if it's just a symbol on entry and not a list. (Console?) I don't think I'm going to get this done until Vignette4

• Link subentries as shortcut.

  • [-] Link by fauxID instead of ID. Maybe select from a searchable list? This sounds complicated but just an extension of the search functionality I already have - I can just component it into the entry page or make it an admin-only side-bar.
  • Instead of above, I'm making a searchbox for cross-indexing entries anyway. This will work perfectly fine as a reference for hyperlinks as well.

• Autoupdates:

  • minimum hex from parent
  • creation and last modified from parent
  • last modified from creation
  • researcher and last edit by from parent

• Debug menu is now hidden in cojntext menu with Toggle Admin. Works very nicely, and lets me showface features instantly.

• Make a css for artifacts that are not available in this vignette, so that it's physical object can still be included but details about its story do not distract playtesters. (less important.)

• Have archive7 export hexhash list with - No type columns, randomly insert fake hexes.

• Clean telemetrics data for easier reading. Maybe even export as CSV? But I want to import it later and show a playthrough so maybe JSON is better.

  • Or just export in unlock order for reading.

• Currently json doesn't actually update modEdit tag, it's only printing it in logs. Change this for the player identity is saved spiritually into the document.

• console that lists broken entries that opens on bottom?!

  • can refresh entries that are missing (dynamic search!)
  • entities can print to the console log messages to do!!

• create a pop-up when they unlock being able to cross index entries.

• list all entries and subentroes as multiselect

• give players the ability to create links to different entries!!! a drop down or something. build their own patterns you can transcribe! this is unlockable once they have enough agency.

• then the "cut scene" is the entity linking everything together itself using their username. the first few pages select all over and over again, until pages are flashing by so fast you can't see them.

• it would be nice to have a node page that works like obsidian so you can see the connections stitching together and growing a body.

Installation and Playtesting Workflow

• Make an install workflow checklist
• Fix consent for to not have confusing 3rd box.
• Register for slots in advance!!!
• Leave room after first playtest to check telemetrics aren't broken.
• Update playtest form way in advance.
• Re-read consent form and playtesting script right before exhibitions
• More vertical space - get a shelf even if you can't fill it.

Documentation

Scraps

Scrap writing

There is an erosion here, right at the base of every entry. This is a space built for details and there just aren't any. Where did this come from? Who found it? None of these entries say anything about what they are. Every thing is just wondering what they mean.

playtesting take aways

• People really like it!
• nice comments about the writing
• people really remember Freddie, Linus and Violet, but EM gets lost.
• most people wishing there was more or that they had more time
• people really responded to the clay but I think it needs to be integrated better
• Violet asking you to make connections is a bit too abstract and confuses people
• also needs to be labeled with people's names, couldn't get that working.
• mixes results with people playing as themselves or bringing the game out with them, but we'll get more info from the exist surveys
• got a consistent playtesting script together this time, allowed it to go off script a bit to follow leads
• I think the room looks good but could use more lights Vignette4
• it would also be nice to have a whole second "crafting" desk
• there's a few QOL things to fix but overall were feature compete. Now it's just writing!! And the writing should involve asking people to do stuff with the physi al objects.
• oooookay maybe just one. Missing fauxID you need to fill it. can you make it work for a spreadsheet AND the room so you don't need to do too many edits?
• tag entries to swap content for digital version?