Conversation

Engineering projects and stories as metaphors for each other 🤔 Unit test = beat Integration test = scene Subsystem test = act System test = narrative arc Component = character Strategic component (eg battery) = key character Design driver if one exists (eg RPi) = hero
4
35
Replying to
A high concept without a log line is like the recognizable corpse of a famous person. Eg: Romeo and Juliet across many lives with reincarnation. It’s not immediately obvious how that would work. In engineering, a sci-fi invention like a time machine.
1
1
Reverse, log line without high concept, is like taking the pulse of a random person and declaring them alive. Eg: Romeo and Juliet in space. It *is* kinda obvious that would work. It’s not obvious there’s be anything interesting to it beyond gimmick. In engineering, chindogu.
1
3
Engineering within stories as in sci-fi artifacts, often is high concepts with fake log lines (operating principles) like “flux capacitor” or “warp core dilithium.” But stories within engineering artifacts often are log lines without even fake high concepts (user stories).
1
5
Noticed this analogy when I realized coming up with a story worth writing is hard in exactly the same way as coming up with a project worth building. While the execution is hard and you have to acquire skills, the harder part is finding high concept/log line intersection.
2
6
Novelty is an aspirational nice-to-have feature. Even a story or build that’s obviously derivative with no new IP has to have its own instance of high-concept+log-line. Just like if you copy the fashion style of a celeb you still need your own face (identity) and life (pulse).
2
2
The rover I’m building has no original ideas in it. But even copying Mars rover at toy scale needs narrative engineering. High concept = “explore apartment.” Log-line = “4.5 amp lipo battery 6-wheel rocker bogie with camera, ultrasonic navigation and Beaglebone blue computer.”
1
A shared problem of both is there’s no way to do a production test at any level below the full system. You can’t test a motor or a wire harness or a character or scene in isolation outside lab or drafts. You need a simplified fractal version of the whole system.
2
1
Limited experimental prototype or storyboard is mvp. I’m testing out story concepts with 8-panel “Harmon” comics and project concepts with “crapject” builds designed to be taken apart after a round of testing. Interesting that 3D printers have “draft” mode print settings.
3