What is CORE Perceptual Storyteller?

This is a tool for mapping stories from an emotional and perceptual perspective. Instead of focusing on plot points, it helps you structure a narrative based on environmental cues, internal feelings, and shifts in a character's perception.

The goal is to visually choreograph the "inner" story—the one of feeling and experience—that drives the external plot. To learn more about the design philosophy, you can read the full manifesto here.

✨ The Core Method

CORE is built on three layers of visual grammar:

• Chunks (The "What"): Self-contained moments of perception, feeling, or thought.
• Shapes (The "How"): Defines a chunk's function (Internal, External, Shift, etc.).
• Colors (The "Feeling"): Represents the emotional tone (Conflict, Calm, etc.).
• Relationships (The "Why"): Lines show how chunks influence each other, such as cause-and-effect, thematic echoes, or branching choices in a narrative.
• AI Assistant (The "Spark"): Use the ✨ icon in any chunk to deepen details, explore internal states, or suggest thematic echoes. Requires a Google AI API key.

Game Design & Ren'Py Export

CORE PS can function as a powerful pre-production and scripting tool for the free Ren'Py visual novel engine. By adding asset filenames to your chunks, you can export a functional .rpy script file.

How it Works:

1. Add Asset Info: In the "Edit Idea" modal for any chunk, you will find optional fields for "Ren'Py Assets". You can specify a background image, a character sprite, and a music track. Use the exact filenames (e.g., bg_library.png, yuki_sad.png, mystery.mp3).
2. Export to Ren'Py: Use the Export > Ren'Py (.rpy) option to download your story as a script file.
3. Set up Ren'Py: Place your exported .rpy file in the game folder of your Ren'Py project. Make sure your image and music files are placed in the correct subfolders within Ren'Py (e.g., game/images/ and game/audio/).
4. Include and Play: In your main script.rpy file, add the line include your_exported_filename.rpy to load and run the story you designed in CORE.

Appearance & Themes

You can customize the look and feel of CORE to match your creative mood.

• Theme Selector: In the Settings (⚙️) modal, you can choose between different visual themes.
• Background Controls: For themes with animated backgrounds (like Constellation), you can pause the animation or change its speed via sliders in the Settings modal. Your choices are saved locally.
• Canvas Helpers: You can toggle a visual grid and a non-scaling, glowing star on the canvas via the Settings panel.

Functional Shapes

Emotional Colors

Relationship Types

Keyboard Shortcuts

• L: Toggle the list of ideas

Chunk Types

Usage, Licensing & Support

Free for Indie Creators & Personal Use:
CORE Perceptual Storyteller is completely free for independent writers, narrative designers, and small game development teams to use for both personal and commercial projects. If you are creating your own story, game, or artwork, you are welcome to use this tool without charge.

If you find it valuable, please consider supporting its development with a donation.

License Required for Larger Teams & Institutions:
A license is required for use in larger commercial studios (e.g., "AA" or "AAA"), for integration into commercial products, or for formal academic and educational programs. This distinction protects the core CORE framework for larger-scale applications while keeping this tool accessible for the indie community.

For questions and licensing inquiries, please contact me at hello@thorstenbecker.de.

Copyright © Thorsten Becker. All rights reserved.