Subtext
Gamasutra has an article on subtext in games which is one of the first times I’ve seen this topic discussed publicly. Subtext is word that has been traditionally applied to dialogue exchanges
Dialogue with no subtext:
Cowboy: I’m so angry, I could kill you!
Indian: Me want to kill you too!
Dialogue with subtext:
Cowboy: I reckon you should take back this tobacco. It’s no good.
Indian: White man no good.
Cowboy: (Takes out his guy and shoots it in the air) Are you calling me a liar?
Indian: No. You a bullet waster.
Cowboy: And what if I am? What are you going to do about it?
Indian: (beat)
Cowboy: I reckon you oughta give me a refund, doncha think?
Indian: (pulls out some bloody scalps). Two for one. Fresh. Like yours.
Okay, that wasn’t a great example 
Subtext is important because humans have become very sophisticated consumers of media. Literal art is boring. Good vs. evil. Red vs. Blue. We need depth which subtext, subliminal messages, satire, irony, innuendo, hyperbole, whatever you want to label it, etc. all provide.
Subtext is well understood in writing / storytelling, especially in film where it thrives because conflict in film needs to be externalized (seen, heard, shown) which lacks the subtlety of interior monologue/thought thus subtle conflict is create through subtext.
Add comment April 29th, 2008