#beretcomic

Thanks for reading! Also thanks for this question, I love gushing about my ridiculous LORE

So in the BERET world there’s “Creative Energy” which is invisible magic that’s floating everywhere. Artists naturally collect this in their bodies and can use it to perform a kind of telekinesis that ONLY affects art supplies. 

The advanced thing is the creation of a [Work] which is what happens when someone creates a PHYSICAL piece of Art. The creation of a [work] requires “intent” and “materials”. The Intent means you have to THINK you are making “art” for the special properties of a [Work] to occur. This rules out objects we might call “crafts” or purely utilitarian objects. 

The art also has to create a physical object, or the Creative Energy this process attracts has nowhere to collect. When the [Work] is created, the author of the piece can use that concentrated CE to do all kinds of wacky stuff, from causing explosions to bringing statues to life. 

This is why only art forms that create physical pieces count as “magic” in BERET world. This rules out several of your examples, but not all of them.

Writing/Poetry/Novels: normally doesn’t count, but if the writing is PRESENTED in a artistically novel way it can count (see Nevino’s Baroque Contract, writing presented on sheets of metal with flowery effects) Though Nevino has a very powerful work of art (The Royal Mandate) supporting him, allowing him to break the rules slightly. 

Dancer/Performance Artist: doesn’t count as art unless it leaves a physical work. You could dance and splatter paint on something with your movement. Performance art could work if it creates a “piece” 

Fashion Designer: totally counts. (I have a fashion designer character in future arcs...)

Photographer: BERET has limited early era photography, but they don’t count as [Works] since there’s no detailed physical labor involved in the creation of the image. You could use a photo IN a work though...  

Antithesis

and friends

BERET UPDATE! CLICK HERE (or the image) to READ!

CLICK HERE OR THE IMAGE TO READ!!!

I can’t recall a singular work that was a touchpoint for the story of the Final Season. A lot of it was the fact that it’s the 4th season, much of the conventions and style were already established, the goal was largely to do what was done before at the highest level of quality possible. Many plot points were spins/reactions to what had come before. Don’t do a road trip because we’ve done that 3 times, Make a twist on the Lee/Clem dynamic, make choices matter in ways they haven’t in a long while, and so on. 

Far more works were referenced on the visual/mechanical side. Our Cinematic Director did define the films Green Room and Blue Ruin as the kind of severe, tense and dramatic tone we wanted to achieve. Children of Men was brought up, especially for the opening car crash scene. We referenced other games, like Night in the Woods and Red Dead Redemption for certain moments and methods of execution. The rest is from the collective taste and talent of the team as a whole, everyone contributed something. 

I think either approach can work, but I prefer character(s) first, plot second. In practice it’s usually a bit of both.

In BERET for example I had Anton/The Master from a school project and created a world and supporting cast around them. As the comic has gone on I’ve been creating new characters to fill roles in the plot so that I can get the heroes where I need them.

UPDATE!!! CLICK HERE (or the image) TO READ

BERET is a comic about a world where Artists are basically Wizards fighting to survive in a dadaist post-apocalypse.