Element Themes

Element Themes

An Element Theme gives a story's tables, chapter dividers, block quotations, formatted blocks, and interactive elements a consistent visual style. It belongs to the whole story, so authors choose it once rather than styling every chapter separately.

Choose a theme

The Owner can open Edit Story and find Element Theme. Choose one of the displayed theme cards, then select Save Story.

CHYOA Default is used when no other theme has been selected.

What the theme changes

The selected theme styles special story elements wherever they appear:

• Markdown tables in chapter prose;
• horizontal chapter dividers;
• block quotations;
• reader customization fields, including {input reader:name};
• Game State rows, progress displays, and inventory;
• {stat ...} and {meter ...} displays;
• dice rolls and their results;
• Random Draw cards and their results;
• reveal and action buttons;
• code locks and their answer fields;
• ordering puzzles, move controls, feedback, and success passages;
• chapter polls and poll results;
• chat bubbles and chat-stream controls;
• email cards;
• fictional terminal panels, passive system logs, and terminal-stream controls.

Changing the theme updates these elements in existing as well as future chapters. Authors do not need to rewrite the table, divider, quotation, or other chapter syntax.

The default gray-left and blue-right chat pair, as well as any optional named chat-bubble color, stays part of the selected Element Theme. A name such as blue or purple chooses that color family, while the theme and the reader's White, Black, or Sepia appearance determine the exact background, text, and contrast treatment.

What the theme does not change

An Element Theme does not change:

• ordinary chapter prose and headings;
• story or chapter titles;
• the story cover;
• follow-up branch layout;
• comments;
• the site header, Library, search, or other CHYOA pages;
• what a variable, poll, draw, roll, reveal, lock, ordering puzzle, or action does.

It changes presentation, not story logic or saved reader choices.

Element Theme versus site appearance

Every reader can independently choose the site's White, Black, or Sepia appearance. That choice controls the surrounding CHYOA page. The story's Element Theme controls its special story elements inside that page.

The combinations work together. For example, Adventure Parchment remains the story's theme when one reader uses White and another uses Black, but its colors adapt so the controls remain readable in both appearances.

Changing your own site appearance does not change the Element Theme saved by the story Owner. Changing the story's Element Theme does not change a reader's White, Black, or Sepia preference.

Tables follow the story theme

Tables are part of the Element Theme even when they contain no interactive syntax. For example:

The theme changes the table panel, headings, text, and dividers. Wide tables still scroll horizontally on narrow screens. Theme styling cannot make an overly large table easy to understand, so keep columns concise.

Use a themed divider for a scene break

Use a horizontal divider when a chapter needs a clear scene break without another heading. In Markdown, put --- on its own line with a blank line before and after it:

The gallery lights fade.

---

A new room comes into view.

The reader sees a clear break between the two passages. Its visual treatment follows the story's Element Theme, while the surrounding words remain ordinary chapter prose.

Set off a quotation with the story theme

Use a block quotation for words attributed to a person, letter, document, or other source. Do not use it only to indent ordinary prose. In Markdown, start the quoted paragraph with > and a space:

> “The northern door remembers every visitor.”

This displays as:

“The northern door remembers every visitor.”

The reader sees the quoted words set apart from the surrounding chapter. The quotation's accent and text treatment follow the story's Element Theme. For a longer quotation, put > on each quoted paragraph and leave a blank quoted line between paragraphs.

Choose a theme for the story, not one scene

Because the setting is story-wide, choose a design that remains suitable across different chapters and interactions. A dramatic theme may look excellent for one scene but become distracting if every short poll or reader input uses it.

Consider:

• the story's genre and tone;
• how often special elements appear;
• whether tables contain a lot of information;
• whether readers need to compare stats or poll options quickly;
• how the strongest accent colors feel across a long reading session.

The theme cards show their basic palette. Save the story and view a representative chapter to judge the complete controls.

Preview all important elements

When a story uses several features, create or open a draft chapter that includes representative examples:

View the chapter in White, Black, and Sepia appearance. Pay particular attention to text contrast, field boundaries, selected choices, disabled controls, long labels, table dividers, chapter dividers, quotation accents, and terminal wrapping on narrow screens.

Change a theme safely

You can change an established story's Element Theme without changing its chapters. Before saving a new choice:

1. identify chapters with tables, dividers, block quotations, formatted blocks, or interactive elements;
2. view at least one busy chapter in each site appearance;
3. test controls as well as their resting appearance;
4. check narrow screens for tables, polls, Random Draw outcomes, ordering puzzles, email cards, terminal panels, and long labels;
5. keep the new choice only if it works throughout the story.

If a special element does not change with the theme, first confirm that it is one of the supported elements listed above and that the story change was saved. Ordinary prose and general CHYOA controls intentionally keep the site appearance instead.