Fictional Terminals

Fictional Terminals

Fictional terminal blocks present a computer screen, command console, or passive system log inside chapter prose. Readers see a titled panel whose contents remain story text.

A terminal never executes a command or connects to a real system.

Preview

The security log appears in a terminal panel with its status beside the title:

The reader sees SECURITY LOG as the title, Status: ARCHIVED, and the three authored log lines.

Copy the syntax

Give the opening tag a quoted title, write a non-empty body, and close the block on its own line:

{terminal "SECURITY LOG"}
[03:14] Door B opened
[03:16] Unauthorized access detected
{endterminal}

Add optional authored status text after the title:

{terminal "SECURITY LOG" status "ARCHIVED"}
[03:14] Door B opened
[03:16] Unauthorized access detected
{endterminal}

The title is required. The status is optional. Both must contain visible text and use matching straight single or double quotation marks.

Write the terminal body

The body supports ordinary Markdown, links, reader and Game State values, conditional text, and compatible chapter elements. For example, a lock can ask for a fictional command and an action can apply a real story change:

{terminal "MAINTENANCE CONSOLE" status "LOCKED"}
Awaiting operator command.

{lock "Enter command" answer "override 7"}
ACCESS GRANTED
{endlock}

{action "Restart coolant pumps" once set game:coolant_online = true}
{endterminal}

The terminal remains a visual container. The lock checks the exact authored answer, and the action changes the existing coolant_online Game State value when a game is active.

A body line beginning with $ can look like a command prompt, but it is never executed. Use inline code or a fenced example when braces, ${HOME}, or another CHYOA-looking tag must remain literal instead of becoming chapter syntax.

Use title and status as display text

Title and status are fixed authored metadata. They do not read or change Game State, and they cannot contain chapter tags. Put changing information inside the body:

{terminal "REACTOR CONTROL" status "MONITORING"}
Coolant pressure: {game:coolant_pressure}

{if game:coolant_online = true}
PUMPS ONLINE
{else}
PUMPS OFFLINE
{endif}
{endterminal}

The reader sees the passage that matches the current game. The terminal itself does not add a saved game step.

Let the reader open the terminal

A terminal is always visible. Wrap the complete block in a reveal when readers should choose when to open it:

{reveal "Open terminal"}
{terminal "NODE 7" status "STANDBY"}
No active connection.
{endterminal}
{endreveal}

The reader initially sees Open terminal. Opening the reveal displays the entire panel.

Terminal presentation follows the story's Element Theme.

Limits and combinations

• Put {terminal ...} and {endterminal} on their own lines.
• Close a terminal only with {endterminal}; {/terminal} is not supported.
• Terminal blocks cannot be nested inside other terminal blocks.
• Terminals and chat bubbles cannot contain each other.
• When a terminal contains an email, reveal, code lock, or conditional block, close the inner block before {endterminal}.
• Keep titles and statuses as plain authored text; put variables and other chapter syntax in the body.
• A terminal is a storytelling device, not a security boundary or a way to run commands.

To show terminal tags as literal text in a chapter, put them in backticks or a fenced block.

Before publishing

Save a draft and check that:

1. the title and optional status are quoted, non-empty, and free of chapter tags;
2. both terminal tags are on their own lines and the body contains visible content;
3. long commands, addresses, and log lines wrap without forcing awkward page scrolling;
4. Markdown, links, reader values, and Game State values display correctly in the body;
5. nested reveals, locks, emails, conditions, or actions close in the same order they open;
6. fictional prompts are clearly part of the story and do not imply that CHYOA executed anything;
7. a surrounding reveal opens the complete terminal when one is used;
8. the panel remains readable in White, Black, and Sepia appearance and on a narrow screen.