Stop Saying Lore
i hate wikis. i hate lore.
i hate wikis. i hate lore.
i hate wikis. i hate lore.
i hate wikis. i hate lore.
i hate wikis. i hate lore.
i hate wikis. i hate lore.
made for the Manifesto Jam 2026
Click the text box/bottom text to advance
~5 Minutes long
kinda works on mobile but the text is very small so not really
made in like 3 hrs in Godot 4.6 w/ dialogic
Download
Install instructions
mac and Linux hasn't been tested srry
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
good points. got me thinking. I especially feel the "Anything that isn't concrete..." bit.
You have done a great job of putting your point across, and I agree with the most of your statements. Unfortunately though I think the word "lore" is useful and convenient. It shouldn't have been the focal point of the anger, which is righteous imo.
The point is that the word isnt convenient, its anti intellectual which robs people of being able to discuss topics in more specific and nuanced ways. It is too broad and has subsumed every word to describe narrative components.
If somone asks me "whats the lore" there are at least 5 different things they could mean. Which is inconvenient and useless because I have to ask clarifying questions. Just say "backstory" or "plot point" or even "information".
Whatever word you are using "lore" to replace you should use that word instead. "Lore" is just the current trendy word to say and I cant wait for it to die out.
That is a very prescriptivist way of looking at language. Words emerge and replace others, some fall out of favor, some meanings expand and subsume others, and some change totally. It might never leave the vocabulary of people, and its multiple meanings requiring clarifying questions is not a fault but a feature of it. Just a broad word for "backtory" or "plot point" or even "information". Communication does not have to happen via hyper-specific channels. Besides, if you don't want to ask clarifying questions following the usage of the word, just explain parts you are most passionate about.
You dont think its worth examining why a vague word has come to replace all the complexities of narration and boil it down into the same thing and what that could indicate about how people are engaging with media and how people are thinking about media?
I think you're blowing the role of "lore" out of proportion when it comes to media literacy and engagement. I think of lore as an umbrella term for things it includes. Like how words like art also contain multitudes of descriptives below them. Besides, the umbrella term is more than the sum of its parts. Asking "What are some arts you enjoy" is not the same as "what are some artistic expression methods you prefer." Lore for the most part refers to the sum of a variety of worldbuilding aspects. It itself carries little to do with your concern. Besides, if it is such a loathsome word for you, you can use it as a detection method for finding out who you don't want to engage with. You don't have to use it, but the presence of the word does not subtract from the detailed discussions of these subject.
K
I am too old and not enough connected to contemporary TTRPG scene to care that much about "lore" as it is understood nowadays. Back in my days, your "lore" was a quicker way to mean, "your character's backstory", although reading your manifesto helped me see that this convenient shortcut was already a slippery slope. It's also explained why I felt a bit confused with the word popping up everywhere. Thank you for making this and sharing it.
This was brilliant. Captured all of my personal frustration as a writer and as a new TTPRG player!!
ohh that last bit is so effective. anyway you are correct
Amazing ending. Love the format ✨
Okay but for reals, as someone who both loves some intricate narrative quibbling and weird little mysteries to dig into AND has seen an obsession with "make it have SO MUCH COMPLEX LORE" bog down some of the coolest evocative concepts to where all the wonderful and mystique is lost beneath layers of wiki *cough*Backrooms*cough*, this rules.
Creepy pastas were the source of the thought originally and how they evolved from individual short stories, then to the SCP format, then to just the backroom wikis. And I started to wonder how and why this happened and how it coincided with the language shift of calling everything "lore".
oar nibble woar agenst luur
YESSSSSSS YESSS FUCK YESSS I FUCKING HATE LORE FUCK YES THIS RULES GOOD WORK FUUUUCK YESSSS I HATE WIKIS I HATE LORE IT DESTROYS ART IT DESTROYS STORY IT DESTROYS MEANING IT DESTROYS COMMUNITY FUUUUCK LOOOOORE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
ahem. good manifesto. 10/10. I agree with your premise.
Very true, and the lore bomb at the end cracked me up :D
the only good lore is data's evil brother
tvtropes dot org has done so much harm
so good
I know there wasn't one, but I swear I heard a thunder at the last LORE
I was so close to adding a sound effect but then i got lazy
I honestly think the silence works better than a sound effect. It's like the 4 massive letters have crushed the life out of everything.
ore nobble war aghast lure
ore noble wour against lar
our noble wore against lar
our noble war against lore