Templates, project archetypes and story structures — how opinionated should WorldScript be? #649

Why this exists

Templates can make discovery faster, but an overly opinionated starting point can force authors into one methodology. This Discussion explores project archetypes and story structures that remain useful without narrowing the neutral core.

Product decision space

Consider blank projects, novel, short story, screenplay, series/bible, worldbuilding-heavy, nonfiction/research, and custom templates. Explore Save as Template, starter entities and scenes, beat sheets and story structures, genre packs versus a neutral core, declarative templates versus plugins, and how templates should be versioned, imported/exported, and localized.

A template should clarify what it adds and remain reversible. Starter content must not become hidden authority or silently overwrite user data. Declarative templates may be safer and more portable than executable extensions, while plugin relationships should remain explicit.

Discussion #629 provides screenplay-workspace context, and Discussion #631 provides plugin-ecosystem context. They are related product conversations, not new implementation authorities.

Role perspectives

Role-perspective note: The viewpoints below are maintainer-curated, AI-assisted design lenses. They are not separate community members, votes, user testimony, or evidence of consensus.

• ✍️ Discovery writer: start quickly without being forced into beats, outlines, or prescribed scene order.
• 🧱 Plotter: use optional structure, beats, milestones, and starter entities as deliberate scaffolding.
• 🎬 Screenwriter: get screenplay-relevant defaults without changing the shared project model for everyone.
• 🌍 Worldbuilder: organize characters, worlds, lore, research, and continuity at the right depth.
• 🧩 Extension/template creator: define portable, versioned, localizable declarative templates with clear ownership.
• 🧭 Product simplicity: provide discoverable archetypes while keeping the blank and neutral core first-class.

Questions

• Which archetypes deserve first-class templates, and which should remain community recipes?
• What should a blank project include, if anything?
• Which starter entities or scenes are genuinely useful rather than clutter?
• How should Save as Template handle versions, localization, and updates?
• When is a genre pack better modeled as data, and when would it need a plugin?
• How should users migrate or detach from a template without losing work?
• Which story structures should be optional and composable rather than prescriptive?

Relationship to implementation

This Discussion is product and workflow exploration only. It does not force one writing methodology, change #558 or #557, or create new implementation work automatically. Discussion #629 and #631 remain contextual references only.