 Fantasy: January 18, 2012 Issue [#4831] |
  Fantasy
This week: Video Games Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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Prose is an art form, movies and acting in general are art forms, so is music, painting, graphics, sculpture, and so on. Some might even consider classic games like chess to be an art form. Video games use elements of all of these to create something new. Why wouldn't video games be an art form?
-Sam Lake
Video games are a waste of time for men with nothing else to do.
-Ray Bradbury
Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll.
-Shigeru Miyamoto
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Video Games
I've kind of been lost inside an adventure game lately, so I thought I'd write about them this time - from a writer's perspective.
Some games, it's true, don't seem to put much thought into plot or character development, but that's not the kind of game I'm talking about here. I'm talking about the total-immersion, questing adventure games - specifically in the fantasy genre, because that's what this newsletter's about.
So I got to thinking, while playing the latest swords-and-sorcery (or if you must, hack-and-slash) computer game, about the kind of writing that has to go into these things. The best ones not only have the main plotline - which, to be honest, has to do with saving the world, or universe, or something equally huge, because that's what this kind of fantasy is about - but quests, subplots, and intrigue; plot twists, the unexpected, and, hopefully, a good dose of humor.
And I figured that writing that stuff must be a lot of real work.
As I said, you have the main plotline which, in the best of these games, is influenced by a character's choices along the way, which aren't always predictable from the writer's standpoint. Then you fit in all the subplots - which may or may not have anything to do with the main quest - and try to keep things consistent within the world you've created. And then there are characters, settings, and dialogue, as in a book, but, at least in the free-form adventure games, it's not always clear who the protagonist - you, that is - will meet first, so a lot of the story has to fit into a nonlinear format.
It's like writing an epic fantasy novel, only harder. Almost like real work, the kind you actually get paid for.
Yes, in a lot of ways, it's still better to get lost inside a book, rather than a game. Easier on the eyes, maybe, and still more socially acceptable - not that such a thing has ever stopped me. But those who like the fantasy genre should give the games a try - and when you do, try to pay attention to how the writing fits together. |
I tried to find a few items about video games, and here's what I came up with:
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (December 20, 2011)" , I talked about the use of mountains in fantasy.
bertiebrite hoping for peace  : I lived for a while in Montana - so named by the Spanish Conquistadores for its mountainous terrain. Montana, rises in successive waves until it reaches The Great Devide, then it falls off toward the north and begins to descend once more. These mountains are the result of "folding," the entire area was caught between two tectonic plates. But, for real mountains I must say that the Cascade mountain range, wherein sets Mt. St, Helena's was the most impressive mountain range I have seen. Also, the Sierra mountain range was the one you followed into the desert.
They are a necessity and participants in many of my fantasy stories
The Conquistadores clearly missed the eastern part of Montana, which is as flat as North Dakota (which is to say plenty flat, but not as flat as Illinois). I love the Cascades. Of all the mountains I've seen, for some reason those impressed me the most.
thapamuna: Enjoy with Nature !!!
Always a good idea.
So that's it for January for me... until next month, stay warm and...
DREAM ON!!! |
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