Very often, when one speaks of literature or writing - especially creative writing - the term "suspension of disbelief" or "willing suspension of disbelief" is wont to come up. In a fictional story, we are told, one must suspend his or her disbelief and enter the world of the narrative. The term is stupid and you shouldn't use it.
End of article.
...
Just kidding! The term is still stupid, but there is an excellent alternative, posited by the illustrious JRR Tolkien, no less! In his paper, "On Fairy Stories," Tolkien goes through an in-depth discussion of what Faerie is, what fairies are and are not, and various other topics related to the genre. Important for us are his thoughts on story-crafting in general.
"The moment disbelief aries, the spell is broken; the magic, or rather art, has failed. You are then out in the Primary World again, looking at the little abortive Secondary World from outside," Tolkien notes.
Rather than staying immersed in the narrative, you are ejected to the "real world." As Tolkien stated earlier in the paper, good writers are able to evoke "literary belief" in the reader. Only by becoming what Tolkien has termed a "sub creator" can an artist truly create a world to which a reader can ascribe any appreciable level of "Secondary Belief."
For instance, the sign of a good movie is being able to walk out of the theatre, discussing the movie in the terms and lingo of the characters themselves - and giving no thoughts such as "Well, this is a fictive universe, but..." Because the script writer did his or her job well, the viewer is not forced to consider the poor writing and be drawn out of the secondary world.
The idea of secondary belief is especially important to the genre of fantasy. As opposed to the "realistic" literature of the recent century, fantasy literature seeks to create a whole world of its own. Or, as in the case of Star Wars, an entire galaxy of its own. Walking out of the most recent Star Wars movie, my first thoughts were not "Who wrote that," but were decidedly more story based. In-universe, secondary belief type thoughts and conversations (I had gone with family) were the focus that day.
To truly enjoy literature, one must throw away the idea of merely accepting the "inaccuracies" of a fictional world. Instead, by holding a secondary belief, the literature, movie or TV show become alive for us.
----
Work cited: "On Fairy Stories," by JRR Tolkien
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Gaming Chronicles - The Final Fantasy Quest
(Please note, there will be heavy spoilers for Final Fantasy IV [and a bit for VI] ahead. I know it's 20+ years old, but I just wanted to be courteous!)
One reason I got into composing and music in general is because of the tuneful work of Nobuo Uematsu. Additionally, Square is even now working on the Final Fantasy VII remake and Final Fantasy XV. What better time to begin a play through of the whole main series? It'd be a fun quest, I thought.
Rather than begin at the beginning, like most would, I began with the fourth entry in the series, Final Fantasy IV. (And it was partly inspired by the GDQ speed run of it at the recent GDQ.)
I had attempted the game before, on my old Toshiba laptop, but had only gotten so far before quitting for some reason (it was college, so it might have been finals, leaving for the summer, etc...). I had played through 90% of Final Fantasy VI, so who knows.
Released in 1991, FFIV was the earliest Final Fantasy to give the characters ... well, actual character. In prior entries, the playable people were merely blank slates for the player to choose and name at will. However, in FFIV, each character has a defined identity, such as Dark Knight Cecil or his girlfriend Rosa. There's even a spoony bard!
One of the things that I liked the most about FFIV is the character arc of Cecil, the main character. In the beginning, he is the Dark Knight, and does the dirty deeds of the Baron Kingdom. Well, we only see one, namely, the theft of the water crystal. Despite this, a few members of the Red Wings (the air force of Baron) object to the deed they had just done. Eventually, Cecil questions the king himself.
An interesting side note: in the original Japanese release, Cecil had a powerful attack called "Dark" or "Dar Wave" that damaged opponents at the cost of some HP. Although removed in the English release, it points to development in his character. As a Dark Knight, his ability is to take damage in order to harm others. Once he became a Paladin, however, his special ability is "Cover," which sacrifices HP to protect another from harm.
However, Cecil's redemption story arc is a bit shorter than it could have been. Even with the unintentional destruction of Mist, most of his arc is completed fairly early in the game. (Or, it felt early on to me.) Without getting too far ahead of myself, I'd just comment that Final Fantasy VI does a bit better job dealing with a lead character struggling with identity. (Both Cecil and Terra are half-human, half something else. Both initially death with being manipulated by a villainous force. Etc...)
Overall, I had a nice time with the game. There were a few annoyances, though. For one, the encounter rate felt really high at times - especially in certain caves. The overall party was a mixed bag. It was cool to be able to use all sorts of characters, but a lot of them dropped out of the party, seemingly without warning. At least it wasn't Final Fantasy II in THAT regard, amiright?
For me, I had to do a bit of grinding in the later phases of the game. I didn't manage to acquire all the top weapons (in the final dungeon) but I did get all the major summons and most of the top-tier weapons. Overall, it's a pretty good game, but not a Final Fantasy title I'd start off with.
Tune in next time (hopefully) for a look at Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, an episodic sequel to this game released on mobile platforms.
One reason I got into composing and music in general is because of the tuneful work of Nobuo Uematsu. Additionally, Square is even now working on the Final Fantasy VII remake and Final Fantasy XV. What better time to begin a play through of the whole main series? It'd be a fun quest, I thought.
Rather than begin at the beginning, like most would, I began with the fourth entry in the series, Final Fantasy IV. (And it was partly inspired by the GDQ speed run of it at the recent GDQ.)
 |
| AKA Final Fantasy IV |
I had attempted the game before, on my old Toshiba laptop, but had only gotten so far before quitting for some reason (it was college, so it might have been finals, leaving for the summer, etc...). I had played through 90% of Final Fantasy VI, so who knows.
Released in 1991, FFIV was the earliest Final Fantasy to give the characters ... well, actual character. In prior entries, the playable people were merely blank slates for the player to choose and name at will. However, in FFIV, each character has a defined identity, such as Dark Knight Cecil or his girlfriend Rosa. There's even a spoony bard!
 |
| Am I? |
One of the things that I liked the most about FFIV is the character arc of Cecil, the main character. In the beginning, he is the Dark Knight, and does the dirty deeds of the Baron Kingdom. Well, we only see one, namely, the theft of the water crystal. Despite this, a few members of the Red Wings (the air force of Baron) object to the deed they had just done. Eventually, Cecil questions the king himself.
An interesting side note: in the original Japanese release, Cecil had a powerful attack called "Dark" or "Dar Wave" that damaged opponents at the cost of some HP. Although removed in the English release, it points to development in his character. As a Dark Knight, his ability is to take damage in order to harm others. Once he became a Paladin, however, his special ability is "Cover," which sacrifices HP to protect another from harm.
However, Cecil's redemption story arc is a bit shorter than it could have been. Even with the unintentional destruction of Mist, most of his arc is completed fairly early in the game. (Or, it felt early on to me.) Without getting too far ahead of myself, I'd just comment that Final Fantasy VI does a bit better job dealing with a lead character struggling with identity. (Both Cecil and Terra are half-human, half something else. Both initially death with being manipulated by a villainous force. Etc...)
 |
| What is this HR Giger doing in my Final Fantasy? |
Overall, I had a nice time with the game. There were a few annoyances, though. For one, the encounter rate felt really high at times - especially in certain caves. The overall party was a mixed bag. It was cool to be able to use all sorts of characters, but a lot of them dropped out of the party, seemingly without warning. At least it wasn't Final Fantasy II in THAT regard, amiright?
 |
| This place was the WORST |
For me, I had to do a bit of grinding in the later phases of the game. I didn't manage to acquire all the top weapons (in the final dungeon) but I did get all the major summons and most of the top-tier weapons. Overall, it's a pretty good game, but not a Final Fantasy title I'd start off with.
Tune in next time (hopefully) for a look at Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, an episodic sequel to this game released on mobile platforms.
 |
| I win!! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)