Note to self: Write clever, witty, and deeply insightful
blog article while also trying to make the deadline for my upcoming fourth
novel.
Friday, February 24, 2017
Friday, February 17, 2017
Video Games with Great Writing
I'll often talk about the stories in video games, but sometimes a great story can be marred by long, boring exposition dumps or awkwardly translated dialogue. On the other hand, there are games that have cliched plots but are saved by excellent writing. With that in mind, here's a list of some of my favorite games with great writing. Just to be clear, we're only dealing with actual words that were written for the game, including dialogue, cut-scenes, journal entries, item descriptions, and flavor text.
This is another game that I'll play over and over again. Despite it being an older Japanese RPG, the translation of this steampunk sky-pirate adventure is top-notch. Even without voice acting, every character is distinct and interesting. One of my favorite things to do is to recruit my crew and then regularly go to each crew member and get their reactions to what is happening in the main plot. The villains are also varied and interesting, and are lovably despicable in their own way. This is a great game!
The best in the Tex Murphy series of digital capture adventure games, this noir/sci-fi game has amazing writing. All of the item and setting descriptions are narrated by Murphy, a kind of vulnerable Humphrey Bogart character with a wry sense of humor. Depending on how you play the game, the writing will either lean towards a dark, despondent tone or a bright, optimistic one. Whatever your preference, you can be sure that the writing will reflect it in a deliciously immersive way.
This is my favorite Final Fantasy game, and one of the major factors for that is the writing. While I'll admit that I'll often end up skipping the one-sentence comments from random townspeople after a few hours, that's mainly because I'll get overwhelmed trying to hear what every citizen in every town has to say about the advancing plot. What sets the writing in this game apart is its slightly exotic voice. Every creature you encounter has a lengthy description you can unlock as you slay more of them, all written with an in-universe tone that is equal parts compelling and fascinating.
I went back and forth about including this game on the list, as I was worried I would be biased towards this game as I just started playing it again. What convinced me to mention it was last night's gaming session after I realized that I had spent several hours in conversation with a variety of characters and hadn't skipped a single line of dialogue. My favorite writing in this game are the playable character reactions. Despite this being a "build-your-party" game, the voice-sets you can choose for your characters are more than just "My weapon doesn't work!" exclamations. Depending on the personality and voice you choose, you hear all kinds of colorful comments from your team as they talk together throughout the epic storyline.
Thanks to Randall from my Guild of Adventurers for suggesting this week's subject.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
I've already written a review of the storyline in the first Uncharted game, but the second installment is by far my favorite (having not played the 4th one yet) and one of the biggest reasons is the superb writing. The character dialogue is alternately snarky, sweet, or menacing in both the cut-scenes and during gameplay, and I always play with a smile on my face as I enjoy this robust adventure. I should also mention that this game has the best ending of any game I've played, mainly because of the terrific banter after the climax.
Skies of Arcadia
This is another game that I'll play over and over again. Despite it being an older Japanese RPG, the translation of this steampunk sky-pirate adventure is top-notch. Even without voice acting, every character is distinct and interesting. One of my favorite things to do is to recruit my crew and then regularly go to each crew member and get their reactions to what is happening in the main plot. The villains are also varied and interesting, and are lovably despicable in their own way. This is a great game!
The Pandora Directive
The best in the Tex Murphy series of digital capture adventure games, this noir/sci-fi game has amazing writing. All of the item and setting descriptions are narrated by Murphy, a kind of vulnerable Humphrey Bogart character with a wry sense of humor. Depending on how you play the game, the writing will either lean towards a dark, despondent tone or a bright, optimistic one. Whatever your preference, you can be sure that the writing will reflect it in a deliciously immersive way.
Final Fantasy 12
This is my favorite Final Fantasy game, and one of the major factors for that is the writing. While I'll admit that I'll often end up skipping the one-sentence comments from random townspeople after a few hours, that's mainly because I'll get overwhelmed trying to hear what every citizen in every town has to say about the advancing plot. What sets the writing in this game apart is its slightly exotic voice. Every creature you encounter has a lengthy description you can unlock as you slay more of them, all written with an in-universe tone that is equal parts compelling and fascinating.
Wizardry 8
I went back and forth about including this game on the list, as I was worried I would be biased towards this game as I just started playing it again. What convinced me to mention it was last night's gaming session after I realized that I had spent several hours in conversation with a variety of characters and hadn't skipped a single line of dialogue. My favorite writing in this game are the playable character reactions. Despite this being a "build-your-party" game, the voice-sets you can choose for your characters are more than just "My weapon doesn't work!" exclamations. Depending on the personality and voice you choose, you hear all kinds of colorful comments from your team as they talk together throughout the epic storyline.
Thanks to Randall from my Guild of Adventurers for suggesting this week's subject.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Fantasy Authors That Go Their Own Way
I'll often advise writers to avoid reading stories that are too close to their own work. While this may conflict with the advice of many industry professionals, I firmly believe that if a writer wants to have a unique voice, then they need to draw upon a variety of influences when crafting their stories. With that in mind, here are a few fantasy authors that I feel have something unique to the way they tell a story, with some ideas of where they might have gotten these influences.
Who would have thought that a story of mice and rats wielding swords would result in a beloved franchise with over twenty-two novels? While Jacques' Redwall series is definitely formulaic, they have a distinct flavor all their own, and I happily return to Redwall Abbey on a regular basis. Besides being an author, some of Jacques' other careers included merchant seaman, railway fireman, longshoreman, police officer, boxer, bus driver, and stand-up comic. Do you think he might have had some unique life experiences to add to his work?
The best book I ever found at the library was Dragon's Blood, a tale of a young man training a dragon to fight in gladiatorial games. While the sci-fi setting with an emphasis on dragons may resemble Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, Yolan's Pit Dragon series focused on the dusty, dirty world of caring for such large animals, rather than the glamorous image of dragons in flight, etc. Perhaps this was what drew me to her stories. When I was in the Boy Scouts I spent part of one summer getting my horsemanship merit badge, which, unlike the riding merit badge, consisted mainly of caring for my assigned horse rather than riding him. Each day I had to feed him, clean his hooves, brush him down, and most importantly, muck out his stall. I think anyone who has had a similar experience and then reads the Pit Dragon series will recognize that Yolen clearly drew on some life experience as she imagined what caring for a dragon would really be like.
For years, I had a vague recollection of another dragon novel I found in the library. It was you typical rags-to-"a boy and his dragon" tale, but what set apart Nightpool was the world that the main character inhabited. With a displaced prince taken in by a colony of talking otters, the CS Lewis fan will likely see the many comparisons to Prince Caspian to be made here. But Murphy doesn't just touch on the otter colony as two-thirds of the novel focus on the politics, morals, and mystery of their society. In many ways, the first novel of the Dragonbards Trilogy feels more like Island of the Blue Dolphins than a fantasy novel, which gives it a unique, ocean-flavored mystical quality.
I found Freda Warrington's first fantasy novel, A Blackbird in Silver, in a little used-book shop near Long Beach, WA. How an obscure fantasy novel published in the UK ever found its way all the way around the world has always fascinated me. The story itself is an epic fantasy with a quest to slay a serpent that's destroying the world. Fairly common fair. But Warrington wrote with an intensity of character and a depth of emotion that was uncommon in fantasy writing. Her long list of influences (including CS Lewis, Tolkien, Tanith Lee, Michael Moorcock, Joy Chant, Ursula LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey, and JS Lefanu) meant that she wouldn't be too heavily influenced by a single source as she explored the emotional impact of a heroic quest and a world facing its end.
As a final note, I wanted to mention an interesting coincidence that I noticed while creating this short list. With the exception of the works of Brian Jacques, each book I mentioned by the above authors were followed at some point by drastically inferior sequels. I would hypothesize that this is a sign of those authors failing to maintain their unique voice, something that Jacques managed to do for his entire writing career.
Thanks to Aaron from my Guild of Adventurers for suggesting this week's subject.
Brian Jacques
Who would have thought that a story of mice and rats wielding swords would result in a beloved franchise with over twenty-two novels? While Jacques' Redwall series is definitely formulaic, they have a distinct flavor all their own, and I happily return to Redwall Abbey on a regular basis. Besides being an author, some of Jacques' other careers included merchant seaman, railway fireman, longshoreman, police officer, boxer, bus driver, and stand-up comic. Do you think he might have had some unique life experiences to add to his work?
Jane Yolen
The best book I ever found at the library was Dragon's Blood, a tale of a young man training a dragon to fight in gladiatorial games. While the sci-fi setting with an emphasis on dragons may resemble Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, Yolan's Pit Dragon series focused on the dusty, dirty world of caring for such large animals, rather than the glamorous image of dragons in flight, etc. Perhaps this was what drew me to her stories. When I was in the Boy Scouts I spent part of one summer getting my horsemanship merit badge, which, unlike the riding merit badge, consisted mainly of caring for my assigned horse rather than riding him. Each day I had to feed him, clean his hooves, brush him down, and most importantly, muck out his stall. I think anyone who has had a similar experience and then reads the Pit Dragon series will recognize that Yolen clearly drew on some life experience as she imagined what caring for a dragon would really be like.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy
For years, I had a vague recollection of another dragon novel I found in the library. It was you typical rags-to-"a boy and his dragon" tale, but what set apart Nightpool was the world that the main character inhabited. With a displaced prince taken in by a colony of talking otters, the CS Lewis fan will likely see the many comparisons to Prince Caspian to be made here. But Murphy doesn't just touch on the otter colony as two-thirds of the novel focus on the politics, morals, and mystery of their society. In many ways, the first novel of the Dragonbards Trilogy feels more like Island of the Blue Dolphins than a fantasy novel, which gives it a unique, ocean-flavored mystical quality.
Freda Warrington
I found Freda Warrington's first fantasy novel, A Blackbird in Silver, in a little used-book shop near Long Beach, WA. How an obscure fantasy novel published in the UK ever found its way all the way around the world has always fascinated me. The story itself is an epic fantasy with a quest to slay a serpent that's destroying the world. Fairly common fair. But Warrington wrote with an intensity of character and a depth of emotion that was uncommon in fantasy writing. Her long list of influences (including CS Lewis, Tolkien, Tanith Lee, Michael Moorcock, Joy Chant, Ursula LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey, and JS Lefanu) meant that she wouldn't be too heavily influenced by a single source as she explored the emotional impact of a heroic quest and a world facing its end.
As a final note, I wanted to mention an interesting coincidence that I noticed while creating this short list. With the exception of the works of Brian Jacques, each book I mentioned by the above authors were followed at some point by drastically inferior sequels. I would hypothesize that this is a sign of those authors failing to maintain their unique voice, something that Jacques managed to do for his entire writing career.
Thanks to Aaron from my Guild of Adventurers for suggesting this week's subject.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Quick Update on the Book Tour
The other update I wanted to share is that I've created a goal on my Patreon page that will help pay for the many costs that will come with this trip, including promotional materials, travel expenses, and the cost of printing and shipping all the books that I’ll need for the trip. After the trip, any future funds will go towards the expenses listed on my main Patreon page, as well as saving up for the next book tour.
My Patreon Page
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