Part of the reason I've been doing these posts is as a writing exercise. I'm a teacher, and it's summer, so I have a lot of time on my hands. I've been reading Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card, and he brings up the idea of being diligent in your writing about questioning cliches, especially the ones you may not even realize you're accepting. He posits that these cliches, while easy to accept from the point of view of immersion, are also boring. However, there's also the balancing point of believability. You can't change everything in a story away from the cliche or it will become too unbelievable. Pick one or two that will lead to a good story and run with them.
In the case of MMOs like this, the lore is the cliche. Being lore conscious is important. I'm not challenging that point, because I certainly don't want to see werewolves (were-Miqo'te?), vampires (and while sparkly vampires are not cliche, they do show that avoiding the cliche is not always the best move), super-heroes, etc. But relying 100% on things only verified in lore is accepting the full cliche, which according to Mr. Card is boring.
As Kyatai pointed out in the other thread, a lot of people seem to be accepting and even defending the notion that Miqo'te are just "humans with kitty ears and tails." I'm challenging that notion, because I feel we'll get more interesting stories if we recognize the cliche and actively avoid it.
As an example, several people were very uncomfortable with my suggestion that some tribes may practice infanticide the way lions do. I agree that it challenges a lot, but what if that character came from a tribe that revered scorpions and had been living under the boot heel of the Empire for 500 years. Perhaps the only way to become a Nunh in that scorpion tribe is to join the Empire's Special Forces and prove yourself as a ruthless assassin in service of the Empire, willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Now imagine the culture shock and potential for a character from that tribe who finds themselves stranded in Eorzea and forced to interact with free tribes and races they've been told are their enemies since they were born. Whether this character is an NPC soldier in a guild's plot line or someone's actual player character, due to the culture shock there's a lot of potential for some fantastic story there!
Just realized I have no idea how old the Empire is, so ignore that 500 years reference. I can't remember if the Empire is that old.
In the case of MMOs like this, the lore is the cliche. Being lore conscious is important. I'm not challenging that point, because I certainly don't want to see werewolves (were-Miqo'te?), vampires (and while sparkly vampires are not cliche, they do show that avoiding the cliche is not always the best move), super-heroes, etc. But relying 100% on things only verified in lore is accepting the full cliche, which according to Mr. Card is boring.
As Kyatai pointed out in the other thread, a lot of people seem to be accepting and even defending the notion that Miqo'te are just "humans with kitty ears and tails." I'm challenging that notion, because I feel we'll get more interesting stories if we recognize the cliche and actively avoid it.
As an example, several people were very uncomfortable with my suggestion that some tribes may practice infanticide the way lions do. I agree that it challenges a lot, but what if that character came from a tribe that revered scorpions and had been living under the boot heel of the Empire for 500 years. Perhaps the only way to become a Nunh in that scorpion tribe is to join the Empire's Special Forces and prove yourself as a ruthless assassin in service of the Empire, willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Now imagine the culture shock and potential for a character from that tribe who finds themselves stranded in Eorzea and forced to interact with free tribes and races they've been told are their enemies since they were born. Whether this character is an NPC soldier in a guild's plot line or someone's actual player character, due to the culture shock there's a lot of potential for some fantastic story there!
Just realized I have no idea how old the Empire is, so ignore that 500 years reference. I can't remember if the Empire is that old.
I'm a tinker! Tinkerer? Hrm.... I'm an artificer! - Myxie Tryxle | Impressions and Memories
