Before you ask, no, my writing is not going well.
Don't you love it when you realize that something is far harder than you remember? NaNoWriMo is basically ten days away after this post from being over. So, I'll basically have to ignore the world to meet my quota. My word count is steadily growing, but at the same time, I want to start reading as much as I'm writing. NetGalley is great for this, allowing me to beg publishers for their books before they release them. Of course there is this recurring problem that I'm facing. It keeps showing up while I'm writing and stares me down when I'm reading. These books are great and all. I swear.
It's just too bad that I have to get past the same opening over and over again.
Recently I've begun reading Mystic and Uprooted. At the same time, Hunger Games is still fresh in my mind with the last movie having been released. Each opens with a girl being picked for something that she, as well as her whole villagee, never though she could be picked for. It's like a kid getting a multiple choice test.
What counts as a fruit?
A: Cucumber
B: Bread
C: Gary
D: Tomato
But then the kid goes ahead and makes up his own option, calls it letter E and tells the teacher to deal with it.
E: I don't like fruit
Only the Hunger Games seems to subvert the problem in that Katniss negates the choice already given and offers herself up as tribute, showing a good deal of character in the process. I still don't like the Hunger Games for other reasons, but that scene does stick out and is a defining point of the series for the book and the movies. It played so many times that it was the moment signaling for me to start caring about the plot.
When the trope is played straight, it means that you know what's coming after the girl is picked. Shock, horror, denial and acceptance. Eventually the main character has to accept the call as it is driving force of the plot. Without it, she won't go risking her life by being forced to experience something she would've altogether avoided. I say she because this is typical of woman in YA. Also, the three books I listed all have female protagonist. Can this happen to a boy? Of course! What's different here is that boys in fantasy will most likely jump at the call, salivating at the prospect of leaving his no name village to learn magic and summon dragons.
The whole reason for this is that I said I would discuss my story with you guys. Obviously not chapter by chapter or using the actual plot, but on how I construct it; the typical opening being one of them. For me, I went with what would usually be a waking up chapter. You know how it plays out. The character opens his eyes to a new world. You follow him around for a day. You see his life, village and typical best friend who's always more interesting than him. Wait a few chapters and that village will go up in flames and the adventure will begin. That's the most cliche version of a heroic or epic fantasy opening I could muster on the spot.
First and foremost, it's a little hard doing the above when you're writing science fiction over fantasy. Try to burn something when the great god known as science has invented extinguishers and fire retardant material. I went through three iterations of him waking up in a strange place. I canned them all in minutes. I know how I write well enough to know that I wasn't capturing the scene. Plus, I made it more horror than anything. Throw in a bit of humor and it was a different story entirely. By the third I saw not only how he could be waking up, but how he could recall doing so as he focused on understanding his surroundings.
The chances that I'll keep the scene are minimal right now. In fact I've already written past it and think about it in passing, occasionally going back to see what would be better. What I do know, is what I want the future to feel like in my world. That the future should have technology that at least feels alien to us, much like fantasy does, is a feeling I'm struggling to portray. Conveying that message can be a tough trip and for many writers. In the process of worrying about it, you end up developing a paranoia about the beginning of a book.
An opening chapter has a lot to say in a limited way. Speak too much on setting up the scene and you've lost the reader. Speak too little and the reader doesn't know what you're trying to convey. The three books I listed way back in the beginning prove that the opening won't completely destroy or make your book. What matters is that you give a hint of what's to come. In Uprooted I saw my first hint when the Dragon was more irritable than malevolent. In Mystic I looked past the very cliche beginning to see something growing in the titular myst. Into what it was, I did not know. Hunger Games speaks for itself with its popularity, although I will one day write a post as to why I don't like it as much as I wish I did.
The opening of a book does matter, but what really counts is the rising action. Read your opening to yourself and if the first question you think a reader will ask is about what happens next, then you've got a keeper.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
The Overly Late Start to NaNoWriMo Guide
Great, just great. I can't wait to start writing my book at a word count that's only about thirteen hundred words. No, I'm not going to do the math for how many words a day I have to do in order to reach the impossible peak of fifty thousand words. Not to mention that most books are way longer than that staggering word count and I haven't even begun to reach a fifth of that.
Oh, and here's the best part, I don't care.
That is, I don't care about that now that I'm done feeling sorry for myself. The fact remains that I need to write this book in basically twelve days. It's not that I can't space out this time among the rest of this year or maybe just plan better next time around. Don't worry, there's no evil genius with a gun to my head demanding that I write this book. There are no bills that are desperately waiting to be paid unless I get a book published this instant. Nation Novel Writing Month isn't about that. At its core, it's about having the willpower to try. That's it. There's not even a reason to cheat since all you'll win is a certificate. You could cheat in order to grandstand, but its the effort you put into it that makes NaNoWriMo something that has become something of a tradition.
So from here on out I'm going to type up a blog post every damn day to explain how well I'm doing, my story, characters, and when my inner editor begs me to change something instead of writing like how I'm supposed to.
Since this is my first post on the matter, how about I give you a few tips that I should've followed in the first place? Sound good? Yeah, I know, it's genius.
START ON TIME!
Yes, it's the most obvious one and also the most important. Writers have a tendency to put off writing, even when for most, if not all of us, it's our dream job. Toss aside the research, editing and any outside influence, and just writing isn't that hard, so we have a tendency to do so when it suits us. The problem only really seems t present itself when you keep pushing the start date further and further back. There are so many stories out there that we may never get to read because they didn't sit down in front of the screen and fill it with words.
Best case scenario has you sitting in front of your computer with a scarf draped around your neck, tea and a crumpet (never had one) at your side while in a deep writing trance that takes you to the end of your word count and beyond to literary stardom. In this scenario you also have an agent, a mansion and you're also the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. You aren't. Stop it. If you can do you word count in one sitting, that's great. I usually set my own word count over three or four sessions with my final one usually going over. Break the problem down until you can see how to solve it.
Hmm, maybe I should be writing instead of telling you guys to do so... nope.
Jot other Story Ideas down and move on
I hope I'm alone in this, but this is a big one for me. I'm a scatter brain. When I think of one thing, ten more sprout from it, pushing me to use this idea here and there while simultaneously thinking up ways to make another book. I don't want to stop that. It's why I know I want to be a writer. I manage my imagination by letting it out on another sheet of paper or in the worst/best case scenarios I make up a story on the side and quickly put ti away for later. There's nothing worse to me than coming up with any element of a story and then forgetting it. You can even make a little outline for it. Not the in depth play by play that tells you how many periods will go in your paragraph, but the kind that gives suggestions for later use.
I usually use dashes to indicate when I want something else in added in.
Chapter 1: Jake finds his father's knife wrapped in his death mother's hands.
-knife is reminiscent of a bird's wing or fish's head
-Mother's face was at peace
-Father was watching from beneath the floor boards the entire time.
See, little things like that can be added in later after the story is done without slowing you down. Personally, I struggle with changing a story after I'm done writing it. I've written it, plotted it, filled it with characters and that's that. I should be done with it. Little did I know that writing comes in layers. As you do one thing, you check them all. Change one and you have to make sure the story runs smooth because of it. With a few reminders I make sure to keep it my story stable.
It's only the first draft
The first time I completed NaNoWriMo I was so proud of myself until I realized that I turned off the spell check because those jagged red lines get a bit distracting at times. I turned them on and I swear to all gods that every other line was filled with mistakes, baiting me to rage quit out of my dream job. I didn't complete the second NaNo the following the year because I was too worried about my grammar. Honestly, I'm now able to ignore it up to a point. Instead of holding back until NaNo is over, I check over everything at the end of the day to make sure that the main idea is coming across. Remember, you only do this to the point that the main idea is coming across--being conveyed so that it won't confuse you or your future readers.
The best thing about it, is that grammar wise, I only care about it when I'm writing for pleasure. When it's for school or for work, I could hardly care. I have a bad habit of wanting perfection for my writing because--to be being frank--I care more. Writing is what I want to do. It has a special place somewhere deep down in my psyche that says if I want my writing to matter, then it has to be perfect.
Well, now that I've talked about writing, maybe I should go do some?
Oh, and here's the best part, I don't care.
That is, I don't care about that now that I'm done feeling sorry for myself. The fact remains that I need to write this book in basically twelve days. It's not that I can't space out this time among the rest of this year or maybe just plan better next time around. Don't worry, there's no evil genius with a gun to my head demanding that I write this book. There are no bills that are desperately waiting to be paid unless I get a book published this instant. Nation Novel Writing Month isn't about that. At its core, it's about having the willpower to try. That's it. There's not even a reason to cheat since all you'll win is a certificate. You could cheat in order to grandstand, but its the effort you put into it that makes NaNoWriMo something that has become something of a tradition.
So from here on out I'm going to type up a blog post every damn day to explain how well I'm doing, my story, characters, and when my inner editor begs me to change something instead of writing like how I'm supposed to.
Since this is my first post on the matter, how about I give you a few tips that I should've followed in the first place? Sound good? Yeah, I know, it's genius.
START ON TIME!
Yes, it's the most obvious one and also the most important. Writers have a tendency to put off writing, even when for most, if not all of us, it's our dream job. Toss aside the research, editing and any outside influence, and just writing isn't that hard, so we have a tendency to do so when it suits us. The problem only really seems t present itself when you keep pushing the start date further and further back. There are so many stories out there that we may never get to read because they didn't sit down in front of the screen and fill it with words.
Best case scenario has you sitting in front of your computer with a scarf draped around your neck, tea and a crumpet (never had one) at your side while in a deep writing trance that takes you to the end of your word count and beyond to literary stardom. In this scenario you also have an agent, a mansion and you're also the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. You aren't. Stop it. If you can do you word count in one sitting, that's great. I usually set my own word count over three or four sessions with my final one usually going over. Break the problem down until you can see how to solve it.
Hmm, maybe I should be writing instead of telling you guys to do so... nope.
Jot other Story Ideas down and move on
I hope I'm alone in this, but this is a big one for me. I'm a scatter brain. When I think of one thing, ten more sprout from it, pushing me to use this idea here and there while simultaneously thinking up ways to make another book. I don't want to stop that. It's why I know I want to be a writer. I manage my imagination by letting it out on another sheet of paper or in the worst/best case scenarios I make up a story on the side and quickly put ti away for later. There's nothing worse to me than coming up with any element of a story and then forgetting it. You can even make a little outline for it. Not the in depth play by play that tells you how many periods will go in your paragraph, but the kind that gives suggestions for later use.
I usually use dashes to indicate when I want something else in added in.
Chapter 1: Jake finds his father's knife wrapped in his death mother's hands.
-knife is reminiscent of a bird's wing or fish's head
-Mother's face was at peace
-Father was watching from beneath the floor boards the entire time.
See, little things like that can be added in later after the story is done without slowing you down. Personally, I struggle with changing a story after I'm done writing it. I've written it, plotted it, filled it with characters and that's that. I should be done with it. Little did I know that writing comes in layers. As you do one thing, you check them all. Change one and you have to make sure the story runs smooth because of it. With a few reminders I make sure to keep it my story stable.
It's only the first draft
The first time I completed NaNoWriMo I was so proud of myself until I realized that I turned off the spell check because those jagged red lines get a bit distracting at times. I turned them on and I swear to all gods that every other line was filled with mistakes, baiting me to rage quit out of my dream job. I didn't complete the second NaNo the following the year because I was too worried about my grammar. Honestly, I'm now able to ignore it up to a point. Instead of holding back until NaNo is over, I check over everything at the end of the day to make sure that the main idea is coming across. Remember, you only do this to the point that the main idea is coming across--being conveyed so that it won't confuse you or your future readers.
The best thing about it, is that grammar wise, I only care about it when I'm writing for pleasure. When it's for school or for work, I could hardly care. I have a bad habit of wanting perfection for my writing because--to be being frank--I care more. Writing is what I want to do. It has a special place somewhere deep down in my psyche that says if I want my writing to matter, then it has to be perfect.
Well, now that I've talked about writing, maybe I should go do some?
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Evolution: Genesis by Lissa Kasey Review
A copy of this book was provided digitally to me by Net Galley
Evolution: Genesis was a first for me in a lot of ways.
It was my first male on male, romance driven, vampire, phoenix book with the main character part of a band that was just starting to become famous. So much was pounded into this book from the beginning that it had to at least be exciting to read. Well, while it had a lot to work with, Evolution sadly didn't make use of its tools to the fullest extent. Did I mention there are a host of other demons out there too? Succubus included. Doesn't really matter though.
The reason this book was a first for me in so many different ways is because I was warned about all of these cliches early on in life. Avoid books with romance because of the oncoming love triangle. Look out for vampire books where it's nothing but angst and loneliness even though their lives are usually pretty awesome. If I were to sum up most vampires for you hailing from today's fiction who wouldn't choose to be one? And for God's sake, why is there always a clear-cut dominant one paired up with a too naive main character? The latter, Genesis, even has hair that changes color throughout the novel while I can't even picture the vampire with anything but a black coat draped over a black shirt with darker than night pants shielding boxers the color of the void itself.
So why did I give it two stars and not just put up a DNF for this review while I move on to books I know I'll like? Honestly, it's because Genesis tries,even when I think the book ultimately came up short in the end.
I came into this book without reading the previous entry, but even then I saw hints about the kind of person Genesis--the character--used to be and who he was becoming as the book went on. Unlike other characters who are more than likely to be passed around among lovers of questionable content, he has to fight in order to save who he cares about the most. This mostly came to a head in the second part of the novel in that he's not only the guy trying the hardest, but the only one trying to do anything at all. The rest don't care and when faced with a life not in their favor just give up. The main character didn't and that was sort of great to see. He basically saw problems and tried to solve them. He was an active antagonist for most of the book and I was happier for it.
This book could've easily been over three hundred pages. Genesis can't fill an entire book with nothing but the ability to endure. The music, interviews, world, demons and such could've been expanded upon greatly, but are only really talked about instead of shown. When they say they had an interview and an event took place because of it, we were told about it. I would've loved to read the reactions of some of these characters, filling out the story as a whole because of it.
The world itself is just like ours with some changes here and there. Supernatural creatures can get registered, vampires are known to be real and the world is almost a bit too normal for it. I almost forgot there was a stereotypical religious hate group in there. The fact that the main character is Buddhist is a welcome change and something I again think could've been greater with a little more thought put into it. Still, points for trying something different.
This last point might just be me, but the cover for the first book is way better than this one. The single feather of the former has ten times the detail of the phoenix on this one.
Not the best book, but okay if you want something fast and light. Look at the page count for this book! That's practically nothing.
Evolution: Genesis was a first for me in a lot of ways.
It was my first male on male, romance driven, vampire, phoenix book with the main character part of a band that was just starting to become famous. So much was pounded into this book from the beginning that it had to at least be exciting to read. Well, while it had a lot to work with, Evolution sadly didn't make use of its tools to the fullest extent. Did I mention there are a host of other demons out there too? Succubus included. Doesn't really matter though.
The reason this book was a first for me in so many different ways is because I was warned about all of these cliches early on in life. Avoid books with romance because of the oncoming love triangle. Look out for vampire books where it's nothing but angst and loneliness even though their lives are usually pretty awesome. If I were to sum up most vampires for you hailing from today's fiction who wouldn't choose to be one? And for God's sake, why is there always a clear-cut dominant one paired up with a too naive main character? The latter, Genesis, even has hair that changes color throughout the novel while I can't even picture the vampire with anything but a black coat draped over a black shirt with darker than night pants shielding boxers the color of the void itself.
So why did I give it two stars and not just put up a DNF for this review while I move on to books I know I'll like? Honestly, it's because Genesis tries,even when I think the book ultimately came up short in the end.
I came into this book without reading the previous entry, but even then I saw hints about the kind of person Genesis--the character--used to be and who he was becoming as the book went on. Unlike other characters who are more than likely to be passed around among lovers of questionable content, he has to fight in order to save who he cares about the most. This mostly came to a head in the second part of the novel in that he's not only the guy trying the hardest, but the only one trying to do anything at all. The rest don't care and when faced with a life not in their favor just give up. The main character didn't and that was sort of great to see. He basically saw problems and tried to solve them. He was an active antagonist for most of the book and I was happier for it.
This book could've easily been over three hundred pages. Genesis can't fill an entire book with nothing but the ability to endure. The music, interviews, world, demons and such could've been expanded upon greatly, but are only really talked about instead of shown. When they say they had an interview and an event took place because of it, we were told about it. I would've loved to read the reactions of some of these characters, filling out the story as a whole because of it.
The world itself is just like ours with some changes here and there. Supernatural creatures can get registered, vampires are known to be real and the world is almost a bit too normal for it. I almost forgot there was a stereotypical religious hate group in there. The fact that the main character is Buddhist is a welcome change and something I again think could've been greater with a little more thought put into it. Still, points for trying something different.
This last point might just be me, but the cover for the first book is way better than this one. The single feather of the former has ten times the detail of the phoenix on this one.
Not the best book, but okay if you want something fast and light. Look at the page count for this book! That's practically nothing.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Dreams of Shadows Review
Dreams of Shadows comes across as a compendium of sorts when first read. Almost every other chapter is devoted to a different kind of supernatural creature taken up from many different kinds of lore. To my surprise, this didn't deter the story too much since the beginning--after the prologue--takes its time getting started. In fact, it made me want to read on in order to see these creatures in action. and as the action and plot found its momentum and its theme or message became more apparent, the informative breaks of supernatural creatures didn't appear so much.
The main theme being right in the title: dreams.
Now, this may come off as a bit obvious, but the dreams I that I target as the main theme of the novel are more the kind that aren't achieved rather than the kind that are. That's where a sense of realism comes to play. People, fairies and creatures of different origins are all aspiring for something that blinds them the more they try to either obtain it or protect it. Even the opening comes off as a fairy tail romance ready to be drowned the moment you think it comes across as cliche. Whether it's Colby's taste for adventure or Ewan's wish to be part of the fairies, the book turns them into tragedies.
The problem presents itself in the end, where it basically degenerates into a fight and then that's it. That's when I saw the characters as pieces, not the characters I wish I saw them as. They all had a part to be played and played it well, but it came across as hollow, and in a weird way, I think they were meant to be just that, pieces. i'm not saying that I came away from this without caring for any single character, but that they were overshadowed by the story the author wanted to tell.
Not to mention that the magic here is of the wild kind, so don't expect many reasons for some of the grander spots of wielding the unknown.
I'm throwing three stars at this book. I almost gave it four, but towards the end, the corruption of plot and magic to tell a more depressing story ripped that star right out of my hands.
The main theme being right in the title: dreams.
Now, this may come off as a bit obvious, but the dreams I that I target as the main theme of the novel are more the kind that aren't achieved rather than the kind that are. That's where a sense of realism comes to play. People, fairies and creatures of different origins are all aspiring for something that blinds them the more they try to either obtain it or protect it. Even the opening comes off as a fairy tail romance ready to be drowned the moment you think it comes across as cliche. Whether it's Colby's taste for adventure or Ewan's wish to be part of the fairies, the book turns them into tragedies.
The problem presents itself in the end, where it basically degenerates into a fight and then that's it. That's when I saw the characters as pieces, not the characters I wish I saw them as. They all had a part to be played and played it well, but it came across as hollow, and in a weird way, I think they were meant to be just that, pieces. i'm not saying that I came away from this without caring for any single character, but that they were overshadowed by the story the author wanted to tell.
Not to mention that the magic here is of the wild kind, so don't expect many reasons for some of the grander spots of wielding the unknown.
I'm throwing three stars at this book. I almost gave it four, but towards the end, the corruption of plot and magic to tell a more depressing story ripped that star right out of my hands.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Review of Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
| Stormdancer is was one of those, "Read it and you'll love it," type of books as long as you avoid its major flaw: research. Nothing in the story itself felt amiss, except for the need to have the characters speak in bursts of Japanese for the sake of novelty. Especially when that Japanese is not only wrong, but ill placed. Assuming that it was supposed to draw me in, it induced the opposite effect, pushing me away from the story--which was not only interesting, but melded with characters, demons, and a setting that is to be remembered. It's a plot I've heard all to much growing up. There's an evil tyrant that needs to be overthrown. The character goes against the norm of their culture and there's the slightest bit of magic involved. And with some luck, our hero, or in this case heroine, will somehow pull through it all. Simple right? It's when it is mixed with a religious fervor of a clan of engineers and a class of warriors clasped in steampunk armor and chainsaw swords that I find myself caught up in its flow. Not to mention that Kristoff's writing just feels nice to read. Battles don't try to force me into the scene or scare me away with how grotesque they may get. Rather, they feel beautiful to read and often reread in order to capture the momentum of the scene. They read beautifully and I was never disappointed. The one thing I did think on was sex and romance and how easily the book flowed into the subject. I'm highly critical of any romance of all the books I read. You know you get a sour taste in your mouth when our two heroes--who hate each other or are fighting against cultural norms--somehow end up together. You see it a mile away and hope that it doesn't take up too much time away from the plot. Instead, it played more like a diversion from how harsh the world is. That you should find something to make your life more bearable was what I felt to be one of the main points of the plot. I do sort of wish that Hiro, the green eyed samurai, was given more depth, but as I write this review, maybe the lack of depth was what Kristoff was aiming for, specifically for this character. You'll find out what I mean by finishing the book. While I don't want to give too much away, I can't tell if I loved the main cast or the world and situations they were born into. The guild with their steampunk machinery combined with the mantra of the lotus must bloom is still fresh in my mind. The tattoos (I'm a big lover of tattoos) that link with the four clans and their stations were something to behold. From what I can assume, all clans have a mantra of sorts with Kitsune's "looks after its own" being one of them. I'd love to hear the other three in the future books in time. But out of all this, Buruu's interactions with Yukiko are a great read. Not just because of the back and forth that will make you laugh, or in my case trying in vain to stifle yours while in the bookstore, but because of how they both change due to the mental link they share. Also, he's just cool. A thunder tiger is not something you can think of without being thrilled soon after. As you can tell, I loved this book. Regrettably, I can't give it the five star rating I want to give it. At least I can't at the moment. Yes, it does come back to the gratuitous and wrong Japanese, I was lured away from it. Granted, I do feel somewhat wrong for telling someone to ignore the Japanese when spoken, but the story was great and should not be missed. I'll definitely be checking out the next book soon and if he's changed his language around a bit, I may go back and give this book the rating I want to give it. |
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Far Cry 3: Comparable Character Progression
Before I get started, I should probably give a rundown on what the game is about.
You are Jason Brody, a privileged white American, who goes out with his friends on the trip of a lifetime. Of course, it goes horribly wrong: you become stranded on an island, your brother is killed, your friends taken for ransom, and now you have to learn the skills to save them. Luckily for you, there's a tribe of warriors who set you on the path to becoming a warrior. Your skills are displayed for all to see in the form of the tatau (word for tattoo from the South Pacific Polynesian culture) which covers your entire left forearm.
And as you're killing pirates and blowing up enemy camps, maybe you'll start to enjoy it. For the first time in your life, you're winning. You're killing, and slaughtering, and, well, you're proud of yourself. You've found that one thing that you are proud to have done.
You are a warrior.
So if you haven't noticed yet, this sort of screams of the mighty whitey trope. In it, a predominantly white European or American or just plain white if you will, comes to an alien land, learns their ways, and then become better at it than even the original inhabitants. For some reason, I've always liked this trope. Not for the obvious racial undertones, but because it's an easy way to learn about their culture. Too bad the Rakyat are pretty shallow on that. They're the proud warrior tribe who worship ancestors (don't know if it's a group or only those in your direct lineage), know how to fight (but suck at it) and give you tattoos and drugs.
You see, as you learn more about killing, you get more of your tatau completed, which in turn means you're now more like "them," the Rakyat and less like the average guy we can relate to. And in a way, even we can relate to Jason becoming a killer. In a place where you have to kill and there are people to teach you, would you turn out any different? Would you turn down the skills to save your friends? The problem is that all the skills you learn are supposed to be from the Rakyat. So, why don't they know any of them?
In the game, you fight all sorts of animals: dogs, tigers, dingoes...the list goes on. Dogs are the easiest, dying in one shot from a shotgun. The Rakyat get murdered by them. It's horrible. I know I'm supposed to feel empowered by this game, becoming a living weapon and all, but seriously, am I that far up the food chain from these guys? They are the same people who actually live here and yet everything I do is better than them. Even their guns are the first tier of weapons. I get better stuff after an hour of playing this game.
The problem also may be that he changes a little too fast and because the game is open world--meaning you can go anywhere and do anything--it's a little out of order. When Jason kills his first man, he's close to breaking down, but has to move on, else he'll die since he killed the guy while on the run. The next time I'm supposed to kill someone, I'm being sent out to kill an entire enemy camp and Jason doesn't care one bit. This being between ten to twenty minutes after Jason tells his mentor that he's never fired a gun before. I felt a little disconnected from that. The thing is, I love character progression probably more than actual plot, unless that is the whole point of the plot that is. A person should change, that's how we function. We adapt to it, learn to move past it, but in the end, the game is still just a game in that regard. But I will give credit where it's due, because even though that is a big lapse in the narrative, the game has many other great moments that show Jason's progression into a blood loving warrior.
When you look at many works, or any for that matter, you have the person who is changing and then the person who he is changing into. This person is sometimes the mentor, who is directly teaching him these new skills and moreover, what to expect in the coming adventure. And sometimes, there is the villain who the protagonist id beginning to feel a connection to,in both power goals and aesthetically--like when Luke had his hand replaced just like his father, Anakin in Star Wars. In Far Cry 3, it follows the mentor, Dennis Rogers, who is not only your mentor, but the guy tattooing the tatau to your skin.
The mentor in this case, especially with a system like this in place where progression is key, should in a way show the player what is to come in the later stages of the game. Instead, his gun is weaker than yours. You never get to truly see him in action. And his tatau is completely tribal where yours are not. You see, tribal tattoo usually makes use of simplistic shapes in a repetitive design to make a complicated whole. Jason's tatau look more western, picturesque even, instead of the design wee're accustomed to on a tribal warrior. The only connection you have is that, like you, he was not born on the island and came into their culture a stranger.
In literature, this is the usual farm-boy turning into a master swordsmen trope. You're not really supposed to ask how you attained such wondrous skills in basically no time at all, but bask in the fact of how cool and plot convenient it is.
Don't do that.
You are Jason Brody, a privileged white American, who goes out with his friends on the trip of a lifetime. Of course, it goes horribly wrong: you become stranded on an island, your brother is killed, your friends taken for ransom, and now you have to learn the skills to save them. Luckily for you, there's a tribe of warriors who set you on the path to becoming a warrior. Your skills are displayed for all to see in the form of the tatau (word for tattoo from the South Pacific Polynesian culture) which covers your entire left forearm.
And as you're killing pirates and blowing up enemy camps, maybe you'll start to enjoy it. For the first time in your life, you're winning. You're killing, and slaughtering, and, well, you're proud of yourself. You've found that one thing that you are proud to have done.
You are a warrior.
So if you haven't noticed yet, this sort of screams of the mighty whitey trope. In it, a predominantly white European or American or just plain white if you will, comes to an alien land, learns their ways, and then become better at it than even the original inhabitants. For some reason, I've always liked this trope. Not for the obvious racial undertones, but because it's an easy way to learn about their culture. Too bad the Rakyat are pretty shallow on that. They're the proud warrior tribe who worship ancestors (don't know if it's a group or only those in your direct lineage), know how to fight (but suck at it) and give you tattoos and drugs.
You see, as you learn more about killing, you get more of your tatau completed, which in turn means you're now more like "them," the Rakyat and less like the average guy we can relate to. And in a way, even we can relate to Jason becoming a killer. In a place where you have to kill and there are people to teach you, would you turn out any different? Would you turn down the skills to save your friends? The problem is that all the skills you learn are supposed to be from the Rakyat. So, why don't they know any of them?
In the game, you fight all sorts of animals: dogs, tigers, dingoes...the list goes on. Dogs are the easiest, dying in one shot from a shotgun. The Rakyat get murdered by them. It's horrible. I know I'm supposed to feel empowered by this game, becoming a living weapon and all, but seriously, am I that far up the food chain from these guys? They are the same people who actually live here and yet everything I do is better than them. Even their guns are the first tier of weapons. I get better stuff after an hour of playing this game.
The problem also may be that he changes a little too fast and because the game is open world--meaning you can go anywhere and do anything--it's a little out of order. When Jason kills his first man, he's close to breaking down, but has to move on, else he'll die since he killed the guy while on the run. The next time I'm supposed to kill someone, I'm being sent out to kill an entire enemy camp and Jason doesn't care one bit. This being between ten to twenty minutes after Jason tells his mentor that he's never fired a gun before. I felt a little disconnected from that. The thing is, I love character progression probably more than actual plot, unless that is the whole point of the plot that is. A person should change, that's how we function. We adapt to it, learn to move past it, but in the end, the game is still just a game in that regard. But I will give credit where it's due, because even though that is a big lapse in the narrative, the game has many other great moments that show Jason's progression into a blood loving warrior.
When you look at many works, or any for that matter, you have the person who is changing and then the person who he is changing into. This person is sometimes the mentor, who is directly teaching him these new skills and moreover, what to expect in the coming adventure. And sometimes, there is the villain who the protagonist id beginning to feel a connection to,in both power goals and aesthetically--like when Luke had his hand replaced just like his father, Anakin in Star Wars. In Far Cry 3, it follows the mentor, Dennis Rogers, who is not only your mentor, but the guy tattooing the tatau to your skin.
The mentor in this case, especially with a system like this in place where progression is key, should in a way show the player what is to come in the later stages of the game. Instead, his gun is weaker than yours. You never get to truly see him in action. And his tatau is completely tribal where yours are not. You see, tribal tattoo usually makes use of simplistic shapes in a repetitive design to make a complicated whole. Jason's tatau look more western, picturesque even, instead of the design wee're accustomed to on a tribal warrior. The only connection you have is that, like you, he was not born on the island and came into their culture a stranger.
In literature, this is the usual farm-boy turning into a master swordsmen trope. You're not really supposed to ask how you attained such wondrous skills in basically no time at all, but bask in the fact of how cool and plot convenient it is.
Don't do that.
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