[insert he=he/she disclaimer.]
FANTASY:
Fantasy involves magic in the same way that science fiction involves
advanced technology. In fact, fantasy is a lazy man's sci-fi. You can evoke
the same effects without having any rationale for them at all. It can all be
tossed aside with an "It's magic." and a knowing wink. Again, as in sci-fi,
the widgets too often become the focus of the story, rather than the plot and
the characters. This is, if not a fatal mistake, at least a tragic one.
When I hear folks going on about how good this or that Might and Magic clone
is, I just have to shrug and roll my eyes a bit. I've seen maybe three
computer FRPGs with any real class. Ultima 4 was undoubtedly one. It had an
interesting story, and characters that actually seemed to have a bit of
personality. Off the top of my head I can't remember what the other 2 were,
so you'll all have to live without knowing. Sorry. Anyways, more in
relation to IF, fantasy subgenres tend to be location based more than
anything else. This is because most fantasy is based in some part on
folklore from the area in which the game is set. If you don't know your
folklore, then you might find yourself a little short on ideas. Still,
there's no secret fantasy writer's covenant saying you can't make up a new
fantasy setting. Watch out, though. This post is nowhere near as complete
as my last post, on Science Fiction.
BRITAIN:
Ah yes, the old dragons and dungeons hack and slash setting. What
was originally a land of epic Christian quests and romances has been changed
into a beehive of underground tunnels filled with orcs, goblins, and trolls.
This is of course, thanks primarily to Gary Gygax, the man who spawned the
very first RPG. To be honest, I find the earlier mythos of knights and
chivalry, and Chaucer to be much more interesting than even the most
intricate modern fantasy setting. There is something missing in these
cobbled together jigsaw puzzle games. You often find Greek mythology,
Babylonian folklore, and all other sorts just sort of tossed together with
nary a care. I have a deep dislike for this sort of thing. (see Mini-sermon
#3) But in general, just keep in mind my words about Chaucer, romance, and
Chivalry, and I think you'll be able to come up with some interesting stuff.
AMERICAN INDIAN:
All too often, the folklore of smaller groups is ignored in favor of
more mainstream bunk. The American Indian tribes have a vast storehouse of
tales and legends that are pretty much untapped in the video game industry.
Their legends center around animals, in general. Their heroes can often
become animals, or outdo them at the thing they do best, such as outswim a
salmon or outwrestle a bear. The Coyote often appears as well, either as a
trickster, or a protector of man. Often both. The stories are told simply,
in a style that you must hear/read to really understand. If someone was to
ask me for an idea for a text adventure, this subgenre is where I'd direct
them.
AZTEC:
I know a lot less about Aztec folklore than I do about American
Indian folklore. I use this culture merely to show the great diversity of
tales and legends floating around out there if you only look. The Irish have
their tales of the Sidhe, while the Russians have their Christian saints and
monsters from earlier times. The Germans have some rather odd tales, as do
the Arabs. 1001 Arabian Nights is required reading. You'd be astounded at
the stories in this so-called kiddie's book. Some pretty steamy stuff in
there! The Australians and the Aborigines have some fascinating legends,
including a few rather nifty ones about a creature called the Bunyip. Why,
even here in America there are folktales. The early colonnials were
surrounded by a variety of unusual creatures, plants, and people, so be sure
that their fertile imaginations gave fruit to many tales, including the
hoop snake, Paul Bunyan, and some rather fanciful creatures, among others.
One type of bird was supposed to have laid square eggs to keep them from
rolling down the hills where the birds' nests were!
Herein follow several types of unusual magic.
SHAMANISTIC:
I characterize this magic by the calling upon of various spirits and
gods for aid in the casting of spells. Direct symbolism is often used when
seeking certain results. A bowl of water may be poured on the ground before
or during a dance to call down rain. A hunt may be reenacted by people in
costume to ensure a bountiful catch. Grain or meat may be burned to ensure
a good harvest the next year. The symbolism is generally very
straightforward, with demons depicting illnesses, famine, and other horrors
of human life. Masks, beads, furs, staves, and other implements are also an
integral part of this sort of magic.
DRUIDIC:
Druidic magic has, thanks again to Gary Gygax, come to mean something
altogether different than what was originally intended. The Druids were a
sort of club or secret society in Britain that often met at stone circles,
such as Stonehenge, and indeed have become indellibly connected to such
so-called 'places of power'. My facts may be somewhat confused in this area,
but as I seem to recall, the Druids never really did any sacrifices, or at
least not human sacrifices. The earlier religions that built the stone
circles are accredited with the sacrifices. Even then, I cannot remember
whether or not there is any credibility to the rumors of human sacrifice.
But then, if the historic druids were fairly harmless and
non-magical, that leaves us only Mr. Gygax's viewpoints to work with. He
(or I should say, his company) saw Druids as priests of nature, tending to
animals, trees, and the like. They were adept at making poultices, potions,
and other natural concoctions, as well as in the mystic arts of healing.
Bear in mind that I can find little or no historic evidence to support any
such claims about the druids. As far as I can tell, the various indiginous
tribes were the closest thing to early environmentalists.
Of course, don't let me stop you from depicting things however you
like. The essence of fiction is that it's not true, something which some
people tend to forget now and then. After all, what makes Sherlock Holmes
any less real than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? In many minds of today, he is
far more real, regardless of actual fact.
NECROMANTIC:
Mankind has long been fascinated by death and dying. The Egyptians,
as I'm sure you've heard over and over, built great shrines to their kings,
believing that they would live on in the spirit world with everything they
were buried with. Vikings were buried with entire ships. Tales in Jamaica
abound with zombi, the walking dead. In fact, zombi (now zombies), are a
favorite subject of low grade B movies. Witness Return of the Living Dead
(part 3!) as proof of that. Vampires, once barely intelligent living
corpses, have now been spruced up and given all sorts of nifty powers,
largely thanks to Hollywood. And although there is generally very little
creativity going on in this area, there was a cute series of movies awhile
back (Evil Dead pts. 1 and 2, and The Army of Darkness.) that did a really
enjoyable spoof of these earlier, boring works.
The thing to do here, is to avoid stereotypes, as in all fiction.
Try and drag yourself away from the image of the dark cloaked, long haired,
cackling necromancer standing knee deep in the murk of the cemetary, calling
up one skeleton after another to serve him. (Although, done properly, even
that could be pretty well done.) Cease with the numbing hordes of shuffling
zombies chanting, "Brains. Brains." (see Mini-sermon #4) In short, it might
be interesting to see the occasional cigar-smoking, booze-swilling, balding
necromancer, summoning up a skittering horde of dead mice to terrorize pretty
ladies. Once, anyways. :)
Mini-sermon #3: Mixing Signals
To me, there's just something grating about stepping across different
folklores within the same game without a good explanation. In one room, you
match wits with a Chinese dragon, in the next you fight a minotaur, before
going out to catch a leprechaun. It's sort of distracting, and Sierra is
probably the worst one about swiping puzzles willy-nilly from different
stories, squishing them together, and expecting to get something
intelligible. It is in any game author's best interests to present a unified
atmosphere, and staying within the bounds of your chosen genre is a very
good guideline to help you do this.
Mini-sermon #4: Originality
Wow, is this a gripe. How many times do I gotta cross a troll bridge
for gods sake? Oh, hooray, another goblin that's too dumb for words. Oh
boy, can it be? Yes! The object of this game is to take the foo, and throw
it in the X, where X = {volcano, fiery pits, abyss, ocean} to destroy it.
There's nothing that turns me off like an unoriginal plot, unless its yet
another of one of the standard stereotypical NPC classes. There are easy
ways to make your games and characters stand out from the crowd. As I state
in my authorship guide, the key is details. If you get the details right,
then the NPC/plot isn't going to be as boring as it would have been. The
fact that the minotaur is an age old plot device can be made up to me by
describing his thunderous treads, and grim, mangy fur. You can get me
interested again by describing the small hoard of flies that constantly bite
at him, causing him to snort in anger and frustration. By describing the
rasp of his whetstone as he squats down on his mud-encrusted hooves to
sharpen his mighty, gleaming axe. Details are key.
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