The World Ends With You

Though I have yet to grind out all of the secrets, or all of the extra plot information, I still judge this to be a good time to blog out my thoughts on The World Ends With You. I beat it fairly recently, and was incredibly impressed. I was a little wary of it when it first came out, because I was afraid that the Jet Grind Radio-ish style was designed to pander to younger kids, and convince them that they entire game was some kind of Mountain Dew Commercial.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this was not the case. The music, character design, dialogue, even the item descriptions, are all fairly well crafted to contribute to a central aesthetic, and for entirely unclear reasons, I find it delightful (as opposed to obnoxious) that when the main character finds a special item, he goes “Hey, what’s this? Oh, snap!”

To sum everything up: The music is of surprisingly high caliber, both for composition and for sound quality on the DS. The gameplay is frantic, but complicated enough to be engaging, and still provides enough customization to hook people who like powergaming. The dialogue is not incredibly inspired, but avoids being awkward, and is written with a careful eye towards how different characters say the same thing differently.

The two things that impressed me most about this game are the central aesthetic, which I mentioned briefly, and the speed at which they launch you into the story.

First, the premise behind the game is a bizarre one that you don’t entirely discover until about a third of the way through the story. Namely, ghosts playing a survivor-esque game in a metropolitan Japanese city for a chance to come back to life. Not only was I impressed with the speed at which they educated you in the intricacies of the game, but I was also very impressed with the variations they made to the status-quo of the game once you were comfortable operating within it.

Most stories that have a bizarre premise and a main character that starts with no knowledge of the world they operate in spend a majority of the story explaining how the world the main character operates in is different from the one he or she is used to. The World Ends With You does a fantastic job of starting (with a similarly uneducated main character) with this premise, teaching you about it, then having the events of the story fundamentally alter the way the world works, so that your knowledge of the premise is no longer valid.

Regarding the feel of the game, I already summed it up pretty well. Everything in the game contributes to the same aesthetic. The way the characters talk, the design of the environments, the music, the mid-battle chatter, the equipment system, the character advancement system, everything in this game contributes to the metropolitan, skater, “Live by your own rules” aesthetic. I’m sure you’re wondering right now, “How exactly can the equipment system of a game contribute to an aesthetic?” but that would be a good time to defer to “You just gotta play the game.”

Oh, and by the way, the theme of The World Ends With You is “Only by connecting with the people around you can you truly broaden your horizons”, hence the name. This is NOT the core fantasy of the game, which is “I can live by my own rules”.

Iron Man

It’s been several weeks, but I still feel obligated to wind out my thoughts having seen “Iron Man”.

Simply put, I liked the movie. A lot. It wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, but I enjoyed seeing it in theaters, and will see it again if invited. (I’m not really the type to organize a get together to see a movie in theaters a second time) I could go on and on about how getting me to possibly see a movie in theaters twice is a fairly huge achievement, given my movie going habits, but the point is made. If that doesn’t convince you, one merely needs to look at the numbers: Over 430 million dollars worldwide so far.

So, why is Iron Man so good, and why is that of particular interest to me?

When Marvel Studios was first founded in 1993, they were in the business of licensing their properties to movie studios, believing that it was easier to hire people accomplished in the movie industry rather than try to build a studio themselves.

Then came “Hulk”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_%28film%29 provides a fairly good overview of the movie, but all you need to know is that critical reception was lukewarm at best, and it received the infamous title of the largest single opening weekend to a movie that still failed to earn $150 million nationally. I’m not 100% sure of how the story goes, but I’ve heard that in the wake of this film specifically, Marvel decided that their intellectual properties were better off in their own hands than in the hands of another studio. They formed a distribution deal with Paramount, and begin producing their own movies, with the outside consultation of Avi Arad, former Marvel CEO. “Iron Man” is the first film to come out of this arrangement.

Opinions are all over the place, but personally, “Iron Man” is my favorite Marvel movie so far. It would seem that knowing your intellectual properties backwards and forwards is more important than being an accomplished and established studio with previous experience in the industry. Likewise, it seems that if the people who know the property hold on to creative control come hell or high water, it won't necessarily make a better movie, but it will make a movie that delivers better on the expectations of people who go to see it, which is almost the same thing.

It's also worth noting, by the way, that I was a little skeptical about the remake of the Hulk movie set for later this year. The rumors say, however, that Edward Norton was asked to be the original, and turned it down, because he didn't think it was going to be very good.

Haiku

Giants:

Quick! Grab the Jet-ski!
Run it into that guy's foot!
Multiplayer sucks.


Shining Force:

No, don't promote yet!
Your stats go down when you do
Now your werewolf sucks


Fallout 2:

Hide in those trees there.
Now stab that guy in the groin!
Then the eyes. Repeat.


The World Ends With You:

I can't wear this hat?
What do you mean I'm not brave?
Guess I'll eat ice cream


Harvest Moon:

Bachelors work late nights
But husbands are home by six
Hope you fed that gnome


Rune Factory:

It's a fantasy farm
But mostly just makes Chris mad
'Cause he keeps dying


Smash Brothers Brawl:

Bowser doesn't suck
Do forward B! Forward B!
No really, that's it.


Dungeon Master:

It kills everything?
I just throw clubs at monsters?
Wow, it really does work.


Knights of the Old Republic:

You are teh failzorz
Because you can't stun a droid
AC gets hard-capped


Quiz and Dragons:

How exactly does
Knowing Shaq's role in “Kazam”
Help me beat this imp?


And here is a little supplimental Haiku, by my good friend the Fridge:


Chrono Trigger:

Though you came through time
To thwart an ancient evil
Please fight this T-Rex


Saga Frontier:

Seven Characters
None of which I care about
Lute has no story!


Xenogears:

To play card games well
Mash the X button, unless
You want Bart to scream

I encourage you to leave your own. If the response is favorable enough, I might make it a weekly thing.

A little different

I have more to say about Core Fantasies, and would like to put in a note on my thoughts on "Iron Man", which I saw this weekend, but hat's not for now. First, here's a little something I hammered out in a single sitting today. Very rough, and intended to be solely atmospheric, but thought you might enjoy.


“In an old story, which may or may not be true, we lived, with all the tribes of humanity, at the top of our mountain.”

Auberon's father gestured lazily towards the mountain he had spent his entire life in the shadow of. Even though they were now much farther down into the valley below, the mountain seemed to stay roughly the same size.

“There were four people, two men, and two women, who left that mountain. No one remembers their names. Perhaps they were stripped of them when they left paradise, but of this you can be sure: They were strength, cunning, knowledge, and compassion.” Auberon's father stopped walking for a moment, and reached out to touch a small trickle of water coming down a rock from the waterfall above. “It makes one wonder what the mountain was left with after their departure.” Another pause. “We will camp next to the falls tonight.”

Auberon's father was by no means a small man, but he was already beginning to be dwarfed by his son, even in his adolescence. The waterfall they camped near the base of, however, threatened to swallow them both with just the mist it created. His father hadn't spoken since the cryptic comment about the mountain, choosing instead to communicate his intentions through pointing and vague facial expressions. Auberon had heard the story many times before, but in all his life, his father had never repeated himself unintentionally. “Strength and Cunning were our father and our mother, and it is said that when they stopped to rest, they carved the land to suit their purposes, and from their union sprung the entire tribe.” Auberon knew the entire story up to this point, so he had spent more time standing in awe of the waterfall than really listening. “I am an old man, and-”

The lack of the opening phrase, “And it is said that” snapped Auberon's ears to attention instantly, but his father had paused, leaving Auberon's ears little to pick up other than the roar of the water. “I'm left to wonder sometimes, how long Strength stayed with his children. I hear he traveled over the cleft, and left his mark there as well.” Auberon's father glanced off towards the more densely wooded valley below, and seemed to trace the river from the waterfall to where it disappeared in the jungle surrounding the nearby city. “I sometimes wonder too if Ninevah is as lost as we are; if our valley has seen the departure of Compassion as well as Strength...”

Core Fantasies

So what's a “Core Fantasy”? The definition I tend to fall back on is this:

The Core Fantasy of an Intellectual Property is an assumption contained within the IP about the human condition that affirms something we already believe.

Again, it's easy to give examples, but it's hard to nail down a good universal definition. I say “affirms something we already believe”, which doesn't mean that all Core Fantasies make statements about the human condition that everyone agrees with. It means that we love stories that confirm things we already believe/want to believe. So, if the above definition didn't do it for you, let's talk about what the core fantasy is not.

The Core Fantasy of an IP is not the moral of the story. I would be hard pressed to say that Grand Theft Auto has a moral, but it still has a Core Fantasy.

The Core Fantasy of an IP does not have to be a positive message. Carol gave the excellent example of “Chinatown”, which says that there is evil in the world, and sometimes evil wins, and all you can do is pick yourself up and move on. You could argue that “pick yourself up and move on” is a positive message, but certainly not like “love conquers all”.

The Core Fantasy of an IP does not have to be unique to the property. “Titanic”, “Moulin Rogue”, and “Sleepless in Seattle” all have exactly the same Core Fantasy: Love can overcome all obstacles (even, in the case of the first two, death)

The Core Fantasy of an IP does not have to be tied to any one storyline. Transformers, Final Fantasy, and Bruce Springsteen all have Core Fantasies, but no single, definite narrative.

So, why does anybody care? First let's look at marketing. Knowing your Core Fantasy helps you know who you're trying to reach with this property. The idea that love conquers all obstacles clearly resonates with 13-18 year old girls (other people too, to be sure, but that made up the majority of the people who were repeat theater viewers of “Titanic”). No matter what the events of the story, a Core Fantasy about “going the distance” is going to appeal to primarily men. I'm no marketing expert, so I can't give you a complex breakdown, but if you're going to try to market any mature story, you need to understand what you're trying to say, and who will want to hear it.

Second, it gives you an understanding of how to craft peripheral events. I've thrown around the idea of “thematic consistency” kind of hoping no one will call me out to define it, but ideally, even the not immediately plot important events in a story will contribute to the Core Fantasy, or at least not counteract it.

Finally, it allows you to craft a climax that delivers powerfully on the emotional promise of the story. I reiterate here that the purpose of the climax is more to provide emotional satisfaction than logical satisfaction. If you understand what your Core Fantasy is, you can easily see whether your climax affirms this or not. If your protagonist triumphs over your villain, but not in a way that relates to your Core Fantasy, the audience feels cheated. If Apollo Creed had a heart attack right before the fight in “Rocky”, it sucks, but if Ferris Bueller only succeeds in the end through a massive feat of willpower and endurance, it's just confusing.

So, what does the Warrior Princess (see here for an explanation of the archetype) have to do with this concept? I submit that the inclusion of this archetype requires that the Core Fantasy be close to a certain archetypal Core Fantasy. The closer the Warrior Princess is to the main character, the closer the Core Fantasy is to this archetypal Core Fantasy.

This Archetypal Core Fantasy is not a clear cut Core Fantasy itself, but it is usually a variation on either the power of nature, or the incredible untapped power of the human being itself. Perhaps that humanity, in its natural state, possesses incredible power. It is invariably a positive (though sometimes bittersweet) message, and usually affirms the fundamental goodness of humanity, but also affirms the ability for them to go wrong when injected with hubris.

I considered working backwards through all seventeen of my examples, but I imagine that would be redundant. That being said, though, for your edification, here's my list of core fantasy examples: (Note, this list is confined to games and movies. Music, books, and anything else that can tell a story can have a core fantasy, but I'm keeping it simple)

Final Fantasy – “Nature is more complicated and more wonderful than humanity knows”
Grand Theft Auto, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Usual Suspects – “I don't have to play by the rules”
Titanic, Moulin Rogue, etc. - “Love conquers all”
Phoenix Wright, Lucky Number Slevin, Payback - “Eventually, Justice will be served”
Sideways, American Splendor - “No matter how many times you've failed, you can always try again”
Shining Force - “If I champion a righteous cause, people will follow me.”
Star Wars - “One person, no matter how small, can change the universe”
LA Confidential - “Just because I do things differently from you, doesn't mean I'm not doing the right thing.”

I could go on, but I like that list. Now, I throw the ball in your court. What are your favorite Core Fantasies? Do you disagree with any examples I listed? I'd even encourage you to leave comments with some Intellectual Properties, see if I can pick out the Core Fantasy.

Part Three!

of a series that wasn't supposed to have more than one part.

For reference:
Part 2: http://htparnell.blogspot.com/2008/04/warrior-mother.html
Part 1: http://htparnell.blogspot.com/2008/04/final-fantasy-and-hayao-miyazaki.html

The important aspect that's been missing from the last two posts on the subject is a closer inspection of the purpose of the roundtable to begin with. If a game features a character like this, what does it mean about the plot arc of the game, and what does it mean for the game mechanics?

It's a little hard to say for the game mechanics. This archetype appears almost exclusively in Japanese games (though if you have any thoughts on Western products that fit the bill, I'd love to hear), and most often in Japanese RPGs. Ultimately, though, nothing necessarily connects the RPG format to the character, other than the prevalence of RPGs in Japanese games, and the prevalence of the character in Japanese RPGs. So, instead of attacking it from that angle, I'm going to come up with a story format that necessitates the character, and then see what game mechanics lend themselves most easily to that story.

The plot arc of the Warrior Mother is, much like the Brash Young Hero archetype, a coming of age story. Much like Joseph Campbell's journey, the Warrior Mother must become fully realized. She must discover her physical heritage. She must conquer self doubt. She must cast aside the example of her current mother, or embrace the example that her mother left behind. Finally, she must learn that her power is to be used for healing, not for war.

I use the word “healing” in the broadest sense here. Example: Mist (from the GC Fire Emblem) is the only one who can hold onto the talisman of ultimate evil without being corrupted. The peace at the center of her soul doesn't restore HP, but it means that she can keep the talisman hidden away from the forces that would use it for personal gain.

On a side note, I expect that FF7 was so popular with the 13-18 crowd because Aeris is the completely self-realized version of this archetype. She has no character arc, and it's her lack of faults that makes her death seem so tragic to the player.

All of this lends itself most easily to an RPG. There are enough facets to the story that a long narrative suits it best (though a very short one could be fascinating to see). Someone realizing that they're not destined to fight makes for a very difficult main character in a video game (though Ultima IV comes to mind), so the archetype lends itself to a secondary role, or at least a game with another primary character. None of this, however, requires any particular kind of game. It wouldn't work as a main character very well, but there's no reason this archetype can't appear in adventure games, FPSs, anything and everything. What is does, if the character is important enough to the plot, is fundamentally alter the core fantasy of the game. I've used the term before, but it requires a better definition. So, for next week, what's a core fantasy, and how does the Warrior Mother affect it?

Technical Difficulties

Well, not really, but a crazy week for work, so I haven't had as much time as I'd like. That being said, I'll have the second follow-up to the warrior princess concept up soon. Until then, I was particularly pleased to read this post, so I direct your attention to it: http://blog.pjsattic.com/corvus/2008/04/themes-of-isolation/

Enjoy, while I finish putting out fires.