The Final Fantasy Series: A Story Retrospective

I don't play video games nearly as much as I used to, but one series that still holds a special place in my heart is Final Fantasy.  It's true that the games have had their ups and downs, but the overall quality is still very respectable, especially for a series that I've played for over twenty years.  And the latest entry to be released in the West, Final Fantasy Type-0, looks absolutely killer.

I'll be doing a series covering all the Final Fantasy games that I've played, starting from Final Fantasy IV (known as Final Fantasy II when first released in America) all the way to Final Fantasy Type-0.  The slight twist is that I'll be writing about the games from a storytelling perspective.  The posts will have spoilers, of course, but each entry will be split into two sections: the first discussing the opening of the game (which should be fair game for spoilers), and then a marked section discussing the rest.

I'm already humming the opening music of Final Fantasy IV...

"Why'd They Do That?"

As a storyteller, have you ever found yourself forced to make... odd storytelling decisions in order to support a twist of the plot later on?  ("How can I explain Don's surprising prowess at spinning pizzas in the climatic pizza-making championship?  I know, let's give him a life-long interest in pottery wheels!")  Well, bless you if you haven't, because I certainly have.

I suspect this sort of wrangling happens pretty often, actually.  "Why'd They Do That?" will be a series of blog posts where I take an example (more precisely: something that I think is an example) of a strange story choice, and then attempt to explain it away with keen insight (by which I mean wholesale guessing).

"Daddy, I'm bored."

Perhaps only those of you who are parents know the special sort of terror that comes when your child declares that he or she is bored.  Of course that declaration comes with the unspoken assumption that you will be the one that solves that particular problem.

We all have different ways of coping with our children's boredom.  Mine is to tell my daughter stories.  When she was between the ages of 5 and 7, I'd send her on a Pokemon journey to befriend Pokemon and train them and lead them to battle.  These days the stories tend to involve ninja and samurai and planeswalkers (from Magic: The Gathering).

Not-so-coincidentally, my daughter is apparently the scenario-leader of her little group of friends; during recess, she's the one who comes up with the stories that they all play out.  If you're wondering whether this makes me proud, the answer is "yes".  Very much so.

You'll see the occasional blog entry relating to the above.  Sometimes it'll be because I think something's funny; sometimes because it makes me think; and sometimes it'll simply be because I want to remember.

Everyone Loves Magic!

I mean, come on, who doesn't love magic?  Okay, I'm actually talking about the card game,  Magic: The Gathering, and I'm guessing there's plenty of people who don't love it.  A few years ago I was one of them.  I disdained the cards in my local game store... even while I couldn't help but be curious about the fantasy art and the evocative card names.

To make a long story short, I am now a huge fan of Magic. I enjoy cracking packs, collecting cards, building decks, playing games... and I also love the lore.

It might surprise you to learn that Magic has a flavor department that works to incorporate an overall mythology within the card game.  Although gameplay ultimately trumps lore, the story still has a substantial impact on the cards.  For example, the Theros block of cards involved what was called a "top-down" design where the set designers knew that they wanted to incorporate the feel of an archetypal "hero's journey" through a world similar to that of the Greek myths.  An inverse example would be the more recent Tarkir block, where the mechanical set design promoted the idea of a time travel tale.

I won't pretend that the Magic storyline is a work of great literary art.  Still, there is much about it that sparks interest, and you'll see the occasional blog entry talking about some aspect of Magic lore that catches my eye.

Thirty Minutes of Hell

I "like" writing (and maybe someday I'll be at a place where I can remove those quotes), but finding the will and impetus to write can be a real drag sometimes.  So here's what I'm going to do: once a week or so, I'm going to:

• Take a writing prompt from NANO Fiction's list of flash fiction prompts (I'll probably start from the earliest one and work my way up).
• Set a timer for thirty minutes.
• Write in a frenzied terror until my timer screams at me to stop.
• Post the half-baked monstrosity here.
• Provide some analysis on what I would have to do next in order to finish the story.

And then I'll be done, with no further obligation to whatever it is that I produced!

Hopefully, setting zero expectations will prove useful in allowing myself to simply practice writing. I guess we'll see if that's true when I try it out this weekend!

Welcome!

Welcome!  My name is Tzu-Mainn Chen, and I love stories.  I am also a compulsive over-analyzer, and this blog is an attempt to marry those two traits.

What can you expect to see here?  Well, here's a sampling:

• Ramblings: Boy, I sure do like to ramble on and on and on...
• Reviews: My book reviews end up on Goodreads, and you can find a link to them on the right sidebar. I'll also occasionally review movies and video games with a strong story component.
• Fiction: I "like" to write (anyone who writes probably understands why I put that in quotes), and once in a while I'll post some of my fiction. Try to contain your excitement!
• Daughter-stuff: I tell stories to my daughter all the time. They come out pretty odd. She, in turn, creates stories for her classmates. They're also come out pretty odd. Hey, genetics!
• AND MORE: WOW!

  That's enough of an introduction.  I hope you enjoy what you find here!