  Fantasy
This week: Games Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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The video game culture was an important thing to keep alive in the film because we're in a new era right now. The idea that kids can play video games like Grand Theft Auto or any video game is amazing. The video games are one step before a whole other virtual universe.
-Vin Diesel
No human being is innocent, but there is a class of innocent human actions called Games.
-W.H. Auden
It should be noted that children at play are not playing about; their games should be seen as their most serious-minded activity.
-Michael de Montaigne
Games lubricate the body and the mind.
-Benjamin Franklin |
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Games
One thing that tends to be underutilized in fantasy (and science fiction) stories is the concept of the game.
People of all ages play games, though of course the games we play tend to change as we get older. In our own world, we have games of chance, gambling games (mostly a subset of games of chance, though the argument could be made that poker is a game of skill), strategy games, role-playing games, wealth-accumulation games, physical sports, and many others - and, of course, video games that mimic all of the above.
Games can play an important part in a fantasy world, and the types of games your characters play say something about their personalities. A person who plays chess (or other game of strategy and skill) is going to have quite a different personality than someone who plays poker, for example. Or someone who plays both.
When writing about our own world, we can draw from the games we know, but, as fantasy writers, we would usually have to make up games or, in a futuristic setting, use familiar games that have evolved and changed over time - and they have to be believable to the reader.
Now, here's the trick: it's rare that you have to come up with a whole new game, complete with rules and strategy. Often, the name of the game is enough, plus some context as to whether it's a game of skill or chance or some combination of the two. The only reason you'd have to come up with something new would be if it's an important plot point - in which case, like making up a language, I'd say don't do it unless you really love that sort of thing; readers will pick up on an ill-conceived game faster than you can say "It was a dark and stormy night." (J.K. Rowling managed to get away with it in the Harry Potter stories, but you're not J.K. Rowling.)
Unless your plot revolves around the playing and winning of the game - a trope that may be overused in mainstream fiction - consider making the game, or games, part of the setting and atmosphere of the place. One example of this is popular science fiction is Dabo (introduced in Deep Space Nine as a gambling game popular in Quark's bar - but it was, essentially, the same thing as Roulette).
For instance, your characters might meet in a tavern, surrounded by the clickety-clack of Raznor sticks, or something similar. We don't have to know what Raznor is, how to play it, or even the nature of the "sticks," because it's just background information - atmosphere. If, however, the slimy alien at the next table challenges your protagonist to a game, some more description may be in order.
However much detail you put in, remember that there's a lot of crossover between people who read fantasy and people who enjoy games - all you have to do is watch the folks at any fantasy convention to be convinced of this. So don't neglect gaming in your stories; your readers will be able to relate. |
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (May 11, 2011)" , I discussed transportation and how different modes of transportation can change the world you've built.
Lothmorwel  :
Another consideration of transport is how long it will take to get places. For instance, if people walk from one town to the next, then they catch a river barge back to the original town, they will get back faster than they got there (unless they have to stop in another town along the way to trade or something). And it can't take two days to walk to the desert then take three weeks horse-ride back just cos you want to have some amazing character development along the way. This is an issue I'm working with as my characters are going to be hopping all over the place in the fantasy story I'm planning. Also, where you could make do with one water container and a piece of corn bread for a two day hike, if that suddenly becomes three weeks then you have to plan for more water, clothing, food and overnight stops. Not to mention the difficulties of different terrain, seasons and territories!
Yes, the speed of transportation is important - and it has to be self-consistent! It's fine to have an interstellar ship with FTL drive and still have to hike or use more primitive forms of transportation while on a planet's surface, but if you have a fantasy world with, say, instantaneous teleportation, then why would they walk? Perhaps they do, but there has to be a reason.
LJPC - the tortoise :
Hi Robert!
Thanks for the insightful NL about travel. It is a critical part of world-building in Fantasy and especially in SF. I hope you have a lovely time in England! 
-- Laura
Thank you for commenting, and yes, I did - but boy, are my arms tired!
[Ed. note: The following comment and linked article wasn't necessarily in response to the "Transportation" newsletter, but I'm including it because it's relevant to that and other topics I've discussed]
A E Willcox  :
This is an article about the importance of research in fiction writing with regards to the setting and with world-building. I have done a lot of reviews where the writer clearly knows little or nothing about their chosen setting, historical era etc.
On that note, that's all for this month. See you in July! Until then,
DREAM ON!!! |
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Fantasy: June 08, 2011 Issue [#4436]
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