If this was a Novel, It needs SERIOUS editing.
Partakers of fiction are often familiar with the concept of "The Idiot Ball".
For those unfamiliar with the idea, I shall explain. The Idiot Ball is when a fictional character who has been portrayed to at least be functionally intelligent, for no reason whatsoever, makes a decision that is incredibly Idiotic. This is done for plot purposes, in order to move the story along in the manner in which the author has pre-determined the plot. It is the kind of stupidity that makes you question the entire character that you've been growing to love over the story, and in a real way, robs you of the joy of observing a character who you thought you had come to know and love.
It's cheap, it's tacky and breaks the immersion of the story completely, leaving avid readers and authors alike thinking "Oh COME ON, I can write better stuff than this."
Now, the Media is attempting to hand us the Idiot Ball. The American public has picked it up many times before, and always for the exact same, completely stupid reasons, that any character would have learned from in the past few elections. It's heartbreaking to see otherwise smart and thoughtful people unable to put down the Political Idiot Ball. What's even worse is the writer of this particular story gives the FLIMSIEST justifications for it. "We MUST defeat Trump the Demon King!!" But only because this author has told us many, many times that he's awful. Of course, the person we're supposed to Idiot Ball Vote for has a proven track record of murder, mayhem, and money-grubbing, but that's all forgivable, because the author has decided that they are the good guy of the story, and thus, ALL crimes are justifiable.
Of course, we have seen flashes of brilliance and good in this story, but the author rushes past them, in order to concentrate on the next gory and filth filled battle between their chosen protagonist and... well, the people that we keep rushing past, because apparently, being insufficiently hyped about this crusade and wanting to spend time building and fixing the problems she created is treasonous. She certainly is spending a great deal of time bringing up the awful words that the opponent is saying, which we MUST be supporting, even though we've actually decided to spend our time listening to another woman who has quite rightly suggested that this whole conflict is pointless.
Putting on an editors hat here for a second, I'm going to suggest to this author that much as a gory spectacle may grab the eye, it does nothing to enhance the story. I'd like to hear more about what will happen after the orgy of political violence, and how it will truly affect the lives of the people. And please don't harp on those nebulous threats of doom and gloom that you're going on about. You've been screaming your prophecies for many, many chapters now, and yet not one of them has come true. There's a certain point when it stops being foreshadowing and becomes masturbation. Yes, they have shown the occasional rabid minion of the Trump-Demon King, but somehow the vast demon army just doesn't seem to materialize, and all we actually see is people who don't like the Queen's depredations.
Maybe we should talk a little more about the other characters, because the Queen and King are frankly pure caricature. I do understand that's what the author was going for, but unfortunately, you can't really create a serious work with only two characters who hate each other and yet used to be friends, but now for unspecified reasons are enemies, but the most BITTER of enemies. It just doesn't work. Maybe some more about the Village Doctor who organized the peasants. Or the Rabbi who you wrote out because you thought he was taking away too much of the limelight from the queen. Hell, even that minor warlord who preaches near anarchy is more interesting.
The point is, the story has potential, but you're screwing it up by not letting the characters have meaningful choice. The Illusion of choice is extremely important, and over the last few chapters, you've completely abandoned it for plot purposes, which is the way you piss off your readers and make them find other people to read.
Comments
Americans are trained from the craddle that only
two parties are viable for government, that's more than enough choice for the Hoi polloi; anything more than that would just be CHAOS!
Sigh. As a gamer/wanna-bee designer...
you learn SO fast that the illusion of choice is absolutely necessary for immersion. No Immersion, no long-term sales.
Which is why I keep thinking of ways that even TINY tweaks could have solved the problem. Hell, the Oligarchy just got sloppy this time around and are losing out big time, and NO amount of advertising budget is gonna fix this.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Like the current Fallout 4 [my nephew is playing it unttil
his eyes water then dry out.]The choices you make in the dialogue options do not matter, RPGs used to be more sophisticated.
Lazy and bad design, but then again only the money matters.
PS he is meant to be over here to learn French, so I bought him the game in French, a bit of a waste of time since the choices don't matter.
Ugh... I know what you mean.
It's becoming a horrid trend with AAA Rpg's.
Compare a game like Planescape: Torment, which EVERY choice you made mattered, with one like Mass Effect 3, which completely ignores every choice you made throughout the entire game for a Deus Ex rip off ending...
Sorry, that's my rant, but much more into indie stuff recently, like The Long Dark, or Massive Chalice, which at least gives you the illusion of choice within limited parameters, and thus is FAR more immersive.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Marie-Louise and I play the "Souls" Games
Demons Souls, Dark Souls [1,2 and 3] and Bloodborne. Not really RPG more lore, visuals and choices than dialogue, favourite is still Demons Souls. If we argue well there is always PvP.
Rgr. I'm a strategy/RPG guy...
So I've been enjoying XCOM 2, Massive Chalice, Fall of the Samurai, and Civ V for the most part.
Course I always play a big government liberal in Civ V....
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I have an old copy of Civ 1
I loved the drunken warlord video, shame they didn't keep the videos for the diplomacy options
I remember Civ 2 had whole pages...
of Cartoons dedicated to pointing out the logical flaws in the rules.
"Bombers take 2 YEARS to fly a single mission... "
"Diplomats can wave down a plane by waving money at it."
"Democracies are HAPPIER when their armies are completely destroyed"
"A Civilization that has barely been able to understand Pottery can Steal Plans for Nuclear Weapons"
And of course the famous Gandhi goes apeshit with Nukes gameplay...
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Time lines were always pretty flawed but the
games were fun, it's been awhile since I played them, I believe a new one is coming out soon
I think I know a way to make ME3's ending worse
the "It was all a dream" trope. After the Deus Ex rip off choice, Shepard wakes up, and it's all the way back at the beginning of the first game, right after the tutorial level.
Oh lord.. All those driving sequences to look forward to again
Course, the "Indoctrination Theory" was a much better read, and if they'd used THAT as their ending reboot, it would have been better...
Course, Citadel was such a love letter/apology to the fans I ALMOST forgave them. Except there wasn't enough Jack.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Lol, they create their own
Lol, they create their own votes and only need the illusion of having enough voters to win, created with the Big Lie repetition.
After all, they're the only author in town - OR ELSE!
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Oh. Stephen King...
Kidding, kidding...
But sometimes I think that his formula is the only thing people will publish anymore.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
In other words, all Al Gore
In other words, all Al Gore needed was to add an 'l', because all gore sells?
On the other hand, Hillary's certainly spilled LOTS of other people's gore and we know how amusing she finds that sort of thing to be, although I don't know how they sell her to anyone... but she thinks starting more
invasions/attackswars will bring in the approval ratings of the American people who will pay for and be maimed/die/lose loved ones in these.Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
The DNC did a very convincing version of “Democrat Sematary”
An accursed hill helps a beloved party come roaring back to life, but somehow it’s — different. Smell of death and all. And Bernie acting all stiff and unnatural for a few days.
But don’t mind me, maybe I’m just imagining things.
Hey Mercedes Man gets cut in half by a Sno-Cat
(sorry if I exposed the half-denoument). King, Steven that is, has a good formula with a good selection of hero-types to believe in.
Why am I having questionably bad dreams and walking around laughing like a certain Green witch? Life is amusing as in slow-motion train wreck or bus careening off the nearest version of a cliff? Ultralight flyers are now crash-landing in water to avoid hitting drones in the sky. That is Real Life now. We are being Watched. Who cares now?
I never got into gaming, other than mind exercise shit that got old. I think I am too old to think that gaming is anything more than a Time Eater.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Everybody's got their choice of time sinks.
I got into gaming in my teens with tabletop RPG's, and miniatures painting, so as a result my taste reflects what I enjoyed as I was younger.
Much of what I enjoy ties into that, and has the advantage of not having to go to a game store for a game with a jerk who argues about the rules constantly. (Course that was just my experience in CA, but some gamers are asses)
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Yes.
And, in the last chapter, the brock bots were hurling "sexist" at anyone that questioned the queen.
Turn the page.
Now they are smearing Dr. Stein with crap 10X worse.
What pulp.
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie
has been replaced by Winning Through Intimidation by Robert J. Ringer. Subtitle: “How to be the victor, not the victim, in business and in life.”
Democrats’ formula for winning this year: do be a d**k! Even bigger than Trump! The very biggest! Do it, it’s yer duty! Politics ain’t beanbag!
Could apply to the Ron Paul character from a few seasons ago
just as well as to the Jill Stein one in the current story arc.
Author has really got a thing for...
the Caste system they invented, it seems.
Course they seem to break their own rules whenever expedient to drive the plot. Sign of a poor author.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
dmw, THAT is called the American Dream!
Break out of one's caste by being smarter and daring to push back. All it takes is wealth or good timing. Or a red balloon.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
These the balloons of which you speak?
The lyrics of the original German version tell a story: 99 balloons are mistaken for UFOs, causing a general to send pilots to investigate. Finding nothing but child's balloons, the pilots decide to put on a show and shoot them down. The display of force worries the nations along the borders and the war ministers on each side bang the drums of conflict to grab power for themselves. In the end, a 99-year war results from the otherwise harmless flight of balloons, causing devastation on all sides without a victor. At the end, the singer walks through the devastated ruins and lets loose a balloon, watching it fly away.[5]
The English version retains the spirit of the original narrative, but many of the lyrics are translated poetically rather than directly translated: red helium balloons are casually released by an anonymous civilian into the sky and are registered as missiles by a faulty early warning system; the balloons are mistaken for military aircraft which results in panic and eventually nuclear war.[5]
From Wiki, 99 Red Balloons.
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
Bitter LOL, but now balloon releases are given dim ratings.
I have had the iconic Happy Birthday deflated mylar balloon stuck in the top of my doorway beech. For at least three years, tattered remnants flying, tethered to tree by zip ribbons. It finally fell to earth. Now in a landfill, Someplace Else.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Games may simply be a reflection of life
but it is clear that in some of the most popular games, at the very center of their imaginary world is violence. Villain-hero, antagonist-protagonist, they all deal in violence.
Chicken or egg? We can debate and argue which and why, but the fact remains. Violence, though roundly condemned in words, is nurtured and promoted at every turn in both our fantasy and our real worlds.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
“ …and when we destroy nature, we diminish our capacity to sense the divine,and understand who God is, and what our own potential is and duties are as human beings.- RFK jr. 8/26/2024
Then, I'd suggest trying some of the stuff I enjoy.
The Long Dark for example, seriously deconstructs and examines violence as a extremely consequential and not always effective method for solving problems. (Most of the time, violence means you've done something WRONG and are risking complete loss...)
It's very interesting that the AAA industry is embracing violence more and more while the Indie scene is moving more and more towards character driven and non-violent ideals. Games like Undertale, Dangerous School Girls In Trouble, and The Age of Decadence really emphasize either non-violence or the consequences of violence in a manner that engages the player and yet is still immersive.
Of course, that's those who consider gaming art as opposed to just pablum for the masses. Somewhat similar to the hollywood product vs a good art film.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I really enjoyed this. Thanks!
I have not heard of the Idiot Ball before, but I've certainly encountered it numerous times in both books and films.
My greatest criticism is always reserved for glaring plot holes that could have been gotten around more cleverly and more in keeping with the character's history and actions that have come before. The only time an idiot ball works at all, is when it is used consciously to tip off the viewer that all is not as it seems and that this character is not who you thought they were.
In life and in fiction, we are always scrutinizing motivation - why on earth did they do that? Motivation, the internal energy behind all actions.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
Turned around that way, PL, it's dealing with betrayal.
A standard plotline. LOTR is replete. Practice. Many of us (good hook) have had to deal with betrayal in our own lives.
Are we doing generic book review now?
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I guess you are saying that I missed the point
that for it to be an Idiot Ball, the idiot must be and remain an idiot at least in that plot point. I accept that.
Practice what?
And yes I was taking the example given of what an Idiot Ball is and applying it generically if incorrectly. I always like talking or reading about writing devices and techniques, it's the English major in me.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
I usually reserve "Idiot Ball"
for a main character who is the protagonist. (Yes, I consider the Voters the protagonist in this story, but then, I'm a voter)
First example that comes to mind is the "Harry Potter" books, in which Harry is handed the Idiot Ball QUITE regularly. Of course, this is written off as him being part of a prophecy, or any number of other reasons, but the fact remains that for a character who is supposedly a brilliant wizard, he makes a lot of very, very stupid decisions, and all for plot reasons.
In Gaming, an example of this for me would be "Walking Dead, Season 2" in which we have our choices all rendered moot and characters accept outside impositions of action because the plot MUST GO FORWARD. Resulting in a story that feels disconnected to the character we control, unlike the 1st Season, in which almost everything felt like it mattered and each and every character felt like someone who was making their choices from a logical (To THEM) place.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
It is a very weak piece of fiction.
You are so right. It is laughably weak.
The preceding, giant, megaton fiction that had fantastic consequences though, was the novel about the inevitability and superiority of one candidate. This particular fiction was, so patently ridiculous that masses of people had a hugely negative reaction to it as evidenced (gasp!!) by their participation in the political system. We witnessed huge, enthusiastic rallies, unprecedented small donations to a candidate, participation in local dem headquarters all over the country, participation in online phone banking like crazy, etc. etc. So, not only is this fiction just plain stupid, it caused the opposite effect than was intended (which I think is hillarious). In many people this was a visceral reaction (it just seems so wrong...this coronation and all the surrounding revolting details). This visceral reaction was so severe it made people nauseous to the point of vomiting excessively. People had to go to the ER to get IV infusions to replace lost fluids and electrolytes caused by this extremely disturbing piece of fiction.
Americans though, chose not to stay home and vomit their guts out, but instead to channel these feelings of horror into something positive. I will be forever extremely delighted by this reaction by my fellow Americans. No one can take that away from me...forever. I stood in line at one of those rallies and I stood in that line for a rather long time. There were a lot of people there. I spoke with these people, we had a conversation which was very inclusive to anyone within earshot. These people were all different; different ages, different genders, different races, different life experiences, backgrounds, and different expectations. Yet none of them believed the fiction, they were very aware that it was bullshit.
So here we are, at this juncture, an interesting if disturbing place to be. But I do know that many Americans have grasped the nature of this piece of fiction, they have grasped the nature of this game, and they are not pleased. The new fiction though is that this never happened and ...unity. Ha, funny, more fiction by the same Professional Advertisers?
Problem is they have crappy writers.
Who assume that even though they're using the same characters and the same plot over and over...
It's can be said that it's NOT a sequel, even though the story has been repeated over and over, by many authors, and it never ends well.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Never heard the term
But I can say that I have thrown books down and have stood up and hollered at the tv.
Why oh why is that we all know the "rules"
If you are a female and you have sex: You will be slaughtered.
If you are a virgin and kinda sorta flirt for the first time: You will be slaughtered.
If you are a female and you are walking around in your house in your barely theres: You will be hunted down and slaughtered but not before the audience gets a great shot of your boobs on the widescreen.
If you are running from the killer: You will fall down, and your tits will flop out and then you will be slaughtered.
If the phone rings: You will be slaughtered.
If you get into your car without checking the backseats, and you're a girl" You'll be slaughtered.
If a usually smart girl hears a noise or has a feeling - she will disregard so as not to feel or look foolish: And then she will see all her friends slaughtered. Especially the minority friends, they get slaughtered first.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
Horror movies are the absolute WORST...
with regards to the idiot ball.
Nobody ever carries a cell phone, or they always conspire NOT TO WORK.
The authority figures always ignore blatant signs of trouble, because short term money. (Actually that one's pretty realistic)
And yes, sex is always, always, ALWAYS the kiss of death.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I love scary books/movies
But the movies generally suck. The only good scary movies I've seen in a while wasn't even a scary one. It was more of a mock of the genre.
Dale and Tucker vs Evil. & Zombies of Mass Destruction.
Hope to see you soon! I' not sure if I can make this particular meet up but I'm not going anywhere soon so I'm sure I'll make one.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
Sounds like a lot of people are going to have trouble...
with this one's scheduling, so I may push it back to the 20th for everybody concerned.
Just kinda rough for me, because emergencies happen when you have kids, and I'm usually out of money around the 20th...
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Thank you for doing all this.
End of the month is hard. But it is nice to get to see new and old friends. I'll buy ya drink.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
ACK Double Post, Sorry
ACK Double Post, Sorry
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Not to worry, dmw
I have figured out that my social Security deposit now runs one week later. I guess I was asleep in those 31 day months. That makes budgeting hard, even for us older singles. Best to you plus kids. Your bad dream there may start any time. Best advice: calm information overload. BTDT.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
When was the American public
When was the American public ever a functionally intelligent character?
No one ever went broke misunderestimating their intelligence!
Courtesy of Mencken/Bush.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
I think many are smarting right up! Or smartening, lol.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.