Forum - View topicBest World-Building Tournament: Minigame.
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Why? That magic exists in the setting is quite clear from what goes on in Academy City. The various magical groups are active to some degree or another within the domain of Academy City, and the conflicts between the various magical groups and those involving Angels encompass Academy City to some degree. Let me be absolutely clear on this: I am not using "Academy City" as the name to force nitpicking on the rules and hence eliminate some of the franchise's content from consideration. It is a simple matter of naming expediency. The only restriction will, of course, be the normal one on only considering animated content. A few other updates: *"Arslan Senki" will use the official American release name The Heroic Legend of Arslan and the world name will be World of Arslan for expediency's sake. (I did this same thing with a couple of other "World of" cases, too.) *I'm going with Bath House of the Gods for Spirited Away because that's a name more likely to be familiar to people. (The other name can be an aka) *The setting for Tiger & Bunny is officially listed as Stern Bild City in the subtitles of Viz's official releases, so that spelling will be used.
No, it's an actual language that was developed for the series, much like Klingon. The books go into more detail on this, and I've heard that some of the novels were even printed with Baronh side-by-side with Japanese for part or all of them. And to be clear about the "too few episodes" exception: That's meant to imply only to TV series (and I'm extending that to ONAs, too), as there are a few series which have aired on TV but not hit the 10 episode season length. However, using a "there are too few episodes to develop the setting well" argument as a Vote Against justification is acceptable as long as you explain why you think that. I have several titles in mind - Moribito's setting among them - that I hope to be filtering in over the next couple of days. I will post a couple of them later tonight before putting up the first summary list. For now, though, I throw out these Votes For: Academy City, Railgun/Index franchise Ikebukero, Durarara!! Metropolis, Metropolis Saiunkoku, The Story of Saiunkoku Stern Bild City, Tiger & Bunny Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms Bath House of the Gods, Spirited Away |
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Galap
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Setting of Birdy the Mighty: Decode
Franchise: Birdy the Mighty Magic/technological base: Mid 00s Earth, alien organic technology/biopunk Important locations:Human side: Modern day Tokyo, Roppongi ruins, abandoned edifices. Alien side: Oriotera. Planet with advanced organic technology and several nations. Also has advanced, functional ‘ruins’ of previous civilizations. Important races: Decided to separate the groups and races, because there isn’t enough correlation between the factions and the race of their members to put them together. First are Humans, which is self-explanatory. The Altans resemble humans very closely (essentially indistinguishable—apparently they have a distinctive scent, however). They were once the rulers of the galaxy, thousands of years ago, and their empire had very advanced biotechnology, creating immense biological edifices and spacecraft. Now they are second class citizens in the galactic community. There also exist beings called Ixioran Altans, which are artificial biological beings based on the Altan anatomy (and created using ancient Altan biotechnology), but possess various incredible abilities, such as nigh impenetrable biological force fields, incredible strength, and the ability to warp instantaneously through space and time. There are many other races on varying degrees of social strata, most of them resembling animals, like elk men or frog men. Most notable are the Ulgarians, or ‘dog men’. Less conventional intelligences that exist are marionettes, which are humanoid (or Altanoid) robots. There also exist beings referred to as ‘guardians’, which are synthetic biological robots that typically look like floating squid. They have intelligence comparable to a person, but they seem to work in a slightly different way. Finally, there is the Ryunka, an ancient intelligent bioweapon which exists in several stages, first taking over a host being, later being able to manifest a body of its own, and later still being capable of causing planetary devestation. Important groups: Note that this one is particularly difficult to fill out, as there are multiple factions and tangled affiliations, with agreement even within the smallest subgroups being shaky at best. There is the Federation, a state that has influence over some of the planet Oriotera and possibly others. Within the Federation, we see the faction that was secretly reviving the Ryunka weapon, the faction that backed the terrorists who stole the weapon, and at least two factions that were trying to recover the Ryunka after it was stolen and brought to earth. There also exists the Sanctum Sanctorum, a shadowy group with great influence and power which seems to be the last holdout of the old days. They are part of the government, but operate quite separately from it. Outside the federation, there is the Altan terrorist group Istalta, which has members connected to the Ryunka theft, and the Union, another nation on Oriotera with which the Federation has shaky relations. On Earth, there is the Altan Network, a loose group made as a support network to help Altan refugees on Earth. Description: Thousands of years ago, the galaxy was ruled by the Altans, a race of beings nearly identical to humans whose technology was not mechanical, but synthetic biology. They created huge living spaceships, towering bony spires, and engineered many living beings with incredible abilities for a wide array of purposes. Somehow, the imperial age came to an end, and their society collapsed. Today, their bone spires are snapped, their former territory is fractured and rife with unrest, and entire planets have been destroyed by the collapse. The Altan people now live as second class citizens in the slums of their edifices, ruled over by the other races, who are probably their creations. Earth is a quiet backwater, a planet with a low civilization rating and little contact with other worlds. Many Altans immigrate to Earth, however, because despite its low technological level, they can live as equals among the physically identical humans and not have to deal with the racism they face on other worlds. Over time, more and more aliens start coming to earth, making deals with earth companies and governments, and bringing their otherworldly problems with them. When the Ryunka is stolen, the smugglers who were transporting it were forced to land on earth, with all the aforementioned interested factions in hot pursuit. Ultimately, between the destruction caused by the Ryunka itself and the orbital bombardments carried out to destroy it, the Roppongi area of Tokyo gets completely destroyed, with the Roppongi ruins and refugee camps for the survivors becoming a backdrop for the second half of the series. Why the worldbuilding is great: Birdy accomplishes what little else can: make the setting feel completely alive. The alien worlds feel very ‘lived in’, in that despite the fact that all the buildings and technology are biological, they manage to still look like real structures, and it looks totally believable that that place could exist somewhere. There is an extremely large amount of information available about the setting, but almost all of this worldbuilding is done just under the surface. There is not ‘data dumping’, and a lot of the most important (and many minor) aspects of the setting are never explicitly shown or blatantly brought attention to: they are referred to subtly, inferred from subtle imagery, or even just implied. However, there is a great wealth of information that an attentive viewer can pick up on; they just have to think a little. The sheer number of differing factions at work and their motives makes everything feel very believable as well, as there exist no monolithic organizations, but simply collections of individuals each with their own creeds and objectives. The aliens coming to earth don’t just do one thing, the interactions span the entire spectrum of what human-alien interactions could be. One great thing about the setting is also that events seem to have a real sense of permanence and follow through. The destruction of Tokyo at the end of the first half of the series is integral to the second half: we see the survivors in tents and the public’s reaction to this seemingly apocalyptic event that they have no way of understanding, and how Japanese society deals with such unprecedented and baffling devestation. The ruins themselves feel eerily real, and serve as a constant reminder to the previous events. One example of a particularly cool little thing that was done is the following: One character had a highrise office, in which he had many dolls in a big glass case on the wall. They are never mentioned; they are just there. The office was in the destroyed Roppongi area, and in the last episode of the series, you see one of the dolls on the ground, laying limp and dirty amongst the rubble. No attention is brought to this either, but it is a powerful image if the viewer manages to make the connection. The Federation is an amazing example of a society in distress. They have deep rooted social issues of many sorts (for example the persecution of Altans), and have great internal conflict. Earth gets caught up in their deadly internal crossfire because when members of the Federation come to Earth, they bring all their problems with them. One of the ultimate questions at the end of the series is whether or not Birdy’s society will end up following a more progressive or regressive path: embracing the Altans’ ancient transhumanist tendencies or rejecting them. The series ends on an ambiguous note, though it seems that things are just starting to get back on their feet after thousands of years. http://i.imgur.com/nbKNi6b.jpg |
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Key
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Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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First summary list is going up on the OP momentarily. It includes the following two Nominations:
Aincard Series: Sword Art Online, SAO arc (eps 1-14) Magic/Technological Base: Limited magic fantasy (within setting) based on near-future virtual reality. Important Locations: Assorted levels. Important Groups: Knights of Blood Oath, The Army, Furinkazen, Laughing Coffin, Moonlit Black Cats (all guilds) Description: Aincard is a massive 100-layer castle that is the setting for the VR MMO Sword Art Online, which is operating in its initial 10,000-player run when the players discover that they have been locked in the game by creator Akihito Kayaba, with exit only possible through game death (which translates into real-world death) or beating the game. The world those players exist in is a low-fantasy realm entirely based on bladed weapon combat and skill use, with magic limited to teleportation crystals and healing items. However, players have considerable interactive freedom, and clever players can (amongst other things) produce tastes similar to real-world food via cooking. Marriage is even possible in the setting, as is sex. Why The World-Building Is Great: Although some may quibble about how the setting is used, Aincard is a vast setting developed down to fine detail. Many of its game elements are typical of MMOs, but the dramatically ramped up stakes and constant presence in the setting for two years create practical issues and social dynamics well beyond those seen in ordinary games, including an effective orphanage for young players without parents in the game in the base city, recreational sites, and private retreats. The mechanics of the setting are explored in great detail throughout the arc. ALfheim Online Series: Sword Art Online, Fairy Dance arc (eps 16-24) Magic/Technological Base: High magic fantasy (within setting) based on near-future virtual reality. Important Locations: Aarun (neutral capital city, location of World Tree) Important Races: Cait Sith, Gnome, Imp, Leprechaun, Puca, Salamander, Spriggan, Sylph, Undine, Navigation Pixie (all faeries) Description: Although also a VR MMO, the mechanics of ALO are very different in many respects than SAO. Magic use is prominent, an emphasis is place on intraracial cultural development and interracial politicking, player-vs-player battles that result in character deaths are allowed (no real-world fatal consequences!), and character-building is based more purely on skills instead of using a leveling system. Perhaps most prominently, all characters have limited-duration ability to fly. The ultimate goal of the setting is for one race to unite in an effort to reach the top of the World Tree, where the Fairy King Oberon holds court and will allegedly award unlimited flight capability to the victor race. Unbeknownst to the gamers, though, an administrative-access-only part of the game is being used for dastardly mind manipulation experiments and keeping one particular player captive but mentally active (while her body lies comatose in the real world). Why the World-Building is Great: While some many quibble about the quality of the story told here, this is nonetheless a conceptually fascinating game setting well advanced from anything that existed previously. It offers some novel twists by MMO standards, emphasizes role-playing, and delves into the mechanics behind how some of its details, such as flight, work. |
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MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
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Voting for:
Nausicaa's Post-Apocalyptic Earth |
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stardf29
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Votes for:
Aqua Humankind Empire Abh |
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Knoepfchen
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First time participator, this is a great theme.
First, I’d like to vote for: Ikebukuro, Durarara!! (If I could only vote for one world, it would be this one.) Nausicaa's Post-Apoc Earth, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Gold Crown Town, Princess Tutu Gunsmoke, Trigun World of Wolf's Rain, Wolf's Rain And I’d like to add a nomination: Prester Franchise: Last Exile (first series, mostly) Magic/Technological Base: Aviation steampunk, Sci-Fi (with some magical aspects to it) Important Locations: Battleship Silvana, Claus’ and Lavie’s house and hometown in Anatoray, Guild stronghold (Delphine’s ship), Exile Important Groups: People from Anatoray, People from Disith, The Guild, Crew of the Silvana Description: Prester is a fictional world where the two nations of Anatoray and Disith are at constant war with one another. The continents of both nations are separated by the Grand Stream, a turbulent region of sky that is dangerous to cross and also holds the mystery of Exile, a magic *something* that I will not spoil at this point, but that will prove to be of great importance in the outcome of the war and the survival of mankind. While Anatoray and Disith are engaging in grand aerial battles following the code of chivalric warfare, they are being observed by the Guild, a group of superior beings living in grand fortresses high up in the sky who see to it that the code of chivalry will be followed and a certain balance will be upheld. We are introduced to a variety of steampunk-ish aerial battleships powered by a mysterious mineral named Claudia that is being mined on the ground. The only problem with mining Claudia is the more you take from the ground, the deeper the continent will sink into the clouds, leaving the people of Disith no option but to flee from their dying world in order to find new land to settle on. But land is scarce and precious in Prester, thus leading to the never ending war between the two nations to ensure survival of their people. What makes this setting/world-building great: In the first episode, we learn about the two opposing nations by being thrown (without much introduction) into a battle taking place in the sky, yet being fought like it took place at sea: Ships don’t fall to the ground when being hit, they slowly sink into the clouds, into a seemingly bottomless mist that makes up the world of Prester. With a sky so endless and land so scarce, every resource is precious in this world, shown in the way the characters treat food and especially water (that exists in different levels or qualities based on its purity, and how much someone is shown to value water will tell you a lot about his/her social status and access to resources in this world). The dramatic conflict taking place far up in the skies seems to be so far removed from ordinary people’s lives on the ground, the chivalric code it follows so artificial and impractical, almost staged. This is, of course, intended, as we will, much later on, learn about the true nature of this world and its war by exposing the hidden agenda of the Silvana, a somewhat rogue battleship of Anatory under the command of Captain Harlock look alike Alex Rowe and his crew of colourful misfits, and the true nature of the Guild and their objective. Prester is a doomed world where innovation and (technological) evolution are being repressed by the higher ups in order to maintain the status quo. Even the power sources of the grand battleships are in Guild hands, leaving them to just pull the plug and have a ship sink into the clouds (majestically and tragically) whenever they feel like it. The one thing providing escape from the helplessness is Exile (thus the show’s title), a mysterious, almost magical entity, hidden out of reach within the Grand Stream, that Alex Rowe is desperately searching for, the Guild on his heels. It’s only at the very end of the series that we learn what Exile really is, and what Prester really is, for that matter, as there is no info dump explaining the rules and nature of this world, only bits and pieces of information available at every corner that help us building the complete picture in our minds. I would, therefore, consider this to be a quite well built world with a distinct hierarchy, social rules and classes, a long history of war and struggle that we learn of little by little, and a distinct and unique technology of aviation while adding a certain amount of mythology in the form of Exile and its purpose. Also, having a world die by slowly letting it sink into the sky is quite the romantic way to do it. Pictures: Aerial battleships more batleships The Silvana Silvana flight deck with vanships Guild ship (very different design) Anatoray soldiers waiting for death by chivalry Disith soldiers |
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Olliff
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Nominating:
World of Spice and Wolf Franchise: Spice and Wolf Magic/Technological Base:Low Fantasy, Medieval Important Locations: Pasloe, Pazzio , Yoitsu, Kingdom of Trenni Important Groups: Milone Trading Company, Medio Trading Company, The Church, Alchemists Description:Set in a medieval era world reminiscent of western Europe, the world of Spice Wolf is not jarringly dissimilar from our own. While fantasy elements such as wolf gods and shape-shifting alchemists exist, they are rare enough that their very existence is suspect and doubted by most. When they are encountered, they are seen as a heresy by the Church, which has remained second to none in terms of power and influence. However, not all of the world is united under the church’s influence. Pagan towns still exist and hold festivals honoring their gods and celebrating a good harvest. The twist is some of these worshiped pagan gods still exist in the flesh. Recently, this world has embraced the concepts of free trade, credit and the spirit of capitalism. A few of the largest trading companies such as Milone and Medio have huge amounts of influence and resources that are second only to the church. Once during a Milone Company aided currency value manipulation scheme, a rival company, Medio, kidnapped a wolf god associated with the plan to threaten to expose her true nature to the church, which would brand Milone as heretical by association. Proving this cutthroat and intense competition between companies adds another level of intensity and conflict to the setting. Apart from the bustling towns, the land of Yoitsu is of great importance. While little is known of this remote, wintery, northern region outside of scraps of long-forgotten myth and lore, it is the original homeland of the titular wolf god and her people. Reaching this destination is one of the main goals of the two main characters. Why the World-Building is Great: The idea that a world exists where gods still walk among mortals, but even their believers doubt and forsake their existence makes for an interesting setting, especially when one of these forgotten deities is the focus of the series. Each region holds a new surprise for the two titular characters, whether it be a pagan village that worships a real wolf god or a ghetto of magic using alchemists, each surprise adds character and intrigue to its world. While clearly a fantasy setting, the Germanic and Nordic inspired cultures and architectures ground the world in realism despite the existence of supernatural entities. Voting Against ALfheim Online Voting against a setting because the story was poor is not a valid reason. However, if one of the primary reasons why this arc's story was drastically less effective than the first was a substantially less developed and immersive setting, a vote against it is justified. This setting is already hamstrung by the fact that only nine episodes are devoted to it. To amplify the problem, the primary focus of this arc is to save the girl trapped in the last world's arc. The main character also never embraces and immerses himself into this world like the last one, and this shows in terms of lack of focus. This lack of focus on world development is readily apparent during the scene where Kirito implements his bluff against the Salamanders. Kirito mentions conflicts and groups that are completely undeveloped or sometimes not even mentioned. This scene illustrates how little we know about this world. Sure, this world has interesting concepts and magical abilities, but the fact the main groups are hardly developed and the other races are barely even mentioned. This world had tons of potential to have great world building with over eight races and tons of implied conflicts. However, these races and conflicts need to be developed for a compelling case for great world building to be made. Heck, outside of maybe 2-4 sentences of information we know nothing about the main character's race. The animosity between the Slyph and Salamander's is the only conflict between groups that's developed and even it is sparingly focused on. The world is also implied to be huge, but the only location developed is the World Tree and even Aarun the city that houses is barely mentioned. Overall the world of ALFheim is a world brimming with potential to be explored, but that potential in untapped to a degree that the failure of the entire arc to live up to the expectations of the first one can be at least partially attributed to an underdeveloped world. This is primarily because we know so little about the different major groups, their conflicts. and important locations outside of a very limited scope. Voting for: Prester World of Nasuicaa Last edited by Olliff on Sun Jun 30, 2013 11:21 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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One common thing I'm noticing in your objections, Olliff, is that you seem to be evaluating more whether or not something's a top-caliber candidate than whether or not something's a worthy candidate for inclusion in the tournament. Even beyond that, I largely disagree with your arguments in your Vote Against on ALO, especially the point about how "an underdeveloped setting is one of the primary reasons why the arc's story failed. I disagree that it even failed (but that's not a debate that we're going to get into any further in this thread), and among those who thought that the arc was a dismal failure, the lack of setting development is rarely cited as a major contributing factor, much less a primary one. Did the series develop the setting as much as it could have? Definitely not, but we can say the same about many of the other nominees so far, too, so that's more of a "why the series won't make it past the first or second round" reasoning than a "why it shouldn't be in the tournament at all" reasoning. What it did provide was an interestingly different take on a standard fantasy MMO setting, one which provides plenty enough detail to distinguish it in a crowd. And that is, I think, plenty enough to justify its presence in the tournament.
And fair warning to everyone else: I will be looking very closely at any Votes Against the SAO settings given the reputations these series have among certain corners of fandom. I get even a faint whiff of a "the series was crap, so the setting was crap by extension" sentiment and your Vote Against will be ignored. (Olliff justified his case well enough that I am accepting his vote even though I think his reasoning is wrong.) I will Vote For on World of Spice and Wolf. And I will put out the first of what should be a handful more nominations today: Glie Series: Haibane Renmei Magic/Technology Base: Equivalent to early 20th century with mild supernatural elements. Important Locations: Old Home, Abandoned Factory (homes to different groups of Haibane) Important Groups/Races: Haibane (whether or not they're technically a separate race is unclear, but they're unquestionably a separate group), Haibane Renmei (organization which oversees the Haibane), Toga (see below), thrift shop Description: Much about the setting and purpose of Glie is left more to implication than definitive description. What is known for certain is that Glie is a town in an early 20th century European style which, along with its immediately surrounding lands, is surrounded by a massive wall. Neither its normal human population nor its Haibane (humans with vestigial wings on their backs who emerge full-grown from large cocoons and are treated specially) are allowed to pass beyond these massive walls - only the silent, masked traders called the Toga can - and approaching or especially touching the wall can have nasty side effects on any Haibane who tries. (The interior of the wall is also shown late in the series to be a very interesting place.) The Haibane, who typically remember none of their lives from before emerging from their cocoons, live at either Old Home or Abandoned Factory under stringent rules: they cannot live in anyplace new, they cannot wear or use anything new (hence the thrift shop being a crucial location), they cannot handle actual money (hence they operate entirely on credit), and older ones must work at some job. They are not allowed to talk directly to the Toga or Renmei without permission, either. The Haibane exist for years until achieving conditions necessary for a Day of Flight (implied to involve coming to peace with one's past), at which point they disappear. The series implies that those who never achieve those conditions become the Renmei, but that is never absolutely confirmed. What Makes This World-Building Great: Despite remaining deliberately vague on a lot of points - such as whether or not the whole setting is some kind of Purgatory, whether or not the Haibane are an afterlife existence, and how the Haibane children fit into this - the bulk of the series is nonetheless devoted to exploring each aspect of this curious little world. It strikes just the right balance of mysterious and fascinating. Image Links: town shot |
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getchman
 He started itPosts: 9134 Location: New Hampshire |
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Key, would you like me to rewrite the setting description for Horizon so it doesn't look like a detailed back story?
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Yeah, I'd like to see a second attempt at it. Even though I hated the series (and so won't be voting in support of it), I definitely think the setting had enough interesting things going on that it deserves to be here. Arguments I've had with others about how much sense the series does or doesn't make are why I'm getting picky on the "revealed in the anime or not" content there.
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getchman
He started it Posts: 9134 Location: New Hampshire |
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ok, so should I repost, or just edit?
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cyberdraco
Posts: 643 |
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Supporting
World of Slayers World of Birdy the Mighty: Decode World of Pokemon Last edited by cyberdraco on Mon Jul 01, 2013 3:16 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Olliff
Posts: 550 |
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Wanted to clarify that most of my votes against are what I would consider very weak nominations. It is not enough for a series to have a setting to be a good candidate for this tournament. Dedication and focus must be placed on developing the setting for a nomination to be solid. A setting with interesting concepts alone is insufficient if these concepts and the setting itself is not adequately fleshed out. The wold development for ALO was lacking even compared to the development provided to the first world, Aincard. To say the arc failed only due to the setting isn't true, but the less immersive setting did cause the second arc to be less effective and interesting. How interesting can a world be when we know so little about it? I would also like to remind you that setting development is one of the key evaluation criteria for this tournament. The lack of world building is so severe that we know next to nothing about the main character's race, locations apart from one or two, and the other races existence and conflicts are largely ignored. This becomes a more apparent problem during the scene where Kirito bluffs the Salamanders. He mentioned several basic things about the world us as viewers knew nothing or next to nothing about, such as major races and their conflicts. The final nail in the coffin is that this world's arc only has nine episodes and one of the main plots/goals is to save a girl from the last the world's arc. This focus is clear by Kirito's lack of willingness to explore and immerse himself in the full potential of the world; he is too distracted by his desire to save someone who was developed in the show's previous world.
Based on Key's response, I have tempered my argument against ALO to reflect that the underdeveloped setting caused the arc to be less immersive, intense, and effective than the first arc. I believe this is a more fair assessment than claiming its the reason why the entire arc failed, which can be largely attributed to other factors as well. It is also fair to claim that it is debatable to argue if the arc even failed in the first place. I also made some minor edits, corrections and improvement to my guide entry. Voting for Glie Last edited by Olliff on Sun Jun 30, 2013 11:38 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18458 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Just editing the original post is fine, though perhaps make a new post to mention when you did it. And Olliff: Yeah, that's pretty much what you said the first time around, and while you have a couple of valid points, I still don't agree at all that the setting is so underdeveloped as to not deserve to be in the tournament.
So what? That's going on in addition to what's described in the world. You could make that argument about just about every setting where the story doesn't primarily focus on the setting. (Spice and Wolf, for instance.) And "only nine episodes?" Please. Nine episodes is plenty enough time to set up that setting.
Again, so what? This criticism can be used against many of the other nominees to date. Sorry, but I'm not buying the "it's a weak candidate because it doesn't explore/embrace the setting as fully as it could" line of reasoning. By that logic you might as well also Vote Against on the Haibane Renmei setting, as even though it spends a lot of time on its world-building, it doesn't go anywhere near as far as it could. Hell, you could use that same argument against 12k, since several of its kingdoms are completely undefined. And yes, I know that's a silly extreme to take this point to, but that's how thin a justification I see this as being. Basically, my question is this: How deeply do you want to start nitpicking at this stage? If we had a couple hundred nominees and were trying to whittle the field down, that would be one thing, but if we're going to be this picky at this stage then I'm going to drastically cut back on settings that I was considering nominating and only bring up ones that have seed-level merit. Because that's the direction these objections seem to be going. |
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Olliff
Posts: 550 |
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I think the main difference between the examples you are giving and the case with ALO is that ALO's lack of world development hinders the coherency of certain scenes. There were several times as viewer that I knew so little about the world I felt left in the dark when all of these major groups and events are mentioned out of nowhere with no context. It is fine if things are explained later, but they are not. Additionally, the underdeveloped nature is more glaringly obvious when the setting from the previous arc was substantially more developed and immersive.
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