Thunderbird wrote: |
When I encounter meta-dps as a player, I often feel like the author is cheating, trying to just get through a spot where their imagination has somehow failed them.
But it isn't always this way. I do feel there are some points where meta-dps are appropriate. On occasion, if your story has a nice degree of variance, you may not always have a good spot to end a chapter with the character (or any character in the tale for that matter) to make a decision. At a point like this, a meta-dp may become necessary. For these moments, the DP should still be one that does not involve 'what happens next' but rather should allow the audience to craft their preferences on story direction in a more unique manner. |
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I have a return question to ask IFians however, that has been sparked by this discussion... How do you feel about not limiting DPs to just one character in the story? In HM, I have often had DPs for other characters aside from Walt and I've been wondering if this somehow throws the audience's perception of immersion into the tale AS a participant. I do try to limit the list of characters I'm willing to give DPs to, but many SGs maintain the DPs under one character all the way throughout. Is this preferable to the audience? |
Thunderbird wrote: |
It tends to indicate, to me, that the author doesn't know, or care, where the story is heading and doesn't have a clear perspective on their plot. |
PopeAlessandrosXVIII wrote: |
Given the example "Sneezeing a dragon to death." Could you imagine taking that seriously and making work for a story? Sounds like the kind of challenge I'd love to take on. Sounds like somthing not many people could take on without it turning out as a flop, or a scape goat. |
PopeAlessandrosXVIII wrote: |
Reading here words about Metas being "Lazy", or disregarding them in a few sentances, or "Giving the player the illusion of power", and "like the author is cheating, trying to just get through a spot where their imagination has somehow failed them." All those things really hurt. |
Vishal Muralidharan wrote: |
It would make the whole process extremely drab and painful. And I wouldn't want that to change the way I feel about writing, and ultimately affect everything I write about.
Meta-dps can provide a grat challenge, but I wouldn't take the risk of beginning to hate writing. Thats all. |
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Murder and cannabalize Shait, then wear his intestines for a necklace.
The whole building turns into a friendly purple dinosaur. The main character turns into a chicken and starts eating worms. The belts recreates the universe into one where every desire is instantly fulfilled. |
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I can understand this position in a very real way, like I said earlier sometimes any decision point - whether it be meta or not - can change and guide a story in a way that just feels wrong as the author. It was a situation like this that forced Resio and I to pull Thorns & Steel off as a sg and just finish it as a novel in itself. With that said as we all know an sg is an entirely different beast. In my opinion if you decide to write an sg you already have to come to realize that you will be losing an aspect of control. True it can be said that you can limit how much you relinquish but in the end you will have to give some away. As it has been said before meta's just multiply that loss of control, sometimes in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way. And not that I use meta's in any amount that could be even considered occasional, if your going to lose some control in your sg - why not every now and then challenge yourself and lose it all. (Disclaimer -- in no way does stating this opinion mean that I will now begin to use meta's more often in my own sg's. |
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