(no subject)
So I finished Origins and now I'm playing Dragon Age II. (I'm a completist, I can't just skip to Inquisition, so I will be playing all of them. I played ALL of the DLC in Origins too. Also, my brother gave me all of Mass Effect for my birthday. HELP. There is a reason I have spent years only playing Halo. That reason is my time-management skills, or lack thereof).
ANYWAY. I love the games but I'm still kind of fascinated by how fic in those fandoms works. I need to actually read some instead of just wondering about it, but, like, I was talking to a gamer friend (non-fannish) and explaining to her about how there is DA fic, and she said that with DA:II at least you're always Hawke, so maybe it's more of a shared experience? And I hadn't played it yet, so I was like, "yeah, maybe." But now I am playing it, and okay, maybe it's easier in some ways, because you have fewer choices than in Origins (and Inquisition?), but also the family relationships are so central to who your character is in the game and the choices Hawke makes.
As Hawke, you are EITHER:
Raised in hiding so that you and your younger sister Bethany, who both inherited your mage father's powers, aren't taken by the templars. You're the most powerful, and Bethany looks up to you, but your twin brother Carver (a few minutes younger, so you're always referred to as the older sibling) resents you, because he was born without powers, and protecting you and Bethany has shaped his entire life.
When the darkspawn attack Lothering, you flee with your family, but on the road out, an ogre kills Bethany right in front of you. With Carver, your mother and a few other companions, you make it to Kirkwall, where you have to sneak in by indebting yourself to smugglers for a year. You make a name for yourself in the world of smugglers and thieves, but eventually know you will have to leave to avoid the templars finding you. Carver stays with you, still reluctant and somewhat resentful at living in your shadow, but still your closest companion...
OR:
You and your siblings were raised in hiding to protect your younger sister Bethany, who inherited your mage father's powers. Neither you nor your twin brother Carver have powers, but you feel like your entire lives have been shaped by magic anyway, so much secrecy, everything turning on protecting your father and Bethany. You feel the weight of it, especially once your father is gone; as the oldest, it's your responsibility to make sure Bethany stays safe.
When the darkspawn attack Lothering, you flee with your family, but on the road out, an ogre kills Carver right in front of you. With Bethany, your mother and a few other companions you make ti to Kirkwall, where you have to sneak in by indebting yourself to smugglers for a year. You make a name for yourself in the world of smugglers and thieves, but eventually know you have to get Bethany out of Kirkwall before the templars discover her...
For plot purposes, not that different. For fic purposes, COMPLETELY different characterizations/motivations/baggage, even more so depending on whether Hawke is male or female. I guess for fic people just differentiate Male Mage Hawke/Female Mage Hawle/Male Warrior(or Rogue) Hawke/Female Warrior (or Rogue) Hawke and then you get a sense of which characterization you're getting? I think it's fascinating actually, and really cool that video games have an active fandom. But it does seem like a very different kind of shared narrative.
Anyway, I'm going to check out the fic, which will tell me the answers to these questions! I'm just typing/thinking out loud.
***
In other news, some grad school friends and I have a Bad Book Club (which is really more for "trashy" books I guess, they haven't all been bad though some have), for which we are currently reading After. I have academic and fannish thoughts, like I have those same thoughts about 50 Shades of Grey, but I also have pragmatic thoughts, like "what is the best way to identify what text I should write a massive, mediocre Mary Sue AU about to get a six-figure book deal?" I feel like step one is learn how to use Tumblr. I'm working on that.
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ANYWAY. I love the games but I'm still kind of fascinated by how fic in those fandoms works. I need to actually read some instead of just wondering about it, but, like, I was talking to a gamer friend (non-fannish) and explaining to her about how there is DA fic, and she said that with DA:II at least you're always Hawke, so maybe it's more of a shared experience? And I hadn't played it yet, so I was like, "yeah, maybe." But now I am playing it, and okay, maybe it's easier in some ways, because you have fewer choices than in Origins (and Inquisition?), but also the family relationships are so central to who your character is in the game and the choices Hawke makes.
As Hawke, you are EITHER:
Raised in hiding so that you and your younger sister Bethany, who both inherited your mage father's powers, aren't taken by the templars. You're the most powerful, and Bethany looks up to you, but your twin brother Carver (a few minutes younger, so you're always referred to as the older sibling) resents you, because he was born without powers, and protecting you and Bethany has shaped his entire life.
When the darkspawn attack Lothering, you flee with your family, but on the road out, an ogre kills Bethany right in front of you. With Carver, your mother and a few other companions, you make it to Kirkwall, where you have to sneak in by indebting yourself to smugglers for a year. You make a name for yourself in the world of smugglers and thieves, but eventually know you will have to leave to avoid the templars finding you. Carver stays with you, still reluctant and somewhat resentful at living in your shadow, but still your closest companion...
OR:
You and your siblings were raised in hiding to protect your younger sister Bethany, who inherited your mage father's powers. Neither you nor your twin brother Carver have powers, but you feel like your entire lives have been shaped by magic anyway, so much secrecy, everything turning on protecting your father and Bethany. You feel the weight of it, especially once your father is gone; as the oldest, it's your responsibility to make sure Bethany stays safe.
When the darkspawn attack Lothering, you flee with your family, but on the road out, an ogre kills Carver right in front of you. With Bethany, your mother and a few other companions you make ti to Kirkwall, where you have to sneak in by indebting yourself to smugglers for a year. You make a name for yourself in the world of smugglers and thieves, but eventually know you have to get Bethany out of Kirkwall before the templars discover her...
For plot purposes, not that different. For fic purposes, COMPLETELY different characterizations/motivations/baggage, even more so depending on whether Hawke is male or female. I guess for fic people just differentiate Male Mage Hawke/Female Mage Hawle/Male Warrior(or Rogue) Hawke/Female Warrior (or Rogue) Hawke and then you get a sense of which characterization you're getting? I think it's fascinating actually, and really cool that video games have an active fandom. But it does seem like a very different kind of shared narrative.
Anyway, I'm going to check out the fic, which will tell me the answers to these questions! I'm just typing/thinking out loud.
***
In other news, some grad school friends and I have a Bad Book Club (which is really more for "trashy" books I guess, they haven't all been bad though some have), for which we are currently reading After. I have academic and fannish thoughts, like I have those same thoughts about 50 Shades of Grey, but I also have pragmatic thoughts, like "what is the best way to identify what text I should write a massive, mediocre Mary Sue AU about to get a six-figure book deal?" I feel like step one is learn how to use Tumblr. I'm working on that.
comments at Dreamwidth | Comment at Dreamwidth