Comments on: A Message From the Author

By: Max Battcher

Max Battcher — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:29:04 +0000

@Rikard: For as much as I respect OSC for some of his novels, I seem to have just about as much disregard for his opinion pieces. Your link is a particular case in point. His near immediate association of fan fiction and litigation is a sign that sometimes OSC is the big bully in the cultural sandbox that gets angry when people want to play with his toys… He might not be “wrong”, but he certainly isn’t “right” either. (To some extent he’s become his own worst fan fiction writer, which makes things even weirder/sadder.)

Some people need the discipline of playing within other people’s rule systems before they can strive to create their own rule systems effectively. Not everyone can run before walking.

As for Spore: there certainly exists no/few known ways to do procedural sandbox without some sort of common aesthetic, because the base attributes from which things are built from are from a common core group of artists. I don’t think shared aesthetic is necessarily equivalent to authorial intent, however.

By: Rikard

Rikard — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:28:58 +0000

One thought that came to my mind when reading this (it may not be completely relevant, but I find it interesting) is this: Look at Spore. It’s a game talked about much for its sandboxyness. (I haven’t played it myself yet.) Look at Spore, and despite all the talk about user generated and procedural content, it still has a distinct style forced by the game. I think that’s a good thing.

Regarding fan fiction: “The time to write fan fiction is “never.”" – Orson Scott Card
( http://www.hatrack.com/research/questions/q0121.shtml )
Ok, that’s a bit harsh, but if you read it in context, you’ll understand his point (even if you may not agree). I find the last part particularly interesting: “the “experience” you gain is worthless, since you steal precisely those story elements that you must invent for yourself in order to learn how to create workable original fiction.”

By: The Management

The Management — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:49:07 +0000

Well, I don’t intend for my views to be The Gospel Truth™ or anything like that. I can accept that creating user-generated content can be a worthwhile effort for many people, and it’s not like I’m calling for it to be abolished. What I really meant to say was that it’s something I don’t find personally appealing, given that I have the means and the motivation to create things I have greater control over.

I have, however, been known to enjoy a good parody now and again.

By: Max Battcher

Max Battcher — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:33:58 +0000

I think you are just a tiny bit harsh on UGC in your first footnote. At least in the case of fan fiction it can serve as a gentle entry point to deeper writing (often there is an already baked community to critique and teach and uplift young talent). It saves (particularly for a Sci-Fi/Fantasy aspiring writer) complicated juggling acts like world building for when the writer has the skills to best explore it. It’s a shame those big franchises that frown upon it, because it can often lead to some of the best writers in that franchise… (Sure fans also produce a lot of drek fiction, particularly as you edge towards the more ero-fiction, but that’s no crime.)

The line between real and virtual is entirely fuzzy and sometimes arbitrary. The skills to build interesting structures in Legos are similar skills that are useful in sculpture and architecture. Any creative effort can be “worth it” in the long run.