I did a rather dumb thing last night and went ahead and finished Star Ocean 4 when I really just should have gone to bed. Hurray for seemingly endless dungeons with a derth of save points. (Isn't the save point mechanic one of the worst things to come out of the consoles...ever?)
So, I really don't have a lot to say about the game. I liked it, but for the most part there isn't much really to say about it. The game's story was haphazard, and towards the end got needlessly talky and rather out there in regards to plot. I generally liked the characters, with some caveats.
Edge was OK, until he turned all emo.
Reimi was OK, but too passive and unsure of herself. Still there were some pretty funny scenes with her. Very powerful in combat.
Lymle sucked, 'kay?
Faize was a bland annoying twit. There was so much they could have done with this character too, but they didn't.
Myuria, the hot red head elf chick. Was devistatingly powerful in combat and otherwise a total man-slut who had no real purpose in the game.
Arumant...Faize's replacement, and he isn't really all that better of a character.
Sarah...wtf don't even get me started.
Bacchus is fairly cool. Not very important story wise, but he's got a very good mix of abilities and was fun to use in combat
Hmm, ok, maybe I didn't really like the characters so much. Still Reimi, Myuria, and Baccus were fairly cool.
As I write this, I'm actually having a hard time describing -why- I liked it. And that sounds like a back-handed insult to the game, but it's really not that bad. It has a fun combat system, and lots of stuff to find and explore. It has a central mystery that the game ignores for large parts of the game, and a general plot revelation that is quite out of left field even though it is also completely telegraphed.
I spent a lot of effort trying to get all of the endings, and was completely disappointed with every one of them. But it also means that I pretty much saw everything there was to see in the game in regards to story. Though I did skip some end-game quests and chests, mostly because by that point I was just ready to be done with the game.
I never messed much with item crafting, or synthesis. Not doing so did not really affect the game. Due to some farming I did, I was way overpowered in regards to level compared to what the game expected (I entered the last dungeon at level 92)...it was so easy to get a 120% xp bonus and chain it for hours that near the end I was regularly getting 20-30k xps per fight.
One other thing...what was up with group SPs? I couldn't figure out how to spend them, and by the end of the game had close to 20,000. During the discovery process I maybe used 200 total? Were SPs used in Item Synthesis maybe?
Ahem, anyway...
The main draw of the game was the more action-oriented combat system, which was more complex and engaging that a lot of other RPGs, without bogging it down and making it too slow. Fights could be completely pretty quickly, especially if you slightly out-leveled the content (and it was very easy to stay ahead of the curve). It actually may have been TOO fast, as combats typically didn't require much character switching.
To me, the combat system HEAVILY favored the ranged characters. Which is why I generally used Reimi, and then later Myuria and Bacchus; all of which are very good at ranged combat (so is Lymle, but I couldn't stand her, 'kay?'). Considering that it was easily to have your bonus board broken when using melee, the game actually punished being melee. I'm not saying that melee characters weren't powerful in the game--they were...but ranged gave more options, more control, and was generally safer.
So, thinking about it, I'm going to give the game a B-. The game had a solid and fun combat system. There was a lot of interesting exploration possible in the game. And the story was ok, if bland and fragmented it was at least not offensive (except Edge's Emo stint). And while the characters themselves didn't really appeal to me, only Faize and Lymle were actively disliked. The others just didn't add much to the story, which admittedly had a hard time coming to a point in the first place.
The general suckiness of the 'secret' hidden endings though, really disappointed me. Considering how many cut scenes were in the game and how much pointless exposition was wasted, I was really expecting more than a few 1 minute shorts regarding the fates of each character. But, oh well.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Star Ocean
Well, with my sister and her family in town I didn't get a lot of play time it (or more specifically more video game play time). But I did get to spend some more time with SO4.
I've been back into playing some console games, but SO4 was the first JRPG I've played in a while. Playing it right after Fable 2 really shows the difference in contrast between what is essentially a traditional JRPG and other different RPGs out there.
I wasn't sure how far into the game I was, but now I know...I'm pretty close to the end. Sure there are a bunch of side quests, and item creation quests to do--but I'm probably going to skip those. I've used a game guide for parts of the game, mostly because I didn't want to miss out on any of the endings--I don't have any intention of playing this game again anytime soon (hell, I'm lucky to have had enough time to play through it once and I still have a ton of new games to get through).
Like many JRPGs, the story takes center stage--but the story in SO4 is very fractured and random. In fact the best way to describe it is: Humanity begins exploring space. Random Shit Happens(TM). More Random Shit Happens (TM). Arch demon? WTF? UNIVERSE ENDING DUE TO RANDOM SHIT! AAHHHHHHHH
More seriously, the basic plot involves some form of extra-dimensional non-living entity using dark crystals to mutate life to make it easier for it to absorb the life-energy of other races, so it can use this energy to reform the Universe to it's own liking. Or something like that. Though half of the story really doesn't have anything to do with this. There's also a journey to an alternate dimension which serves as a major plot device involving the main character turning Emo for the next, and by far the largest segment of the game involving some Archfiend's return that doesn't have anything to do with the main plot at all.
So, for the most part, the story isn't the strong suit of this game. The characters themselves aren't too bad, except for Lymle, k? Her feature is to follow everything she says with k, k?
Despite the lackluster story, the game has been a lot of fun and I've clocked way to many hours in it. Current time listed in 70, though I'd say at least 30 of this involved me being idle and away from the console because I forgot to turn it off. :) So I'd say it's a pretty average length JRPG that can be completed in about 40 or 50 hours or so.
I might have some more specific thoughts about the game after I finish it, but right now I'm still wondering how it's going to end. It seems pretty obvious, but we'll see. Surprisingly, I've mostly liked the characters (except Lymle, and Faize), so I'm interesting to see how it turns out.
I also picked up a couple of movies this weekend, but I didn't get a chance to watch them yet: Push, and Knowing. I haven't heard much good about Push; Knowing is supposed to be good, but I'm not sure that I'll like it or not.
Either way, hopefully I'll get at least a little free time this week.
I've been back into playing some console games, but SO4 was the first JRPG I've played in a while. Playing it right after Fable 2 really shows the difference in contrast between what is essentially a traditional JRPG and other different RPGs out there.
I wasn't sure how far into the game I was, but now I know...I'm pretty close to the end. Sure there are a bunch of side quests, and item creation quests to do--but I'm probably going to skip those. I've used a game guide for parts of the game, mostly because I didn't want to miss out on any of the endings--I don't have any intention of playing this game again anytime soon (hell, I'm lucky to have had enough time to play through it once and I still have a ton of new games to get through).
Like many JRPGs, the story takes center stage--but the story in SO4 is very fractured and random. In fact the best way to describe it is: Humanity begins exploring space. Random Shit Happens(TM). More Random Shit Happens (TM). Arch demon? WTF? UNIVERSE ENDING DUE TO RANDOM SHIT! AAHHHHHHHH
More seriously, the basic plot involves some form of extra-dimensional non-living entity using dark crystals to mutate life to make it easier for it to absorb the life-energy of other races, so it can use this energy to reform the Universe to it's own liking. Or something like that. Though half of the story really doesn't have anything to do with this. There's also a journey to an alternate dimension which serves as a major plot device involving the main character turning Emo for the next, and by far the largest segment of the game involving some Archfiend's return that doesn't have anything to do with the main plot at all.
So, for the most part, the story isn't the strong suit of this game. The characters themselves aren't too bad, except for Lymle, k? Her feature is to follow everything she says with k, k?
Despite the lackluster story, the game has been a lot of fun and I've clocked way to many hours in it. Current time listed in 70, though I'd say at least 30 of this involved me being idle and away from the console because I forgot to turn it off. :) So I'd say it's a pretty average length JRPG that can be completed in about 40 or 50 hours or so.
I might have some more specific thoughts about the game after I finish it, but right now I'm still wondering how it's going to end. It seems pretty obvious, but we'll see. Surprisingly, I've mostly liked the characters (except Lymle, and Faize), so I'm interesting to see how it turns out.
I also picked up a couple of movies this weekend, but I didn't get a chance to watch them yet: Push, and Knowing. I haven't heard much good about Push; Knowing is supposed to be good, but I'm not sure that I'll like it or not.
Either way, hopefully I'll get at least a little free time this week.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
So Typed? Or Cut-and-Paste! You be the judge.
I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job! I am happy and fulfilled in my well paying job!
This place gives me a headache.
This place gives me a headache.
Too Many Games!
I have a confession to make. Over the last year, I've purchased quite a few Xbox 360 and PS3 games which I've had every intention in playing but time constraints have been taking their toll. Many of these games have been sitting on my shelf for months. WOW really does take up a lot of my gaming-time...even when I'm just raiding. I have been working through them however, though I admit I've been taking a more casual approach (little side-questing, etc).
This list includes:
Resistance 2
Killzone 2
Fable 2
infamous
Infinite Undiscovery
Call of Duty 4
Call of Duty 5
The Last Remnant
Golden Axe
Mirror's Edge
Fear 2
Prince of Persia
Lost Odyssey
Halo Wars
Valkyria Chronicles
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Blue Dragon
Ghostbusters (which I just bought)
...and probably a few other games I can't remember off the top of my head.
Even typing that...that's a pretty long list. Just for the fun of it, here's some impressions of the game's at at least played for more than a few minutes (even if I haven't beaten them yet).
Call of Duty 4 | Fun, but very short short. I think I completed the main storyline in 2 evenings. Very stylish in how it portrays a modern firefight. This was my first Call of Duty game, and it gave me an impression about the series that turned out to not be very true.
Call of Duty 5 | Not so fun. Was generally put off by the game and the lack of a coherent story behind the characters which made some of the big, um, emotional sequences and victories portrayed that much more meaningless. From what I've been told, COD5 is the norm for the series, while 4 was the exception. Oh well.
Golden Axe | Hated it. Got about half way through before I just couldn't stand it anymore. The game literally made my hand cramp up, it took so much damned button mashing to kill even simple mobs. If that weren't bad enough, the monsters came in waves, and waves, waves...the same monsters, the same pack composition; every time you moved forward to the next room/area. It was so repetitive, and took so much mindless button mashing that I eventually couldn't take it anymore. I mean God of War is repetitive...but at least it varies up the monsters and lets you kill them quickly before moving on to the next pack.
Halo Wars | Was better than I expected. Actually it was pretty fun. It was short, though, but I didn't mind it so much due to the rather limited nature of RTS games in general. Not a big Halo fan, but the game itself wasn't so bad.
Mirror's Edge | Hated it. But I will admit that despite the fact that I hated it, I stuck with it until the bitter end. Which made me hate it even more. Recommended only for masochists. For added fun, play the game while sitting on hot nails, and clipping electrified wires to your nipple piercings.
Prince of Persia | Loved it. Loved it besides the glaring game play flaws. I didn't mind the fact that all of the fights were essentially boss battles...but having to re fight the same 4 bosses 4 (or was it 5) times each really hurt the experience. However, I loved how the AI girl companion was integrated into the story and the game play; this is the first time in a game like that where the mechanic wasn't a liability to the game. It really made up for the bad parts IMO.
Killzone 2 | Never played the original. I thought the game was ok; generally hated the controls which made it hard to aim and run&gun well. Sloppy (and probably more realistic) controls are fine...with more realistic damage effects. But in a game where it could take an entire clip to kill an enemy soldier at point blank range...with the gun going everywhere...just didn't work very well and was more frustrating than anything.
Lost Odyssey | Really liked it, until the little kids joined the party and then the game just got weird. Still the main (adult) characters were interesting, and as a whole the game had some interesting moments. But I never actually finished it (though I think I made it near the end). Real life interceded, and then I ended up letting someone borrow that 360...and then let him keep it as a gift. So at this point, I'd have to replay it from scratch since I no longer have the same 360. I will probably go back to it as some point just to see how it ends, but that'll be a while yet.
Fable 2 | Just played this one more recently. I'd never played the original. I'd heard some good things about this game. But honestly, I thought it was only 'ok' at best. I hated the way the game punished you severely for playing good (which I did), and the way in which a simple accidental button press could send people running for cover in town and have the guards show up. After the main tower sequence, getting THE MAGE, I gave up on trying to enjoy the game and do all of the side quests and just pushed through to complete it as soon as possible.
Valkyria Chronicles | Something I tried a while back, but shit came up so I didn't get very far. The game seemed ok, at some points good even, but there were things that just held the whole game back. The story book nature of the 'story' is an interesting concept, which doesn't really work well on paper. And the game's combat system had some odd quirks which were really starting to annoy me. Hopefully I'll get back to it again sometime.
Fear 2 | I think I'm getting sick of FPSes. Fear 2 was OK; and was at least a bit more dynamic than the original. And once again, the motivations of the bad guys, and the undead chick for that matter, are beyond stupid. But it wasn't just the inane story telling. Even early in the game, I was just...wanting...it...to...end, and as each level went on and on I just kept feeling frustrated that the game wasn't over yet. Certainly not a good sign. But right now I'm not sure if this is because of a change in my tastes, or terrible level design.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope | This is what I'm playing now. I'll probably put up a review of it when I'm done. So far I'm digging it, even if the plot was devised by a 13 year old schizo with strange fascination with little girls and young romance. I'm just to the 3rd disk (of 3), but the second disk really didn't last very long (the first disk was at least 2 times longer game-wise than the second) so I don't know how much is left exactly. Still, I'm enjoying the game and am looking at finishing it in the next few weeks.
Whew. So that means I still have a few games left.
Ghostbusters
Infinite Undiscovery
Resistance 2
The Last Remnant
infamous
Blue Dragon
This list includes:
Resistance 2
Killzone 2
Fable 2
infamous
Infinite Undiscovery
Call of Duty 4
Call of Duty 5
The Last Remnant
Golden Axe
Mirror's Edge
Fear 2
Prince of Persia
Lost Odyssey
Halo Wars
Valkyria Chronicles
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Blue Dragon
Ghostbusters (which I just bought)
...and probably a few other games I can't remember off the top of my head.
Even typing that...that's a pretty long list. Just for the fun of it, here's some impressions of the game's at at least played for more than a few minutes (even if I haven't beaten them yet).
Call of Duty 4 | Fun, but very short short. I think I completed the main storyline in 2 evenings. Very stylish in how it portrays a modern firefight. This was my first Call of Duty game, and it gave me an impression about the series that turned out to not be very true.
Call of Duty 5 | Not so fun. Was generally put off by the game and the lack of a coherent story behind the characters which made some of the big, um, emotional sequences and victories portrayed that much more meaningless. From what I've been told, COD5 is the norm for the series, while 4 was the exception. Oh well.
Golden Axe | Hated it. Got about half way through before I just couldn't stand it anymore. The game literally made my hand cramp up, it took so much damned button mashing to kill even simple mobs. If that weren't bad enough, the monsters came in waves, and waves, waves...the same monsters, the same pack composition; every time you moved forward to the next room/area. It was so repetitive, and took so much mindless button mashing that I eventually couldn't take it anymore. I mean God of War is repetitive...but at least it varies up the monsters and lets you kill them quickly before moving on to the next pack.
Halo Wars | Was better than I expected. Actually it was pretty fun. It was short, though, but I didn't mind it so much due to the rather limited nature of RTS games in general. Not a big Halo fan, but the game itself wasn't so bad.
Mirror's Edge | Hated it. But I will admit that despite the fact that I hated it, I stuck with it until the bitter end. Which made me hate it even more. Recommended only for masochists. For added fun, play the game while sitting on hot nails, and clipping electrified wires to your nipple piercings.
Prince of Persia | Loved it. Loved it besides the glaring game play flaws. I didn't mind the fact that all of the fights were essentially boss battles...but having to re fight the same 4 bosses 4 (or was it 5) times each really hurt the experience. However, I loved how the AI girl companion was integrated into the story and the game play; this is the first time in a game like that where the mechanic wasn't a liability to the game. It really made up for the bad parts IMO.
Killzone 2 | Never played the original. I thought the game was ok; generally hated the controls which made it hard to aim and run&gun well. Sloppy (and probably more realistic) controls are fine...with more realistic damage effects. But in a game where it could take an entire clip to kill an enemy soldier at point blank range...with the gun going everywhere...just didn't work very well and was more frustrating than anything.
Lost Odyssey | Really liked it, until the little kids joined the party and then the game just got weird. Still the main (adult) characters were interesting, and as a whole the game had some interesting moments. But I never actually finished it (though I think I made it near the end). Real life interceded, and then I ended up letting someone borrow that 360...and then let him keep it as a gift. So at this point, I'd have to replay it from scratch since I no longer have the same 360. I will probably go back to it as some point just to see how it ends, but that'll be a while yet.
Fable 2 | Just played this one more recently. I'd never played the original. I'd heard some good things about this game. But honestly, I thought it was only 'ok' at best. I hated the way the game punished you severely for playing good (which I did), and the way in which a simple accidental button press could send people running for cover in town and have the guards show up. After the main tower sequence, getting THE MAGE, I gave up on trying to enjoy the game and do all of the side quests and just pushed through to complete it as soon as possible.
Valkyria Chronicles | Something I tried a while back, but shit came up so I didn't get very far. The game seemed ok, at some points good even, but there were things that just held the whole game back. The story book nature of the 'story' is an interesting concept, which doesn't really work well on paper. And the game's combat system had some odd quirks which were really starting to annoy me. Hopefully I'll get back to it again sometime.
Fear 2 | I think I'm getting sick of FPSes. Fear 2 was OK; and was at least a bit more dynamic than the original. And once again, the motivations of the bad guys, and the undead chick for that matter, are beyond stupid. But it wasn't just the inane story telling. Even early in the game, I was just...wanting...it...to...end, and as each level went on and on I just kept feeling frustrated that the game wasn't over yet. Certainly not a good sign. But right now I'm not sure if this is because of a change in my tastes, or terrible level design.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope | This is what I'm playing now. I'll probably put up a review of it when I'm done. So far I'm digging it, even if the plot was devised by a 13 year old schizo with strange fascination with little girls and young romance. I'm just to the 3rd disk (of 3), but the second disk really didn't last very long (the first disk was at least 2 times longer game-wise than the second) so I don't know how much is left exactly. Still, I'm enjoying the game and am looking at finishing it in the next few weeks.
Whew. So that means I still have a few games left.
Ghostbusters
Infinite Undiscovery
Resistance 2
The Last Remnant
infamous
Blue Dragon
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
You know, when I origionally created this blog I did it for several reasons. The first was simply curiousity. I don't really have all that much interest in 'putting myself out there' in the world. Nor do I really have the time, the inclination, or the idea of how to create a successful blog viewed by thousands of people.
It's a good thing too, since to date this blog has not been viewed by a single person other than me. Not one! Not that I'm upset or anything. Probably more relieved, actually.
The second reason I did it was to try to soften up my writing, which to me feels very stiff and unfriendly. Vanilla. Uninspired. Boring. I find that oftentimes when I'm imagining something in my head, there is a lot more flourish and flavor to my thinking which simply doesn't translate to what makes it past the keyboard. It's my hands, really. They are just too damned plain and dull and disinterested in anything other than switching letters around and making me look illiterate.
Did I mention that no one ever looks at this thing?
There were, however, a few things that I did NOT want this blog to be. I didn't want it to be about WOW, or any specific thing really (despite the name). I also didn't really want it to be a personal, online diary about my life (though my sister just had twins, yay!). I just wanted to do it to write about things I wanted, when I wanted to write them, and damned any internal consistancy. This was more of a practice for me than anything.
Yet lately I've really been having the itch to write something serious again. Something that hasn't happened in years. I'm getting bored again in life, I know, and writing is an outlet for me that I rarely take advantage of anymore.
I have a confession to make (ahem!). At one point in my life I wanted to be a professional writer. Now, even back then I didn't really think I had the chops for it. I'm very hard on myself, especially on my writing. And I know I'm not very good at it.
I need practice. Serious practice, not just on writing itself, but on HOW to write; how to make a sentence or paragraph not only readable, but fun to read. Because often that is what is missing in my rather stiff writing...the fun!
A long time ago (has it really been ten years now?), I made an attempt at writing a book. I think it was a rather good attempt at the time, but in hindsight the book simply doesn't work even if I still like the concept even to this day. It had all of the elements I was interested in. Travel to other worlds. The clashing of diffent cultures. Mysterious characters with questionable more objectives. And a real sense by the end of the book of having to question who was was the good guys, and who were the real bad guys.
By the time I was done with it, there was no real resolution to the plot (the book was intended to be part 1 of 2). And the story itself deviated from my origional outline about half way through. I really did start writing itself, something I've heard happens to other writers, and experiencing it myself really made me feel excited at the time. But, because of that there were also quite a few inconsistancies that cropped up in the story. Including main characters and plots that never intersected. Characters living that were supposed to die. Others dying that were supposed to live. A major plot change which added like 10 chapters to the book and completely changed the ending. And a major betrayal at the end which seemed to perfectly fit where the story was going; but hadn't origionally been planned for and left me completely stumped on how to continue it to the second book.
If I restarted that today, I know I'd go about it in a different way. But, do I really want to? I mean, I want to write again. But where, and in what format. And how do I deal with the fact that in 10 years, my writing style has actually declined since then, not improved like I would have wanted? Not to mention the fact that, do I really have time to do something like that again right now? That one story took me an entire summer to write (4 months, often spending at least 8 hours each day on it).
Maybe I'd do better writing something entirely different? I have a few ideas, some of them more fleshed out than others. And I've been spending a lot of time lately designing a world-setting for a character concept I had...but while I like the premise (future humanity / post holocaust, mad max + blade runner + star trek style setting)...but what do I really want to do?
And that's the problem. I really don't know.
It's a good thing too, since to date this blog has not been viewed by a single person other than me. Not one! Not that I'm upset or anything. Probably more relieved, actually.
The second reason I did it was to try to soften up my writing, which to me feels very stiff and unfriendly. Vanilla. Uninspired. Boring. I find that oftentimes when I'm imagining something in my head, there is a lot more flourish and flavor to my thinking which simply doesn't translate to what makes it past the keyboard. It's my hands, really. They are just too damned plain and dull and disinterested in anything other than switching letters around and making me look illiterate.
Did I mention that no one ever looks at this thing?
There were, however, a few things that I did NOT want this blog to be. I didn't want it to be about WOW, or any specific thing really (despite the name). I also didn't really want it to be a personal, online diary about my life (though my sister just had twins, yay!). I just wanted to do it to write about things I wanted, when I wanted to write them, and damned any internal consistancy. This was more of a practice for me than anything.
Yet lately I've really been having the itch to write something serious again. Something that hasn't happened in years. I'm getting bored again in life, I know, and writing is an outlet for me that I rarely take advantage of anymore.
I have a confession to make (ahem!). At one point in my life I wanted to be a professional writer. Now, even back then I didn't really think I had the chops for it. I'm very hard on myself, especially on my writing. And I know I'm not very good at it.
I need practice. Serious practice, not just on writing itself, but on HOW to write; how to make a sentence or paragraph not only readable, but fun to read. Because often that is what is missing in my rather stiff writing...the fun!
A long time ago (has it really been ten years now?), I made an attempt at writing a book. I think it was a rather good attempt at the time, but in hindsight the book simply doesn't work even if I still like the concept even to this day. It had all of the elements I was interested in. Travel to other worlds. The clashing of diffent cultures. Mysterious characters with questionable more objectives. And a real sense by the end of the book of having to question who was was the good guys, and who were the real bad guys.
By the time I was done with it, there was no real resolution to the plot (the book was intended to be part 1 of 2). And the story itself deviated from my origional outline about half way through. I really did start writing itself, something I've heard happens to other writers, and experiencing it myself really made me feel excited at the time. But, because of that there were also quite a few inconsistancies that cropped up in the story. Including main characters and plots that never intersected. Characters living that were supposed to die. Others dying that were supposed to live. A major plot change which added like 10 chapters to the book and completely changed the ending. And a major betrayal at the end which seemed to perfectly fit where the story was going; but hadn't origionally been planned for and left me completely stumped on how to continue it to the second book.
If I restarted that today, I know I'd go about it in a different way. But, do I really want to? I mean, I want to write again. But where, and in what format. And how do I deal with the fact that in 10 years, my writing style has actually declined since then, not improved like I would have wanted? Not to mention the fact that, do I really have time to do something like that again right now? That one story took me an entire summer to write (4 months, often spending at least 8 hours each day on it).
Maybe I'd do better writing something entirely different? I have a few ideas, some of them more fleshed out than others. And I've been spending a lot of time lately designing a world-setting for a character concept I had...but while I like the premise (future humanity / post holocaust, mad max + blade runner + star trek style setting)...but what do I really want to do?
And that's the problem. I really don't know.
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