I agree about high fantasy usually not being high from a different angle: metaphors. Most stories that utilize firearms don't bother to make the firearms represent anything, and unfortunately it is a ditto for magic. A proper high fantasy to me at least puts a little metaphor artistry in so when you have the big dudes in an epic wizard duel it has a meaning deeper than flashing lights and funny sounds. I hear about books that make such efforts often enough, but I wish I could see it in games more. I would be taken aback if I saw such an effort put towards firearms, I simply don't expect it and I imagine it would be harder to pull off.
Senko is a good example. Man, what a fantasy. Coming home after a long day of soul-crushing modern work to find someone is there for you, cares about you, strives to improve your life and mend your heart, etc. Very direct, even skips the standard isekai because it really would suffice most men to continue their bleak daily lives for just a few hours of warmth and honest affection. I hear the japs have a more negative view of male/female relations than us, and it clicks for me when I think about some of their popular stories.
Perhaps ironically, the tech could provide some small salvation even though I feel the appeal of luddite life more every year. AIs and machinery could make commodified waifus. I think it would be a motivator strong enough to get a lot of girls to shape up and make efforts, though at worst it might need some form of civil war like a fanfiction written by our Impossible1. Not much else to look forward to in tech, I don't think we'll be getting flying cars or teleporters.
Haha, I'll keep the book in mind, but my backlog is becoming difficult to manage lately.
Not to open the philosophical can of worms for defining the soul, but I try to keep some optimism about npcs being able to evolve into humans. This evolution takes a lot of energy and circumstance, if not outright trauma. I would have trouble functioning around others if I didn't believe they had any chance at all. But the general sentiment I understand; it's a waste to try to engage the empty as if they were full - and even in trying to proactively encourage an evolution, it is a waste to try more than once.
I agree about high fantasy usually not being high from a different angle: metaphors. Most stories that utilize firearms don't bother to make the firearms represent anything, and unfortunately it is a ditto for magic. A proper high fantasy to me at least puts a little metaphor artistry in so when you have the big dudes in an epic wizard duel it has a meaning deeper than flashing lights and funny sounds. I hear about books that make such efforts often enough, but I wish I could see it in games more. I would be taken aback if I saw such an effort put towards firearms, I simply don't expect it and I imagine it would be harder to pull off.
Senko is a good example. Man, what a fantasy. Coming home after a long day of soul-crushing modern work to find someone is there for you, cares about you, strives to improve your life and mend your heart, etc. Very direct, even skips the standard isekai because it really would suffice most men to continue their bleak daily lives for just a few hours of warmth and honest affection. I hear the japs have a more negative view of male/female relations than us, and it clicks for me when I think about some of their popular stories.
Perhaps ironically, the tech could provide some small salvation even though I feel the appeal of luddite life more every year. AIs and machinery could make commodified waifus. I think it would be a motivator strong enough to get a lot of girls to shape up and make efforts, though at worst it might need some form of civil war like a fanfiction written by our Impossible1. Not much else to look forward to in tech, I don't think we'll be getting flying cars or teleporters.
Haha, I'll keep the book in mind, but my backlog is becoming difficult to manage lately.
Not to open the philosophical can of worms for defining the soul, but I try to keep some optimism about npcs being able to evolve into humans. This evolution takes a lot of energy and circumstance, if not outright trauma. I would have trouble functioning around others if I didn't believe they had any chance at all. But the general sentiment I understand; it's a waste to try to engage the empty as if they were full - and even in trying to proactively encourage an evolution, it is a waste to try more than once.