Siothrún

Siothrún

Has an MFA in Creative Writing Fiction, and M.Phil in ELT. Former Managing Editor for Zelda Dungeon, studying psychology/mental health, and is a freelance editor and writer.

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    Latest Topics

    1

    The New Collectathon--Too Much to Do?

    Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are newer Legend of Zelda games that feature open world mechanics and the return of the collectathon, in a sense. A collectathon is a type of video game where there are items and objects to collect in order to either progress in the game or obtain an upgrade. An older example of a collectathon would be Banjo-Kazooie or Jak and Daxter. In Breath of the Wild, the collectathon element of the game is Korok seeds, except there are about 900 to collect in the game. Tears of the Kingdom increases that number.

    The topic taker should see if this newer collectathon element is too much to do for the player. The topic taker is free to examine other newer forms of collectathons than the two mentioned in this topic. Research points to include:

    – The time it takes to do these collecting elements

    – The reward for completing the entire collection

    – Player feeling about the collecting element in the chosen game or series

    – The topic taker is free to also include an element of the psychology behind why collectathons work, if they wish.

    Links to get you started:

    Breath of the Wild Wiki: (link)

    Tears of the Kingdom Wiki: (link)

    An Explanation of Collectathons and how they transformed: (link)

    A brief list of modern collectathons: (link)

      3
      Locked

      Isekai and its Pervasiveness in Anime

      From Digimon to That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime, isekai is a genre of anime that holds a lot of staying power in the industry. The topic taker should research:

      The beginning of the genre

      What made it popular

      Its impact on the anime industry

      Is the animation of isekai not to the same standard of other anime, or just drawn in simpler styles? Does the numerous amounts of isekai better or worsen working conditions for anime artists?

      What genres do isekai cross over with?

      Why is isekai so popular?

      Are there too many isekai?

      Will isekai bring about new genres of anime?

      By researching these aspects of isekai, the topic taker should be able to get a full picture of the how, what, and why of isekai. The topic taker is, as always, free to do more research on isekai, such as whether or not isekai helps its viewers by increasing positivity in their mood, help them relax from the stressors in life, and so on.

      Research links to get the topic taker started:

      (link)

      (link)

      (link)

      (link) mainstream popularity of Isekai,fear of what's after death.

      • I'd add some description to the links. – Sunni Rashad 4 months ago
        1
      • The first link is to a Wikipedia page to help define what isekai is, in case the topic taker is not familiar with the term. The second link goes into popular types of sub-genres for isekai. The third link is to a Reddit post that asks why you could perhaps neglect to mention that the main character is from another world and it wouldn't change anything about the story that's important to the plot. The fourth link discusses why isekai is so popular in anime. – Siothrún 4 months ago
        1
      Taken by Beatrix Kondo (PM) 2 months ago.
      2

      The Requirement of Hard Mode in Video Games

      The topic taker should analyze the requirements of some trophy lists to beat games on the "Hard" Difficulty and/or unlock special items or extra difficulties in the game. Examples that come to mind are Final Fantasy Remake and Rebirth, Kingdom Hearts III, DOOM, and the God of War series. The topic taker is free to include other games to the list that they may know about–the list serves as a jumping off point to get the topic taker started. The topic taker should consider the following for their article as well:

      – Is completing a game on Hard Mode enjoyable?

      – Is requiring finishing a game on a Hard mode restrictive or prohibitive in any way?

      – If someone chooses to play at difficulties other than hard mode, does that mean they are more or less of a gamer in the eyes of the game's community?

      – Should Hard Mode be a requirement for getting certain items or cutscenes or trophies, or should that content be available regardless of the difficulty?

      The topic taker should address these points with research and examples from the games they choose that is relevant to the points. If desired, the topic taker can look at the psychological research done on this subject and how it affects players' self esteem, if the research exists.

      • I think that it’s worth including as a separate item a description of hard fashion through an analysis of the creativity of the FromSoftware studio – MagnoliaDunbridge 1 month ago
        0
      5

      A Perspective on Banned Books in America versus Other Countries

      Recently, a lot of books have been making it onto the infamous banned books list in America, due to containing such themes as "strong female leader" in the case of Wizard of Oz, "racism", especially with children's books that tend to point to the systemic nature of racism in America, and of course, "sexuality and gender" that basically gets slapped on anything that even remotely hints at an LGBTQ relationship or gender expression outside of the cisgender spectrum. Most of these entries to the ever-growing ban list seem to be coming from conservative areas. It might be good to take a small sample of the banned book list from the past 2 years or so and see how it would compare to, say a European banned books list, if the idea of a banned books list isn't something that is wholly limited to America in the first place, and see if there are any overlapping topics between the lists to see what trends might exist cross-culturally.

      If this cross-examination is not possible, the topic taker could instead talk about whether or not book bans should exist, and the reasons why they do, and could choose to take a few selections from the banned books list and make an argument as to whether or not the themes presented in the literature truly merit a spot on a banned books list.

      Banned Books list for America: (link)

      • I think for this to be good analysis of cultural differences it should look at time frames as well. 90s America vs 90s China for example. Or a myriad of differing ideologies within the nations and have they remained the same or evolved as times have changed. – Sunni Ago 7 months ago
        2
      • I think this is a very interesting topic! I think it would be fascinating to research if book bans come from liberals as well. The comparison could be what each side of the spectrum is trying to ban. Also, I think your second paragraph could be an interesting focus. – shoafhannah 6 months ago
        1
      2

      Storytelling in Roguelike Games

      The topic taker should explore how roguelike games can be used to tell complex stories. Specifically, the topic taker should consider The Binding of Isaac and similar games that use its roguelike mechanics, like unlocking new characters, new powers, or new stat boosters to tell a multi-layered story. For example, in The Binding of Isaac, clearing a run usually unlocks a new ending to the game, and then opens up a new path and/or character for the player to choose.

      As always, the topic taker is free to include other roguelike games they know of that use the game mechanics to tell a complex story in their analysis. Things to consider would be as follows:

      – The story gets told in various parts, in some manner, as referenced with my example above.

      – The roguelike offers a story in some way, so, this excludes things like Brotato, to my understanding.

      – The topic taker is free to add in whatever elements they might need for this article. For example, the topic taker, if focusing on The Binding of Isaac may consider looking into how the religious elements in the game tell a deeper story. Or, if the topic taker chooses to include Hades in this analysis, they could include aspects of the Greek Pantheon that highlight elements in the story and/or mechanics.

      – The topic taker can consider the merits of comparing and contrasting two different roguelike games to see if storytelling is similar or different between them, but, given the nature of roguelike games, I would advise limiting this article to two games.

      Here is a link to the Wikipedia for The Binding of Isaac for topic takers who may not be familiar with the game or its mechanics: (link) Binding of Isaac is,to OS X, and Linux.

      • Hades is a really interesting case study for this topic. A lot of the story is told through multiple runs/run ins with characters, as well as multiple times beating the final boss. – Sean Gadus 3 months ago
        1
      4

      Shifts in YouTube and the Rise of Short Video Media Like TikTok

      Following the departure of the creator of channels The Game Theorists, Film Theorists, Food Theorists, and Style Theorists, MatPat, from YouTube, there has been discussion about the changes of YouTube's platform and if viewers of the platform are going to see other long-standing YouTubers leave. In MatPat's goodbye video, he references other YouTubers who have decided to leave the platform and notes that "the platform is changing". We have also seen the trend of short-style videos in the vein of TikTok rise in popularity. The topic taker should address what changes they see taking place, possibly using the host of recent goodbye videos as a jumping off point, for the web-video platforms and analyze what those trends might mean for others looking to get into the content creation space.

      The topic taker is free to include the psychological impact of content creation, especially with the constant stream of short-form videos, has on a person. In addition, the topic taker can compare and contrast the platforms of YouTube and TikTok on multiple levels, such as monetization strategies and algorithms if they wish in order to predict where the trends might be going and indicate what those trends suggest for viewers and creators alike.

      MatPat's Farwell: (link)

        2

        Analyzing Evoland: A Touching Game about the History of Games, or a Retro Gameplay Nightmare

        Evoland I and II are games by the indie developer Shiro Games and were released in 2013 and 2015. Evoland was inspired by older games in series like Final Fantasy and Zelda, and, it somewhat takes the player through a bit of video game history in its premise. The gameplay, despite the shifts in playstyles that took place, flowed well, according to a reviewer. Evoland II definitely builds on the premise of capturing the feeling of how older games played, and has more mechanics in it than the first game. However, it could be said that there are too many mechanics that contradict and break flow.

        For this topic, the topic taker should look into reviews on both games to see if these games set out to capture a truly nostalgic feeling while adding their own twist to the genres the games were influenced by or if something about the older styles of gamplay simply don't mesh in the modern era of gaming.

        The topic taker can consider the following avenues of research for adding foundation to this analysis:

        – Consider the history of the video game industry and the limits of technology that affected game mechanics and graphics and whether the current technology is too good to correctly capture how older games played.

        – Figure out what the developer intended for their games, if possible, and if they achieved that intention.

        – See if there are any other games similar to Evoland that mixes up different kinds of genre and gameplay and see if they are successful or if they fall into the same problems as Evoland.

        – If the topic taker has played Evoland and Evoland II, they are free to add in their personal experience with how the games felt as it relates to this topic.

        Here are links that might help the topic taker start their research:

        Evoland: (link)

        Evoland II: (link)

        • They were both on sale for the summer and I almost bought them just so I could write this pitch. – Sunni Rashad 3 months ago
          1
        4

        Examine the Themes of Matrix: Resurrections

        Matrix: Resurrections released in 2021 and returned viewers to the world that was built on in the previous trilogy. The first movie, The Matrix (1999) has been confirmed by the Wachowskis to be a trans allegory on some level, and the meaning of the first trilogy is still debated. The topic taker should examine if the themes of the most recent film add something to the trilogy's discourse. Along with that, the topic taker should examine if any allegories are made within Matrix: Resurrections. Specifically, the topic taker should aim to answer the following question after their theme and allegory analysis:

        Does Matrix: Resurrections provide any meaning to where society finds itself with technology and the rise of AI?

        The topic taker is free to go into the history of the Matrix as a whole, including how it was produced to see if there are any similarities to how Resurrections was produced and if the new film took this history and the discourse surrounding the original trilogy into consideration. The topic taker can, of course, include any research on this topic that they wish. For example, if following the trans allegory of the original Matrix helps establish something that Resurrections is conveying, please include that in your analysis!

        Link to an interview excerpt by Lilly about The Matrix's trans allegory: (link)

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          Latest Comments

          Siothrún

          Thanks! I tried to do something with everything you suggested in terms of points to cover! I really don’t like how Sakura and Hinata were in the Boruto anime, either, and, there’s a lot of comparisons being done to Sakura from the Naruto manga versus how the anime portrayed her, and, due to that, the anime actively made Sakura a worse, unlikeable character. I stopped watching the anime right after Baryon Mode–my heart couldn’t take it–but, I am considering at least finishing the anime and then seeing what the manga has to offer, because I do like seeing how things are progressing in the next generation. I do find Naruto’s struggles more relatable, and I suspect that has something to do with the generation it was made for, whereas I view Boruto as being likely much more relatable to the generation after mine.

          Did Boruto "kill" Naruto? The Impact of Boruto on the Narutoverse
          Siothrún

          Hey, thanks for the comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the article and that it made you think!

          Gender Roles in The Wheel of Time Series
          Siothrún

          Interesting article! This definitely isn’t an avenue I’d considered. It makes me think, for sure. Great job!

          Can Art-ficial Be Art?: The Human Heart Behind the Machine
          Siothrún

          Thank you! I’m planning to watch the third season as well.

          The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic
          Siothrún

          I also appreciate those changes, because it got rather grating in the books, particularly with how Tylin and Mat were reacted to by some of the women cast as a “getting a taste of his own medicine”, when he himself uses consent and follows it seriously, and, in a re-read, written, in a sense, as though it’s a joke or played for laughs in some regards.

          The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic
          Siothrún

          I think that the show might be trying to navigate its way around some of that, personally, and I’m interested to see how they do that, especially now that they’re out of the “You get one book deal. Hey, that worked, write a sequel. No, wait, we’ll actually take a trilogy.” territory of the first three books. I know I kept wondering which characters were important to the plot, and, especially by book 8, kind of had to stop until the series finished, so I could see how it ended, personally.

          The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic
          Siothrún

          Thanks for the comment! I definitely had my own reservations about an adaptation, and, after doing the research for this article, a lot of the changes made between the two mediums make a lot of sense, particularly with the expectations set around a fantasy TV show. I really think the show tries, like you said, to keep the heart of the characters there, and I found that, while it may not be how I interpreted things, the show still manages to give me the feeling I had when I was reading the books. I don’t think that is easy to do, by any means, and, I think the second season was an improvement on the first season, too. With what’s been said about the third season, I’m hoping that the show finds its stride and really improves on the elements its already trying to weave together! I also want to see this series the rest of the way through as a different experience from the books, too.

          The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic
          Siothrún

          The first book very much starts out in a Tolkienian way, arguably the first three books kind of have that feel, and it really isn’t until book 4 or 5 that the characters start to be better defined, with a few exceptions with Nynaeve and Egwene in books 2 and 3. That’s part of the reason why I’m curious to see what they do with season three, since it’s going to be covering the 4th book, so, there’s going to be a lot less of a slower pacing to draw from.

          The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic