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.
Correspondent I
The Rise of Newsletter Subscriptions, Web Novels, and the Future of PublishingIn certain writing circles, SubStack and Ghost are popular ways of getting writers' work into a email newsletter format. These sites promise that the writer's rights remain with them, and, supposedly, revenue can be made through these sites. Ghost in particular sells itself as being a place where a writer can build up their brand. Furthermore, places like Royal Road and Wattpad are places where writers can post their work as web novels, which then might be picked up by a publisher. These places may accept donations on the writer's profile so that they can make money from their craft. The topic taker should research the following things for this topic: Does writing a web novel or posting writing on a subscription service affect the writer's process? Is this way of allowing writing to be placed out into the world good or bad–for example, does creating a web novel cause the writer to burn out? Are places like these sites using writer's aspirations for free revenue on their behalf? In other words, are these sites promising something like notoriety or a path to publishing that they cannot keep? Finally, does writing for sites like these mean that the publishing industry might be going through a change, or, are sites like these a new way of gatekeeping making money off of writing/getting work published? The topic taker can also talk about problems within traditional publishing and the toll it may take on a writer and their psychology or process of writing if they wish as well. Relevant links for research:
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2000s Anime and its Theme of JusticeThe 2000s had quite a few anime that dealt with what it means to "become" justice, in a sense. Fate Stay Night has a protagonist who tries to fight for his sense of justice. Claymore examines the topic in a more brutal way that also deals with what it means to be human, and, of course, Death Note and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion both examine what would happen if their protagonists were given a means to end the wrongs of the world in which they live, only to pay a price for it later. The topic taker should examine each of the anime listed, if possible, and compare and contrast how each anime dealt with the theme of justice it wanted to convey. How did each anime handle the toll it took on its protagonist? What could be gleaned from the outcomes of the individual anime surrounding what it means to be a savior figure, even if that ideology is subjective? Furthermore, the topic taker should delve into whether or not the sense of justice being displayed is entirely subjective to the protagonist of the anime, or if it tackles the idea of objective justice and the toll that takes on groups as opposed to the individual. The topic taker can include other anime that they feel may fit this idea, so long as it was released between 2000-2009, as there seemed to be a trend with anime around that time that shared a certain thematic work and aesthetic which is to be examined in this topic specifically. In this regard, the topic taker could also deepen the topic by looking into what was going on in Japan and/or the world in general at the time to see if current events or recent history evoked the theme of justice being culturally relevant to its viewers. The topic taker may also include, briefly, how anime from the 2000s with this theme of justice may have influenced other anime to re-examine the themes later on, such as with 2012's Psycho-Pass or more current day anime. |
Has Achieving a Platinum Trophy or Equivalent in Games Become too Time Consuming?Most games, since the rise of the PS3 and Xbox 360, have introduced some kind of trophy system that marks completion progress. Some trophies or achievements provide some challenge, while, depending on the age of the game and if multiplayer is involved, some trophies are nearly impossible to obtain. In more current generation consoles, particularly if a game is known to be difficult, like Dark Souls, or long, like the Persona franchise, there is usually a tedious nature to obtaining that coveted platinum trophy or other mark of completion. However, especially in older games that received a remaster or port from a time when there were no trophies or achievements to mark progress, a lot of the added in trophies can become a little ridiculous and suck the fun out of the game until you have that one flawless run. The topic taker should examine whether or not platinuming or otherwise achieving a maximum achievement score has become too tedious for players, given the example above. Clearly, completing any game to that level is a matter of choice, so that aspect should also be touched on. In addition, the topic taker should consider whether or not achieving such feats adds or detracts from the fun of gaming, if it may add too much bloat to the game, and, as the title suggests, if it forces a causal gamer to feel more like a let's player or streamer at the end of the day. For resources to start with, the topic taker should consider the list of achievements for platinuming or reaching the most achievements with a variety of games, some remasters or ports that did not have trophies or achievements when they were released, such as the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 releases, as well as more modern games, such as Assassin's Creed: Valhalla where the trophy/achievement system is innate to the product, for example, focusing particularly on any trophies or achievements that seem to not make much sense in the list, or clearly have a lot of players complaining about the difficulty to achieve the trophy or achievement–likely resulting in a low trophy or achievement percentage–that bars them from 100% completion. Using these starting points, the topic taker could then jump into the phenomena of completing a game and what it means at a societal, within gaming communities, and/or psychological level and then from there determine if completing games for the reward is worth the time put into it or not.
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What Makes a Good Video Game to Film Adaptation?From Tomb Raider (2001, Angelina Jolie) to Sonic the Movie (2020, Jim Carrey), there have been quite a few games likewise adapted into movies, though to varying degrees of failure or success. Tomb Raider was somewhat considered a flop when it first came out, and it currently has a 5.8 on Imdb: (link) a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics, and a 47% by audiences: (link) and a 33% on Metacritic: (link) though some consider it underrated: (link) By contrast, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie had a 6.5 on Imdb: (link) a 63% critic rating and a 93% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes: (link) and a 47% on Metacritic: (link) The success of the Sonic movie garnered it not one, but two sequels. The topic taker should analyze the trends of adapting a video game to a movie, including the history of it, and what makes so many of the adaptations fail. The topic taker should really dive into what made good video adaptations good and see what trends their analysis reveals. The topic taker may also consider the future of video game to film adaptations and whether they think there will be more successes or failures as well. To help the topic taker, consider looking into the following films to start forming trends based off their reception via reviews/to start forming the history of video game to film adaptation as they see fit: Tomb Raider (2018) in order to compare/contrast it with the 2001 film
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games Write this topicWhy We Play Video GamesI think it would be interesting to see why we play video games on an intellectual level. What do the mechanics of the gameplay influence in the player's surroundings and what influence does the setting of the game have on the story that may teach the player through the immersion process games tend to have? Sure, video games are fun, but what more do they have to teach us? I recommend looking up Game Theory on Youtube to see what is out there on this topic, though I'm coming at this topic from a more philosophical nature versus a scientific one.
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writing Write this topicWriting and Health BenefitsI would like to see what writing does to people on a psychological, emotional, and mental level. I know of a study that suggests writing about an issue we are facing in life helps us heal, but I'm wondering about writing in the realm of fiction and creative nonfiction, rather than just journaling about the issues in life. I'm also wondering if other studies exist on this subject and encourage any takers to go deeper than the surface for this topic.
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Web-Videos Write this topicAre web-based cartoons/shows successful?I would like to see an article on whether or not web-based cartoons or shows like "Bee and Puppycat" and "Video Game High School" are successful, and if they will mean anything in terms of competition for TV cartoons and shows in the future as a result of their success/fanbase, etc.
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LIfetime and Featured filmsLately, Lifetime has been trending films about women and kidnapping. What I want to know is why is this a trend, and why would the network choose to focus on this genre? What is the writer's opinion of the choice to air these films? Do the films really empower women, or are they sending a degrading message to the viewers?
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The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic | |
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 |
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 |
Yeah, I think it would take that many if they had the chance to slow down and do it more by the books. I still don’t know how they are going to do it in eight, if it even gets that far. I’m at least hoping it ends in a satisfying way, if nothing else, and, part of me is at least hoping that this doesn’t turn into another “We tried and it can’t be done” after all the other attempts to get it off the ground. | The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic |
I initially viewed it that way myself, until I wrote this article. I wasn’t aware of how difficult of a balance it would be to strike to get it right, and I had my own reservations about it being adapted at all. I think the showrunner having read the series and making the cast read the series is a decent start. The truth is, we don’t know how much of this is on the showrunner and how much of it is on Amazon itself. I do know that, as mentioned in the article, COVID really did a number on season one, as did the original choice for Mat leaving, to the point that the likely more book accurate fights and training scenes had to either be cut, completely rewritten, in the case of actually showing the Great Hunt, or done in CGI. I think that, especially when things can be played straight from the books, like Egwene getting captured by the Seanchan, the show has moments of draw. That said, I know that they’re planning to be closer to the books in season 3, since it covers Shadow Rising, so I’m at least willing to see how they accomplish that. | The Wheel of Time: Adapting a Fantasy Epic |
Did Boruto "kill" Naruto? The Impact of Boruto on the Narutoverse | |
Did Boruto "kill" Naruto? The Impact of Boruto on the Narutoverse | |
Did Boruto "kill" Naruto? The Impact of Boruto on the Narutoverse |
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.