Help! Final Fantasy as a model for a book?

[Devor]

I just sketched out a loose outline for the climax of a novel, maybe the first in a series, and it's epic. Too epic. Final Fantasy epic. Different magics and characters come together in a complicated mess of world-altering mayhem. And it doesn't help that the characters all have Asian-sounding names.

Is this a bad direction? Is Final Fantasy a bad model for a book series? Or do I need to tone it down?

The story takes place in one region of the world, which is slowly being conquered, until the characters are driven into retreat. Conquering the region helps the bad guy to acquire a magical energy, which he hopes to use to create a cataclysm - something which should make the world better, but really won't. The good guys stop him, the bad guy goes kaputz, but bad things happen anyways and the region (though not the world) gets messed up. Future stories would take place in the aftermath of the climax. Oh, and characters may die.

Is that too much for a book? How long of a story am I looking at?

 

[Queshire]

I -like- final fantasy, it's one of the biggest video game franchises in the world for a reason. Also, there's plenty of JRPGs out there, unless it's blatant, I don't think people would call it a final fantasy clone. that said, I would say that your story sounds like it'd be a really long book or multiple books to me.

 

[Ankari]

Nothing is too long, as long as the telling is good. Just divide it up into multiple books like Queshire said. But why do you say this is too much like Final Fantasy? Are you using any ideas from them that would be considered intellectual property?

 

[Devor]

But why do you say this is too much like Final Fantasy? Are you using any ideas from them that would be considered intellectual property?

No, nothing like that. But I am intending to try and fit this into a single story, so I can have others follow up. I guess it will have to be pretty long.

 

[Philip Overby]

I've often pondered doing something that would sort of parody Final Fantasy, as I'm a big fan myself (from my article and multiple posts about it), so I think it's not a bad idea to model a series of books around something similar to the games. As long as you don't get to "philosophical" with it, which I think most FF fans would know exactly what I mean by that.

Most of the Final Fantasy characters don't really have Asian sounding names. Maybe Yuna and Rikku and some others.

 

[Queshire]

remember, those games are from Japan so the Japanese names are like English names to us here.

 

[Philip Overby]

remember, those games are from Japan so the Japanese names are like English names to us here.

What I was saying is that most of the names even in katakana aren't typical Japanese names. For instance テラ is Terra. I've never seen anyone named Terra in Japan.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Final Fantasy is a good series of video games. Even some of the most adulated entries in the series, though, typically have pretty childish/simplistic stories and characters. I wouldn't use it as a model for prose fiction.

 

[JCFarnham]

Final Fantasy is a good series of video games. Even some of the most adulated entries in the series, though, typically have pretty childish/simplistic stories and characters. I wouldn't use it as a model for prose fiction.

Exactly, I love FF games with all my heart (though I'm terrible at them..) but they do seem to rely very heavily on the stereotypes of Japanese and even Western fantasy fiction. Usually a hero is a hero and that's that. The Worlds they create however...? Well that right there is the series' strong point [besides superior game play compared to other similar titles, though even that's debateable now days].

If you're going for a Final Fantasy feel it's all in the world and the mash up of cultural architypes

I wouldn't say it's a bad thing, no.

 

[Jon_Chong]

I can see where your worry might come from. Final Fantasy is a game and that medium carries its own sets of tropes, cliches, expectations etc. Books, even if they are fantasy, carry their own set as well. As such you sound like you're worried that the tone and look and feel of Final Fantasy is wrong as no one has ever done anything quite like it. Here's a couple of reasons why.

Western Fantasy tends to shy away from Asian influences if they can help it. Looking at the market right now, most of western fantasy is consumed by western influences. Granted, this is slowly changing, but it's as if there's a stigma about using Asian influences in western fantasy.

Games are an extremely graphic medium and the mess of movements, flashy sword duels and spell animations and effects that can and will translate into a headache to write. Unless of course you have an excellent command of description, this is going to be a lot of work and a lot of revision just to get a single spell "looking" and "feeling" right.

That said, is Final Fantasy inherently bad? I don't think so, so long as you're not blatantly ripping off the games. Just because it has not been done before does not mean it is inherently wrong. In fact, it is not a stretch to say that a good half of our innovations are based of people "doing it wrong". Though some of these can be attributed to blind luck... Ahem. I digress. My advice? Do it. Write it out. Even if it never gets published. Even if it never makes it past your computer screen, the experience alone of writing it is worth its weight in gold. So do it!

 

[Fnord]

I haven't played any of the Final Fantasy games in a long time--mostly because I'm not a big fan of Japanese-influenced RPGs. I think it's mostly the anime art style; I prefer things to look gritty.

So with that disclaimer, the thing I've noticed about Final Fantasy games in general is the merging of medieval fantasy tropes (swords and sorcery) with more futuristic elements (the ubiquitous airships, space-age looking buildings, etc). Your story doesn't seem to explicitly include those elements (though maybe you do intend on using them) and that's what a casual observer like me tends to define as main theme in that particular franchise.

If it's just gritty fantasy that's mostly rooted in the technological limitations of medieval Europe or Japan, you're probably fine.

 

[Devor]

So . . . it's the level of "grit," my abilities for action, and the simplicity of characters that concerns all of you the most? I don't think I have much to worry about then.

I'm concerned more about the complexity and whether readers would want to keep up with it. Plus it really does look a lot like FF, with an Asian setting, lots of characters, and world-changing events.

 

[Philip Overby]

So . . . it's the level of "grit," my abilities for action, and the simplicity of characters that concerns all of you the most? I don't think I have much to worry about then.

I'm concerned more about the complexity and whether readers would want to keep up with it. Plus it really does look a lot like FF, with an Asian setting, lots of characters, and world-changing events.

I say go for it. I agree, you don't have that much to worry about except keeping a reign on a big cast of characters.

 

[Devor]

So with that disclaimer, the thing I've noticed about Final Fantasy games in general is the merging of medieval fantasy tropes (swords and sorcery) with more futuristic elements (the ubiquitous airships, space-age looking buildings, etc). Your story doesn't seem to explicitly include those elements (though maybe you do intend on using them) and that's what a casual observer like me tends to define as main theme in that particular franchise.

Okay, it's not a strictly medieval setting, but it's far short of steampunk and airships. The landscape is a little strange, so there's technology and infrastructure which show how society has adapted to the setting. I guess the most impossible thing would be cable/wire rope for the trolleys and ziplines. There's also some limited use of gunpowder.

Another thing that I'm reminded which might look like it was swiped straight from FF, but isn't, is an animal used like a mount that resembles a chocobo. It's really modeled off of Fei Lian, the Chinese wind god, and is part-bird/part-stag. It has a beak, antlers, hooves on its feet and wings that let it fly while it's young but don't grow large enough to do so when it's matured. I don't know if that'll seem to close or not.

 

[Leif GS Notae]

You very well could be trespassing on some IP with what you are describing. While it isn't infringement, you know as well as I that game studios are very twitchy about their work. If you can adjust it a bit, I am sure you can take some worry off your mind.

That being said, it also depends on what Final Fantasy you were including in this. From VII on, the story was horrible because it relied more on visuals to tell the tale. From VI back, it was more story driven with the limited graphics.

We are influenced by what we read and play, so it shouldn't surprise me this would crop up from time to time. Heck, I'm sure you could do better than any SquEnix writers. Just make sure you are telling it in your voice and keep an eye out for lawyer random encounters.

 

[Devor]

I've outlined the plot, but I still need to work a lot on the story. So once layers of character interactions are applied on top of the plot, it might mask the FFness of the plot and world. And as their plots and worlds tend to be their strongest points, maybe all of that might be for the best.

Juggling a lot of characters with a complicated plot will be a challenge, though. Not in terms of keeping it straight so much as in finding space to do each of them justice. Does anyone have any quick advice towards that end?

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I've outlined the plot, but I still need to work a lot on the story. So once layers of character interactions are applied on top of the plot, it might mask the FFness of the plot and world. And as their plots and worlds tend to be their strongest points, maybe all of that might be for the best.

Juggling a lot of characters with a complicated plot will be a challenge, though. Not in terms of keeping it straight so much as in finding space to do each of them justice. Does anyone have any quick advice towards that end?

By necessity, you're going to need to focus on some characters at the expense of others. I'd focus more on making sure the main protagonists get their proper attention, and let secondary characters only get a secondary amount of attention. For the most part, if you've properly devised your characters' arcs (and especially how they interact with one another), then they should each get plenty of "face time" and you won't need to worry about one character getting short shrift.

 

[Devor]

By necessity, you're going to need to focus on some characters at the expense of others.

I've been trying to think of a way to disagree and hope that a minor argument might flush out more advice, but I can't think of anything at all towards that end. I need to focus on the MCs, figure out how other characters affect the MCs, and make sure their face-time has enough impact to do them justice.

I'm writing short stories to set up the characters, and for the rest of the week I'm going to go through my outline again for each character and decide what impact they have on the main MCs and on the plot. For instance, I think one pair of characters can serve to anchor and represent one part of the region for readers, as well as to help straighten up the main characters when they go awry personally. As the plot dictates their appearance at certain events in the story, I can time some of the MCs' personal issues to those events and to the calming impact I think these characters would have.

Similarly, there's another set of characters who are no-nonsense, and they're likely to take charge and talk about action/plot issues, although that might be subverted at some point. I need to bear in mind that when these characters appear, the personal stuff might get "put on hold," so right around their appearance would be a good time for a personal-conflict resolution or else a cliffhanger that won't get resolved until later.

So stuff like that, I guess, for each of the characters.