Xenosaga
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bluefoxicy
- Posts: 67
- Joined: 07 Jun 2010, 10:48
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Xenosaga
Has anyone played Xenosaga?
I think a novelization would be excellent; unfortunately, nobody is going to do that.
I found Xenosaga to tell an excellent story; but the story is longer than the games. The series was meant to be six games long; due to marketability and budget issues, it was cut at the third. I had a hard enough time getting my hands on THAT.
Xenosaga is very well written sci-fi. It uses a lot of technology that's explained in game-physics terms; underlying game-physics theory is itself explained in direct, logical terms of Einstein's theories or quantum physics or other such real scientific basis. For example, the EPR radar works based on the Einstein-Poloski-Rosen paradox; effectively it is a statistical faster-than-light scan technology based on quantum entanglement.
On top of that, there is a fantasy element to the story based deeply in Gnosticism. There are a lot of competing factions; there are controlling entities behind the scenes; there is a major conflict with a supernatural entity. At one point in the story, the entire basis is shifted by the revelation of an unpredictable but extremely significant fact; this happens several times in fact, but only one made me stop and rework my entire understanding of everything relevant to the series.
This brings me to a very interesting point: Books as a medium are the least apt for delivering content; but the most apt for ensuring that content is delivered.
It's impossible to argue that Xenosaga isn't a great story; it's easy to argue it isn't a great game. It's even easier to argue the lack of business viability, since games are expensive to produce; because of this, the story was aborted midway.
With books, you can't represent the graphic and auditory experience nearly as well as video. Games and movies give us a way to express emotion and mood through body language and voice inflection, as well as through environment. They give us a way to fully express the ideas we intend to deliver in a story.
On the other hand, books allow us to express the story completely. Games and movies are subject to editing, and require huge budgets; books might get some minor criticisms from your editor, but they won't debase huge parts of the story. On top of that, you can easily self-publish; I know poor people who have published books. JK Rowling published a book living out of her freaking car.
And of course, books let us set the minor details: the unseen things that are neither spoken nor visible. Books are narrated; movies are not. Movies and games that are narrated only touch this a little; books touch it constantly. Movies don't show you the characters sweating, their hearts racing, their minds probing and gauging the fine details of each others' body language; movies can show you an upset character trying to cover himself, but they can't show you the absolute Hell being faced inside.
It makes me wonder, really... are we better off with movies/games to follow books, and books to follow games/movies? When you have a story to tell, should you do it in as many mediums as possible? Personally I favor RPGs and exploration-based games over movies; they're easier to develop, and tolerable when faithful (you can have an 80 hour game, you can't have an 80 hour movie; even if you did, it would be prohibitively expensive to film so much).
I think a novelization would be excellent; unfortunately, nobody is going to do that.
I found Xenosaga to tell an excellent story; but the story is longer than the games. The series was meant to be six games long; due to marketability and budget issues, it was cut at the third. I had a hard enough time getting my hands on THAT.
Xenosaga is very well written sci-fi. It uses a lot of technology that's explained in game-physics terms; underlying game-physics theory is itself explained in direct, logical terms of Einstein's theories or quantum physics or other such real scientific basis. For example, the EPR radar works based on the Einstein-Poloski-Rosen paradox; effectively it is a statistical faster-than-light scan technology based on quantum entanglement.
On top of that, there is a fantasy element to the story based deeply in Gnosticism. There are a lot of competing factions; there are controlling entities behind the scenes; there is a major conflict with a supernatural entity. At one point in the story, the entire basis is shifted by the revelation of an unpredictable but extremely significant fact; this happens several times in fact, but only one made me stop and rework my entire understanding of everything relevant to the series.
This brings me to a very interesting point: Books as a medium are the least apt for delivering content; but the most apt for ensuring that content is delivered.
It's impossible to argue that Xenosaga isn't a great story; it's easy to argue it isn't a great game. It's even easier to argue the lack of business viability, since games are expensive to produce; because of this, the story was aborted midway.
With books, you can't represent the graphic and auditory experience nearly as well as video. Games and movies give us a way to express emotion and mood through body language and voice inflection, as well as through environment. They give us a way to fully express the ideas we intend to deliver in a story.
On the other hand, books allow us to express the story completely. Games and movies are subject to editing, and require huge budgets; books might get some minor criticisms from your editor, but they won't debase huge parts of the story. On top of that, you can easily self-publish; I know poor people who have published books. JK Rowling published a book living out of her freaking car.
And of course, books let us set the minor details: the unseen things that are neither spoken nor visible. Books are narrated; movies are not. Movies and games that are narrated only touch this a little; books touch it constantly. Movies don't show you the characters sweating, their hearts racing, their minds probing and gauging the fine details of each others' body language; movies can show you an upset character trying to cover himself, but they can't show you the absolute Hell being faced inside.
It makes me wonder, really... are we better off with movies/games to follow books, and books to follow games/movies? When you have a story to tell, should you do it in as many mediums as possible? Personally I favor RPGs and exploration-based games over movies; they're easier to develop, and tolerable when faithful (you can have an 80 hour game, you can't have an 80 hour movie; even if you did, it would be prohibitively expensive to film so much).
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~Elle~
- Posts: 98
- Joined: 01 May 2010, 02:53
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Interesting topic! I don't play games, but I've watched my brother play - and I can agree with you that they have extraordinary storylines and when coupled with amazingly good graphics can immerse you in an interactive world that stretches your imagination. Improving your eye-hand coordination is a plus. 
However books will always have my utmost respect over movies and games. The written word, or pen on paper, is always the foundation on which all these extraordinary stories are based - if a person did not sit down and painstakingly write the visual unfolding of a story, there would be no script, and in turn, no movie. I'm not quite sure how games are produced, but I bet someone has to sketch down the storyline and write it in a good way.
As for the medium for storytelling, with games and movies your brain doesn't have to work a lot because everything is fed into it so it calls for a rich experience. Yet I feel reading a story is much more personal and touches more than just the visual and auditory centres in your brain - this, I think, is richer.
Ultimately, it's up to us to choose which medium we prefer, it's nice to appreciate other forms of storytelling and not be prejudiced because each is special in their own way.
Happy playing!
However books will always have my utmost respect over movies and games. The written word, or pen on paper, is always the foundation on which all these extraordinary stories are based - if a person did not sit down and painstakingly write the visual unfolding of a story, there would be no script, and in turn, no movie. I'm not quite sure how games are produced, but I bet someone has to sketch down the storyline and write it in a good way.
As for the medium for storytelling, with games and movies your brain doesn't have to work a lot because everything is fed into it so it calls for a rich experience. Yet I feel reading a story is much more personal and touches more than just the visual and auditory centres in your brain - this, I think, is richer.
Ultimately, it's up to us to choose which medium we prefer, it's nice to appreciate other forms of storytelling and not be prejudiced because each is special in their own way.
Happy playing!
