MA cliches: What to avoid in your new Arc.
By
Aces_High,
Posted on: 2009-04-22 06:15 in Mission Architect
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One note on the humor bit is that so many people think they are funny but are so not. Humor is THE HARDEST genre to write by far, and people treat it as if it's as easy is making some silly-looking characters and writing some silly text with little or no thought toward plot, continuity, plausibility, or anything else that makes a good story a good story (humor or not).
It's much easier for a passable drama or action story to be written by a mediocre writer or at least one who puts in minimal effort. Humor takes much more finesse.
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Bear in mind that an essential part of humor is usually the incongruity of something unexpected happening in a situation where you wouldn't expect it.
For instance (to use a superhero example), Clark Kent entering a phone booth and changing into Superman isn't funny. But Christopher Reeve looking for a phone booth and finding only a modern-style "boothless" phone? Funny!
It's funny because we know the whole "standard" Superman/phone booth trope, and seeing it not "work" for Superman is unexpected.
Now, say, having a giant carrot doing dance moves with a boom box in the middle of a deadly battle between the Council and 5th Column? That's definitely unexpected, but it's more silly or absurd than actually funny, because there's no particular context for it.
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Bear in mind that an essential part of humor is usually the incongruity of something unexpected happening in a situation where you wouldn't expect it.
For instance (to use a superhero example), Clark Kent entering a phone booth and changing into Superman isn't funny. But Christopher Reeve looking for a phone booth and finding only a modern-style "boothless" phone? Funny!
It's funny because we know the whole "standard" Superman/phone booth trope, and seeing it not "work" for Superman is unexpected.
Now, say, having a giant carrot doing dance moves with a boom box in the middle of a deadly battle between the Council and 5th Column? That's definitely unexpected, but it's more silly or absurd than actually funny, because there's no particular context for it.
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Well, not all humor relies on unexpected situations. There's the joke at somebody elses expense. The whole "If I fall down a hole, it's tragedy, but if you fall down a whole, it's comedy" angle.
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Well, not all humor relies on unexpected situations. There's the joke at somebody elses expense. The whole "If I fall down a hole, it's tragedy, but if you fall down a whole, it's comedy" angle.
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That's a different aspect, true, but falling down a hole in the first place is itself unexpected. (Someone walking around and intentionally jumping into holes would simply be peculiar, and neither tragic nor comic.)
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That's a different aspect, true, but falling down a hole in the first place is itself unexpected. (Someone walking around and intentionally jumping into holes would simply be peculiar, and neither tragic nor comic.)
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Unless another element was added to make it humorous that the person was jumping down the holes.
But I think you see where I'm going with this. 
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Bear in mind that an essential part of humor is usually the incongruity of something unexpected happening in a situation where you wouldn't expect it.
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For instance (to use a superhero example), Clark Kent entering a phone booth and changing into Superman isn't funny. But Christopher Reeve looking for a phone booth and finding only a modern-style "boothless" phone? Funny!
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You said 'Christopher Reeve' and that already marked, in my mind, any jokes you were going to make as bad-taste, therefore, for me, not funny.
Clark Kent (in the year 2050 for example...) going into a phone-booth changing into Superman only to have the phone actually *RING!*, now that in my book would be funny, especially if on the other end of the line, there would be an operator claiming that the Phone Booth registered a Legally Binding Use of the Phone Booth according to the Commercial Communication Law Act of 2039 and Superman now has to pay a fee! 
I believe that a Kheldian Gold Standard should be based on SO's, and for anything above that... there's Platinum!
Save Ms. Liberty (#5349) � Augmenting Peacebringers � The Umbra Illuminati
Save Ms. Liberty (#5349) � Augmenting Peacebringers � The Umbra Illuminati
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Bear in mind that an essential part of humor is usually the incongruity of something unexpected happening in a situation where you wouldn't expect it.
*
For instance (to use a superhero example), Clark Kent entering a phone booth and changing into Superman isn't funny. But Christopher Reeve looking for a phone booth and finding only a modern-style "boothless" phone? Funny!
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You said 'Christopher Reeve' and that already marked, in my mind, any jokes you were going to make as bad-taste, therefore, for me, not funny.
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In that case, I wasn't making a joke, but actually referring to this gag from Reeve's first Superman movie:
http://z.hubpages.com/u/714349_f260.jpg
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Now, say, having a giant carrot doing dance moves with a boom box in the middle of a deadly battle between the Council and 5th Column? That's definitely unexpected, but it's more silly or absurd than actually funny, because there's no particular context for it.
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Let em guess, you actually saw that in an MA story huh?
That is a good point. Much silly passes these days for funny - sometimes it even succeeds but more often than not, it doesn't. It's like funny's "slow" cousin or 12 year old bother. Then again, when it hits you in the right mood or something, it can work, so I'm not about to tell anyone DON'T DO SILLY! (which is good because I'd be a hypocrite for doing so, see my arc listed in my sig, which does have some funny as well, I hope)
Best part of the MA is we chimps all get to try our hand at whatever we want; the law of averages says that Shakespeare is within our grasp.
I believe the scene she describes was from Superman I, and that was in fact Christopher Reeves looking for a phone booth and not finding one, which WAS amusing.
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Now, say, having a giant carrot doing dance moves with a boom box in the middle of a deadly battle between the Council and 5th Column? That's definitely unexpected, but it's more silly or absurd than actually funny, because there's no particular context for it.
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Let em guess, you actually saw that in an MA story huh?
That is a good point. Much silly passes these days for funny - sometimes it even succeeds but more often than not, it doesn't. It's like funny's "slow" cousin or 12 year old bother. Then again, when it hits you in the right mood or something, it can work, so I'm not about to tell anyone DON'T DO SILLY! (which is good because I'd be a hypocrite for doing so, see my arc listed in my sig, which does have some funny as well, I hope)
Best part of the MA is we chimps all get to try our hand at whatever we want; the law of averages says that Shakespeare is within our grasp.
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Protip: Shakespeare wrote his plays for the unwashed masses of England who didn't know [censored] about literature. And yet, he's considered one of the greatest writers of all time.
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Demons and clowns. Overdone. try to do something different.
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Thing is my "clown" arc is based on a character I created on my first day, three years ago (in fact, conceptualized a few days before, while I waited for the game to be shipped to me). And I first made it in the open Beta. I can't help it if everyone copies me! 
Dec out.
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I made an arc where you kill cows. At first I thought it was a great, original idea but there are actually tons of them out there. I'm still pretty proud of my Moo Mystic and Holy Cow though.
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One of the first arcs I played. I thought it was fun!
Dec out.
Really, we should avoid doing superheroes, I am so tired of them by now. 
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Protip: Shakespeare wrote his plays for the unwashed masses of England who didn't know [censored] about literature. And yet, he's considered one of the greatest writers of all time.
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He wrote for everyone. The high tragedy/comedy was for the nobles, while the pratfalls and bad humor was for the 'peanut gallery' standing in front of the stage.
He also adapted much of his work from existing stories/myths/historical accounts. Thus the word "playwright", or "one who builds plays", just as a shipwright builds ships. Writing was only a small part. Of course he was also a venerated poet, which definitely helped, especially with all the double meanings, alliteration, et cetera.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
He also invented a bunch of words because the Nobles wouldn't want to look stupid by not recognising them, and the common folk would assume they'd just gotten some edjercated.
Fun stuff, Shakespeare.
Why are we talking about him? Is someone seriously going, 'Well, this worked for SHAKESPEARE...'? 'Cos I've been checking around and at last check, no, nobody is Shakespeare. Well, except one guy, and he's not really into the forum discussion thing. He's dead.
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Why are we talking about him? Is someone seriously going, 'Well, this worked for SHAKESPEARE...'? 'Cos I've been checking around and at last check, no, nobody is Shakespeare. Well, except one guy, and he's not really into the forum discussion thing. He's dead.
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Anyone who puts in the effort has the chance to be the equal of Shakespeare; plus I was mainly just riffing off the "million monkeys with typewriters" idea in the first place.
No need for anyone to get huffy bout the Bard, he and his works can take care of themselves.
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Why are we talking about him? Is someone seriously going, 'Well, this worked for SHAKESPEARE...'? 'Cos I've been checking around and at last check, no, nobody is Shakespeare. Well, except one guy, and he's not really into the forum discussion thing. He's dead.
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There is, of course, the longstanding controversy about whether Shakespeare was really Shakespeare, or whether the plays were really written by somebody else.
My personal conclusion is that Shakespeare's plays were not written by Shakespeare, but by someone else with the same name.
<《 New Colchis / Guides / Mission Architect 》>
"At what point do we say, 'You're mucking with our myths'?" - Harlan Ellison
Use whatever you like to tell a great story...Robots, ninjas, pirates, cat girls. If the story is good it won't matter what cliches are used. The same basic stories have been told and retold countless times, that doesn't make them any less interesting. (there is a reason why the same plots hold true through the ages)
It's the telling of the tale that makes the difference. 
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Why are we talking about him? Is someone seriously going, 'Well, this worked for SHAKESPEARE...'? 'Cos I've been checking around and at last check, no, nobody is Shakespeare. Well, except one guy, and he's not really into the forum discussion thing. He's dead.
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Anyone who puts in the effort has the chance to be the equal of Shakespeare; plus I was mainly just riffing off the "million monkeys with typewriters" idea in the first place.
No need for anyone to get huffy bout the Bard, he and his works can take care of themselves.
[/ QUOTE ]It's not huffiness per se, but I will say that it is like if someone tried to drag up Douglas Adams' TERRIBLY undisciplined writing schedules as an example of why they should do it too. There are some real, epic geniuses out there, but their genius forgives their bad habits, not justifies their repetition.
<<Deleted by Fushicho>>
Do we really need another arc about a glitch/virus/someone hacking into the Architect mainframe? Apparently the system was coded by drunken toddlers with brain damage for how easily it craps out.
We'll always have Paragon.
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It's not huffiness per se, but I will say that it is like if someone tried to drag up Douglas Adams' TERRIBLY undisciplined writing schedules as an example of why they should do it too. There are some real, epic geniuses out there, but their genius forgives their bad habits, not justifies their repetition.
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Douglas Adams gave a great talk at Michigan Tech University in Houghton about a week before he died. (He stayed at the hotel where I work for that visit).
During that talk, he repeated one of his great lines about himself: "I love deadlines. I especially like the whoosing noise they make as they fly by me."
That man had an incredibly high ratio of success as a writer to work habits a writer. Poor editors. Even locking him in a hotel room for a week didn't alway work.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
If there is a key point for this thread it isn't so much the choices as the consequences. If you write MA #1234269 about people hacking into the architect system, it may be the perfect device and a great story, but as the 42,712th version of it don't count on getting a ton of plays.
One for the overdone list:
Geeks Gone Wild
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Do we really need another arc about a glitch/virus/someone hacking into the Architect mainframe? Apparently the system was coded by drunken toddlers with brain damage for how easily it craps out.
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May I remind you how many times the Holodeck screwed up and tried to kill Starfleet crews in Star Trek? Seriously, virtual reality is serious business.
"Gengis Khan is stabbing Abraham Lincoln while Dick Tracy stares at Geordi with an erotic look in his eye again!"
"It must be after May sweeps again!"
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There hasn't been an original idea since the Greek poets. So skip that cliche.
What is over done are missions that can only be tanked (bruted???) by 50s max'd out on their purple IO sets. Really, play test your missions with more than one type of toon before you publish them and preferably one that isn't 'uber'.
[/ QUOTE ]This is why in my review suite, I have two characters I use routinely:<ul type="square">[*]D-38, a level 50 SS/Fire Brute, with Crushing Impacts, Adjusted Targeting, knockback protection, and a bag of chips. Very strong, very capable at herding things. He's quite powerful and my generaly yardstick for the difficulty he's doing at level 40+. He's what I break out for arcs that might contain EBs and Defeat Alls.[*]Operative Gallows, A level-pacted Bane Spider with a nothing but common IOs and a single knockback protection IO. I consider Gallows the low-end of melee characters, and because he has stealth, it gives him the freedom to try out missions as brute-fests where you kill everything in sight, and also to see if it's possible to use stealth to achieve your goals. Plus, he's a Bane, which I'm told suck.[/list]I have a purpled out Spines/Dark. I have permadoms. I have Fortunata and Widows who could do this. But I don't think that gives me real perspective on the arc in general. At this point I'm considering adding a claws/WP scrapper with just SOs to the pile.