Truth be told, I wanted to go more into the mythology as well, but I found that with the amount of synopsis I had to use to make some of my points make sense to someone who hasn't even given the slightest thought to looking at the video game market, I realized that 25 pages wasn't going to be enough and he was adamant that it couldn't be more than that.
I've been considering doing small shoot-off works regarding this, so I may be posting more things on this subject in general in the future. It's not as if I don't have the time now, lol.
(By the way, see the comment I left for cutepresea about my epic fail with references.)
Thanks for the comments. :3
"Lucky Channel is something I would sit through a marathon of Naruto fillers for." -Ace
This paper was written for my senior capstone course, World Literature and its Relations. However, the professor that taught it this year focused primarily on mythology and how it affects civilaization. He gave us use of mythology in popular culture as a topic and I focused on video games, me being that hopeless gamer girl I am, lol.
Hope that answers your question and thanks for the comments! (and congratulations, for that matter, lol.)
"Lucky Channel is something I would sit through a marathon of Naruto fillers for." -Ace
I remembered that as soon as I got through re-reading it as I was posting this originally. I hung my head in shame as a Tales fan. --;
Also, I really did think that Kosuke Fujishima was one of the people involved in creating the Tales games. I suppose I learned something new, lol.
In regards to how long the synopses were, the only reason I had to do them that long was because of the fact that I was primarily writing for a teacher that had no knowledge of the video game industry and how sweeping and epic the storylines behind such games can be. Not to mention the fact that some of the elements in the plot were worth mentioning to put things in perspective (a lot of the readings we had to do for class tie into some of the plot elements for some of the games, so it was something my professor could understand from the length and detail I went into).
As far as Gilgamesh goes... That was laziness on double-checking on my part and I feel ashamed for it. I will not try and hide the amount of fail on that, lol.
Thanks for all your comments! :3
"Lucky Channel is something I would sit through a marathon of Naruto fillers for." -Ace
this was a great essay, the only thing i would change is the story summaries. they were a bit long. (but that's my opinion). i too, have noticed mythology in many video games, especially final fantasy. but also, with their summons. shiva is an indian goddess, odin, is a...i forget which, but i know he's another god, siren is a greek goddess, and there are so many more! (i realised this after we studied greek mythology, and the norse!) but congrats on graduating college! i hope to be as lucky! lol
Oh yeah, and to be nitpicky about plot details, Tethe'alla couldn't see the tree when it went out of control, they only got earthquakes off of it as a result of its rampage through Sylvarant.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Gilgamesh and Enkidu were from Mesopotamian mythology and not Indian mythology (like, Sumerian or something to be more specific), but I'm glad someone else is interested in all the mythological references going on in video games. Since I graduated high school, I've spent a lot of time researching mythologies and such. Quite interesting.
Just to say, Kosuke Fujishima didn't create the Tales of series, he's just a character designer. He's only been involved in a few of the games in the main series as such (Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia, most of the rest were done by Mutsumi Inomata, who did designs for Destiny, Destiny 2, Eternia, Rebirth, Tempest and Innocence, Kazuto Nakazawa did Legendia's, and Daigo Okumura is doing ToS: Knight of Ratatosk/Dawn of the New World, although Tempest and KoR/DNW are technically not in the main series according to the creators).
It also would've been nice to see more of the mythological references in the games and less plot synopsis, like the items that the Sword Dancer drops (which, interestingly enough, are based on the same items that Amaterasu's weapons are based on--the Kusanagi no tsurugi, Yasakani no magatama, and Yata no kagami), Kratos' and Zelos' names were references to Greek mythology, and of course, there're so many Norse references in ToS, that it'd be difficult to name them off here. As for FFXII...I forget everything in it because of how long it took to play through it. And Okami...same goes for it and Japanese as with ToS and Norse.
You made me want to research more, now...
On that note, Dwarven Vow #7! Justice and love will always win!
Uwah! Congratulations on your graduation from college ^^!!!! *showers you with confetti and cookies*
This is such an interesting topic to focus your paper on. It's true that so many video games use mythological themes...but I'd never thought of their use as a teaching aid ^^! Very cool!
Out of curiosity, what was your major that you were allowed to write a thesis on mythology and video games for it *_*? That's so awesome. And was this for grad school? In the colleges I've attended, a thesis was only required for people getting their PhDs (or occasionally MS). But normally it's much much longer than 25 pages ROFL. I guess your school has a different policy! Sounds tough T_T!
So you have. Excellent! Alright, it's only fair I give you a full response, then.
This thing was a monster to tackle, and it's easy to see you put a lot of effort into both writing and polishing it (I find a lot of times people definitely show off their passion for writing but not for cleaning up). You don't seem to have a problem putting thoughts into words, and that really makes this essay easy to follow. In terms of your specific argument that video games do indeed encourage learning about different world mythologies and the like, I agree fully (in my case, the Dynasty Warriors games totally got me looking into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms which is probably more mythological than historical anyway).
I like your very liberal use of quotations and the indent feature; small point, but somehow it just makes for a really nice presentation. Your prose is also very solid, no-nonsense style which definitely gets the job done.
In your preface you mention that the work involves a lot of synopsis which some people may find to be too short. I kinda wished it was a bit shorter, actually. I figure this was going to someone less in-the-know about these games so you needed the backstory to keep them fresh on your topic; for me, though, I would have liked to hear more about the mythological elements and how they affect their games - maybe even if they affect their games at all or are just kinda there just because.
Other than that . . . for some really nitpicky things . . . I think King Arthur is technically better described as a British legend than an English one (though to be fair, it changed a lot over the years with influence from English and French traditions). Likewise, the Gilgamesh story is better described as Sumerian or Babylonian than Indian. Heh, like I said, this is ultra-nitpicky.
That's really the worst of it, though. It was still an excellent read, and I do hope you get a lot more readers in the coming months. 'Cause this bad-boy is a powerful piece of writing (and it passed and got you all gradumacated and stuff).
I skipped the FFXII part since I hope to play the game one day, but read the remaining material. It was an interesting read and uplifting to think there are games that promote values of humanity instead of focusing solely on maiming and destruction .... while still including "violence" in the form of battles, which are shown necessary as they're not about going on a randomized killing spree but rather embodies the struggle to create a happier world thus raising a need to forcibly remove the cause by its roots.
Spaced-out comment, sorry ^^;
You deserve an A based on your approach alone! And it helps that you've written it in a manner that makes it a joy to read as well as being intelligently laid out :D
PrincessViera24
Title: Otakuite | Posted 06/09/08 | Reply
This is great idea for an essay about mythology in games especially when it comes to rpg games. My fav game with mythology is Okami.
Lady Katana
Title: Team | Posted 05/12/08 | Reply
@SomeGuy:
Truth be told, I wanted to go more into the mythology as well, but I found that with the amount of synopsis I had to use to make some of my points make sense to someone who hasn't even given the slightest thought to looking at the video game market, I realized that 25 pages wasn't going to be enough and he was adamant that it couldn't be more than that.
I've been considering doing small shoot-off works regarding this, so I may be posting more things on this subject in general in the future. It's not as if I don't have the time now, lol.
(By the way, see the comment I left for cutepresea about my epic fail with references.)
Thanks for the comments. :3
"Lucky Channel is something I would sit through a marathon of Naruto fillers for." -AceLady Katana
Title: Team | Posted 05/12/08 | Reply
@kathy100:
This paper was written for my senior capstone course, World Literature and its Relations. However, the professor that taught it this year focused primarily on mythology and how it affects civilaization. He gave us use of mythology in popular culture as a topic and I focused on video games, me being that hopeless gamer girl I am, lol.
Hope that answers your question and thanks for the comments! (and congratulations, for that matter, lol.)
"Lucky Channel is something I would sit through a marathon of Naruto fillers for." -AceLady Katana
Title: Team | Posted 05/12/08 | Reply
@cutepresea:
I remembered that as soon as I got through re-reading it as I was posting this originally. I hung my head in shame as a Tales fan. --;
Also, I really did think that Kosuke Fujishima was one of the people involved in creating the Tales games. I suppose I learned something new, lol.
In regards to how long the synopses were, the only reason I had to do them that long was because of the fact that I was primarily writing for a teacher that had no knowledge of the video game industry and how sweeping and epic the storylines behind such games can be. Not to mention the fact that some of the elements in the plot were worth mentioning to put things in perspective (a lot of the readings we had to do for class tie into some of the plot elements for some of the games, so it was something my professor could understand from the length and detail I went into).
As far as Gilgamesh goes... That was laziness on double-checking on my part and I feel ashamed for it. I will not try and hide the amount of fail on that, lol.
Thanks for all your comments! :3
"Lucky Channel is something I would sit through a marathon of Naruto fillers for." -Acehaseo luver92
Title: Senior Otaku | Posted 05/11/08 | Reply
@SomeGuy:
that's riiight! thanks so much! lol ^^ ;P
SomeGuy
Title: Team | Posted 05/11/08 | Reply
@haseo luver92:
So you don't have to run around checking it later, Odin's king of the Norse gods; Thor's daddy and all that jazz.
haseo luver92
Title: Senior Otaku | Posted 05/11/08 | Reply
this was a great essay, the only thing i would change is the story summaries. they were a bit long. (but that's my opinion). i too, have noticed mythology in many video games, especially final fantasy. but also, with their summons. shiva is an indian goddess, odin, is a...i forget which, but i know he's another god, siren is a greek goddess, and there are so many more! (i realised this after we studied greek mythology, and the norse!) but congrats on graduating college! i hope to be as lucky! lol
:P
haseo
cutepresea
Title: Otaku Legend | Posted 05/11/08 | Reply
Oh yeah, and to be nitpicky about plot details, Tethe'alla couldn't see the tree when it went out of control, they only got earthquakes off of it as a result of its rampage through Sylvarant.
cutepresea
Title: Otaku Legend | Posted 05/11/08 | Reply
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Gilgamesh and Enkidu were from Mesopotamian mythology and not Indian mythology (like, Sumerian or something to be more specific), but I'm glad someone else is interested in all the mythological references going on in video games. Since I graduated high school, I've spent a lot of time researching mythologies and such. Quite interesting.
Just to say, Kosuke Fujishima didn't create the Tales of series, he's just a character designer. He's only been involved in a few of the games in the main series as such (Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia, most of the rest were done by Mutsumi Inomata, who did designs for Destiny, Destiny 2, Eternia, Rebirth, Tempest and Innocence, Kazuto Nakazawa did Legendia's, and Daigo Okumura is doing ToS: Knight of Ratatosk/Dawn of the New World, although Tempest and KoR/DNW are technically not in the main series according to the creators).
It also would've been nice to see more of the mythological references in the games and less plot synopsis, like the items that the Sword Dancer drops (which, interestingly enough, are based on the same items that Amaterasu's weapons are based on--the Kusanagi no tsurugi, Yasakani no magatama, and Yata no kagami), Kratos' and Zelos' names were references to Greek mythology, and of course, there're so many Norse references in ToS, that it'd be difficult to name them off here. As for FFXII...I forget everything in it because of how long it took to play through it. And Okami...same goes for it and Japanese as with ToS and Norse.
You made me want to research more, now...
On that note, Dwarven Vow #7! Justice and love will always win!
kathy100
Title: Otakuite | Posted 05/11/08 | Reply
Uwah! Congratulations on your graduation from college ^^!!!! *showers you with confetti and cookies*
This is such an interesting topic to focus your paper on. It's true that so many video games use mythological themes...but I'd never thought of their use as a teaching aid ^^! Very cool!
Out of curiosity, what was your major that you were allowed to write a thesis on mythology and video games for it *_*? That's so awesome. And was this for grad school? In the colleges I've attended, a thesis was only required for people getting their PhDs (or occasionally MS). But normally it's much much longer than 25 pages ROFL. I guess your school has a different policy! Sounds tough T_T!
SomeGuy
Title: Team | Posted 05/10/08 | Reply
@Lady Katana:
So you have. Excellent! Alright, it's only fair I give you a full response, then.
This thing was a monster to tackle, and it's easy to see you put a lot of effort into both writing and polishing it (I find a lot of times people definitely show off their passion for writing but not for cleaning up). You don't seem to have a problem putting thoughts into words, and that really makes this essay easy to follow. In terms of your specific argument that video games do indeed encourage learning about different world mythologies and the like, I agree fully (in my case, the Dynasty Warriors games totally got me looking into the Romance of the Three Kingdoms which is probably more mythological than historical anyway).
I like your very liberal use of quotations and the indent feature; small point, but somehow it just makes for a really nice presentation. Your prose is also very solid, no-nonsense style which definitely gets the job done.
In your preface you mention that the work involves a lot of synopsis which some people may find to be too short. I kinda wished it was a bit shorter, actually. I figure this was going to someone less in-the-know about these games so you needed the backstory to keep them fresh on your topic; for me, though, I would have liked to hear more about the mythological elements and how they affect their games - maybe even if they affect their games at all or are just kinda there just because.
Other than that . . . for some really nitpicky things . . . I think King Arthur is technically better described as a British legend than an English one (though to be fair, it changed a lot over the years with influence from English and French traditions). Likewise, the Gilgamesh story is better described as Sumerian or Babylonian than Indian. Heh, like I said, this is ultra-nitpicky.
That's really the worst of it, though. It was still an excellent read, and I do hope you get a lot more readers in the coming months. 'Cause this bad-boy is a powerful piece of writing (and it passed and got you all gradumacated and stuff).
Lady Katana
Title: Team | Posted 05/10/08 | Reply
@SomeGuy:
I can always go back and do it...
"Lucky Channel is something I would sit through a marathon of Naruto fillers for." -AceSomeGuy
Title: Team | Posted 05/10/08 | Reply
Ohhhh Kei . . . why oh why did you not nominate this for publication? This is freakin' badass!
Mimmi
Title: Otaku Legend | Posted 05/10/08 | Reply
I skipped the FFXII part since I hope to play the game one day, but read the remaining material. It was an interesting read and uplifting to think there are games that promote values of humanity instead of focusing solely on maiming and destruction .... while still including "violence" in the form of battles, which are shown necessary as they're not about going on a randomized killing spree but rather embodies the struggle to create a happier world thus raising a need to forcibly remove the cause by its roots.
Spaced-out comment, sorry ^^;
You deserve an A based on your approach alone! And it helps that you've written it in a manner that makes it a joy to read as well as being intelligently laid out :D
*lavishes more love as words fail her*