Do video games employ sci-fantasy more than anything else?

September 12, 2007 at 3:20 pm (Fantasy, Science Fiction)

I’m starting to think that video games, as opposed to TV/movies and actual written works, own the biggest piece of the sci-fantasy pie. Take a look at Final Fantasy X, which is my most favorite example of sci-fantasy; I’m beginning to think it’s spawned a whole line of sci-fantasy RPGs, not just within the Final Fantasy series. I acquired the game Rogue Galaxy (PS2) last weekend, and I was immediately struck by the similarities.

However, unlike FFX, Rogue Galaxy makes no attempt (so far*) to explain how and why magic and technology can coexist. Everything is considered an “ability” – nothing is called a “spell.” There are ability points, but no sign of mana. A robot named Steve can shoot icy beams from his eyes – but is this a technological ability inherent in his model, or a magical spell? A human bounty hunter can light his sword on fire without any external help – that, to me, qualifies as magic. A squat little man with a missile launcher can summon a dragon made of fire to deal widespread damage. That’s magic, too. We are also running around with space pirates on a ship that looks like a real pirate ship… you know, the kind you find on the ocean, not among the stars. There are monsters – “beasts” – floating around just about everywhere. I’m not convinced space is a vacuum in this ‘verse – no one’s needed a helmet while on the deck so far!

Is Rogue Galaxy an example of well-integrated sci-fantasy, or does it simply lack the well-thought-out background to explain the convergence of magic and technology that FFX and many other ‘verses boast?

*Please keep in mind that I’ve not finished the game, so the absence of an explanation and backstory may be a plot point in the future. I’m a bit of a slow gamer, so it might be a few weeks before we find out!

I really do need to amass a more sizeable list of games, movies, TV shows, and books that fall in the sci-fantasy category. Reports from a good friend inform me that the Dresden series should definitely be included, but I’m fairly sure there’s a genre for magic being used in an otherwise realistic, modern world. “Modern fantasy”? “Paranormal fiction”? Something like that. In my mind, sci-fantasy more involves entirely new worlds and universes, rather than just tossing some magic onto good ol’ Earth.

What do you think? Do books that employ magic in an otherwise normal setting count as sci-fantasy?

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Good morning, sci-fantasy fans!

September 5, 2007 at 7:57 am (Science Fiction)

I know, I know… this blogs needs to be updated more often… but! O Happy Day, internet will return to my abode this weekend! Expect more ramblings on the nature of sci-fantasy very, very soon. And more frequently. And possibly with actual links and researched… thingies… to entertain and fascinate you.

Anyways. In a post earlier on, I proposed that some sci-fantasy came to be as a result of a dynamic, evolving fantasy world built on magic. Such worlds are inclined to invent new gadgets that, eventually, leads them to partake in science fiction-like technology. In many fictional worlds, this process of evolution leads to the extinction of magic; in sci-fantasy worlds, magic coexists alongside technology. (By ‘coexists’, I mean ‘exists simultaneously’… some worlds are torn into opposed factions of magic and technology, and others consider magic or technology a cult, and its opposite to be the “true” way of life. Sci-fantasy worlds don’t necessarily combine magic and technology seamlessly or peacefully. Take a look at Final Fantasy X (PS2) for a good example – technology is considered blasphemous, whereas magic is an extremely common skill to have in its various incarnations.)

(Wow, I need to learn to summarize less wordily. And use less parentheses.)

So, that theory covers sci-fantasy worlds wherein which magic came first. But what if science came first? What if the world starts as a technologically-advanced world, or industrial steam-punk, or any other type of unmagical place? How does magic get introduced to the scene?

This one’s trickier. I’ve seen a lot of cases where they find scientific explanations for magic, but they don’t call it ‘magic’ – it’s considered a new form of science or technology. Take Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS2) for example:

“But despite this science fiction atmosphere, a form of magic exists in the universe: symbology, also translated as heraldry in the Japanese version and in Star Ocean: The Second Story. Standard symbology involves tattooing crests and runes onto one’s flesh to draw out apparently latent power in the form of spells, and numerous underdeveloped planets make extensive use of it. Despite its supernatural connotations, Symbology is treated a legitimate field of scientific study in-universe.” (From Wikipedia, the ever-handy resource.)

That right there is a fantastic example of what I’m talking about – the world or ‘verse starts as sci-fi, yet incorporates magic as a branch of science. Does this make Star Ocean a sci-fantasy ‘verse, or just elaborately-constructed science fiction?

I once heard a quote… and forgive me, I don’t recall the author… that goes something like this: “Sufficiently advanced technology seems like magic, and sufficiently advanced magic seems like technology.” Adage of the sci-fantasy concept, or a good quote for a slim percentage of sci-fantasy worlds? I’m leaning towards the latter… but, in the case of Star Ocean, it fits perfectly.

If you can explain magic with technology or in terms of science, does that mean it ceases to be magic? Is it science fiction, or sci-fantasy?

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Ah, brevity. How I loathe thee.

August 28, 2007 at 10:32 am (Random)

(It is very, very difficult not to start out each post by complaining about a lack of internet at home. Less than two weeks now! I can make it!)

Sadly, I don’t have much time today. I noticed I have at least a few visitors wandering about, and, please, I must know…

…who got here by searching for “werewolves airships fantasy”?

That’s fantastic and I want to know why you were looking for it. (The term alone makes me want to write a fantasy story about werewolves on an airship. It’d be great.)

You know, because I stalk my readers and all. *ahem*

Ah, back to work. The joys of the grind.

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[insert witty subject line here; the author's brain is already low on juice]

August 22, 2007 at 8:49 am (Fantasy, Writing)

(So, not having internet at home for two more weeks just might be driving me a little crazier than I’d expected. Aside from being deprived of my favorite webcomics, I’m forced to post to this blog only during work. -That- is already getting old. Sigh.)

In any case! Good time-of-day to everyone who chances across these words. I do hope life’s going well for everyone; my karma got rear-ended yesterday, so here’s hoping that none of you are also in the boat of Those With A Scratched Bumper. (The other car looked totaled. Dinky little sportscar.)

Probably due to the fact that this place is brand-new and so still largely undiscovered by the voraciously reading populace of the internet, my questions last post went unanswered. So, if anyone happens across this blog and wants to share some of their favorite sci-fantasy books, shows, movies, and/or video games, feel free! That’s what the comment section is for, after all. ^_^

Here’s a theory of origins for you: Sci-fantasy is born of a fantasy world that evolves. This is definitely -not- true for all sources of sci-fantasy (looking at you, Final Fantasy X!), but it could be used to explain plenty of others. Let’s take World of Warcraft as an example. Much like my own world, Ykinde, WoW has a very lore-rich history, explaining how individual races and creatures came to be, and all of it is rife with magic. In the earliest stages of its history, WoW was a purely fantasy world. However, Azeroth (the world of… well, warcraft… itself) is an evolving, living world. It isn’t static. Races moved around, geographically. Empires rose and crumbled. History was forged in the fires of strife and steel– okay, so I’m getting carried away. The -point- here is, Azeroth is a dynamic world.

Dynamic worlds evolve. Evolution, as on Earth, leads to more sophisticated tools. Sharp sticks give way to stone-tipped sticks. Fantasy worlds, if they have any sort of race on them that can A) mine, B) forge, and C) be innovative, will tend to evolve into sci-fantasy. Once you perfect the art of making a fine sword – once your crossbow quarrels are honed and balanced – where do you go? If you figure out how to make things explode, which is pretty likely if you have magic blasting all over the place, then the inventors of the time wonder how they can use it. In a war-torn or otherwise dangerous world, defense and battle are primary concerns – so you might try to blow other people up.

In come cannons… primitive hand-grenades… very primitive firearms. Engineers go nuts with their new trinkets and fine-tune the sciences that make them work, expanding their store of metal firepower and/or useful gadgets. Assuming that the world is both challenging enough to make inventions a necessity, and also not so bare-bones hostile that people don’t have time to study and invent things… then fantasy worlds will eventually evolve towards a sci-fantasy state of existence. Guns and fireballs, hand-grenades and hexes.

That theory possibly explains the existence of part of the sci-fantasy collective… but what about places like Final Fantasy X? Does science ever come -before- magic? I’m thinking of Dragonriders of Pern (by Anne McCaffrey) here, where an entirely technological society devolved on a pastoral world to a point where they were more of a fantasy lifestyle than sci-fi anymore. Give me some more examples, if you have them!

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Ahh, this whole place still has the new-blog smell.

August 16, 2007 at 3:47 pm (Random, Writing)

Welcome to the Sci-Fantasy Blog. My name is Kusani, and I’ll be your overly enthusiastic guide to the wonderful world of sci-fantasy.

What is sci-fantasy, you ask? It is the illegitimate yet awesome child of the two biggest, and typically opposing, genres of fiction writing and cinema – science fiction and fantasy. A fantastic example of sci-fantasy is Final Fantasy X (I bow to Squaresoft for their genius here). In FFX, you see people using magic right alongside strange, glowing pieces of technology, ranging from hand grenades to “airships” to control panels in the walls that are activated by magical spheres. Sci-fantasy is the combination of gritty, realistic, scientific technology that is often rooted in the laws of physics (no matter how bent they may be in that particular universe) and the freedom of magic-riddled, monster-infested, prophecy-strewn fantasy worlds who seem to be permanently stuck in the bronze ages.

Orcs with transmogrifier rays? Werewolves with anti-aircraft missile launchers? Elven princesses rubbing elbows with one-eyed cyborgs aboard airships that sail between worlds (and everyone can be on the deck without oxygen masks)?

Yep, those are all sci-fantasy. It is a fantastic, bewildering hybrid genre that, I believe, will quickly see more and more representation in TV shows, movies, video games, and novels. I can name half a dozen examples off the top of my head: Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Fifth Element, Ykinde, Chronicles of Riddick, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Dragonriders of Pern (-if- you count things like telepathy, soul-bonding, and telekinesis as “magic” or “fantasy,” which I do).

I, myself, have always professed to be a sci-fantasy writer. I dabble in pure science fiction from time to time, or high fantasy, but I have an absolute love of precisely explaining how everything fits into laws of nature and physics… even magic. I am a degree-less biologist; I know enough science to have a clue how to make even difficult things work. And I am an avid fiction-reader and gamer. All of this exposes me to the wild and wonderful vista of creativity in all its varied forms.

What I noticed is that… well, there aren’t many people talking about sci-fantasy. It may just not be a popular term; a Google search comes up with about 85,000 results. For Google, that’s pocket change.

So, in an attempt to prod what readers I may have into talking… Is “sci-fantasy” the term of choice? Am I missing some more widely-used term to describe this sort of thing? What are -your- favorite sci-fantasy books, movies, and games?

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