Knowledge: what a great way of realizing the potential of impossibility.

“Where do your ideas come from?”  is one of those impossible questions people like to ask writers.  Ideas come from… being a writer, sort of.  You wouldn’t write if you didn’t have any ideas.  It’s akin to asking someone what their most essential qualities are—they might have a clue, but they can’t possibly give you the murder weapon and point you to the conservatory. 

(yeah, it’s maybe too subtle, too bad)

But I realized something about my ideas!  And lacking sleep or any other Smatterings ideas, I figured I’d write about it. 

I like understanding things.  The nitty-gritty of how moments cohere as a process unfolds all the way up to the lumbering interactions of clashing systems: awesome.  I just want to know what’s going on. Why is it happening?  From photosynthesis to vectors to calculus to rules about what healthcare options pastors have, I want to know the ins and outs.  Sometimes it means I know interesting and useful things; sometimes it means I know IRS rules about flexible spending accounts.  Either way, it’s part of who I am, which means it’s a part of my process as a writer. 

In Final Fantasy, there’s a spell called Demi.  Demi deals damage equal to ¼ of your target’s current life.  Since magic is tied to different elements (fire, ice, wind) in Final Fantasy, some designer got to thinking and decided that Demi was gravity magic. 

Gravity magic. 

What is gravity?  A physical law.  Of science. 

This designer created science magic. 

Which is dumb as hell.  But I love it.  It’s some combination of oil and water, of bringing together what should never coexist and making it a tasty salad dressing, of playing with knowledge.  It’s grown-up “what if?”  It’s needing a rationale and realizing that the world cannot explain magic or abstract systems like hit points and needing to present it as utterly logical anyway. 

I’ve deemed this type of thinking re-mystifying.  You know how the world really works… but wouldn’t it be interesting if someone could just tweak that?  Make friction his toy? 

(…hey ladies)

Or turn human emotions into a resource system?  Make faith and doubt an intertwined hydroelectric power plant for deities?  You need electricity, and you should never mix it with water—but water makes some damn fine electricity.  So why shouldn’t arrogance taste like Gatorade and turn athletes into an unstoppable army? 

Why shouldn’t 110% be possible? 

It’s escapism, guys.  Of course you can put big ideas in there.  If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, I love ideas.  More games should tackle high-minded concepts—and many, many more games should have fun doing so.  Play with your facts.  It’s a great way of breathing new life into an old world. 

(or breathing new life into your ever-expanding roster of characters… just sayin’)  

Also, could someone take this image and make the third gear says "BOOBS"?  It's impossible to find a picture about creativity that isn't being lofty about it.  Lighten up, guys.  Being pretentious doesn't make you a better artist.  

Bonus points for making the third hole a nipple.   

(a subtle nipple)