-Have you ever read (or watched) a story with various fantastic species, and suspended your disbelief for some more than others?
“Okay they’re teaming up with the elves….to negotiate with the goblins, and then…hey wait, there’s unicorns in this world? Why??”
-Have you ever been at odds with the various theories and workings of magic described?
“Since when do tears bring anybody back to life?? It would be much more interesting if she bought a DIY necromancy kit, or traveled to the celestial plane to bargain for his soul.”
-Or maybe your ideal fantasy world is more like the real world than a fantasy world, except for a few shy, ancient beings who dabble in minor nature magic.
I’m still in the process of discovering what my ideal world would be. My jewelry designs help with that a lot. (Or does my vague idea of what I like best in fantasy help me design jewelry better??) Some of my jewelry designs interest me more than others, or I’ll feel more connected with one backstory than another. I even think there are more kinds of worlds I like than just one. These designs are the closest to the style of the one I would call ideal:
In fantasy worlds, I like advanced technology just short of gunpowder. Magic is advanced, and has clear rules.
Races would definitely include elves and dwarves, though I’m kind of neutral on the specifics of the guttural race of savage humanoids that’s always supposed to be making trouble. It’s more interesting when the details of their culture are developed enough that you can root for them or at least respect their side. (Dragon Age did this really well with the Qunari.)
Speaking of dragons, I can’t decide whether I prefer them to be friendly or evil. I guess I just don’t like the extremes. Not singing with children and puppies, but not brutal animals either.
No anthropomorphic animals, and as you might have guessed by my earlier examples, I like unicorns, pixies, and fairies to be shy and rare. (And by “rare” I mean hard to find, not cooked medium-rare!!)
Slightly off-topic, but I’m not a fan of insect-based races in sci-fi….although I haven’t experienced Mass Effect, Starcraft, or any of the Ender’s Game sequels. (I only read the Ender’s Shadow series.)
What elements make up your ideal fantasy world?
The only insectoid race in Mass Effect are the Rachni, which you rarely meet. (Like, in the first game and the thist game for one mission only each time).The most creative ones in the ME ‘verse are the Yahg, but you have to buy a DLC to really meet one. *Glares at developers*
I like Tolkien’s Elves more than Paolini’s beacuse the latter’s Elves are VERY aloof and powerful and mystical and way too caught up in honour and politeness to really be themselves. Dragons are always powerful, magical beings (how else can somtheing of that size fly?), some more evil and some more good than others, but they’re all immensely intelligent, most breathe fire and all dragons have four legs and two wings. A two-legged dragon is a wyvern and a dragon without legs is a wyrm or lindorm. More than four legs and you’re looking at mutations and/or deities.
How about this: the savage humanoids are humans. Of course, this would probably result in a shitstorm of the manure-hits-the-windmill size, but I’ve yet to see it implemented.
Interesting…I got the impression that you meet insectoids more often in Mass Effect. Speaking of DLC, I noticed it a lot in Dragon Age. The story didn’t seem incomplete without it, but I didn’t like the feeling that I was missing out.
I don’t like Paolini’s elves either. When I read a part with elves, It’s like I feel him reading over my shoulder, going “Aren’t they SO aloof and mysterious?? Huh? Huh?”
Your dragon explanation fits mine perfectly! D&D dragons are similar, but a little too neat and organized for my taste. All metallic dragons are good. All colorful dragons are evil. Red dragons are exactly like this, white dragons are exactly like that. All bronze dragons are exactly like this other thing. It loses some of the mystery in a story if the characters meet a dragon, and the knowledgeable one can rattle off everything about him just based on what color he is. I like it best when they meet just “a dragon” and have to find out for themselves his personality and whether or not he can be trusted.
That was a GREAT idea about a world where humans, by comparison, are the savage race manipulated into being tools of the dark lord. If you don’t mind, I’d love to write a short story about that someday!