Worlds I want to live in: Part V

Across the Universe

Okay, so as you'll maybe have heard it from sticking around this blog, but recently I've been making full use of my quarantine time by diving into the weird world of Kingdom Hearts. This does mean I've pretty much spent the past 3 days try-harding a kids game (Those Superbosses are no joke) so I need something more familiar to soothe back into the rhythm of things. But at the same time, I can't really take myself out of the mindset of spiky hair and oversized swords, so why don't I just strike a balance for this special edition of 'Worlds I want to live in'? As Kingdom Hearts is borne from an unlikely union between Final Fantasy and Disney, perhaps it would behove us to look into one of gaming's largest franchises to find some cool fantasy worlds to postulate over.

Of course, the idea of this blog is to wonder about what it would be like to live in a virtual world, not as a godly hero but as an everyday scrubby nobody. This way I intend to form a fair opinion on the cons of the fictional world in question rather than on the the heroes who inhabit it. Final Fantasy, if you don't know, is a series of anthology stories, with each full integer entry containing an entire new cast and world whilst retaining a few overarching themes, styles and monsters. This means that there's literally 15 games worth of unique worlds to shift through that would work absolute wonders for this list, but I'm going to keep things relatively sedate for this selection by only going through the three games that were part of Fabula Nova Crystallis.

Now for the uniformed, and I'd imagine there's even a few FF fans who have no idea about this, Fabula Nova Crystallis was a sub-series of Final Fantasy games that existed within the main line-up and followed all the traditions of the franchise only with more of a similarity between narratives. Roughly translated as "Tale of the new Crystal" from Latin, these games would tell stories of worlds where mortals are caught up in wars between the gods, or the aftermaths of such, with the divine link between the two planes being through the mystical power of some sort of Crystal. That means that these games are technically completely disconnected, whilst sharing similar story beats, so I'm allowed to count each entry as it's own separate entity and you can't admonish me for it! (Although one could say that by coincidence each game could be argued as having taken place millennia apart from each other on the same world if you squint your eyes and tilt your head a bit.)

The first game in this series just happens to be Final Fantasy XIII, which takes place in the futuristic cyberpunk-esque world of Gran Pulse. This place is a giant and wild planet full to the brim of toothy monsters and giant stomping beasts, with a distinct lack of large chunks of society. That's because the majority of this world live on the artificial moon of  Cocoon, a giant technologically advanced sphere that is ruled by the theocratic Sanctum. What theology is that, you ask? That of the god-like fal'Cie, who are these mechanical primordial beings all based upon the classic summons in the Final Fantasy series. All the major infrastructure of this sky-city is granted unto the people through the mysterious power of these fal'Cie, and the Sanctum are the ones who dole those resources out to the people. (A responsibility they take fullest advantage of.)

Of course, things aren't all sunshine and rainbows on Cocoon (Or Gran Pulse, for that matter) and the slight tyrannical leanings of the government has the tendency to evoke the odd cry of unrest from more unruly elements of the populace. The NORA paramilitary company are known to strike against the Sanctum through flashy terrorist strikes, and if this sounds a lot like FF7 that's because it pretty much is. The Sanctum are so afraid of losing power, in fact, that they will send the entire city into lockdown upon the appearance of a l'Cie, (A human branded as a servant of a fal'Cie) upturning everyone's lives in order to hunt down these beings and ensure that the careful balance of their world is not upset by a change of heart from their godly hosts.

Now if we are take a positive look at this world than we would have to be honest, is living in freedom really that alluring? I mean sure, everyone wants freedom until they get it and realise that they have nothing to do and now their life lacks structure and they'd be better off growing the balls to finally hang themselves instead of wasting their time writing stupid blogs everyda- (Huh, got a little of track there.) The arrangement that the Sanctum have with the fal'Cie ensures that literally every need of the city is met without any real requirement for maintenance jobs. (that being said, you do spend a lot of the game running through maintenance tunnels for some unexplained reason) That essentially means we're looking at a society wherein there are no service jobs because our robot gods handle everything; doesn't that just sound like a seedbed for creative thought? Maybe that's why much of the architecture around Cocoon looks like something dreamt up in an enlightened seraphic haze. Imagine the life you could live in such a world!

Of course, the toss-up would be living in a hyper vigilant world where everybody's life is dictated by the whim of the Sanctum, to the point where everyone pretty much works for them. Everywhere in the city is patrolled by heavily armed guards and at any point the paranoia of the Sanctum can reach such a point that they are willing to 'Purge' huge chunks of the city for 'being touched by Gran Pulse' (Basically for receiving influence from any fal'Cie that aren't on the same page as Cocoon's fal'Cie) Also, you'll be living your entire life in synthetic sunlight, as the Sanctum go above and beyond themselves to weave grand lies about the savagery of Gran Pulse (Okay, half-lies; the wildlife will really kill you.) and you cannot even go for so much as a visit without being permanently exiled from your home. So if you're cool with hanging around in a basically fascist society (and who isn't?) than Cocoon is the vacation paradise for you.

Although perhaps you're looking for something a little more 'rustic' and 'down to earth'. Rather than giant architectural marvels and marvellous feats of engineering, maybe you prefer the surrounding of quaint terraced roofs with the odd touch of history to it. if that's the case, then maybe Final Fantasy Type-0's 'Orinence' is the right destination for you. Divided between the four crystal states of Rubrum, Milites, Concordia and Lorican; Orinence mirrors a feudal Japan style to the world albeit with strangely modern technologies for the world. Rubrum specialises in teaching it's students magic whilst Milites works on rustic automatons and automatic weaponry. Concordia is the home of the beast masters who control the skies and Lorican is the home of... I dunno; Shields? (It's never really made clear.) Each of these nation's society revolves around their respective Peristylium: a research academy dedicated to the study of their godly crystal which grants each country it's prosperity. (Albeit in a more abstract way than for XIII's robot gods)

So this is a land of quite stark diversity and variance to it, right? Well unfortunately that also means it's a land of great strife with the four nations locked in a conflict that has, at this point, transcended generations. Each country has scarified a lot of their own society towards forcing an army to war, to the point where practically everyone is born into the worn effort and will eventually die there. Lorican was even unfortunate enough to lose their entire home as their's was the first to taste the power of Milites' superweapons. These wars are all in the hope of gaining control of the other nation's crystals under the vague hope that doing so will grant the nation who unites them the power to change the world. This is fuelled by the frustratingly vague prophecy; "When Nine and Nine meet Nine, a voice like thunder will sound, the depths of reason shall stir and thou shalt know: I have arrived" (No there's no secret meaning behind that. The writers just thought it sounded cool)

In the realms of the positive, sure it's likely that you'll be born into the war machine of whichever country you're unlucky enough to be sired in, but that doesn't mean you have to live a terrible life. (Although perhaps a short one is inevitable.) Those of Rubrum have an academy dedicated to training the next generation of magical soldiers, you could get a job as a janitor there in order to avoid the frontlines. Or you could just go and live in one of the quaint vaguely-Germanic villages which dot the landscape in the knowledge that the war likely won't touch you too badly. As this is a world of so many disparate societies, that means there will be much to see and learn for those that are willing, too. This world boasts masters of technology and magic, alongside those who have learnt to live side and side with powerful wyverns; imagine the sorts of people you could meet in such a landscape, the things you could learn only there and nowhere else!

But, of course, there will be wars going on twenty-four-seven, and that'll be a little bit of a downer for folk I'd imagine. In fact in the land of Rubrum, which for my money is the most well-rounded society, you'll find yourself 'blessed' with the boon of 'forgetfulness'; to the tune of you literally forgetting the faces and names of the deceased the second that they die. This is meant to make it so that folk aren't crippled by mourning and can continue the war effort, but that is a pretty depressing world to live in, don't you think? Your life is dedicated to fighting a war which you won't even be remembered for once you die. What makes everything worse, and yes this is a huge spoiler; the powerful godlike crystals which rule the land have used their servants, the l'Cie (Yeah, that's another lore crossover) to lock the land in a literal time loop until the war ends in the outcome that they want. Yup, that means being locked in a literal hell of being bought back to life and dying over and over forever. But if that's worth the cute little houses, than by all means; enjoy your time in Orinence!

Finally there is the world that is the most similar to our own; that of Eos in Final Fantasy XV. This is a world that is almost identical to ours in terms of modern convenience with the obvious exception of there being magic and monsters. (As far as I'm aware, we don't have those.) Just like in Orinence, the world is split between nations, however only the holy kingdom of Lucis boasts their own Crystal. Theirs was given by the gods (or Astrals) and supposedly contains the soul of the world. Eos itself is made up of two huge continents, with only one really being all that habitable, ensuring that the nations that do exist have to do so in extreme proximity to one another. (A situation which always seems to breed contempt, somehow.)

Recent years haven't exactly been kind to the land of Eos as tensions between the two biggest nations, Lucis and Niflheim have steadily soured after the arrangement of a forced political marriage between the crown prince of Lucis and the Princess of Tenebrae. (The kids seem to love each other well enough but no one really wants this political move to take place.) As a result things suddenly broke out into open hostilities between the nations as  Niflheim assassinated the king of Lucis and started hunting down the crown prince, apparently wilfully forgetting the widely accepted fact that the royal line of Lucis is meant to birth the King of Light who's job it is to save the world from eternal night. So, yup; this means we have another world fraught with warfare and chaos. (I'm starting to see a pattern in these Square Enix worlds)

On the upside, Eos is home to many modern conveniences that most will find familiar and comforting. You have cars, skyscrapers, heated beds, everything your little heart could need for a comfortable vacation. Also, there are no seas between any of the nations, so you can go and visit a new country will minimal travel stress and engulf yourself in a brand new culture. You can also rest assured that this time the war in the world is unique to the nations of Lucis and Nilfheim, so you pretty much just hop off to the Venice-inspired town of Altissia and enjoy the stunning sights and friendly locales. You also live in a world where healthcare is completely replaced with much more efficient healing magic, all the world's currency is unified under Gil and despite the known and accepted existence of godly presences in the world, no theocratic superstate has yet to form and force everyone to bow to their ways. (Isn't that nice?)

However there is the downside that living as a nobody is this world is going to make you unfortunate collateral no matter where you go. Sure, Altissia is not 'technically' part of the war, but you can bet the army will subjugate it the second they think the Crown Prince has gone there, robbing Eos of it's number one holiday spot. Yeah, you live out in the small town Lestallum, away from all the action and chaos, until that place falls under the thumb of the military for the same fears. Basically no matter where you go you'll find freedoms being revoked because of someone else's war, and that's not really fun for anyone, now is it? All that's not even taking to account that the second the True King starts to realise his power, everyone in the world becomes subject to frankly apocalyptic events which makes living as a bystander literally impossible. (Because you'll be dead.) Hell, he summons an Astral to Altissia and literally floods the entire city; what a bastard! And even if you're lucky enough to dodge catastrophe for the majority of your life, you'll only be greeted by the unavoidable 10 year night once the True King goes into his slumber. That's ten whole years where the entire world is besieged by constant hoards of demons and monsters whilst waiting for pretty boy to come back and save everyone. But if you're use to staying indoors for decades at a time, then maybe Eos' natural beauty and magical conveniences will win you over.

There's three more fictional worlds that seem fun to live in until they don't, and I found myself wondering exactly which one catches my fancy most, as if I had to choose from the three. Out of these on offer, personally I would find a small bed and breakfast to live out of in Eos, as that's the only world which really has a happily ever after. (Provided I survive the long night.) Plus, as cool as it sounds to live in the futuristic Cocoon, I'd imagine that living under a dictatorship might clash a little with the benefits of being in an artistically freeing society. (And Orinence's 'Time loop' nonsense can take a hike) But that's just my opinion, which may be slightly tainted by the fact that Final Fantasy 15 was my most liked game out of the three, and I'm sure you have your own leanings. Maybe next time I'll pick three more distinct worlds. (I don't know, I haven't planned it yet.)

Are friends electric?

I hate to ask...

Companionship. One of the enduring traits of humanity is the desire for company, so that we don't have to go through this life alone. It's why we surround ourselves with family and friends; why we include ourselves in society and why, deep down, we just want to be loved. Or something like that, I dunno. I'm just trying to justify the reason that we connect in such a strong way to fictional characters in media. Such to a degree that we feel like we care about them. Just look at the cast of Game of Thrones, (Ignoring season 8) and how many people, including myself, felt genuinely distraught after the brutal murder of our favourite character. Or the fan petitions for the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when... Infinity war happened and then... endgame happened. (Still not sure about the time frame for spoiler etiquette.) If portrayed right, fans can end up caring about these fictional creations as though they were real, breathing friends.

Video games are no different. In fact, sometimes Video game characters and companions can evoke an even greater degree of affinity then any movie character could hope to inspire. Perhaps it is a result of the immersion that a well realised game world can create; a testament to the authenticity of a vision that inspires authentic emotion. The same something special that has us thinking on a story long after we put the controller down, wracking our brains over decisions we made and the people we lost. RPG's especially seem to key into this mindset, at least for me, with the best examples presenting you with companions that you would defend in a heartbeat. But why is it that we find ourselves in these positions? Why do we care about the fate of those that are, ultimately, not real? Well, a few factors go into play.

The first I want to discuss is: Authenticity. It's a word I use a lot when describing fictional worlds that feel real but are not necessarily a reflection of reality, such as the worlds of Game of Thrones, The Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Dragon Age, Even the Divinity Series. However, I want to stress the fact that authenticity is distinct from accuracy. An accurate fictional world attempts to capture all the details, big and small, of it's subject, whether in visual depiction, feeling or both. An authentic fictional world seeks to offer viewers something they've never seen before whilst presenting it in a manner so that they believe that such a place could exist. If a world feels authentic, then it helps make the people in that world feel authentic too. If we allow ourselves to fall for the fiction that a world magic can exist, is it so hard to for us to then believe in the sprites that inhabit that world?

Secondly, the writing of a character comes into play. An extension upon authenticity, the quality of writing plays a huge role in making the audience buy into the fiction. Vain creatures as we are, humans respond to traits and characteristics that reflect ourselves. We respond better to humanoid features like expressive eyes and facial hair, which is why anime characters have big eyes and CG Thanos from the MCU sports almost imperceptible stubble. We also like characters that demonstrate strength whilst also showing weakness, which is why some of the most enduring characters of pop culture can be flawed heroes like John Marston or Ezio. We want to see ourselves represented because we can recognize ourselves, and once we cross that threshold it becomes easier to see these imaginary creations as friends.

Thirdly, I believe interaction with the characters has a part to play. Now, 'interaction' is a difficult one because the exact meaning shifts if we're talking about a movie, book or game; but what I essentially mean by 'Interaction' is how close the perspective of the viewer is to that character. As in, is this a recurring character, is this character a friend, is the viewer in the shoes of that character, et cetera. Video Games have been establishing a close comradeship with it's cast through the use of companion characters for years. Those who share your adventure with you and save your life time and time again. In my exploration of emotive characters in fiction I want to first start with companions in gaming.

I could hardly go 5 minutes of talking video game companions without bringing up my favourite cast of characters from Fallout: New Vegas. In New Vegas, players are given a story of many sides as you are thrown into the middle of a war over the Mojave dam. Oodles of factions vie for the control over New Vegas and for you to help them achieve it, creating a situation where the player can find it difficult to know who to trust. Luckily for you, the player is given a whole host of memorable personalities to share the burdens of the land of sin with. Boone, Veronica, Cass, Arcade Ganon, Rex, Raul... and Lily, I guess.

The companions in Fallout games are the type that travel the wastes with you, risking life and limb, so they already share that instant bond-through-battle. However, in New Vegas the game takes it one step further. The cast of New Vegas are more than just hired guns, they are people with their own stories, troubles and dilemmas that they are in the process of dealing with when the courier walks into their lives. They care about the actions and decisions you make throughout the game and can come to respect or despise you in relation to the sides you choose in the coming conflict. Additionally, they all have a point at which they will trust the player enough to let them into their personal issues giving the player a way to help them out and through it.

Companion quests are what really push the New Vegas group into being a team you really care about as a player. They are exquisitely presented deep dives into that individual's world and troubles. Whether you're helping Boone open up about the death of his wife or Veronica come to terms with the prospect of leaving the only family she ever knew, you are positioned at a formulative moment in that person's life with the power to shape the person that they then become. Is there any greater sense of responsibility than helping to raise someone into the person they need to be? Most parents would likely argue not. In a way, that is the position that New Vegas places you in with it's cast. You become the parent and the companions are your children. The courier is never really an equal to his crew but more acts as a mentor. That is likely why it is so easy to care for that particular band of rogues.

The Witcher has a slightly different approach to endearing it's characters. Benefiting from being able to draw from Andrzej Sapkowski's novel series of the same name, 'The Witcher' game series did not need to spend time creating and introducing us to characters. Although most of the audience were not familiar with the fantasy novels, CD Projekt Red still opted to frame their tales in medias res; expecting the audience to pick up the story and cast as the went along. With a few clever drops of exposition here and there, soon everyone was familiar with Triss Merigold, Vesemir, Yennefer and Cirilla.

CDPR didn't need to have these characters follow Geralt around because they were already integrated so close to the story as Geralt's closest friends. With the player being put in the shoes of Geralt, it isn't too surprising why the audience comes to love them as much as he does. The Witcher is a very special RPG in the way that it allows for choice and consequence whilst still featuring established characters in a grounded, usually personal narrative. This means that the player may influence the direction of events but they never feel like the orchestrator of them, like anyone in life, really. A benefit of this approach is that the writers had an easier time directing the emotion of narrative, manipulating the audience into caring for people close to Geralt by familiarising the audience with their very human attributes. Ultimately, The strength of the Witcher's cast is a testament both to Andrzej Sapkowski's talent of crafting characters and CD Projekt Red's talent for utilising them.

So we come to Bioware. I speak of the team with a lot of high regard in terms to storytelling, and that is especially true with Dragon Age: Origins. As a traditional RPG series, Dragon Age is rife with memorable villains and companions in every entry; however, for my money the strongest lie in the original. This is both due to the framing of that story and the cast itself. Dragon Age: Origins was a story all about relationships, relationships between people, factions and nations. The Warden was tasked with uniting a country in order to save it's people, even when that country seems intent on tearing itself apart. You have to mend the shattered allegiances of Ferelden whilst working alongside a crew of, no other word for it, misfits. The sweet spy, Leliana; The wise teacher, Wynne; The bastard prince, Alistair; The suave assassin, Zeveran; The irritable witch, Morrigan; The apathetic golem, Shale; The drunken dwarf, Oghren and The faithful canine, Dog. Oh and Sten. I don't like Sten.

Almost every companion is diverse and intriguing in that way that Bioware can pull of better than anyone else. These are teammates that you fight and grow alongside and, just like New Vegas, the more time you spend with them the more they open up about themselves. The difference here is that you are very much on their level in Dragon Age, opening up your own weaknesses as they share theirs, and becoming a leader as they become who they are meant to be. Of course this means companion quests, which is my favourite way of solidifying a friendship, and even budding relationships as you progress with your team. You start of unifying a team of stranger and end off facing the end of world with a squad of stalwart friends and colleagues. And Sten. 

Final Fantasy 15 is another game with an absolutely great cast of characters. Grounded with the presentation of a road trip, and yet vast in the story of a chosen prince rising in order to face off against The Star Scourge. For FF15 the close interaction between the player, Noctis Lucis Caelum and his friends was the driving heart of the story. You would travel the road with them, meet new people, camp under the stars and just about do everything you would do on a road trip with real friends. (I assume.) Noctis travels the world with his best friend, Prompto; his royal advisor, Ignis and his royal protector, Gladiolus; and they all had a part to play in that coming of age story turned struggle between light and dark.

Final Fantasy is no stranger to emotional moments, with every game having at least one heart wrenching moment. They always focus around character driven moments and motives that expand your understanding of the people you share your party with. FF15 pushes this one step further, in my opinion, by basing the entire narrative around a close group of friends sacrificing their childhoods, their freedoms and eventually even some of their lives, in such a beautiful narrative. I may have even shed a tear once or twice. (Or I openly bawled three separate times.) Final Fantasy is just that well written, that even on it's fifteenth entry it can still introduce new characters that delight and surprise you and can leave you feeling hollow in their absence.

It would impossible for me to rattle off every single great companion in every Video Game; but I have provided a small petri dish of those that, I believe, present the fictional characters that most accurately represent friends. They all excel in traits that I think are necessary in making the fake seem real. They are all complex, vulnerable and unique; indicative of great writing and implementation. But why do we care so much about these fictional inventions?

Perhaps that is more of a question for a psychologist, however, from my point of view it comes down to that original trait of humanity I talked about; wanting not to be alone. Not that I'm accusing all the world of being lonely, but I believe us humans are hardwired to seek companionship wherever we can, even in the stories we read and the games we play. I can't say whether it is healthy to have one's entire group of friends exist entirely as a cast in some story, but there isn't any harm in connecting with a story that touches us in way we didn't expect. So maybe friends can be electric.