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RE: Thought Bubble Thursdays #5 - Nobody Stays Dead in the Comics
Wow, those are some SERIOUSLY EPIC deaths.
I read the fantasy series Malazan, which had about 30 billion characters and names to remember in its 10,000 pages (which means 3 million new characters a page, what a feat!). At first when a character died, I would feel a twisted sense of relief because I wouldn't have to keep track of them anymore. But then they would somehow come back from the dead or appear as a ghost or something and I would be so confused. And then I stopped caring if a character died at all. I would rather be able to grieve and move on in my own time.
Except for my character in video games. I hate the ones where my death means I have to start again!
Would you hate me if I said I haven't heard of Malazan before? When I searched for it, it seems pretty epic! Might have to carve up some time to delve into that world. But yeah... right!? Death should mean something. If characters get resurrected based on a writer's whim, then they shouldn't have just died in the first place. Removes all the stakes in the world. Death should bring some finality to something, and not leave possibilities of a return open.
You know, I've often thought that there was some deep philosophical lesson from games that force you to start the whole thing again. What if everything we build in our lives just come crashing down in one fell swoop? Why do we even try if anything we do, doesn't mean something? Aren't save spots just another way of removing the stakes brought by death?
Spot on - video games are full of those lessons. As participants instead of audience members, resurrection sounds a lot nicer. If I die right now I'd love for the Great Author in the Sky to give me another chance!
Oh definitely! No matter my stance, I would love to have as many tries at this thing we call life. Preferrably with the save state though instead of starting over from scratch haha!