Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="greyscale1" data-source="post: 4360808" data-attributes="member: 65303">I approve heartily of Hussars definition of Sci-fi versus fantasy.When I think of Sci-fi I think of it in four distinct ways:1. Does it have future technology? Are there lasers? Is it in any way in space? Pew Pew?2. Is there an internal consistency to the 'mechanics' of the world and the people within it? Can the people learn how the system works and exploit it (as per real life). In sci-fi the denizens of the universe tend to know (or have the theoretical capabilities to know) anything there is to be known. They then act in order to attain and exploit (realistically) any knowledge that is there. StarWars is fantasy, and Midechlorians was just as much a shift towards science fiction as it was a punch in the face of fans.3. Is it hard to be a hero? In fantasy whether you are a hero depends on what you want to do. Heroes in fantasy tend to grow on their way and tend to operate under a different set of rules than the rest of the world. In Sci-fi to be a hero you have to have some spectacular reason to be. For example, in Ender's game Ender is basically bred to be a super-genius, then spends his whole life training for one particular act. In fantasy, characters face many extremely difficult encounters and overcome them all (lets say). In Sci-fi if the heroes are still alive, it is because they have gotten lucky, made extremely tactile decisions, and probably weren't facing the most impossible of challenges. In other words, in a true Sci-Fi, pluck alone will not save you. In Sci-fi, the heroes are almost always separated from the pact by more than destiny. They are the best of the best.4. The theme. Fantasy tends to be more based on character based fables; coming of age stories, etc.  Sci-fi is more based on sweeping philosphical arguments. What does it mean to be human? In Fantasy the theme usually developes around the character(s). In Sci-fi the characters are usually used to support philosphical thought as Paul (and more especially Leto, for those who read God Emperor of Dune) exemplifies.</blockquote>

Verification