High Fantasy/Low Fantasy/Power Fantasy

[Krensky]

Doesn't look like people here agree with the Wikipedia definitions. So, do gamers use other definitions, should we challenge the ones from fantasy fandom?

Or are gamers just uninformed of the fantasy fandom terms?

The Wikipedia articles properly describe the genres of high and low fantasy as used by literary criticism, with proper citations. The article's descriptions match up with my Lit classes in college.

The responses here are uninformed.

 

[Aus_Snow]

roleplaying != fiction.

 

[Krensky]

roleplaying != fiction.

math != to english.

That said, would you care to explain how something that meets the definition of fiction is not fiction?

 

[S'mon]

The Wikipedia articles properly describe the genres of high and low fantasy as used by literary criticism, with proper citations. The article's descriptions match up with my Lit classes in college.

They don't seem useful though - there's nothing inherently 'high' about 'secondary world', and certainly nothing 'low' about (theoretically?) 'primary world' fiction - and how can fantasy ever be set in the real world?

Of course when it comes to litcrit, being useless and obfuscatory may be seen as positive attributes...

 

[Aus_Snow]

math != to english.

That said, would you care to explain how something that meets the definition of fiction is not fiction?

1!

That said, first of all, what is it that meets the definition of fiction, according to you?

 

[ggroy]

They don't seem useful though - there's nothing inherently 'high' about 'secondary world', and certainly nothing 'low' about (theoretically?) 'primary world' fiction - and how can fantasy ever be set in the real world?

Of course when it comes to litcrit, being useless and obfuscatory may be seen as positive attributes...

This isn't much better than how alignment terms in AD&D are used.

People who don't play D&D may see terms like "chaotic good" or "lawful evil" as oxymorons or outright self-contradictions.

 

[S'mon]

This isn't much better than how alignment terms in AD&D are used.

People who don't play D&D may see terms like "chaotic good" or "lawful evil" as oxymorons or outright self-contradictions.

Yes, AD&D Alignment is also bad.

 

[ggroy]

The problem with genre/field dependent definitions for a specific jargon term, is that people who are not familiar with it may not necessarily know what it really means. An outsider or even somebody in a tangentially related genre/field, may interpret it slightly differently or by combinations of the dictionary definitions of the words which make up a particular jargon term.

EDIT: The latter can be the case of a person who doesn't play D&D, who thinks the terms "chaotic good" or "lawful evil" are self-contradictory or oxymoronic, based on cultural perceptions and definitions of the words good, evil, law, and chaos.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

RPGing has been around for well more than a generation now. I think it deserves its own jargon distinct from any other discipline (no matter how informal or ill-defined it may be )

Lit crit terminology and RPGers' lingo are simply different. Certainly there's overlap, but they're rooted in the same place. I'm sure there are other "misused" terms from other disciplines, as well.

 

[ggroy]

I'm sure there are other "misused" terms from other disciplines, as well.

Definitions used by mathematicians, which aren't used commonly outside of pure mathematics.