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Words about 4theWords
I am increasingly weirded out by the fact that there does not appear to be any fanfic for 4theWords. Like, does that seem bizarre to anyone else?
For those unaware, 4theWords is a game for writers. It's built around word count. The basic mechanic is, you face various monsters, and the monsters have a health bar measured out in word count. The more words you type, the lower the monster's health gets, and if you type enough words within the time limit, you win, beat the monster, and get loot. There are quests, there's a storyline, you get cool cosmetic items to dress up your avatar, it's a pretty standard RPG except that you fight with typing instead of with spells and combat abilities.
And it's really helpful, honestly? It has helped my productivity a LOT. It's really useful and motivating to have clear concrete goals and rewards in my writing. Big abstract goals like "write a story" are hard to grasp and manifest, but "write 444 words to beat up a Wignow and get enough leaves to turn in this quest" is clear and solid. And once you get started, before you know it you've beaten up a dozen other monsters and written thousands of words and huh, I think a first draft happened.
But 4theWords DOESN'T HAVE ANY FANFIC.
A game for writers, in which EVERY SINGLE PLAYER IS A WRITER, and this game has not one fic, as of this moment, on Ao3. None on fanfiction dot nest of voles! And that... how?
Honestly it's... kind of damning, really, with regards to the game's writing and lore. All these creative types using it, and not one of us is actually inspired to create anything ABOUT it? I admit, I barely understand anything about the plot or remember the name of any of the characters. It's pretty generic RPG fantasy, I think, albeit with a reasonably cute art style.
Maybe it's that gameplay and plot are so divorced. Like, within the game world, I think our characters are supposedly just fighting with swords and spears like in a regular RPG game, and the words we're writing are this completely separate thing that has nothing to do with what happens in the world. Like how pushing a button on my keyboard in WoW makes my rogue stab a mob, pushing ALL the buttons on my keyboard makes my character beat up leaf creatures in 4theWords. If they'd actually tied in creativity and making words to the core concept of the story, would we actually be paying attention to it?
I have no idea. I just know it's WEIRD.
For what it's worth, I absolutely do recommend 4theWords as a way to set goals, stay motivated, and feel accomplished while writing. I just... wish I could recommend it as a world and an inspiration for that writing?
For those unaware, 4theWords is a game for writers. It's built around word count. The basic mechanic is, you face various monsters, and the monsters have a health bar measured out in word count. The more words you type, the lower the monster's health gets, and if you type enough words within the time limit, you win, beat the monster, and get loot. There are quests, there's a storyline, you get cool cosmetic items to dress up your avatar, it's a pretty standard RPG except that you fight with typing instead of with spells and combat abilities.
And it's really helpful, honestly? It has helped my productivity a LOT. It's really useful and motivating to have clear concrete goals and rewards in my writing. Big abstract goals like "write a story" are hard to grasp and manifest, but "write 444 words to beat up a Wignow and get enough leaves to turn in this quest" is clear and solid. And once you get started, before you know it you've beaten up a dozen other monsters and written thousands of words and huh, I think a first draft happened.
But 4theWords DOESN'T HAVE ANY FANFIC.
A game for writers, in which EVERY SINGLE PLAYER IS A WRITER, and this game has not one fic, as of this moment, on Ao3. None on fanfiction dot nest of voles! And that... how?
Honestly it's... kind of damning, really, with regards to the game's writing and lore. All these creative types using it, and not one of us is actually inspired to create anything ABOUT it? I admit, I barely understand anything about the plot or remember the name of any of the characters. It's pretty generic RPG fantasy, I think, albeit with a reasonably cute art style.
Maybe it's that gameplay and plot are so divorced. Like, within the game world, I think our characters are supposedly just fighting with swords and spears like in a regular RPG game, and the words we're writing are this completely separate thing that has nothing to do with what happens in the world. Like how pushing a button on my keyboard in WoW makes my rogue stab a mob, pushing ALL the buttons on my keyboard makes my character beat up leaf creatures in 4theWords. If they'd actually tied in creativity and making words to the core concept of the story, would we actually be paying attention to it?
I have no idea. I just know it's WEIRD.
For what it's worth, I absolutely do recommend 4theWords as a way to set goals, stay motivated, and feel accomplished while writing. I just... wish I could recommend it as a world and an inspiration for that writing?