Enjoyable vs. Good · 6:42pm Jun 21st, 2013
Ugh. Blech. Man. I've been absolutely pooped lately. Really cut into my writing schedule, too. Next chapter of Louder Than Words should be up tomorrow. I wanted to get this up way earlier, but I've been feeling kind of sick and exhausted. Oh well, can't win 'em all. At least I can still keep the chapters coming!
Anyway, I've been having lots of fun writing Louder Than Words. I don't know why, but it's just... fun! More than I anticipated. I started finishing it hoping I could just get it out of the way as soon as possible, and then move on to something else (something you guys are probably looking forward to). But surprisingly... nope! Funny, because this story doesn't have a whole lot of thought behind it. Purely story-wise, I'd say it's the worst thing I've come up with and written out so far. The one edge it has is that the prose is a vast improvement over my earlier stuff.
Still, people enjoy it. I enjoy writing it, and a bunch of others enjoy reading it. And that's all that matters, right?
Well, not for everyone. Countless times, I've seen people insulted for liking something different. Or enjoying something that is considered to be bad. And I mean 'bad' in the sense of 'poorly made', not in the sense of 'unenjoyable'. It isn't hard to come up with examples for this: the Twilight series, the Star Wars prequels, et cetera. Many people enjoy them, but you almost can't start a conversation about them without someone mentioning how terrible they are.
It always struck me as kind of silly. Sure, not all things are equally good. Not all things are equally enjoyable, either. Many things that are considered good are not very enjoyable, like most Dutch literature (Some of the twelve books I had to read in high school rank among the most boring pieces of fiction I have ever witnessed). On the other hand, many things that are enjoyable are not necessarily good, like... Well, insert horrible, popular thing of your choice here.
There's a bit of a schism: there are many, many people who just want something to enjoy, something that appeals to the senses and to imagination, while others prefer things that have a clear and thought-out structure, even though everything attached to it is less good. Kind of like choosing between a golden house with dirt foundation, or a dirt house with golden foundation. Yes, I know gold is terrible for this, just roll with it for the sake of the metaphor.
Does it actually matter? Not really, in my opinion. I can appreciate both sides: there have been absolutely awful things I had lots of fun with. I'm sure everyone can think of a movie that was so incredibly bad, that it turned out to be really funny. On the other hand, there are some incredibly well-made things that weren't exactly fun. Like Spec Ops: The Line, which is arguably the least fun I ever had with a video game.
When it comes to the stuff I write, I'm not so sure if it's well-written or not. I lean towards 'not', but hey, you're your own worst critic. What I'm pretty sure of, however, is that it's all very enjoyable! Else, nearly 13k people wouldn't have read it Thrown Abroad all the way through to the end. Or over 3k in the case of My Little Changeling, but then again, that one's a whole lot longer. And since entertaining people is my number one goal, I'd say that's just fine. I'll keep improving, of course, but at least I've got the enjoyable part down.
I just find it so unnecessary to insult people over what they like. It doesn't matter whether you watch MLP, or read Twilight, or whatever, what matters is that you're having fun. That's why many of us spend time reading, listening, watching or playing. To enjoy it. And as is true for almost everything, people have different tastes, so we enjoy different things.
Unless some killjoy comes along who is vehemently opposed to anyone who doesn't enjoy the exact same stuff they do. That guy's the worst and just saps all enjoyment from everything ever, like a living fun-vacuum, making even fun things boring because he just can't shut up about his opinion. Don't be that guy.
You kinda stink at metaphors.
1158863 The metaphor is weird, because gold is a really bad building material. It's soft and can't support the weight of a house, or itself.
I've generalized this into something I call the Fanboy Principle: Quality and popularity are orthogonal. Whether something is good, and whether people like it, are two different things, and have little or nothing to do with each other. It's surprisingly versatile: it covers what you're talking about here, but also reminds hipsters that things aren't necessarily worse now that everyone knows about them; explains why critically-acclaimed movies flop at the box office; reminds ~~xxxGokuSaiyan5782xxx~~ that just because you like DragonBall XZ doesn't mean it's flawlessly-crafted; and so forth.
You have just expressed one of the biggest rules of my social philosophy.
*Raises glass*
HERE HERE!
*realizes I'm underaged*
*shrugs*
*drinks it anyway*
The only part of this I have a problem with is that you insulted Spec Ops: The Line. Yes, it was not very FUN but it wasn't meant to be, I found it VERY enjoyable for the story, characters, and all the other things games have beside game play. (P.S. if you want a game to tell you a very good story and find Spec Ops: The Line on sale, buy it. /end shameless plug/)
1159082
Insulted? Then I must've worded everything about it completely wrong, because I love Spec Ops: The Line! It's an amazing game, which, even though it's not fun to play, has such strong themes and presents them so well that you're more likely to enjoy it after finishing it, as you think about the experience. However, it doesn't give the happy or contented feeling of 'fun', because you feel like an absolute monster while playing the game. That's the distinction I wanted to make: it is an incredibly well-made game, but not inherently enjoyable: the player is required to reflect on it to gain enjoyment. Luckily, the game is written extremely well, and it's extremely compelling, so the player is very likely to do this.
Regardless, I probably should've elaborated my point a bit more.
1158863
I know, I'm about as bad at metaphors as a door is at squashing oranges. Which actually wouldn't be that bad because doors are pretty big, so if you drop them on an orange, it's likely to be squashed. So I guess like a door that's full of holes, or something? I don't know who'd make that, but, y'know, there's probably some of 'em out there, and the people making them probably don't make that much money, because honestly, who buys a door with holes in it? Kinda defeats the whole point of having a door. You wouldn't even need any tools to break in! In fact, why not use the tools to squash those oranges? Hammers, wrenches, they're all fine tools for the job.
So yeah, when it comes to metaphors I'm kind of a tool.
Wait, what was I talking about, again?
The only times I get up in arms is when one of these two things happen:
1) People think that because it was enjoyable, it was high quality.
2) People think that because it wasn't enjoyable, it was poor quality.
Those two irk me the most.
Concurred. There really isn't any point or need to it. I suppose could now wax philosophical on why it happens anyway, but that'd be boring and probably liable to start exactly what I'm criticizing...and I guess I'm not exactly an authority on the subject either, so I probably ought do research first anyway, and that's boring too.
Anyway, I find it far easier, when I find something I don't like, to just ignore it and not get involved. No muss, no fuss, and that way nobody's self-esteem is bruised.
Besides, if ANY insulting must be done, most likely somebody else will do it if you don't, so I say let them deal with that, and even if they don't come along, silence can speak volumes too.
It's all very subjective. Even "well-made" is quite subjective, and I think the talk about Spec Ops: The Line demonstrates that pretty well: I thought the gameplay was decent(ish), for a cover-based shooter (Which isn't exactly saying much...), but that the plotline and story was abysmal, and I think that the themes it was trying to portray were not done well.
But I certainly agree that it's not something worthy of insulting others over. Entertainment is subjective. Them liking (or not liking) something isn't going to have any negative effect on you. Some people need to realize that it's perfectly fine for someone to like something you don't...
(...Even if they're wrong!
)