Comments on: Some brief thoughts on metaphors and genres… http://troygilbert.com/2007/09/some-brief-thoughts-on-metaphors-and-genres/ Gamedev 2.0 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:08:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Troy http://troygilbert.com/2007/09/some-brief-thoughts-on-metaphors-and-genres/comment-page-1/#comment-2582 Troy Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:02:41 +0000 http://troygilbert.com/2007/09/25/some-brief-thoughts-on-metaphors-and-genres/#comment-2582 I would agree with you, Corvus. I most heartily agree that metaphors are very powerful, and to limit them to situations where they act as "Band-Aids" is to limit oneself unnecessarily. I use metaphors extensively when explaining almost anything (sometimes too often), as I personally find casting almost any situation in terms of various metaphors useful in opening new perspectives. Thanks for reading and commenting! I would agree with you, Corvus. I most heartily agree that metaphors are very powerful, and to limit them to situations where they act as “Band-Aids” is to limit oneself unnecessarily.

I use metaphors extensively when explaining almost anything (sometimes too often), as I personally find casting almost any situation in terms of various metaphors useful in opening new perspectives.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

]]> By: Corvus http://troygilbert.com/2007/09/some-brief-thoughts-on-metaphors-and-genres/comment-page-1/#comment-2577 Corvus Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:24:28 +0000 http://troygilbert.com/2007/09/25/some-brief-thoughts-on-metaphors-and-genres/#comment-2577 Decent article, but this quote bothered me: "Again, metaphors are a Band-Aid. They're used to get the idea across because – for whatever reason – there's no way to show it literally." I'd argue that there's no reason to show "it" literally. As a traditional storyteller, I can tell you that conveying an idea in a metaphoric sense is far more powerful than explicitly stating it. You're spot on about genre, though. While it's tempting to rebel against genre, it can be a very useful tool as well. We had some excellent posts that touched on genre for a Round Table on Conventions last September (<a href="http://blog.pjsattic.com/corvus/round-table/#0906" rel="nofollow">link</a>). Decent article, but this quote bothered me:

“Again, metaphors are a Band-Aid. They’re used to get the idea across because – for whatever reason – there’s no way to show it literally.”

I’d argue that there’s no reason to show “it” literally. As a traditional storyteller, I can tell you that conveying an idea in a metaphoric sense is far more powerful than explicitly stating it.

You’re spot on about genre, though. While it’s tempting to rebel against genre, it can be a very useful tool as well. We had some excellent posts that touched on genre for a Round Table on Conventions last September (link).

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