Will Wight, New York Times Best-Selling Author of 'Cradle'
  • Home
  • Books
    • Kickstarter Bonus Content!
  • A Blog of Dubious Intent
  • Podcast
  • Merch
  • Say Hello
  • Hidden Gnome Publishing
  • Press

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.

Terraria and Progression Fantasy

2/10/2022

55 Comments

 
Okay, I know this isn't about the new Cradle book, but I'm still forbidden by international treaty to talk about anything I'm working on. Therefore, I'll talk about something else I love: Terraria.

For those of you who don't know, Terraria is a game that's often called 2D Minecraft. Then fans of the game go "It's nothing like Minecraft!" and a pointless Internet debate continues.

The fact is, the basics of Terraria are very similar to survival Minecraft. You're in a world made up of blocks (they're just squares now instead of cubes) and you can dig them up and place them again to build stuff. At night, zombies come out.

The difference is in the objective of the game. You progress in Minecraft by setting your own objectives: I want to build a fortress in the shape of my own face, so I need bricks to build it. To find bricks I need clay, to find clay I need to explore, to explore I need a boat, to get a boat I need to chop down wood, and while I'm chopping down wood I might as well kill some monsters, and before long I'm fighting a dragon in another dimension wondering what happened to that fortress I intended to build.

In Terraria, the focus is far more on combat progression, which is why I thought I'd mention it. You're looking for materials to craft the next set of gear and fight the next boss, which gets you more gear to fight the next boss.

A lot of games work that way, but Terraria in particular appeals to the same side of me that loves progression fantasy. I feel like I'm motivated to get to the next tier of content, not just to watch a number get higher, but because I genuinely want what's waiting for me up there.

Sometimes that's an experience that I want, like a fun boss fight. I want to fight the Eye of Cthulhu or a mechanized flying skull, so first I want to earn the gear that gives me a chance to win.

Sometimes it's an ability. If I unlock a certain chest, I get a gun that fires homing piranhas. That's a real gun in the game. I want to fire homing piranhas, so I'm motivated to unlock the chest that gets me that gun.

It's all motivated by what I want to do.

I think of Cradle in a similar way.

The way I want you to feel, when you're reading, is that you have something to look forward to. You want to see Lindon doing something, there's a cool fight or a character moment you want, and we're making forward momentum toward those goals.

When I'm reading a series, I want fun things to look forward to, and I want to always feel like I'm making progress in that direction. Therefore, that's how I (tried to) design Cradle's magic system: there's always a new level with new abilities that change how the characters interact with the world.

And then at the end, they unlock a laser machine gun.

-Will

P.S. I've made a lot of progress recently, I promise. It's just the kind that I have to keep secret or be imprisoned by a secret government agency.
55 Comments
    ​Waybound Progress:
    Seven-star Phoenix

    Last Written:

    THE END
    Of the Cradle series


    Amount Complete:
    100%

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All
    100 Review Extravaganza
    April First
    Audiobooks
    Blog Matters
    Chronicles
    City Of Light
    Conventions
    Fan Stuff
    Guild Guide
    House Of Blades
    My Epic Adventures
    Of Darkness And Dawn
    Of Dawn And Darkness
    Of Sea And Shadow
    Of Shadow And Sea
    Original Fiction
    Polls
    Preview
    Release Date
    Sales Update
    The Crimson Vault
    Weekly Post

    RSS Feed

    Want to get short stories and book releases before anyone else? Sign up below!
    Hey, what about those short stories you claim to have already written?

    Apparently they're kept here!
Copyright © 2023 Hidden Gnome Publishing
  • Home
  • Books
    • Kickstarter Bonus Content!
  • A Blog of Dubious Intent
  • Podcast
  • Merch
  • Say Hello
  • Hidden Gnome Publishing
  • Press