To Meme or Not to Meme
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Feels good to have the essay and its behind the scenes post out. I love writing those deep dives. They might be the most valuable thing I write for myself. Who am I to say if it is valuable for you? 😅
I've still playing The Last of Us Part II and its chronological mode for that essay idea I mentioned in Memory Card 57 – The Warm Glow.
"I've been chipping away at a new idea that has taken over my brain about a unique similarity between Christopher Nolan and The Last of Us Part II..."
The chronological mode is interesting, to say the least. All of my notes in the mind map are basically on its story and structure in this container. I'm half way through "Seattle Day 1," which has a very different meaning now. I'll probably make a big ol' cup of tea and play more tonight. I think I'd be slightly further along by now, but Hades II hit 1.0 last week and I find myself bouncing between the two cycles of violence.
As I chip on Nolan/TLOUPII, I have found myself enamored with an essay on God of War: Ragnarök. I started writing an outline last time and am confident this one is next. I worked some more on the outline today and it is in three chunks at the moment. It's around 1,000 words of just brain dumping and outlining.
I've found some new inspiration over the weekend. Reserved the only copy of Robert McKee's Story in my county's library system. Should pick that up soon. Story has been a longtime resident on my Amazon book list because it is one of the crucial books behind Neil writing The Last of Us. What sparked this library trip is CinemaStix latest video on First Blood and characterization vs true character.
Yesterday I played with thumbnail concepts. The exploration felt a little meme-y. I'm clearly going to be walking a fine line with this one. The gist would be to convey Freya over Atreus. Here are some super rough layouts. I toyed with the game's photo mode, frames from cutscenes, and a layering idea. I like the third one the most, but the word "Wrong" is, well, wrong. That's actually the part of the game I am going to praise, so I don't want to pair that with a title that implies the opposite. At one point, I even considered adapting "Friendship Ended With Mudasir."
Speaking of the title, I think I have a lock on that. I'm between two, but here are my three ideas so far.
- You Played God of War: Ragnarök Wrong
- We All Played God of War: Ragnarök Wrong
- The Right Way to Play God of War: Ragnarök
I like the first and the last the best. What do you think? I'm exploring a game structure disconnect between the game, the player, and Kratos. There's something here. I just have to find it. For now, I'll keep exploring the outline and see if I can draft a script. I've been chewing on this complaint for years now, so hopefully it comes out in a swift manner.
Until next time...
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at max@maxfrequency.net.
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency. cultivate and curate curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made.
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