Frank Martin

2 weeks ago | wp.me | Frank Martin

When a video game series consists of as many installments as Assassin’s Creed, it becomes extremely difficult to introduce new elements and change the format. Sometimes games will think of big picture ideas to do something drastically new and different. In the case of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, they introduced the samurai Yasuke (Tongayi Chirisa), who adds a completely different type of gameplay style to the game. However, sometimes a simple change can make a world of difference.

4 weeks ago | wp.me | Frank Martin

A certain imagery comes to mind whenever someone hears the word “fantasy.” It invokes images of kings and magic. But at its core, fantasy is meant to describe a romanticized sense of reality, usually associated with extraordinary challenges and adventure for heroes to triumph.

2 months ago | wp.me | Frank Martin

Even though anime has a wide variety of stories, the power structure of its characters follows very similar patterns. Protagonists often begin their journeys as weak students. But over the course of many episodes and seasons, the characters level up in ability and strength. This shouldn’t be surprising as characters need to grow and become stronger along with the threats they face. But this power scale provides a problem in terms of plotting. A character’s strength can’t scale indefinitely.

2 months ago | wp.me | Frank Martin

When the slasher genre arrived in theaters, it took the scene by storm. Tropes immediately emerged regarding ruthless killers stalking unsuspecting prey. Filmmakers eager to jump in began looking for any way to stand out from the pack. They tried differentiating characters, weapons, settings … anything and everything to be different from their predecessors. Scream changed all this by turning the focus inward and examining the genre itself.

Nov 25, 2024 | wp.me | Frank Martin

It’s always a powerful storytelling tool to mash two unlikely concepts together. Whether it be comedy, horror, fantasy, or any other genre, the more different the concepts, the more interesting the pairing to tell a story. At first glance, the video game Another Crab’s Treasure can seem like a standard souls-like filled with action and adventure. But when peeling away the layers of its story, a very interesting dynamic emerges that contains elements from all over the storytelling spectrum.