RE: We chat about videogames and videogame accessories.
02-10-2014, 07:44 AM
It depends on the type of sequel imo
There are plenty of cases where an author plans out that their full story will take x distinct parts to tell, either because of length or because it's best conveyed through disparate pieces rather than one whole. In that case, it's just really uncharitable to complain about not finishing things the first time. I don't think anyone really wanted Game of Thrones to be a single volume.
But even disregarding that, even if a sequel is only called into being because fans wanted more of the same, it's totally possible to just be a good writer and write another work with new themes/motifs and a new story arc. MGS2 comes to mind, since I played it recently. Metal Gear Solid stands alone perfectly fine and is pretty tremendous, but MGS2 takes the ideas of the first game and goes in a different direction. It uses concepts, characters and plot elements, and calls back to the first game's thematic elements, but it's ultimately making a different point in a different way. Each one is doing its own thing but they're better when considered together is what I'm saying.
Whether a sequel is lazy is ultimately about whether it goes somewhere new. It's perfectly possible for a work to be "complete", but to have new value when reconsidered in a separate light, which sequels are great for. You can't look at something from every angle the first time, because it's just too much.
There are plenty of cases where an author plans out that their full story will take x distinct parts to tell, either because of length or because it's best conveyed through disparate pieces rather than one whole. In that case, it's just really uncharitable to complain about not finishing things the first time. I don't think anyone really wanted Game of Thrones to be a single volume.
But even disregarding that, even if a sequel is only called into being because fans wanted more of the same, it's totally possible to just be a good writer and write another work with new themes/motifs and a new story arc. MGS2 comes to mind, since I played it recently. Metal Gear Solid stands alone perfectly fine and is pretty tremendous, but MGS2 takes the ideas of the first game and goes in a different direction. It uses concepts, characters and plot elements, and calls back to the first game's thematic elements, but it's ultimately making a different point in a different way. Each one is doing its own thing but they're better when considered together is what I'm saying.
Whether a sequel is lazy is ultimately about whether it goes somewhere new. It's perfectly possible for a work to be "complete", but to have new value when reconsidered in a separate light, which sequels are great for. You can't look at something from every angle the first time, because it's just too much.
"The parties are advised to chill." - Supreme Court of the United States, case opinion written by Justice Souter