A tale of swords and sorcery

Being stuck in an online game doesn't seem so bad, right?

Sword Art Online was great. There I said it, and I'm not sorry - naysayers aside, the franchise as a whole, including the light novels (of which I particularly recommend reading!) was something that resonated with a lot of people, and even though it had its shortcomings, I think on a whole it was something people wanted to experience. Online games are such a driving force in the gaming community, and I'd be lying if I said on more than one occasion I didn't feel like I was there, channeling the power of the Light and showing the internet-dragons who's boss.

That said, Sword Art was not without it shortcomings. It lacked emotional depth not just between its characters but also on a conceptual level. I always thought more could be done with the concept of being stuck in a death game, and the effects that it would have on the people - players who are used to sitting in the dim glow of liquid crystal light now stand sword in hand face to face with a creature of nightmares, claws extended, fangs bore and ready to pounce. I could and have on occasion written enough about the sub genre of stuck-in-MMO-fantasy to fill many a book, and much of it extends beyond the scope of this blog post BUT I do feel like there is hope. A good, solid, floats-on-water-because-it-has-no-holes plot can be made building on the foundation of the Sword Art Online that I love so dearly. But if only there was someone with a degree in philosophy and East Asian studies that was up to the task of writing an extensive fanfic along those lines... If only. *cough* *cough*