My worst fears have been confirmed. The essay concept that I have been working on is invalid. According to the grading rubric, and my conversation with the professor, I am not to proceed with it. It seems that the topic is one suited for an academic essay, not a piece of creative nonfiction. I had an inkling that this might be the case all along but I was under the impression that a piece of creative nonfiction was pretty much an academic essay framed as a personal narrative. I suppose that the guideline of “no making things up,” should have suggested a less make-fitty approach. This is okay. It really is. But it does put me in a bit of a quandary as to how I am to proceed from this point onward. I know that I can’t really redo my research (then again, what good is research really in something that is not an academic essay [I’m being facetious, I do a lot of research for even fiction pieces]) so what I do next has to still be in line with what I’ve already done. More than necessity, it simply feels right to build upon or re-purpose the thinking that I have already done towards this goal. From my conversation with the professor, we have decided on a new direction. I think it’s a pretty good one. I am going to write about how my life experiences change how I experience video games. Which is good and all. It fits with a good deal of my previous research as I can talk about how my experiences at evergreen prompted me to ask the questions of my original essay concept but the weak link in the chain is the research that I have done on Zelda, as I have little experience as a child with the Zelda series. Perhaps the best series for me to put in its place would be Fire Emblem, as it was an experience from my childhood as well as something that I continue to play in both its recent and original variations. That being said, the name doesn’t carry with it the same iconic power or recognition, which is certainly a downside. Perhaps it would be best not to talk about any single video game in any extended specifics, as it would hopefully cut down on the need to clarify mechanics to an audience. However, the format of a personal narrative might require that of me. Unfortunately, I think that this will be the case… So, for my preliminary idea, I think I will frame the thing as me playing Fire Emblem for the first time when I was child and then again as an adult. Specifically, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. The game itself offers numerous examples of how my lived experiences have changed my perceptions of art as the game trades heavily on the themes of racism, xenophobia, conquest and cultural differences. So, the five parts of the essay, not in that it will be a five-paragraph-essay but because I did the math on the parts I wanted before I wrote this, will be Early Session, Late Session, Superficial Differences, Deeper Differences and then APIA Connection. What will that be? Eh, I’ll figure it out later.
Ta!
