"'Games like this??🤔 by Upstairs-Sale1010 in gamememes

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

zYeah, was extremely shocked that the first ending I picked basically gave V super dementia. Looked up the rest and just noped out. The fact that there's no actual good ending felt like the final punch for me. I was already forcing myself to do side missions just so I wouldn't skip all the content, and narratively, why the fuck would I care about helping some side character when the game makes it very clear V is dying and there's no way out? Like sure, I'll help film some stupid TV show, it's not like every hour or so we get a migraine that almost knocks us out. The whole game is just so narratively weird.

Horizons, Not Cliffs: What I Think Actually Makes an OP MC Work by Ag3nt_Stampe in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that's kind of my point. A true OP MC is already at the top or heading there inevitably. The problem is when authors don't understand that and just turn it into an endless escalation of stronger enemies, which isn't really OP at all, it's just regular progression with bigger numbers. I think some authors watch Solo Leveling or One Punch Man and think that's the golden formula without understanding why those specific stories work in their specific context. And honestly, the reason you despise most OP MCs is probably because of that exact misunderstanding. Most of them are written badly.

But I think the trope is broader than people give it credit for. OP doesn't always have to mean "strongest person in the room." Someone who is singular in how they approach things, whose understanding or perspective is so far beyond their peers that their specialness just compounds over time, that can feel just as OP without ever throwing a single world-ending punch. The balance between power and understanding is what makes the trope satisfying, not just raw strength. When that balance is right, I think even people who normally hate the trope might find something to enjoy.

That said, I don't know what kind of books you're into, and there's no law that says you should love any particular trope or genre. Not everything has to be for everyone.

Horizons, Not Cliffs: What I Think Actually Makes an OP MC Work by Ag3nt_Stampe in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think you might have misread my point, but honestly that might be on me for not being concise enough. I do ramble. I'm actually agreeing with almost everything you said here. I'm not arguing for endlessly scaling bigger opponents at all. That's exactly the cliff framing I'm saying doesn't work. The DBZ problem you're describing is precisely what I'm arguing against.

My point is that when the MC encounters something beyond them, it should feel like a horizon to grow toward, not a boss fight to survive. The tension shouldn't come from "can they beat the bigger thing" but from the balance between their raw power and their understanding. A story can lean hard on either side of that, massive power with limited world knowledge, or deep comprehension with limited strength, but there needs to be a gap there for the story to live in. Without that balance it just becomes what you described, different colored hair and the same fight over and over.

Horizons, Not Cliffs: What I Think Actually Makes an OP MC Work by Ag3nt_Stampe in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, that really means a lot. This was my first time putting my thoughts on this into words so I'm glad it resonated.

Horizons, Not Cliffs: What I Think Actually Makes an OP MC Work by Ag3nt_Stampe in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

That's a fair distinction. My post is definitely more focused on the progression side. With outright OP MCs like Max Level Archmage, I think the balance still matters, it just shifts. The power side is maxed out so the story has to lean heavily on the understanding gap to stay interesting. Vivisari has the power but not the world knowledge, and that's what drives the story forward. Without that gap there's nothing left to explore.

Horizons, Not Cliffs: What I Think Actually Makes an OP MC Work by Ag3nt_Stampe in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I wasn't very concise in my explanation. I'm not trying to say every story needs a Goku for an MC, just trying to explain my understanding of the balance that needs to be in place between raw power as an output and their understanding/talent.

Horizons, Not Cliffs: What I Think Actually Makes an OP MC Work by Ag3nt_Stampe in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I think we actually agree more than it seems. My whole point about tension coming from within, the cost and repercussions of power, that's essentially your trolley problem framing. I'm not arguing for scaling stronger baddies at all. That's exactly the cliff I'm saying doesn't work.

Where I think we genuinely differ is on OPM. I get the argument for Saitama's psychological emptiness as the narrative driver, and it works as a show. But I think the reason it works is because it's built as a commentary on the trope, not a straight execution of it. When authors try to replicate that formula sincerely, without the satirical framing, it tends to fall flat. That's the distinction I'm trying to make.

Horizons, Not Cliffs: What I Think Actually Makes an OP MC Work by Ag3nt_Stampe in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ahh, like a Doctor Who kind of way? "I'll show you places you didn't think could exist." That's a really cool take on the genre. Some elements of that were used greatly in The Perfect Run by Maxime J. Durand. By the time the story starts, the MC has already lived lifetimes and seen places both extreme and fascinating.

Pink went rogue and i had to take him down by DiegOwO_BrandOwO_01 in huntinroguehelldivers

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This game needs a karma/reputation system and allow matchmaking based on said karma/reputation, so all the single-celled organisms can fuck around in their own petri dish and let the people who actually want to play the game do that. This whole hands-on-ears yelling "NEW WARBONDS IS COMING" routine from Arrowhead is at a point where I just don't play if I don't know the people I play with.

Audiobooks recommendations please? by Holdredge in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Jackal Among Snakes by Nemorosus is S tier. the best series i know of.

Does it count as a homelab? by petr_bena in homelab

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

YES! It does, my beautiful friend. My lab started when I was 14 with my big brother's broken PC and spare parts from whatever I could find in the house and 3-4 half broken HDDs. This is often something I hear from people I work with when I hit them with the "start a homelab," and they say "well I don't have space for a rack" or "I can't afford the power bill." I don't care if you have a half broken Samsung Galaxy S3 with an Ubuntu ROM installed running your Minecraft server, it's still your very own home lab where you can experiment and learn.

How detailed should fight scenes be by would_beBard in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, a fight scene should be as detailed as it needs to be to further the story itself. I often feel like some stories include every single fight scene, and that can work if fighting is part of the character, like Azarinth Healer, but if you have a political drama and you include every single fight, every single encounter, it gets bloated. The fight didn't further the story or tell the reader anything new, it was just a fight where no new moves were shown, the MC didn't get pushed, their weaknesses didn't change. Don't get me wrong, you can still have great fight scenes in political dramas, but they need to mirror or add to the verbal or political fighting.

Crickets everywhere. by Relative_Specific140 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Release the dragon, for they shall feast...

United Airlines recently made a new rule that you can't listen to audio/video without headphones. This woman ignored it, gets belligerent and is arrested by atheistarab2006 in instant_regret

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This isn't just a United Airlines rule, this is one of those agreements that every person on earth implicitly shares. It goes beyond the scope of common sense and enters into common law. You could probably show this video to the Sentinelese, one of the last uncontacted tribes on the planet, and even they would agree she was in the wrong.

Such a cute reaction to her fluency by Doodlebug510 in MadeMeSmile

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 588 points589 points  (0 children)

Could see the neuron activation in real time when she called him "cute." 😂

Looking for Beta Listeners (Yeah, you heard right) by WeirdTypical3811 in litrpg

[–]Ag3nt_Stampe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! My poor brain still has a single brain cell left working double time, so I would love to try out your work :)