thread: 2012-06-25 : "Conflict" "Resolution"
On 2012-07-04, C Luke Mula wrote:
I might be mistaken, but I think both Lost and Once Upon a Time make use of kishotenketsu along with traditional conflicts to drive their narratives.
In both Lost and OUaT, there is a widespread use of flashbacks (and sometimes flash forwards) to tell the story. The flashbacks do contain conflicts, but aren't conflicts in an of themselves, and at first they seem mostly unrelated to the current narrative's chronology. By the end of the episodes and seasons, however, everything gets (mostly) harmonized. So I think both shows owe their narrative drive about equally to traditional conflicts and kishotenketsu.
This interests me, because I recently started designing a game system in which the core mechanic is the flashback. There is essentially no mechanical account for conflict in play; the mechanics simply drive everything to harmony in the end, even parts that seem non sequitur.
And now I that know it's a thing, I don't have to feel insecure about the utter lack of conflict mechanics.
Really great discussion, everyone.
This makes CLM go "Actually, I changed my mind."
The game does have conflict built in. Just not like I'm used to seeing it.
