On Writing Pixel Pulps - III

[img]https://i.imgur.com/6jyuGT9.jpg[/img] Welcome to the latest installment from the [i]Bahnsen Knights[/i] News Channel on writing Pixel Pulps... There is something about the idea of '[b]accumulation[/b]' in writing that has always appealed to me. It's not just about the day-to-day stubbornness of the craft—writing two or three pages a day—where, in a short time, you have a novel. Rather, it's the notion that accumulation can be used to justify anything. I've never been attracted to the elegance of simplicity. Given a choice between minimalist industrial designs and complicated Goldberg machines, I don't hesitate for a second. Exacerbated complexity, redundancy, and gratuitousness are pillars of the kind of art I like the most. [img]https://i.imgur.com/54by70S.gif[/img] In computer systems development, there is this concept of "refactoring," a procedure by which a developer optimizes code so that it does the same thing but in a more efficient way. Faced with the idea of refactoring—which etymologically is nothing more than re-considering the elements of the code—I propose the idea of "accumulating." The code is not optimized; more code is written to keep the system doing the same thing. This same principle guides the writing of our Pixel Pulps. When I was quite a bit younger, I read about the Finite Rules Paradox. Basically, this paradox tells us that the next element of a series cannot be predicted because new rules can always be added to justify any becoming. 1-2-4-8-16... 32? But why not 999? There is a rule—more complex surely—that can justify 999 or any other element. [img]https://i.imgur.com/VkftEAs.png[/img] This same principle guides the writing of our Pixel Pulps. When I was quite a bit younger, I read about the Finite Rules Paradox. Basically, this paradox posits that predicting the next element in a series is impossible because new rules can continually be added to justify any progression. For instance, 1-2-4-8-16... 32? But why not 999? There exists a rule—undoubtedly more complex—that can rationalize 999 or any other subsequent element. Writing, then, is nothing more than adding rules to be able to narrate anything. -- [i][b]Bahnsen Knights[/b] is out now... You can even try out the demo if you would like a little taste before delving fully into the world of Pixel Pulps! Mothmen 1966 and Varney Lake are also currently in the Steam Winter Sale.[/i]