Effulgent Corruption, Nier, and guest blogging

First off: I wrote a monsterously long blog post about character development in response/collaboration with Joe's bit I posted here. Read it now.

Next, I wrote 5k in Effulgent Corruption yesterday; an entire chapter. It was also an especially potent scene that I'd had planned literally since the book's initial inception, so writing it was extremely exciting and gratifying. I'm very satisfied with how it turned out, though I might be adding a little more to the end before the chapter break. Major revelation/twist with regard to viewpoint characters. EXCITING.

I write better when I write in chunks. I wrote 2k from 4-5pm while waiting for my wife to get done with work (we work at the same place but rarely the exact same hours, so if I get finished sooner I write in the lobby). Then I sat on my magical hill that is quickly becoming "hay fever central" with all the stupid grass and wrote another large chunk. Good stuff. I should get off work early every day.

Lastly, I beat the game Nier. I linked the wiki, but don't read the plot. Here is why.
This game has a GREAT story. I'm usually pretty jaded against JRPG plots. I enjoy the, but they tend to be seeped in melodrama and exposition rather than actually letting the reader/gamer discover things themselves.
The best part about Nier is it explains the final plot twist near the end, then explains NOTHING else. It forces you to put the pieces together, and when you do everything (including a prologue that seemingly had nothing to do with the rest of the game) snaps together into an incredible finale.
The twist also changes the truth about what you've been doing the entire game. After beating it you can replay it to learn more about one of your companions (you basically replay the second half with added commentary/cutscenes). But now that you know the twist, some of the things the game makes you do (which you did just fine in the first playthrough with no emotional attachment) are horrific. Rarely does a game make you own up to what you've done, but Nier does it an in spades. Once you realize the truth behind not only the bosses but the events leading to them you realize that nothing about the game was what it seems. But it still all makes perfect sense, which is a superb example of a well crafted story.
I'm rambling, but I'm going to go so far as to say Nier has the best story of any JRPG ever made. If not the best, at least the tightest. There is little to no filler and stuff that doesn't make sense the game takes care to explain over multiple playthroughs. It is exceptionally well crafted. I highly recommend it (plus you can get the game for about $10-15 despite coming out next year).
Know it's steeped in mediocrity, but the payoff is totally worth it.

That's it from me, enough about dumb video games. Nathan out.