Chapter 14: I Wish To Level With You
DISCLAIMER: I am being particular with regards to english translated onlune novels. And I apologize that I do not seem to have a coherent flow in regards to the topics that I decide to talk about in a day because it's basically what I feel like talking that day.
While in the previous chapters, I talked about character interactions and story length, this time I wish to talk, number one, about character growth and the methods to be able to achieve it and two, which I tend to notice, about how the characters' growth in a story affect its, more or less, quality and longevity.
Firstly, what do I mean when I say character growth in this case? I am referring to the development a character goes through in terms of the capability to be able fend for him or herself. In many an online martial and fantasy stories this type of character development is usually centered around one idea. Cultivation.
Now when I talk about cultivation and how to get a character to become stronger, there are, for me, two major methods that is used by many authors achieve it.
One, would be a what I consider a standard in the cultivation aspect of any martial stories, and that would be the method mostly chinese authors use in strengthening their characters further along their journey, beautifully weaving their culture and their mythologies into the worlds their characters reside. Something of a spiritual journey, a journey of enlightenment, so to say. Let us call this the "Dao System" for convenience.
The other would be the method used by japanese authors for the most part, heavily influenced by games and the like. This idea of turning the world into something similar to a game where your characters' aptitudes are quantified and that there is a corresponding value you can determine with regards to, say, a characters intelligence or strength or speed. You get the idea. Let us call this the "Leveling system" for convenience.
I am sure that there are many other methods that I do not know of. Not to mention hybrid strengthening systems. But let us set that aside for now.
So, answering the second question, how does these leveling systems affect a story's quality and quantity? Well let us be honest here, having a system that allows you to be able to somehow put a value on your aptitudes and increase your overall fortitude by simply increasing the value of any or all of your aptitudes is most definitely a time-efficient way of accumulating strength than it is by accruing the same amunt of strength by way of trying to enlighten yourself in the ways of the dao, per se.
Many authors using this "Dao System" for character strengthening, insofar as I have noticed, tend to have longer stories, like longer longer than those authors who tend to use a form of "Leveling System". Again it has to do with the characters' time frame of getting stronger, where people who 'level up' tend to get stronger faster than people who 'attain enlightenment' in the same time frame.
The only way, if ever, that "Leveling System" authors add to the longevity of their stories is if they used fillers. Basically, add-on segues that ultimately have little to insignificant consequences on the main narrative if at all.
That is not to say the other author types are not exempt from using fillers to add to their stories, but these stories that are way too long and that get unecessarily sidetracked are no longer become a compelling read.
In summary, stories that are way too long-winded lose their ability to capture the audiences imagination, and stories that too short tend to leave them hanging. wanting more. And both scenarios are not ideal, at least for me. And the decision one makes as an author with regards to the type of character growth method does play an important in regards to the ultimate outcome of the work produced.
Are there ways remedying this problem? Well, aside from the major ones I mentioned, I am very sure there many other methods I do know to pick and choose from, not to forget that you can make a hybrid strengthening system which makes good use of the characteristics of these system in a way that makes your characters journey more engaging to follow, I would say, neither too fast nor too slow. And I did have come across works that do make use of hybrid systems, albeit rarely.
What did you think? I would like to know your thoughts in the comments. Until then, peace.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
wd003
wd003 I would like to say that the views espoused by me do reflect that of any other people, I think, and that I am solely speaking for myself.
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