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AuthenticM

Son Altesse Sérénissime
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
30,085
There are many types of the fantasy genre. Honestly I can't really tell how they are all caracterized. I don't even know how many types there are (if there is a defined pool of them).

I'd appreciate it if anyone could describe them to me in a succinct manner while giving me examples so that I can perhaps remember it.
 

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,143
Urban Fantasy is when Black People are killing dragons and shit
 

Coinspinner

Member
Nov 6, 2017
2,154
Generally you're gonna run into High Fantasy and Low Fantasy.

High Fantasy is set in a fictional world with magic and supernatural beings in it and tells an epic story. Lord of the Rings is a good example.

Low fantasy is supposed to be more grounded in reality, so that any magic or supernatural stuff is a surprise to the characters. A Song of ice and Fire is a good example.

Sword and Sorcery is pulpy, sexy, fantasy. Oiled up barbarians that slay wizards and sleep with busty women that will probably die before the story ends.

Oddly enough Conan is all of those things.
 

Android Sophia

The Absolute Sword
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
6,110
High Fantasy, or Epic Fantasy focuses on the world itself and typically has themes of good versus evil. Lord of the Rings is the archetypal example. This is where you'll find your typical Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Hobbits, Dragons, Dark Lords, Magical Powers, Wizards, Ancient Prophecies, The Chosen one, etc, etc.

Heroic Fantasy focuses on the exploits of the heroes themselves, and tends to be a bit more low key than High Fantasy. White and Grey/Grey and Grey morality is present, the scale is smaller,the hero's quest tends to be more personal than world ending. Conan the Barbarian is the archetypal example. Another good example are most Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. Sword and Sorcery and Wuxia style stories are typically similar to Heroic Fantasy, although Wuxia High Fantasy also exists.

Low Fantasy focuses on the mundane and gritty. Magic is more subdued, humans are typically the dominant race, and there's a big emphasis of Grey and Grey morality. Game of Thrones is a good example of low fantasy.

Urban Fantasy is fantasy but set in a modern urban setting. Persona is one such example.

Dark Fantasy is fantasy meets horror. Science Fantasy is fantasy meets Sci-Fi

There are countless other such examples and sub-genres that would take forever to explain if we tried. That Wikipedia article above is a good read and your best bet for learning about a specific type.
 
Oct 27, 2017
6,745
I'm quite partial to these:

Hard Fantasy (lots of logic and strict consistency rules) - favorite example: Dark (also doubles as Low Fantasy)

Steampunk Fantasy (caps out at 19th century industrial inspirations) - favorite example: Final Fantasy VI

Dieselpunk Fantasy (caps out at mid 20th century, WW1 inspiration) - favorite example: Final Fantasy VII

Urban Fantasy (modern 21st century setting, with magic) - favorite example: Control (also doubles as Hard Fantasy)

* Low/Hard/Urban often intersect since they lend themselves to each other so often. An example of an Urban Fantasy that's not Low or Hard is something like Final Fantasy XV, which I thought was an incredibly unique world that was done really done dirty.

As you can see, I really like fantasy that has some degree of mishmash, so you get characters reacting to things beyond their comprehension. The human element in fantasy is my favorite part.

Tried to include links to definitions, and also to the examples, if you're not familiar.
 

gforguava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,705
I would recommend Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn, good book about fantasy and its elements that doesn't get bogged down in surface level details, instead focusing on how the fantasy functions in the story.

All the "-punk" subgenres in the world(not counting Cyber- and Bio-) are just reskins of "Steampunk".
"Hard Fantasy" isn't even a thing, a writer might decide to make magic as knowable as science but that doesn't change what kind of story it is. And just look at the wikipedia entry for the "genre", it doesn't even know what it is. And try to figure out how someone could put LOTR, Mistborn, and A Song of Ice and Fire together, under the same designation.

Even the "High" and "Low" as it is used these days(as opposed to its older definitions of "High"=a secondary world and "Low"=fantasy intruding into a 'normal' world) doesn't hold much water, largely being "High" is epic(and "Epic") and "Low" isn't, but also "Low" is somehow grounded or realistic. What is meant by 'grounded' or 'realistic'? Or 'epic'? Who knows, it is all a bunch of nonsense to justify putting books on shelves next to other books to maximize sales.
 
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Poodlestrike

Smooth vs. Crunchy
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
13,496
That is what someone said to me when i said i was into urban fantasy, that was around the second Dresden Book(so eons ago) and I will never forget that. I need to finish that series one day but I ill let Poodlestrike filter it for me
New book SOON I'm hype

Did you get far enough to meet Sanya, on that note? I don't think he's killed a dragon but he's wielding a sword that probably has.
 

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,143
New book SOON I'm hype

Did you get far enough to meet Sanya, on that note? I don't think he's killed a dragon but he's wielding a sword that probably has.
Legit last story beats i remember were the coins, his girl friend being part of a vampire civil war and lake stuff.
 
Oct 27, 2017
6,745
Hmmmmm, not sure I'd qualify FF7 as dieselpunk, at least not strictly. There's definite cyberpunk influence in it; if you watch Akira it's unmistakable. Bioshock I think is more strictly dieselpunk.
True, you're right. I was plugging my faves, but Bioshock is definitely more strict in that regard!

Also, I'm literally just making the inspiration connect between the end of Midgar and the highway Akira scene. I'm dumb, lol
 

Mekanos

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 17, 2018
44,176
True, you're right. I was plugging my faves, but Bioshock is definitely more strict in that regard!

Also, I'm literally just making the inspiration connect between the end of Midgar and the highway Akira scene. I'm dumb, lol

lol yeah. I think there's definitely some dieselpunk elements in FF7 too, like, the cars are all unmistakably designed to resemble 1950s vehicles, and when you leave Midgar the cyberpunk elements are less pronounced. It's an odd mix, but definitely gives the world a lot of flavor and personality, and a big reason why I love that game.
 

Deleted member 16516

User requested account closure
Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,427
Don't forget Gothic fantasy, which has the Gormenghast trilogy at the very top in terms of excellence.

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