November 20, 2008

So this week I promised to start hitting up a few details about the characters in The Claw and Fang. Well to keep my promise we will discuss the hero, Justin and his online gaming love Zymotic.

Justin is your typical 20 something coulda been somebody if he had the motivation type of person. His life was going gangbusters until he felt the pull of the ever growing and powerful mmorpg. He thought he could control his gaming habits and get through college, but the thrill of leading his guild and killing online critters pulled him into the fantasy world so much, he ultimately choose to succeed and invest his time in that online world.

Leading like-minded people, Justin is able to accomplish great feats leading the message boards with tales of their heroics while in the real world he has been forced to dropout of college, move to a horrible part of town and work the ever popular midnight warehouse drudge job. He does his real job poorly, knowing he can always find others doing jobs no one else wants.

To me, Justin is a character we all know and love. We all know someone who is either currently or has been a huge gamer. Justin finds it even harder to escape the grasp of his electronic world when he starts up a relationship with Zymotic. She and Justin are both seeking something they haven’t found in the real world. The same reason most gamers like the virtual world, a little success keeps them coming back for more. Crack dealers use the same formula when they give out the first hit for free. Justin is drawn to Zymotic, she understands him and he feels he has know her forever Often they just sit and chat, ignoring the game. She is the only living creature that can relate to Justin, and the only reason he stills plays his game, he just doesn’t know it yet.

So what could possibly draw Justin away from Zymotic and the online kingdom that he created from nothing? The real world is actually more exciting Justin was never able to figure that out until he gets kicked in the head by outside forces. So basically the choice isn’t his to make, which is why he makes the correct decision. This makes him a rather reluctant hero, but it all falls into place when he meets Noc, a female demon of darkness who helps him discover his past and future.

Next week I will go into a few details about Noc and the Firewoman. These two characters play a vital role in forging Justin into a hero of substance and means.

Mike
THE CLAW AND THE FANG