This week I've decided to talk a little about a tabletop roleplaying game that I've been reading up on recently. I suppose I might be a little late to the party involving it as it was originally released in 2019. I'm talking about Alien RPG, which can be found here.
One of my favorite movies is Alien vs. Predator and I'm also a fan of the original Alien. That said, I enjoyed the movie Prometheus. One of the problems that I have with these movies is the same problem I have with series that explicitly state one thing, then turn around and change it to fit the plot (or just plain ignore reality because that doesn't fit with the story the author wants to tell...) and that is consistency.
Something Myrrh and I enjoy doing is watching movies and pointing out plot holes, bloopers, or just inconsistencies. Sometimes, these are acceptable and easy to overlook. Other times, they lead to rants at three in the morning. One of these rants involved the scene where the Predalien chestburster did what the name suggests and burst...from the abdomen where Scar had been stabbed by the Alien Queen. Another problem with the impalement of Scar is that the Alien Queen's tail is so large, it should have stabbed the chestburster as well, thus preventing the ending scene (and the sequel) from happening. The lack of blood in the surrounding snow was also an issue as with such a severe wound, there would have been more blood.
This isn't such a big deal, however. The main problem comes when you start looking at the history of both Alien and Predator (also known as the Yautja) species/races and their interactions with humanity as well as the origins of the aliens.
In AvP, it's established that the Predators found Earth when Antarctica was still a warm-ish climate capable of human habitation and taught the humans there how to build pyramids and were seen as gods. Okay, cool. The pyramids they built exhibited features from the Aztec, Cambodian, and Egyptian pyramids. Okay, also cool. Pyramids are widespread.
Now, my issue is the translating portion. I understand that for movie/plot reasons they needed to have someone there that could translate the hieroglyphs and convey the story so that the main character (and audience) understood Predators were the good guys in this case, but still. There's no reason for Egyptian and Aztec symbols to show up in a pyramid that predates both of these cultures (it was even stated to be the first pyramid) when it was taught to a race of humans in Antarctica by an alien race. Unless of course we're saying that Egyptian and Aztec are descended from this long-dead Antarctic language, though that didn't seem to be the case based on the dialogue.
In Prometheus, we learn that the Engineers were the ones who created humans. Okay. Then, we learn that they developed the substance/bio-weapon that would later create the Aliens. Further, the aliens we see in this one aren't the standard xenomorphs or facehuggers, not even the same chestbursters. Alien: Covenant takes it further by showing the experimentation David 8 had to do to get them to the point where they were the more iconic xenomorphs. Okay. So this is all well and good. Except...
AvP established that Predators had been hunting Aliens (the classic standard xenomorphs) for thousands of years, they had an Alien Queen in the pyramid in Antarctica, possibly since it was first built, but at least since the whaling station population vanished. The point is Predators had been hunting Aliens. AvP is stated to take place in 2004. The events of Prometheus take place in 2093 and Alien: Covenant take place in 2104.
It's established in Prometheus that the Engineers intended to use their bio-weapon goo to wipe out humanity. Okay, fine. Did they use this on any other planets/races? This is uncertain. If they had, it might explain how the Predators were familiar with Aliens, but at the same time maybe not, given that there are some forms that don't have the acidic blood.
Consistency is important, especially in a series. While you don't have to have all the answers at first when you sit down to write, at least make sure that when you establish something (a rule, a date) that when it gets brought up again, it hasn't changed or you haven't contradicted yourself with it. If you have a rule about why something is a certain way, but a character is able to violate this rule of the universe, give a good explanation for it rather than handwaving it or ignoring it outright.
I'm not saying you have to answer or explain everything. In fact, sometimes, it's best if you don't explain, especially if you're writing horror. But please use your best judgment and at least have notes for yourself about why you've written things a certain way so that if you are questioned about it later by readers, you can answer it. Also, if you have a romance series with multiple love interests, maybe make a note of what makes each one unique so if you're asked "Do so-and-so ever get married?" you don't go, "Which one was he again?"
In short: Consistency is important. Make notes about important information, especially if you're writing a series or working on gaming campaign, so you won't get tripped up or forget things.
Also, yes, I recognize that it is ironic that I talk about consistency in this post which is the only post of mine to go up on a day that isn't Thursday. What can I say? Life happens.
2022 is the year of getting things in order and there's a lot of work to get done before planting season so my posts may be a bit inconsistent in the coming months while that's taken care of. Another thing that's happening is cleaning and organizing the pantries, fridge, and (soon) the freezer so we're able to meal prep to make things a bit easier on us throughout the week. The sunroom is the biggest task, though, and the most pressing.
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