"Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good." —
Mark Twain.
Pure genre exercises are almost always fairly well done. You've seen a hundred movies (or novels, or videogames) just like this one, they've made a hundred movies just like it, and all that practice has paid off. Every scene is tight, every heartstring is pulled, and nothing stands between you and a triumphant emotional experience except, of course, over-familiarity.
Other works try for originality, and much is gained. But something is also lost. The new bits, being new, are also a bit buggy. Characters, scenes, plot points, and dialog either go too far, don't go far enough, or go off in slightly wrong directions. Perhaps the unfamiliar is pushed a little too far and becomes alienating.
Which brings us to this reminder:
If you seek novelty, then do not expect a polished experience. If you seek a polished experience, then do not expect novelty.
This observation is a companion to
Sturgeons Law, the driving force behind
Capcom Sequel Stagnation, and a recognition of the tradeoffs between
Tropes Are Not Bad and
Tropes Are Not Good.
