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Q&A: Womb Level

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MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#1: Mar 18th 2011 at 5:48:22 AM

Courtesy link

Are we sure this trope is strictly video game-only? The Living Ships of the Tyranids qualify for this trope, but the WH 40 K franchise originated from a tabletop game, and includes several novels; I can also easily imagine the concept being implemented in other forms of media, though I can't name any examples off the top of my head.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Yamikuronue So Yeah Since: Aug, 2009
#2: Mar 18th 2011 at 6:18:56 AM

The examples have a lot of "X takes place inside another character" - isn't that just Fantastic Voyage?

BTW, I'm a chick.
Deboss I see the Awesomeness. from Awesomeville Texas Since: Aug, 2009
I see the Awesomeness.
#3: Mar 18th 2011 at 6:44:02 AM

What makes it different from Living Ship compared to a level? I know we've got a shitton of "generic videogame level" tropes.

Fight smart, not fair.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#4: Mar 19th 2011 at 6:56:23 AM

[up] As I understand, Living Ship isn't always fully organic. It could involve heavy cybernetics, and the degree of "organicness" can vary significantly. Womb Level, on the other, involves a fully organic appearance, and isn't limited to spaceships or other vessels; it could be a land-based lair, for example.

[up][up] Refer to this passage from Womb Level:

A Fantastic Voyage is typically voluntary, and involves going into somebody's body to do something to it. A Womb Level rarely provides more than a different ambiance and setting for the same sort of experience that is otherwise typical.

edited 19th Mar '11 7:00:43 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#5: Apr 7th 2011 at 11:41:13 AM

Bump.

Should I take this to TRS?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
DrStarky Okay Guy from Corn And Pig Land Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Staying up all night to get lucky
Okay Guy
#6: Apr 8th 2011 at 6:21:38 PM

I honestley don't see why it's called Womb Level when there is no requirement for it to be in the womb specifically. But I think the trope distinct enough.

Put me in motion, drink the potion, use the lotion, drain the ocean, cause commotion, fake devotion, entertain a notion, be Nova Scotian
Atz Since: Jan, 2001
#7: Apr 8th 2011 at 9:00:00 PM

The distinctions seem pretty clear to me.

Fantastic Voyage is, as the description says "A plot that involves characters being shrunk to enter someone's body", usually to fight off some horrible virus or blast out the blockage in their spleen with teeny-tiny proton torpedoes or something like that.

Living Ship is a vehicle made of Organic Technology.

Womb Level is a Video Game level which is made of meat. It doesn't have to involve anyone being shrunk, much less doing so for the express purpose of entering someone's body. Nor is the level necessarily a ship or vehicle, though it can be. Often (but not always) it involves being eaten by a giant creature.

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#8: May 2nd 2011 at 12:59:32 PM

So, if a non-video game character uses their innate ability to create Pocket Dimensions (and manipulate the spacetime fabric thereof) and apply Alien Geometries to create a vastly Bigger on the Inside Womb Level-style environment (or a collection of such environments) within their body, which they can then take other characters into (usually via Swallowed Whole), then what tropes apply?

And to be clear, no Organic Technology is involved, just natural (though clearly superhuman/nonhuman) "evolved" biology.

edited 2nd May '11 1:02:46 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Glidergun life is a game Since: Jan, 2001
life is a game
#9: May 2nd 2011 at 4:55:38 PM

I'd say that qualifies as a Fantastic Voyage, though it should be noted in the example that it is enacted via Alien Geometries rather than Incredible Shrinking Man.

Each night, he abandons the trappings of civilization. Each morning, he repairs the front door.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#10: May 3rd 2011 at 1:02:27 AM

What if the aforemention case is sometimes implemented in a harmful way - as in, he throws them into a hostile environment? Or simply as a temporary inescapable prison?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
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