What it says in the title. EDIT: Link to auxiliary sandbox page
Some trope descriptions suffer from problems. Some possible ones:
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!. A paragraph starts explaining element X of the trope, then it wanders off to explain element Y. Two paragraphs after that we're back at element X again. Nary a conjunction is in sight.
- Too long. Stuff that should go in analysis, or maybe in another trope, or maybe nowhere, going in the main space. Too much scrolling required before you can get to the examples.
- Fan Myopia. Some "this is how it happens in WRESTLING!" dissertation is taking up half of the page on a trope about white t-shirts. We already have a thread on that one
- discussion about the general phenomenon goes there, specific candidates to deal with go here.
- General lack of balance and order. Something is emphasized at the expense of the other aspects of the trope, even though it has no right to be. Consequences of the trope come first, then related tropes, then a mention of the Trope Codifier, then common scenarios where it comes into play...
- Failure to answer the fundamental question up front: What is this trope? Not what it "might" be or what can "possibly" happen - what is it?
- Not enough meat. Juicy stuff is missing, like: When is the trope likely to turn up? Why would an author use it? In what ways does the audience often react? Which tropes are related to it and how?
- Spelling and grammar issues.
- The first line which makes honest-to-god sense is below the fold. e.g. Example as a Thesis that makes you go "huh?" instead of "ooooh".
- Bad Writing. Purple Prose, pitching the trope, Wanton Cruelty to the Common Comma.
- Egregiously Fan-Myopic quote.
- Jaywalking.
Bring up trope pages here so we can work on them. If no one does in a while, I'll try to dig something up.
edited 22nd Sep '11 10:48:59 AM by TripleElation
That's what most of the page seems to be going for, but this bit disagrees completely:
Given that Offstage Villainy isn't about "symphatetic", that bit is likely wrong.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanVain Sorceress needs a trim. It's not a good sign when a trope has a long description that ends in a note telling people what the trope isn't.
Age-Appropriate Angst's definition is nine paragraphs long and doesn't really concisely state what the trope actually is at any point.
Might as well put this here. We're trying to re-write the description
for So Beautiful, It's a Curse to one with a neutral tone and no references to Mary Sue.
New First Comics has a pretty minimalistic description. In fact I don't think I can expand it myself because I'm not sure what it's supposed to be in the first place: a reboot? A retool? A rewriting of the original beginning?
"Take That!" Kiss is also suffering from excessively long description, but I'm not sure which bits I can ax.
A genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker
All of this should go on analysis:
The modern depiction of the Genie in a Bottle seems to indicate that the lamp is in fact the source of the Genie's power. Without it, he or she is either weakened or turned human. However, the Lamp is also their prison. They must give wishes to whoever rubs their lamp, and cannot resist. They also cannot directly harm their master. See Literal Genie, however, for passive-aggressive means of rebellion; and Jackass Genie for less passive means.
This association of "genie" with "slave" means that we don't, generally, see free genies anymore, and that the intrinsic nature of genie "slavery" can be used as a plot point, as in Disney's Aladdin (You wished to be an all-powerful genie? Now you're stuck in that lamp!). Given the U.S.'s history with slavery, Western depictions of heroes who acquire genies will almost always free them in the end (provided that they're good). What the genie was imprisoned for originally is typically not mentioned.
Another interesting change is how the nature of wishing has become a kind of reality warp. The genie activates some kind of command written into the fabric of existence, and *poof*, the universe is that way. Just as a Genie is slave to the Lamp, the Wish seems to be something more complicated and powerful than they themselves are; they just facilitate its invocation. While they may have some magic tricks they can use for themselves, they cannot consciously use the same powers the Wish facilitates.
Since Genies are usually Shapeshifters, they usually also have a Red Right Hand such as blue skin, Supernatural Gold Eyes, appearing in a puff of smoke or some other feature that distinguishes them in any form. While today's image of a genie is fairly standardized and stereotypically Middle Eastern—a muscular, shirtless man, without legs, in a turban and usually with an ornate Arabic sword—this kind of standard visual preconceptions only seems to have arisen during the twentieth century; earlier depictions of genies by Western artists are very varying
.
The djinn were originally spirits of dust devils, hence the term, and almost Always Chaotic Evil in the oldest stories. Whenever you see a dust devil, that is a genie in its natural element. In the desert of the Sahara, or the plains of West Texas, dust devils can be powerful enough to snatch up livestock and small children, and those swirling leaves tend to follow you around, hence the origin of the belief isn't as illogical as you might think.
This one is well enough known that Christina Aguilera's first song was called "Genie In A Bottle" and featured many (somewhat sexual) references to this trope.
edited 5th Mar '13 5:54:04 PM by Thecommander236
New First Comics's description is rather vague, leading to a few Square Peg Round Trope in the examples.
A genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker
Apologies. I did skim through the last couple pages to check if it was already there; I don't know how I missed your post. I read it now, and I completely agree with you. But reading the trope page again, I wonder if it's actually a job for the TRS or something, since I think the title is poor as well.
edited 8th Mar '13 1:40:41 AM by nemui10pm
A genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinkerIs it just me or is 11th-Hour Superpower actually not a videogame-specific trope? Roughly 25% of the in-page examples are from outside games.
An Ear Worm is like a Rickroll: It is never going to give you up.And the difference between "game" and "work" matters how exactly? If it doesn't, then the video game specific trope would be The Same But More Specific of the non-specific trope, making the distinction pointless.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanIn-Series Nickname needs to have its description/definition fleshed out. I dare say that it might even warrant TRS'ing, but I'm not sure.
edited 10th Mar '13 5:51:36 AM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.@m8e: I think Septimus meant that he saw no reason for the page to be video game specific, not that he didn't see where on the page it claimed to video game specific.
Also, Stock Footage Failure has a really bad double-whammy of Example As Thesis and starting off with what the trope is not.

Villainy Discretion Shot is the trope about villainous acts being downplayed or ignored, often co-ocurring with Offstage Villainy. Seems clear enough to me.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman