@AriaGrace@tech.lgbtIt's one thing to take inspiration from Thing when writing a book... But when you specifically cite it in the beginning foreword / dedication thing, that really just primes my mind to immediately and constantly compare it to Thing. I can't help but visualize the book using visuals and themes from Thing, rather than whatever the book is trying to describe. It lays bare the connections and similarities, in a way that makes it difficult to get immersed.
What's that? You liked Bioshock? Huh. Okay. Hm. Going underwater, horror motifs, social stratification, sure. And there's your ADAM and plasmids. Everything goes to hell in Art Deco. Look! Splicers! Literal "healing juice"! Super-tough bad guys called "Elites"!
I think what really bothered me is that because I had "video game" as mental background radiation, so "Leon" was damned to become Leon Kennedy, and I don't know for certain where "Aerith" is going, but I assume the next book will involve a Lifestream...