S. W. Raine

It’s no secret I love video games. The NES, or Nintendo Entertainment System, came out in North America in 1986. My love of video games started at some point after that.

(Yep. I’m blow-in-the-cartridge-to-get-it-to-work old. lol)

I got really good at playing Super Mario Bros. and cheating at Duck Hunt. I never really understood what to do in The Legend of Zelda, but it never stopped me from trying to play!

Though I’m not the best at playing video games, I still love playing them. Especially if they have a great storyline. And those storylines, along with the ones in the books I read, helped my creativity soar, impacting how and what I’d write.

Super Mario Bros.

There wasn’t much of a storyline behind the original Super Mario Bros. game: Mario and Luigi, two plumbers, try to rescue the Princess (who was always, inconveniently, in another castle). But in 1989 and 1990, the franchise had comic books and cartoons. Soon after, I wrote my first fanfiction without even knowing what fanfiction was.

My favorite character was Luigi, so my fanfiction—fictional writing written by fans based on existing works of fiction—was Luigi-centric. It’s pretty cringe-worthy, especially because I was in 2nd, 3rd, or maybe even 4th grade at the time. But the important part is that it stirred my imagination and got me to write.

Breath of Fire II

In 1992, a better system called the SNES, or Super Nintendo Entertainment System, came out, and with it, bigger, better games.

We’d rent our video games at the same place we’d rent our movies (was it Blockbuster in Canada? I have no idea). Breath of Fire II, a role-playing game that came out in 1995, constantly grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, it was a single-player game. With a younger brother, we always had to make sure the games were 2-player. I did eventually play it, but a little later.

I was completely enamored by the main storyline and each playable character’s storyline. The artwork in the accompanying booklet was gorgeous too. But my favorite part was the multiple possible endings depending on your actions throughout the game. If that didn’t make my imagination run wild, I don’t know what did.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

In 1996, Nintendo released an RPG version of Super Mario for the SNES while waiting for their chance to shine on the new system: the Nintendo 64.

Super Mario RPG was another game I loved the storyline for. And the humor was top-notch, according to my teenaged self. It’s probably what started my love of banter and wisecracks. I was especially tickled by the Axem Rangers, a clear parody of the Power Rangers.

Final Fantasy Tactics

1995 brought the Sony PlayStation to North America. Final Fantasy VII debuted in 1997, popularizing JRPGs worldwide. And while I played a bit of it thanks to my exes, I never owned a PlayStation until my boyfriend at the time, now my husband, bought me a PS One somewhere around the year 2000. It was the smaller, cuter, less expensive PlayStation.

I eventually got Final Fantasy Tactics, which originally came out in 1998. And while I loved the storyline, I somehow was never able to get past a certain point in the game (hence my “Though I’m not the best at playing video games, I still love playing them” comment from earlier). I’d abandon the game for a later time, then have to restart the game from scratch because I couldn’t remember what happened or where I left off in the story.

But each time I’d start over, I’d get farther in the game than the previous time. And after a few years, I finally managed to finish it. While the storyline was great, it was the characters that did it for me. Thanks to the character Beowulf Cadmus, I learned about the epic poem, Beowulf. The character Wiegraf Folles, possibly named after Wiglaf from the same epic poem, was the inspiration behind Magaliana’s last name in The Techno Mage. Agrias Oaks was proof not only men could be badass warriors and bodyguards. Even the beloved Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy VII made an appearance.

Assassin’s Creed

The PlayStation 3 came out in 2006, and Assassin’s Creed came out in 2007, but my obsession with the series didn’t start with the first game.

For Christmas 2008, my husband got me Assassin’s Creed: Altaïr’s Chronicles, which was a spin-off prequel for the Nintendo DS system. He got it for me for the sole reason that I can pickpocket in the game. At the time, we played D&D, and my character was a thief, so he thought I’d enjoy it. And enjoy it I did, but not for that reason.

You see, I love mythology and ancient history. It started with ancient Egypt, then grew from there. So the fact that Altaïr, the main character, ran around Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus made me extremely giddy. And the ending was so frustrating, it left me wanting more.

So when they announced the forthcoming release of Assassin’s Creed II in 2009, I figured I’d best play the first game before then. And I’ve been hooked since.

Assassin’s Creed prompted my love of parkour (watching it, not participating in it lol) and trying to figure out the best ways to travel via rooftops. I think we were at Chichester Cathedral in England in 2014 when I casually mentioned where I’d start the climb to get to the top, which greatly amused my friend. In fact, Benedict Keenan’s climbing and rooftop runs in Rise of the Sky Pirate were easy to write due to how I envisioned it, thanks to Assassin’s Creed.

So as I continue to explore the realms of both video games and writing, you best bet I’ll continue to be inspired and include that in my books. What unexpected sources inspire your creativity? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Raine