Journal Task #1 - McGuffin vs Des ex Machina

A McGuffin is a narrative device in which an inanimate object is the direct cause of the plot starting off. For what makes a good McGuffin there are two schools of thought. The first is the Hitchcockian version in which the McGuffin must lose its significance to the plot as the narrative progresses, with it acting only as the thing that incites the story. The second is the George Lucas version in which the McGuffin in question must be important to the audience throughout the story, with an example being the 'one ring' from the lord of the rings franchise. Personally I am more inclined towards this version as I think it should always be the goal to make the audience invested in something in the narrative, especially if its the characters goal, as it increases the stakes and emotional tension of the story. However, if the focus of the narrative isn't surrounding the McGuffin then it makes much more sense to go for the original Hitchcock version.

When speaking about a Des ex Machina and a narrative device however many people treat it as a sign of bad writing. This is because the definition of it is something that miraculously resolves the current problem that the characters are facing. In principle this isn't necessarily a bad thing as it can often allow writers to create a twist the plays of the build up of tension from the impossible problem that the characters were facing. However, where this becomes a hall mark of bad writing is when the writer either doesn't have a checkoffs gun to foreshadow the twist or the twist removes all consequences and doesn't introduce any of its own. If none of these are used in conjunction with the Des ex Machina then what will often happen is that it will break the realism of the story and world, destroying the immersion of the audience in the process.

A good example of both of these devices can be found in the Legend of Zelda franchise. For a McGuffin it would be the triforce which is commonly the main focus of either the villain of the main characters as they search for a way to defeat the villain. This idea of a McGuffin falls more in line with the George Lucas version as the triforce remains important throughout the entire game. For a Des ex Machina however, the best example is from the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This is referring to the final boss battle with Calamity Gannon as he takes his final form and is immune to the players attacks. Because of this, Zelda gives the player a divine bow mid battle that allows the player to beat the boss. Whilst this is a Des ex Machina, as the bow comes out of now where to resolve the problem of not being able to kill the boss, where it succeeds is in the fact that it doesn't remove all of the consequences of the situation as the player still has to fight the final boss to win. Because of this, it doesn't completely break the tension to the point of the narrative becoming un-immersive like it might have if Zelda had defeated the boss in your place, removing all consequences of your battle as a result.