A Novel's Perspective

#1

I thought the title was witty, but it may not be.

Regardless, this one’s not directly related to the game, more or less it references the novel made to promote the game, and something else.

Plain and simple, for all Predator related novels and fiction, who would you rather see the story from? The humans or the Predators?

I ask because, as I covered in another, ancient post, I was working on a piece of Predator-related fiction, a novel I’ve wanted to write since high school, and I was wondering about this. From much of the literature I’ve browsed and picked up, it’s generally from the perspective of the humans and seems to follow the same path: Pred hunting around, humans learn of pred, humans fight Pred, and Pred dies.

The only pieces that feature Predator perspectives are mainly video games, with a notable example being Predator: Concrete Jungle, in which one served as the game’s core protagonist, and a minor example being a few short stories in Predator: If it Bleeds.

In summary, if I were to pick that novel back up I was trying to finish and, somehow, got the okay to write it, would you, the fans, prefer to see a story from the Predator’s perspective, or should I keep things the way they are? And, in general, would fans prefer seeing more Predator centered stories?

PS, I’m hoping they add some new gamemodes. Might spice the gameplay up for Hunting Grounds.

#2

I want more predator centered everything. I’m sick of predators always losing in the end and humans always coming out on top. If u pick ur novel back up u should keep it in the predators perspective, I think it would be better that way

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#3

Predator…

The whole movie point and franchises was about predators lmao… until lately now people want humanity to rise and be inspired lmfao… just yikes…

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#4

Well, that’s just it; the novel I was developing in the past had a Predator focused protagonist; I just grew skeptical because I was worried it was entering fanfiction territory…that and I wasn’t even sure it’d ever get published outside of…well a fanfiction.

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#5

Predator & most author’s struggle to write from an alien perspective which is why it isn’t done ):

Some of the official novels read like fanfiction already so that’ll be hands down better

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#6

Regarding that, it may not be as hard as some believe it to be; using the games as a template and some short stories, I think I have a grasp on how they behave when not hunting, so writing from their perspective isn’t hard. Tricky, but not hard.

#7

Well even if it is just a fan fiction I’d read it

#8

I appreciate that; least it means that, worst case, it’ll have a home here.

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#9

You need both perspectives to tell a whole story, at least concerning a Predator story.

Nothing wrong with having a Predator main character and riding along seeing through their eyes so to speak. You also need a human perspective to tie things back too, to show what the emotional side of the story is, to us as the reader.

The nice thing about novels is two characters never need interact to experience the same thing from two separate angles. To give you a brief example…

If you told a story focused on just one Predator as he or she made there way around the world, stopping and setting up a number of hunting grounds along the way. A human OWLF or STGZ (Keep it a secret till the end if STGZ, and you win) lab technician who visits each hunting ground in turn, sometimes right after, sometimes reconstructing what happened later, you can add details you wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to.

(A Weyland or Yutani worker could be a nice pay off too.)

PS. Apologies, my fiancé is an aspiring author and I do story exercises with her. Like thought experiments. I’ll gladly help you if you need someone to bounce ideas off of.

#10

As much as the people who don’t like the “human centered stories” about Predator, humans and those stories are there for a reason. It’s almost like people never watched Pred 1. The reason why Preds like Scarface was such a good character, was because he had to face Borgia Industries, the humans who adapted his technology into a neo-metropolis in order to regain his honor. Broken Tusk was just some hunting group leader until he had to team up with Machiko Noguchi on Ryushi for his very survival. Most of the Predator characters we know have their interactions and qualities shown in human based stories. But even above most of them like the specific ones I’ve mentioned, they were relatable.

Scarface was a casual revenge story, a guy kicked to the curb for a century and had to rise up the corporate ladder to take down the bad guys. Broken Tusk was just trying to teach some idiots how to hunt until they became bad blooded civilian killers. Other characters like Dark, Scar, or even Wolf were just guys doing a weekend thing until it turned into a shitstorm.

Like another has said, we can’t just slap a Predator Protag onto the story and say “done”. By the time you’re done detailing how he ripped a spine off for the 52th time in a row, something might seem off. The reason why stories like Predator: Hunters, Predator: Captured, AVP Eternal, or South China Sea are so good, is because you have that extra perspective.

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#11

I had something like that planned; while there wasn’t a human protagonist also, my draft did have human perspectives also to flesh out the area and flesh out the “world” so to speak. To introduce plot elements to the readers in a fluid way.

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#12

A fair point, and one I didn’t overtly consider. I’ll have to re-evaluate what I had planned, then, and consider using the other plot-line I wanted. Namely the one I thought The Predator would be, as opposed to the mess we were given.

Edit, forgot to add. What you said is something I forgot: humans tend to be predominantly featured as protagonists because, as you said, they’re easier to relate to. It’s hard to see a 7ft alien hunter and see a part of yourself in them. Best I can do is give realistic, almost “human” traits that make sense, while still being aspects that a Yautja would typically have, such as a lust for redemption.

#13

Any human character will do, they just need to see what the Predator does. If we like them and they act as a moral judge by say witnessing the slaughter of human traffickers but not the victims. They can offer an appreciation for the Hunter. You can counter point that by showing the Hunter being annoyed that none of the hostages pick up arms or that the heat signatures they tracked have lead to unsatisfying prey.

You can also mirror the two characters, showing them react to the same thing or treat it like a funhouse mirror and show a distorted reflection.
The trope you pick for the main character should be opposite to the Predator, so a Researcher might have a physical disability. A private investigator or journalist are both standard enough tropes, they might not need the same level of development as other characters.

Whatever you do, don’t make the human a fighter, otherwise you’re promising the audience a fight.

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#14

True. Like I said, I’ll have to can the first plot-line I wanted to use and, instead, opt for a far more grounded, realistic, and interesting one that still grants the…well reason for this thread.

#15

I’m glad to hear that, it’s actually a good sign. Don’t worry to much about canning it, real novels (that get published) get done in drafts.
That first attempt is something to be proud of and will likely all end up being inspiration.
My fiancé’s story is on it’s third draft, it started as a short story. Now over 100,000.

You welcome to reinterpret anything I say or suggest. If you do like the idea of the researcher feel free to use it. It’s a decent base to build off of and it’s not even a skeleton, any character you create using it would be your own.
I like giving feedback and wouldn’t want you not to use something because I suggested it and you thought I might not approve. So here’s approval up front. Like I said, you have to do the hard part of making the character, I’m just a guy with to much ADHD.

PS. I honestly thought way to much about that researcher in the last 20 minutes, went to Oxford, degree in law dropped out switched to Criminal Forensics. Reconstructs crime scenes, hired by nameless corporation. Drafted onto a team after analyzing a Predator hunting ground or incident. This is they’re first time going out into the field as someone important who knows about aliens. Gonna have the breakthrough of the century, can just feel it.
See, and that was only the first version… I thought of 3.
Big Animal expert, probably mammals but with real experience with big lizards. Walks with a limp from being mauled, has bad scars but only down the one side. Doesn’t know what this job entails and is suspicious of their employers, lots of strange meetings, then that first fucking job, jesus.
I think I like the second one best.
Last one is a straight researcher never supposed to go into the field, but has a hobby, cons someone into taking them to these places where the hunting happens. In a wheelchair, so this is hard. Preservers, going to figure out the pattern and find the monster, but starts to empathize with it. Running out of time and excuses, boss starting to get suspicious. This one unfortunately leans very heavily into evil corporate being behind it all.

#16

I could use those, though it would mean I’d have to base the story with Hunting Ground’s universe, and potentially use OWLF as a starting point. I dunno, I’ll have to think.

#17

I’ve done more checking, and for those still tuning into this entry, I may have to abandon the Predator Novel idea.

The main issue is it seems Disney has plans with the IP still, and therefore may only source novels from those who are established and “good” authors, whereas I only have a single novella on the way.

Plus, I’ve heard news stories about them screwing over someone who did Star Wars novels, so it’s abundantly clear working with them would be a risk I cannot take,

#18

predator centered

#19

I write in 3rd person, offering viewpoints from every character, even the antagonist.
In the books I’m submitting now for publication, some humans win and some lose, just as some Preds win and some lose. But all have their individual thoughts and ways of handling situations. Because life is like that. There are so few heroes, and even those will tell you about their flaws and struggles. We’re all kind of anti heroes, with capacity for great good and great evil, and I believe we all wrestle with the balance.

What surprised me was how easy it was to write from the POV of a deranged and hedonistic predator, who tortures for pleasure. In fact it scared me, how easy it was.
I don’t even want to examine the psychology behind that. 😱😅

#20

Predator perspective.

While I do think there is a place for human perspective stories I allways believe in variety if the cons outway the pro’s.