I asked a question about a game with walking snowmen. It was closed but then reopened when Valorum found a video of the game that shows a “magic” meter.
Why are walking snowmen off-topic without other fantastical things? I don’t get it.
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It was closed. You can see that in the revision history or in the timeline. Screenshot.– AlexMar 13, 2019 at 19:20
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1 Answer
In line with our policy regarding talking animals, the mere existence of sentient/walking/talking snowmen (or any other thing that's normally non-sentient like helicopters, trains or diggers) in a property doesn't, in and of themselves, make that film/book/TV programme/comic a 'fantasy' if the central conceit is that those "sentient whatevers" simply exist within that fictional universe without provoking explanation.
That said, we would consider "sentient whatevers" to be part of a fantasy if:
They had been uplifted in some way (either by technology or magic)
Their speaking was somehow fantastical to the other characters.
With regard to your specific question, the mere presence of animated snowmen that you can push around with your finger doesn't make it on-topic (which is why it was closed). The fact that it was subsequently shown to contain some sort of power-up that allows you to perform magic does make it on topic (which is why it was reopened).
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3But unlike animals, there’s nothing animate in the first place about snowmen. Additionaly, artificially intelligent humanoid robots are sci-fi, but will likely exist in the future; snowmen cannot move by themselves, and that’s never gonna work. I think they’re fantasy. Mar 14, 2019 at 4:02
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@Stormblessed - Also, we've discussed whether futuristic (but now current) science fiction gadgets and concepts are on-topic. The general thumb is yes, if they were considered sci-fi at the time. That means that writing fic that contains a hand-held mobile phone in 1953 would be firmly on-topic, but writing fic that contains a mobile phone today would be off-topic.– ValorumMar 14, 2019 at 13:00