How ar the artifacts Dues Ex Machina?

[Turalyon]

With all due respect I don't think your comments are more canonical that the actual in-gam information. It is clear from Resurrection IV and WoL that de-infesting restores person's original personality.

Never did I imply that my views were canonical. I just wanted you to have a balanced perspective for both sides because they both have their merits. I don't really care whether something is canon or not as long as there's room for discussion which I thought we were having.

[Karass]

Mind you, I wasn't disputing you right for discussion.

[Alex06]

The artifact is not a DEM, it doesn't miraculously heal Kerrigan. It was intended to weaken Kerrigan (so she can be killed) and absorb "Zerg Energy". She will return to her infested form with time. All it did was give her pause, make her weak, and kill off her Zerg power and sever her link to the Swarm.

It's a superweapon alright, but not necessarily a DEM. They have to go through alot to acquire the pieces and assemble them. Heck, Raynor nearly risked his life and that of his crew to get it (IE Supernova) and even had a run-in three times with Kerrigan (on Tyrador, it was particularly dangerous, even if the mission itself was easy, that's not what matters, that's gameplay. Lore-wise they came close to failing to her.). On Char, it was very risky and they all came close to their doom. (Gates of Hell and All In)

[mr. peasant]

The Artifact counts as a deus ex machina because Blizzard needed to end WoL with Kerrigan depowered and deinfested through Raynor's actions and thus created the Artifact for this specific purpose. That it required great effort to assemble before that point only makes it double as a Macguffin device as well (especially since Raynor did not know what the Artifacts were for at the time other than the means to a nice pay cheque).

[Alex06]

The Artifact counts as a deus ex machina because Blizzard needed to end WoL with Kerrigan depowered and deinfested through Raynor's actions and thus created the Artifact for this specific purpose. That it required great effort to assemble before that point only makes it double as a Macguffin device as well (especially since Raynor did not know what the Artifacts were for at the time other than the means to a nice pay cheque).

Then it becomes a PLOT DEVICE, not a Deus Ex Machina. <_<
I believe you got your definitions wrong.
And SC1 also had many plot devices, like the Zerg, the DT, the Psi Disruptor, the 2nd Overmind and the UED. (All in that order)

There were many ways they could've gotten Kerrigan de-powered and de-infested as you say. There's that nanotech serum. The artifact didn't necessarily do what we think it did. We all are just used to Hollywood good endings that that's literally all we see and assume automatically it's exactly that which we are seeing. Even when it's not.

And that's ironic, because even Disney stories were actually deeper than the average dimwit made them out to be.

[mr. peasant]

A plot device is any literary technique used to forward the plot. This includes a 'deus ex machina', which means an improbably event brought about to resolve a problematic event in order to reach the ending desired (in this case, it's the Artifact's ability to de-Zerg Kerrigan; especially since there were no strong indications of such an attribute or purpose within the narrative).

The Artifacts pieces double as a Macguffin device because they exist in order to instigate conflict between Raynor and the Tal'darim and to instigate contact with Valerian Mengsk. Had the artifact pieces remained purely ornamental in nature with its de-Zerging attribute given to a different item (e.g. Hanson's research) that was used at the ending, this would have had no impact on the plot whatsoever. This, is why I say it is a Maguffin on top being a deus ex machina.

[Eivind]

A plot device is any literary technique used to forward the plot. This includes a 'deus ex machina'

It's true that a DEM is a literary device, but a literary device is not necessarily a DEM, in the same way that Ford is a car, but a car is not necessarily a Ford.

I don't see how the artifact is a DEM either. A DEM is not synonymous with "handy device". The artifacts were there in the beginning of the game, and they've had their powers for all eternity. It's the information that comes late, but their powers have been there forever.

As for the case of it being a MacGuffin: close, but not necessarily cigar. "The MacGuffin is common in films, especially thrillers. Usually, though not always, the MacGuffin is the central focus of the film in the first act, and then declines in importance as the struggles and motivations of characters play out. It may come back into play at the climax of the story, but sometimes the MacGuffin is actually forgotten by the end of the film."

A good example of a MacGuffin would be the money in Psycho, which drive the plot forward, and which non-existance would have made many, if not all of the films plot points non-existant. However, they only drive the film forward, but the closer we get to the end, the more insignificant they become. The artifact does drive the plot in WoL forward, but unlike a MacGuffin, its significance increases throughout the game.

The artifact is essential to the ending. A MacGuffin is essential to the beginning.

[mr. peasant]

It's true that a DEM is a literary device, but a literary device is not necessarily a DEM, in the same way that Ford is a car, but a car is not necessarily a Ford.

I don't see how the artifact is a DEM either. A DEM is not synonymous with "handy device". The artifacts were there in the beginning of the game, and they've had their powers for all eternity. It's the information that comes late, but their powers have been there forever.

Wikipedia describes a deus ex machina as a 'plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new character, ability, or object'. Using this defintion, the 'problem' here is 'turning Kerrigan from firmly evil to good (or at least no longer evil)'. The 'intervention' here is 'the Artifact's apparent ability to arbitrarily bring about that change as if by magic'.

As for whether or not the Artifact pieces are a Macguffin device, using the definition you provided:

The MacGuffin is common in films, especially thrillers. Usually, though not always, the MacGuffin is the central focus of the film in the first act, and then declines in importance as the struggles and motivations of characters play out. It may come back into play at the climax of the story, but sometimes the MacGuffin is actually forgotten by the end of the film.

Just because the Artifact plays a part at the climax/ending of the story does not preclude it from being a Macguffin. Moreover, the Artifact pieces are the central focus for the first part of the story, as it acts as the driving force behind Raynor's actions in the first portion of the game and what ultimately leads him into contact with Valerian Mengsk. And to top it off, it didn't really matter to the plot what the Artifacts were, their purpose/use or their origin. What mattered was that someone was paying Raynor to collect them and as a result, he was doing it.

[Audie Murphy]

Deus ex machina would be if Raynor was stuck against a cliff, and an old crane broke down and fell across the gorge allowing him to escape. Collecting the artifact pieces and using it as intended is like building a gun and using it to shoot the enemy. The artifact is NOT and example of Deus ex machina.

[Rake]

"Illogical placement and timing Deus Ex Machina — When something is established and explained in the work, but its use in that situation is jarring and impossible to believe. "

From the TV tropes website.


I think this illustrates why people think of the artifacts as a Dues Ex. It is hard to believe that millenia ago an alien race created a machine that is capable of de-infesting an infested human without killing her. Bear in mind that the Xel Naga never met humans and probably hadn't even met the zerg yet and that de-infesting a human seems like it would be a delicate operation.

We have seen unlikely devices before, but the psi-disrupter was specifically created by the scientists of a large space fairing civilization to solve one problem and the Shakuras artifact simply destroyed the zerg (which seems more plausible).

I would have been much happier if the artifact was a general energy manipulation device that was 'tuned' by the terrans using machinery and experimentation. It would have seemed much more plausible.