Once again, heavy Longest Journey spoilers ahead.
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To me the science-versus-magic theme of the game is less intriguing than the physical reality-versus-imagination theme of the book because I do not see science and magic as complementary (or symbiotically opposing) forces the way I do reality and imagination.
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On the surface The Longest Journey's two worlds are divided along lines of science and magic, but thematically the division is along lines of logic and emotion. Stark is a world governed by the mind, while Arcadia is governed by the heart. When Gordon Halloway is split in two, the side that stays in Stark is his cold, rational self, untempered by emotions and thus unfeeling, while the side in Arcadia is his unpredictable and chaotic, the result of pure emotion without intellect or perception to guide it. This division to me is indicative of the nature of the Divide, and why the Balance is necessary. Either side, without the other to keep it in check, becomes dangerous.
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I have also developed a dislike to stories about a One who will make everything all right. The One who will bring balance to the Force. Or The One who will bring Balance to the worlds. This is an adolescent vision of heroism compared to the more mature conception that it will take many to save the world. It's also the kind of thinking we see in Rambo or the policies of the current U.S. administration, where The One is without exception "this one": we or I. Ego, hubris, life as war, dialectics as state religion, theology sustaining the centrality of ego.
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I don't think The Longest Journey is about a single person who will make everything all right; I think it's actually pointing toward the opposite. For the entire game, April is heralded as the hero of different peoples, she proves herself to be a strong individual who shows compassion for others, and then at the end, she's...not the right person to save the worlds? The guy who's spent the entire time killing people is? And the one who's risked her neck the whole time so everyone wouldn't die doesn't get so much as a thank you? Various dialogues throughout the game indicate that this one-guardian-every-thousand-years strategy isn't cutting it, and that something needs to change. I don't want to ruin Dreamfall for you, but this theme that the guardian isn't the best solution continues into it; also, that game uses several different characters to tell its story, and none of them are "chosen ones."
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Why not adventure predicated not on tension but vital enjoyment?
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A story, by definition, begins with conflict and ends with the resolution of that conflict (or at least the conflict's conclusion). If a story lacks some form of tension, no matter how small or ridiculous, it's not a story, it's an anecdote. You can't make an adventure game out of something like "Person basking in the moonlight with a loved one on the beach," where that concept is the entirety of the story.
