tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209993377003858606.post6784713379714034064..comments2024-03-28T09:46:36.249-07:00Comments on Gonzo History: Gaming Edition: The Mysterious Thingummy of WhatsisnameJames Hollowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09037978157160974070noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209993377003858606.post-87728015529179522832014-09-15T04:05:58.414-07:002014-09-15T04:05:58.414-07:00I think Dark Souls has reached the platonic ideal ...I think Dark Souls has reached the platonic ideal of this 'under lying mystery' phenomenon in gaming.Matthew Skailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15785505324237587580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209993377003858606.post-34421257227983579872014-09-15T00:35:03.169-07:002014-09-15T00:35:03.169-07:00Yeah, 80s 40K had it in spades, partly because the...Yeah, 80s 40K had it in spades, partly because there was no Lexicanum but also partly because the material was hard to come by. I got into 40K just on the cusp of the transition between 1st and 2nd edition, and there was nothing out there in the US -- all the old books were out of print but there were no new ones, and everything was fragmentary. But even if you have a complete run of White Dwarf there are still things you don't know -- like ... <br /><br />... somewhere there's an illustration, maybe on the cover of the old Imperial Guard boxed set, of a regiment advancing with their colours. And one of the flags has a thing on it that reads: "Amidst the wailing and the woe, accursed daemon, do thou remain and rot. I know, thee, filthy as thou art. I know ... ". <br /><br />What the hell is that all about?! It sounds amazing whatever it is, and it's stuck with my all these years, but I don't think it's a thing. It's just that John Blanche is a genius. But your chances of seeing anything to surprise or intrigue you in a piece of modern GW art are pretty slim. <br /><br />But gaming companies have a bad tendency to try to explicate every tiny detail, like those books about what all the different weird aliens in the Star Wars cantina were doing there. James Hollowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09037978157160974070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3209993377003858606.post-10467621635913656592014-09-15T00:24:37.346-07:002014-09-15T00:24:37.346-07:00You've put words on something I've been fe...You've put words on something I've been feeling for ages !<br /><br />I loved that part of mistery, of untold, of secret in thos egame sof old, The backstory we could elaborate from th efew pieces of intel we had made it so attractive.<br /><br />I like the oldschool pieces of gaming art for that reason too, look at the old drawings from John Blanche, Ian miller, Adrian Smith and the like and you'll always find something in th ebackground, a tower or castlle, a flock of birds or a strange forest, but you'll always find one little thing which doesn't give you anything but which adds depth to the world th epictures takes place in.<br /><br />Lovecraft's novels mainly work on that system of letting the untold do the work and it's brilliant. Even a TV show like Lost worked a lot on that and it's os urprise thend disappointed so much fans with all the question being answered (not debating on how well or bad they were answered).<br /><br />Yes, I like incompleteness even when it is the consequence of a low budget and time spent, a few open doors, question unanswered (or even translation mistakes) can give a tremendous depth to a setting.<br /><br />This is a VERY intersting subject, thaks you for raising it.Asslessmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09475252828835332056noreply@blogger.com