#stop sleeping on talent

[scribeofmorpheus]

Why Dragon Age Veilguard isn't a "Cathedral"

Concept art by Matt Rhodes

"To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals."

What is inherent with Veilguard that keeps bothering me is the fact that the world's choices truly didn't matter--and it doesn't simply bother me from a player perspective, it's not simply a grievance borne of frustration to what I (as a longtime fan) have lost. It's about the very culture of the arts under capitalism's new media habituation cycle [x][x].

Yes, I spent hours of my life playing and replaying each instalment of Dragon Age. Yes, I painstakingly curated a 'canon' world state by replaying what came before in preparation for Veilguard. Yes, I am even more unsatisfied with the end product--time hasn't helped, it's just widened the divide. But, and I can't stress this enough, these very personal gripes aren't what hit home the most. It's the inherent disregard of legacy. A legacy that the previous writers and game developers were building towards.

In the DAV artbook, "cathedral" is the word used to describe the process of making a game. Matt Rhodes' exact words are: "One artist can make a painting, but it takes a team to build a cathedral." Cathedrals took centuries to build. The architect who drafted the first blueprints would likely never see his work realised, he had to rely on those who came after him, like-minded and passionate, to see it through--for the culture, for the future, for legacy. Painters took on several apprentices for this reason too--giant frescoes were not completed by one man's hand, even if it is one man's name that immortalises them. Similarly, if you weave a narrative around choice, what good does it do to take it away at the final act if not to fall to caricature?

To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals.

Late-stage capitalism and profit-margin-obsessed game producers forcing developers to churn out meager content, to make a known brand into something it's not, to chase a fad or a popular trend... o, how reductive and cliche you've been forced to become Bioware. We have lost the cultural thought patterns relative to Cathedrals. We know only of barn-raised churches--done in a day but unlikely to last the turn of the seasons.

And don't even get me started on the music of Veilguard either. From Origins to World of Warcraft to Everquest to Baldur's Gate to Dungeon Siege, you can hear the intricate interconnected weave of sounds inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy genre. You hear it in the repeated use of certain instruments, in the harmonic weeping notes of a bard-like singer or the foreboding echoes of drums as if of war. In tavern songs. But then, rather than hire someone who loves these worlds and this genre, who is a hungry artist looking to make a name, a legacy if you will, for themselves with a spectacular score, you hire any already sated composer, one well-into the encroaching years of career fatigue, whose notes repeat in countless projects, who feels less concise and more uninterested with each new project. One who has long since cemented his legacy. Someone in it for a paycheck and nothing else! And, to top it off, you let him compose something so minimalist? I am offended actually.

Cathedrals! We should have witnessed the final tile being placed on the Dragon Age cathedral. Instead, some architects walked up, tore down the interior and installed IKEA furniture and called it authentic before having to call the previous architects to come and fix the "load-bearing issues", forcing them to rush and add a coat of varnish and a few 'aged' details for authenticity.

[tragedia]

everyone i follow

[moonchild-in-blue]

Goddamn. Let it rain all over me, Only pain will set me free, How did I hit rockbottom?

[reflectionsofgalaxies]

Bird App recap of the day:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTINA EDITION 💖

we had SEVERAL phrases trending, I think five in total but I only managed to catch four. At its peak ‘HAPPY BDAY KTY’ was trending at no.3 world wide 🌍

Warrior Nun was written about in TIME (top) and GQ (bottom quote) as well as in several other publications

And Tristán Ulloa tweeted this at Kristina

and BONUS:

all shared by KTY today ✨

[mackenskibc]

can we just take a minute to appreciate how pretty žaba is

[jaejoontrashpanda]

[4K] TEN - “Nightwalker” Band LIVE Concert [it's Live] K-POP live music ...

[bl-bam-beyond]

BE MY FAVORITE (2023, THAILAND)

Episode 5

Today's episode of BE MY FAVORITE was so well done and it had nothing to do with anything concerning the confession. It was an accurate portrayal of a gay man going through and existential crisis.

No it's not the same for every person but in my opinion Pisaeng (played by the absolutely phenomenal GAWIN CASKEY aka FLUKE) is going through something difficult. The way he lingered outside of the LGBTQ PLUS center/club/bar before leaving and then coming back. Going in. Running into someone he recognizes and running out again. Very Authentic IMO.

[woe-is-tuli]

.🐰.

[stone-stars]

you're so talented in everything you do its amazing

oh!!! thank you!!!! tbh, my secret is that i try really hard all the time, so i'm glad you like the things i do!

[send me anonymous opinions!]

[excelsior9173]

thinking today about how i saw sleep token back in june but originally wasn’t going to…

[seeinganewlight]

josh hutcherson in general does not get enough credit, but he really did not get enough credit for his performance in mockingjay part 2 specifically. give him all the awards. i'll make the damn awards myself. he deserves them all

[rumandstars]

my sleeping medication has me GOOFY

i love y'all on here. rays of light, the lot of you <3

if you're reading this, thanks for being you!

[nt3000s]

im so lucky to know so many people in my life to have met so many people in my life that are just life saving ill never not feel lucky people are so beautiful and kind and talented and funny and have so much worth everyone ive ever met anyone in my life i have ever touched i just cant believe it ill never be able to understand it how important everyone is how much i love people the degree to whihc i love people and everyone i have ever met ill just never ever be able to express the depth of how important it is to me it might be the most important part of my entire life. i just need people to know how much i love them im desperate for it to be known how important everyone ive ever met is to me. all of my friends everyone whos ever been kind to me and whoever ive been kind to it will never be lost on me how important it is. and i feel so lucky to be graced i guess by my friends. i cant imagine the life i would live without every event every person who ive ever crossed. i would never sacrifice anything to not be where i am now because of the people i know and have known. the people i know and talk to everyday or the people i see in a notification or pass by. i cant overstate your importance to me. i cant overstate how important i want people to feel. i want people to see themselves how i see them. i can not overstate your importance to me and i love you. im so lucky ill never be able to take it

[throwthewine]

Listening to a former co-host of a podcast i loved which publicly imploded a few years back trying to explain the difficulties of his split with his co-host and the expectations of a trying to start solo careers with a Beatles breakup analogy but he’s assigning them incorrectly based on the wrong stereotypes !

[viridianvisions]

The real ones are here after all this time. 🤧

it's been 3 years and I'm still obsessed with a magical family from colombia and their concept art

[softceleste]

God Dylan is on ig live right now singing (she just sang All I Want by Kodaline and now she's singing Dog Days are Over By Florence and the Machine), and this is like actually the most gorgeous thing I've ever heard. 10/10 live