#tmw

[thealexchen]

Why Dontnod's games feel original and inspired (and why Deck Nine's games don't)

So, I've talked at length about how Double Exposure feels much more like a corporate product than a playable piece of art entertainment [My initial thoughts on the DE trailer] [My thoughts on the early access paywall] [My thoughts on the weird marketing].

But now with the release of Lost Records, I feel like I have no choice but to confront the question: were any of Deck Nine's games truly original or inspired in any way? And honestly, I have to say no.

Objectively, I could say it's because Deck Nine literally has not produced any original IP's since their rebrand from Idol Minds in 2017. Their only narrative adventure games are all part of the LiS franchise. But even their most original game, True Colors, pretty obviously follows the first game's narrative formula (young woman with a superpower investigates a sudden disappearance/death in a small town with a dark secret, has two opposite sex love interests, learns about a twist villain, is nearly murdered, and goes through a psychological nightmare in the last episode) to a tee. But oh look, there's also a LARP!

But I believe there's more to it than that, because when I look at Dontnod's games, they are always inspired by other works. Life is Strange 1 plays very clear homage to Twin Peaks with the Pacific Northwest setting and Rachel Amber resembling Laura Palmer. Max Caulfield is named after the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, another novel about the fleeting innocence of childhood and superficiality of society. Life is Strange borrows tropes from Donnie Darko, Groundhog Day, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stand By Me, and even Blue is The Warmest Color for its themes and plot points. Just take a look at its "Shout-out" page on TV Tropes. And the result is... something completely original, with riveting plot twists, memorable characters, and an ending that will make you cry.

This shouldn't make sense, right? You'd think this big soup of references would turn into an indistinguishable mess of cliches, but Life is Strange managed to be a synthesis of everything the writers loved and were inspired by, to become something completely new. Why? Because nobody had tried to take Twin Peaks, Donnie Darko, and The Catcher in the Rye and turn it into a video game before! And make it gay!

The point being, Dontnod consistently makes original material because they take creative risks. This is definitely not done lightly, since they still need to be a company that generates profit, but they still prioritize making art over selling out. Their stories feel inspired because they are inspired; when writers love what they're writing about, the result is a passion project that has loving, clever nods to all the works that are woven into it.

So perhaps a way to reword that first question is to then ask, "Have Deck Nine's games ever been inspired by anything?" And unfortunately, the answer is still no. Instead, they just copy what they hope will sell well. And a bland imitation for the sake of generating profit is never going to produce anything that feels original.

This takes me back to Lost Records, which is also clearly inspired by the same works: Twin Peaks, It: Chapter One, The Craft, The Blair Witch Project, The Goonies, Stand By Me. But again, no other game studio besides Dontnod has ever looked at these works and thought, "But what if it starred teenage lesbians instead?" Or, more specifically: "How do we capture the spirit of what made these media great and incorporate that into a new story for a new audience?" And those characters have so much thought and care poured into them too: while I've been disappointed that Double Exposure Max looks airbrushed to hell and back, I love that the Bloom & Rage girls have asymmetrical faces, acne, freckles, body hair, skin discoloration, and diverse body types. Double Exposure is marketed as nostalgia bait for fans, where Max is reduced to a prettied-up, polished-up, representation of nostalgia, not even her own character anymore, in a game that otherwise has no connection to the original. Her quips are reduced to "Hey! Remember our good ol', dad-joke cracking, dorky Max Caulfield??" and her grief is shoved aside for "Hey, look at that appealing new love interest! Because we knoooow y'all love your sapphic romance, right?"

By contrast, Lost Records has only been out for 10 days, but I already feel like the girls are some of the most memorable characters I've come across in gaming for the niche they fill. Swann seems like your typical Max-like dork, except she's also a movie buff and giddy about bugs, horror, and the paranormal; and has clearly been affected by her mother's fatphobic beliefs. Autumn is a level-headed leader who always stuck to her desire to help others, and her Blackness naturally informs her desire to feel valued and not cause trouble in a small, very white, conservative town. Nora intrigues me so much for going from a fun-loving rebel punk teen to a more gender-conforming, capitalist-leaning, influencer businesswoman. And Kat feels like an evolution of Chloe's cynicism, where her scrappy charm belies an almost unsettling obsession with the occult and a deep, tragic chasm of rage at having to confront her mortality far too young. They make sense. They feel carefully written, genuine, and like real people.

But most of all, Dontnod's games have never felt like products. In fact, most of their characters have historically gone against the grain of what traditionally "marketable" characters are. The first LiS took all these aforementioned stories about straight white men and chose to remix and retell it through the eyes of a young, queer, time-traveling girl instead. Tell Me Why is the first AAA game with a trans protagonist, and Tyler is voiced by a trans actor in all the language dubs. Lost Records decided that it would tell its story through four queer teenage girls, with women writers onboard, and fucking own it. As long as Dontnod keeps making games that stick to their creative integrity, I'll keep respecting their vision in whatever they decide to create next. Also, maybe I should finally watch Twin Peaks.

Thank you for reading!

[calamistar]

Tiny world machine =]

[ronantwins]

Tyler Ronan + Bird Symbolism

house of the dragon / playing with brushes / sergiocaredda.eu / tyler ronan's jacket on insert coin / rise like a phoenix by conchita wurst / lookinginsidemymind on tiktok / wikipedia

[ladysternchen]

Elves are per default bi-sexual. Period. Sex always marks marriage is bullshit. Period. There are polyamorous relationships in Valinor. My hot-takes on the Laws and Customs

Ok, ok, I didn't want to write anything for today, but my brain won't leave me in peace.

Ok, first point, Elves are bi-sexual. They find their mates because they find their mates, regardless of their sex. Also, they may in some cases have both (yes yes, I'm pushing my own fic here in which Mablung is much more than just Elu's captain).

Accordingly, no, sex does not mark marriage. I mean, yes, it does, but only if they want to. They can totally fuck without bonding, though. Especially in their youth (as in- there was A LOT of fucking on the Great Journey- my favourite headcanon is still Beleg, Mablung and Elu there. They were not at all grown up then, and Beleg especially loved experimenting. They were BOTH never just his captains.)

(Edit: ok, my laptop threatened to die on me, problem fixed now, continuing)

Sometimes in Valinor, those former relationships lead to... interesting constellations. Mark my words, Míriel and Indis are a couple, but a huge huge huge part of their relationship is missing Finwë together. Yeah, Maedhros is totally living with Fingon and his wife. And hey, Mablung, Elu and Melian worked very well in that story of mine. Idk if I'd call it my headcanon, but they worked. Oh, and if you ship them, Elrond, Celebían and Gil-galad are totally a thing. There are many more that work like that. And yeah, they still keep their bonds.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Meta Week begins today! We'll be on the lookout for submissions tagged #tmw or mentioning @silmarillionwritersguild if you want us to promote your meta on tumblr. You can also post them on the swg website, of course.

The prompts for today are:

December 8: theory | infographic | The Silmarillion | the Tolkien fandom

[forgottenporkbun]

@spookyfestivalcoffee here is your request!!! I had a lot of fun drawing your character! I hope you like it :) sorry the image quality is a little bad

[anointme]

[eric-makes-art]

HEYO!! Sorry for not posting as much um...I might draw some tf2 hybrid line up thing but it takes time so in the morning (if my insomnia let's me sleep this time) I'll draw what ever this pull has the most votes on. Yall got one day btw.

[the-mist-wanderers]

you know the little mouse creature that the early illustrators of the hobbit thought bilbo was? that's nog actually

[thealexchen]

Even more Artstation!

I found way more Artstation portfolios for the artists who worked on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, so I've compiled them here. Really cool pieces in here!

Sam Bradley (Art director and concept artist) (This is his IG)

Lucille Meunier (Art director and concept artist)

Edouard Caplain (Art director and concept artist who worked on LiS1 and 2)

Juliette Devillers (Lead character artist)

Ricardo Madariaga (Character artist)

Julianna Michek (Illustrator)

Marie-Eve Cournoyer (Principal environment artist)

Karole-Anne Bernier (Environment artist senior)

Elmie Molina (Environment artist)

Maude Blondeau (Environment artist)

Joyce Silva (Environment artist)

Alexandre Mijoule (Environment artist)

Kelly Recco (Materials artist)

Daliana Rivas (Lighting artist)

Mika Lemerle (Lighting artist)

Other DN artists who haven't uploaded B&R pieces but worked on B&R and/or other DN games:

Pierre-Alexandre Côté (Lead material artist)

Aglaé Chalaux (material artist)

Quentin Zoude (environment & texture artist)

Etienne Brassard (VFX artist)

Nicolas Hiernaux (Senior props artist)

Guillaume Lebeau (Environment artist)

Simon Léotard Prigent (Environment artist)

Thomas Luke Garcia (Environment artist)

Laurent Dufresne (Technical artist)

I also really liked Juliette Devillers's open letter about her time working on Bloom & Rage:

"I’m honored to finally share what I’ve been working on these past five years on Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.

For Swann, I handled modeling, texturing, hair, and her final look. I also worked on facial animations and moods to help bring her personality to life.

Like any game, this was a huge team effort and I was lucky to work with the best of the best: Under the guidance of our Very Creative Director Michel Koch, we shaped these characters into something meaningful. Lucile Meunier paved the way with her original concepts for our Riot Grrrls crew, and Sam Bradley deepened their style and personality with his kind direction and creative touch, including some of the most badass outfits.

I shared the journey with Ricardo Madariaga, my brilliant Character Artist partner, who nailed customization and created some iconic characters. Go check out his work!

Etienne Brassard gave the characters' eyes that spark, that little "je ne sais quoi" that makes them look so alive, and Clément Marchal lit every moment with those "golden hour" tones we all love.

Huge thanks to Bohdon Sayre, a powerhouse of a programmer and a mentor, who taught me invaluable Unreal Engine and Animation knowledge.

I’m so grateful for everyone I worked with. We poured ourselves into making something personal, intimate, and rarely seen in games. This is a game I’m proud to stand behind, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too!

Remember me - remember us.

Take care."

[datharlequinoni]

"Get a real job" mofos when everyone gets a real job and every single restaurant, cafe, supermarket and fast food joint in america has to close because they have no employees:

[ronantwins]

ain't nothing like a heart break

[ladysternchen]

The adaptation of Elves in Peter Jackson's movies and how it influences my (and I would guess our?) perception

Ok, I wanted to write a semi-sophisticated post about this, but I'm simply too tired for that today (and my brain refuses to english at the moment in general), so it's bullet points only, I'm afraid.

So Peter Jackson's interpretation massively influenced our perception of Tolkien's Elves. Here are a few examples how he defined how I imagine Elves in general and certain characters in particular (and I guess many share that experience):

Elves have pointed ears (it's never written explicitly in the books, but I can't imagine them not being pointy-eared)

Elves have long hair per default (again, stated nowhere. We know some individuals had long hair, but all of them? We know it not. But that perception was still enough to make many people -me included- being put off when RoP-Elves had short hair. Nope, nothing doing. To me, if they have short hair, it is for a reason.

Legolas is blonde (yes yes, the infamous dark head- discussion. We just don't know!) I really do some mental gymnastics to erase Orlando Bloom from my imagination of Legolas but I can't do it. I'll explain later. Oh, and btw, this has nothing to do with me not liking the PJ LotR-movies or Orlando Bloom's performance, I love both, I just want to get away from seeing a human actor when imagining and elf.

Elrond looks somewhat older and is generally a bit grumpy. Uuuhh, this one is so hard to get out of. Again, I loved Hugo Weaving's performance as Elrond, but it has little to do with book-Elrond, and I want to be able to see/imagine book-Elrond. Gnaaaahhhhh. (see, that's why I'm not a massive fan of movie-adaptations in general. I have a form of face-blindness that makes it very hard for me to see someone's face in my head. And somehow, that makes unseeing actors even harder)

Liv Tyler totally defined how not only Arwen, but also Lúthien is imagined (not just by me)

this one is a bit of a personal and really silly one, but in my imagination, Beleg Cúthalion looks very Orlando Bloom:ish 🤣 Idk why, maybe it's just the archer, but I can imagine Beleg even less not looking like movie Legolas than Legolas himself 🤦‍♀️

not something that changed our perception but just a random adaptation-point: much as I find PJ's Legolas to be spot on, he absolutely ruined Thranduil imo. Like, movie Thranduil has nothing (like zero) in common with book-Thranduil. Just WHY? And why did PJ have to butcher two characters in one here, one of which has no business being anywhere near The Hobbit. (Yeah, that's also the reason why I don't ever want to see the Silmarillion made into a movie, and much less see PJ do that)

RoP portrayed Galadriel more in-character than PJ did (I'm NOT saying Cate Blanchett didn't do an absolutely superb job). Galadriel is not that wise beyond anything ethereal being at all. She is headstrong and bold and angry and quite likes to tease people. That is missing from the PJ's adaptation, while RoP totally exaggerate it 🙄 I know it is usually argued that Galadriel did grow out of her hot head, but idk, did she? In the book, she still makes fun of Celeborn about his people's attitude towards Dwarves when the Fellowship seeks shelter in Lórien. It's the good-natured teasing between lovers, sure, but still shows her character well.

oh, and speaking of possible adaptations of the Silmarillion- I never thought I'd hear me say that, but IF there is an actress that could possibly portray Melian and not have me hide on a lonely isle with no wifi-connection, it must be Caitríona Balfe. Or it would have had to be, as people are not getting younger. Ah well, not happening anyway, and you all never heard me say that. Forget all about it

@silmarillionwritersguild

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Meta Week continues! We'll be on the lookout for submissions tagged #tmw or mentioning @silmarillionwritersguild if you want us to promote your meta on tumblr. You can also post them on the swg website, of course.

The prompts for today are:

December 11: character study | video | Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth, The Nature of Middle-earth, and The Fall of Númenor | books, articles, and meta about Tolkien

[forgottenporkbun]

And I'm askin' "WHY LORD? IF THIS IS HOW I DIE, LORD WHY BE LEFT WITH NO FAMILY AND NO FRIENDS?" (@spookyfestivalcoffee :D )

[keeperofthetriforce]

Me: *sleeping*

My brain: The Wizard of Oz is an isekai

Me: