Since I started this blog, I have been fortunate to have a steady trickle of readers, and even a small pool of followers, for which I am very grateful. It is because of you, and knowing that my ham-fisted musings and sweeping generalizations will amuse an audience, that I find the energy to write. However,…
Fantastic Folks 6: Gods
The Goddesses of Hyrule departing from their creation,screenshot from 'The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of TIme' A few weeks ago, I spotted Tim Hickson - of whose work I am a great fan - talking about cyberpunk. Specifically, about the religiosity of the genre, as it stands on the threshold of transcending the human…
Easter Break
Due to the hectic nature of this year's Easter, there will not be an update this week. Posts will resume either next week, or the week after. When it comes, wherever you are, may you have a happy and blessed Easter.
Writing Per Aspera
Spoilers for Observation, Per Aspera and The Stanley Parable (computer games). Red Planet, Green Planet.(Per Aspera, promotional material) As our computers have become more sophisticated, one of the questions which has loomed over philosophers like the sword of Damocles has been At what point can we say that an artificial intelligence is, for lack of…
Writing Bioshock
Spoilers for BioShock (computer game franchise, including BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite, henceforth BS, BS2 and BSI respectively). But purer and higher and deeper shall bethat wonder, that Rapture, in cloud and in sea.(Promotional material from Nintendo) The core concept of the Bioshock franchise is that some ideas are bad, a sentiment perhaps at odds…
Five Things You Have Been Mistaking for Bad Writing
English is very, very weird, and it shows no signs of stopping. As a global language, the combined pressure of millions of speakers has conspired, over centuries, to push it in multiple different directions, far from its Germanic roots, and leaving it as a fascinating linguistic hybrid. Thus, it is a shame that the forms…
Fantastic Folks 5: Bug People
Invertebrates generally, and insect-like creatures specifically, do not feature in global mythology to the same extent as their vertebrate and humanoid cousins. Likewise, although vertebrates have inspired various fantastic peoples (generally in the form of shapeshifting monsters such as the Japanese kitsune or European werewolf), invertebrate equivalents are rare in the extreme, and most with…
Fantastic Folks 4: Trolls
Long before the term was being used to describe ethically deficient netizens, the trolls were vaguely defined mythological creatures of Scandinavian folklore. Nowadays, trolls of all kinds are rife in fantasy, taking up space on the page, being pointlessly mean, and generally bringing down the rarefied tone which Rothfuss and Martin have spent so long…
‘Disco Elysium’ and Framing Devices
Spoilers for Disco Elysium (computer game) and The Sexy Brutale (computer game). Disco Elysium, promotional material. Let me prefix everything that I am about to write with this: I really enjoyed Disco Elysium (henceforth DE) and was glued to it for a week over Christmas, thanks to the generosity of a friend who gave it…
Christmas Break
Due to a technical fault, there will be no article this week. Instead, we will resume after the Christmas Holidays.
Writing Worlds 