J. R. R. Tolkien once wrote in a letter to a fan, “Part of the attraction of The L. R. [Lord of the Rings] is, I think, due to the glimpses of a large history in the background: an attraction like that of viewing far off an unvisited island, or seeing the towers of a distant city gleaming in a sunlit mist. To go there is to destroy the magic, unless new unattainable vistas are again revealed” (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien; letter #247, bottom pg 333).

It’s for this same reason, I believe, George R. R. Martin insists on not presenting a factual history of his Song of Ice and Fire series (The World of Ice and Fire being told from the perspective of a character in that world; vulture.com/2014/11/George-rr-martin-new-book.html). It’s partly why, in my opinion, the second trilogy of Star Wars films was so unsuccessful (aside from the obvious storytelling faults). The rumours I heard about the Clone Wars had built up a story in my imagination greater than anything George Lucas could have presented to me.

Sometimes that little bit of unknown information can be infinitely more enticing than the fully revealed truth. It’s what makes history so intriguing. We can never know all of the answers for a certainty. It’s this precise device which draws players into the stories of the Dark Souls games and their related titles (collectively called the Soulsborne series), and it’s the way the stories are presented which creates such an immersive experience for the player. Read more… ›

This weekend, you can find me in Artist Alley at the Boston Comic Con Friday, Saturday and Sunday. According the convention’s website (bostoncomiccon.com), my Artist Alley table is C722, and from the looks of things on the map it’s located slightly right of the exact center of the show (that is, right based on where the entrance is located). Of course, how that plays out in physical terms is entirely different, but it looks like a pretty nice spot. That said, and somewhat surprising even to me, Boston is going to be the first of four consecutive shows. Read more… ›

It’s hard to believe that two months have passed since I stated I wanted to take some time in this blog to focus on writing about the Souls series from developer From Software. Of course, for those keeping up with my work and this site, the publisher for my comic Chadhiyana, Rosarium Publishing, ran a successful IndieGoGo campaign. That, coupled with some time for recovery (promoting it was the most aggressive I’ve ever been about promoting anything), threw off my schedule a bit. But now that things are stabalising, and since I’ve completed my first play through Dark Souls III (with my own creative work, I can’t put as much time as I’d like into gaming), I thought I’d begin this week by writing about my reactions thereof. Read more… ›