Great Collapses, New Rooftops and Swamp Creatures.
A Troubled Introduction
In the past few months the videogame studio I have been working at for the past five and half years, declared bankruptcy out of the blue: projects cancelled, years of work went directly to the trash bin, and a lot of goodbyes.
Unrelatedly, the AI tsunami turned the social media into a place of uncertainty, where “sharing” is not anymore a way of connecting with others (or, well… “showing off!”) but an invite towards vampires to just come into the apartment and drain all of our energies.
So how to share art and connect with people if both work and social media starts to crumble? Have you watched “Her” (Spike Jonze, 2013)? Well, without making any big spoiler I would say we should follow that movie’s example and try to find “new rooftops” to meet humans again. Because humans need other humans. Or as Jess Mckenna, interpreting “Bimbo Baggins”, would say:
So what’s the point of this newsletter? Motivating myself to be more productive and enthusiastic about focusing on personal work and sharing it in a space that feels cozy enough. And I’ll try my best with my “English”!
Art Journal: The Swamps
Despite the fact that the project I was working on at Tequila Works has been cancelled, I received the authorization to show “some” of the work I did for it. I decided to start with some of the creatures I proposed in preproduction, all of them linked to a specific biome, “the swamps”. I came up with the names, designs, mechanics and lore. It was an exciting brainstorming phase.
Art inspiration: Olly Moss and the elusive silhouettes
I played many games in the past few months, with titles I would really recommend, like Monument Valley 3, Endling, Undertale and Strange Horticulture. But I want to focus on Firewatch and its art direction. While playing it I was completely “wrapped up” in the cozy atmosphere of the environments, the serendipity on the sunsets, the tasteful little graphics of the book covers appearing as easter eggs. So I looked for the artists behind it and I realized that I “knew” one of them for a long time and I had been collecting some of his posters in a folder located somewhere in my PC. So I invite you to dive in into Olly Moss’ work and refresh your spirit!
Website: https://ollymoss.com/
Suggestive suggestion: Frieren, Beyond Journey’s End
I thought my anime phase was mostly over but then, last year, Dungeon Meshi became a loyal friend of my evenings and this year Frieren dug its own space in my heart. The two shows prove that you can use similar ingredients to prepare completely different meals if you have a clear idea of what you want to serve. So why should you watch Frieren? The series mixes a melancholic and adventurous tone, focusing mostly on the importance of the passing of time and the investment anyone should put in crafting their skills and connecting with others. Being a fantasy and having an elf protagonist with an extremely long lifespan that allows the show to really emphasize these themes with bittersweet decisiveness. Animation, VFX and the OST really stand out (I actually became aware of the show after coming across the ost on youtube). But a personal special mention goes to the sound design: if you are someone like me, sensitive to ASMR videos and soft sounds you will love Frieren… a giant sword slowly drawn from the scabbard… a pair of scissors sliding on a wooden table… such a good job.
