Join us as we start exploring the Mystical, Mysterious, and Magical Side of Video Games! This philosophical, historical, metaphysical, and spiritual analysis will reveal to you the arcane side of games and gaming.
I brought it up in the chat threads, but I've always liked the overarching theme of magic and technology combined in SMT and related games like Persona, either through the classic demon summoning program or accessing the collective subconscious through a smartphone app. In general I like when fantasy and SF elements coexist.
Since you mentioned discussing mana I hope you go into the term's origins, it's an interesting story for how it became a fantasy staple and I believe we could do with more conscious recognition of what the fantasy genre owes to Polynesian culture. And I also find it interesting how when walking into a Barnes and Noble I usually see a lot of books on witchcraft and magic by the front. That's an interesting cultural development.
Also if we're talking about imagination as magic I need to throw a word in for Dragon Quest Builders 2, which is all about imagination, building, and destruction. The game has a simple narrative that I think is enhanced by being in a video game.
Oh yes, definitely going into the origins of mana. It was actually a Native Hawaiian friend who first clued me in on the word's origins, and I'm excited to share that more widely. I've noticed the occult books being front at center at my Barnes & Noble as well. The arcane must really be having a moment.
Speaking of summoning programs, etc. — later on in the volume, I'm going to explore the rabbit hole that is Technomancy. It is wild, to say the least!
Congratulations on 900 subscribers and an epic introduction to your next volume! I’m stoked to hear more from your perspective on magic. I love the broad definition of magic being the act of imposing your will on reality. Our thoughts do this for us every day! Your in-depth exploration of the foundations for this new volume was super fun. Thank you! I’m quite excited to have discovered a fellow adult who hasn’t grown up. 👏⭐️✨
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, we can extrapolate this idea of magic practically infinitely. Think of when we move our hand—it starts with a thought, an intention to move our hand, then reality is altered (via electric signals coursing through our brain and nervous system) to manifest our hand moving. It's really quite remarkable!
And when you create something, that's even more so! Writing a story is basically tapping into existence's endless potential, and manifesting a whole new world out of thin air (one that, thanks to mirror neurons, our readers actually visit in their minds!). If that's not magic, I don't know what is! 🎨📝💫
(Oh, and I totally agree—growing up is overrated!)
I brought it up in the chat threads, but I've always liked the overarching theme of magic and technology combined in SMT and related games like Persona, either through the classic demon summoning program or accessing the collective subconscious through a smartphone app. In general I like when fantasy and SF elements coexist.
Since you mentioned discussing mana I hope you go into the term's origins, it's an interesting story for how it became a fantasy staple and I believe we could do with more conscious recognition of what the fantasy genre owes to Polynesian culture. And I also find it interesting how when walking into a Barnes and Noble I usually see a lot of books on witchcraft and magic by the front. That's an interesting cultural development.
Also if we're talking about imagination as magic I need to throw a word in for Dragon Quest Builders 2, which is all about imagination, building, and destruction. The game has a simple narrative that I think is enhanced by being in a video game.
Looking forward to the rest of the volume.
Oh yes, definitely going into the origins of mana. It was actually a Native Hawaiian friend who first clued me in on the word's origins, and I'm excited to share that more widely. I've noticed the occult books being front at center at my Barnes & Noble as well. The arcane must really be having a moment.
Speaking of summoning programs, etc. — later on in the volume, I'm going to explore the rabbit hole that is Technomancy. It is wild, to say the least!
Congrats on hitting 900 subs and launching the new volume! 🎉 🧙♂️ 🎉
I’ll be at GDC this year and would love to meet up.
Thanks, Geoffrey! Couldn't have done it without all your help and support early on (and your Substack recommendation), so thank you!
Awesome!! Yes, let's definitely meet up. I'll be there pretty much from start to finish, so I'm flexible. We can plan more on Discord.
Awesome, looking forward to it!
Congratulations on 900 subscribers and an epic introduction to your next volume! I’m stoked to hear more from your perspective on magic. I love the broad definition of magic being the act of imposing your will on reality. Our thoughts do this for us every day! Your in-depth exploration of the foundations for this new volume was super fun. Thank you! I’m quite excited to have discovered a fellow adult who hasn’t grown up. 👏⭐️✨
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, we can extrapolate this idea of magic practically infinitely. Think of when we move our hand—it starts with a thought, an intention to move our hand, then reality is altered (via electric signals coursing through our brain and nervous system) to manifest our hand moving. It's really quite remarkable!
And when you create something, that's even more so! Writing a story is basically tapping into existence's endless potential, and manifesting a whole new world out of thin air (one that, thanks to mirror neurons, our readers actually visit in their minds!). If that's not magic, I don't know what is! 🎨📝💫
(Oh, and I totally agree—growing up is overrated!)