tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post4957778461294473418..comments2024-02-25T05:24:24.948-05:00Comments on Beyond Easy: Magic: The Gathering: The Worldbuilding: The Writeup (1 of 8)Patrick Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-78742058448102265352022-04-26T11:01:16.921-04:002022-04-26T11:01:16.921-04:00I'm really enjoying these write-ups. I've ...I'm really enjoying these write-ups. I've read through the first 4 parts last week. I wanted to comment on each one as I went along, but the preview function annihilated my first comment, so that didn't happen.<br />I just wanted to say that I really appreciate you writing these. What you said in the asterix is true, and your words have helped occupy my mind and imagination during a difficult time. So, thank you.Kradziejhttps://twitter.com/Kradziejnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-22952943838368742412022-04-11T11:51:27.425-04:002022-04-11T11:51:27.425-04:00I argue that the three-way marriage between mechan...I argue that the three-way marriage between mechanics, fantasy art, and implicit world-building lore was not so much a serendipitous confluence as a canny marketing ploy by Garfield who understood the audience the potential audience for his intricate moving-parts competitive puzzle and the pop-cultural trappings that would capture their attention.<br /><br />In other words: Nerds coming off the formative 80s were known to play D&D and read novels with Boris Vallejo illustrations on the cover; so if you made a game for nerds, you better make it feel and look like that.Maokunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15459710218366288832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-91050880863803058022022-04-10T16:20:31.625-04:002022-04-10T16:20:31.625-04:00All to true...his entire story was morphed to keep...All to true...his entire story was morphed to keep the success of the one Card chapter going...and its STILL going today...however degraded the Rush Duels are. Darth Sephirothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12550948373161407072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-2094663141515055422022-04-07T01:58:41.424-04:002022-04-07T01:58:41.424-04:00It's especially funny about Yu-Gi-Oh when you ...It's especially funny about Yu-Gi-Oh when you consider how it started as a manga with a very very different story. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-78891944132155787242022-04-07T01:30:54.144-04:002022-04-07T01:30:54.144-04:00I always was more of a Yu-Gi-Oh fan myself but I g...I always was more of a Yu-Gi-Oh fan myself but I give Magic credit for being around even longer and yet still mostly keeping things from getting out of hand...mostly...well at least compared to the mess Yu-Gi-Oh is now in. Darth Sephirothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12550948373161407072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-51362944336305109522022-04-04T18:41:44.446-04:002022-04-04T18:41:44.446-04:00Magic: The Gathering: The Worldbuilding: The Write...Magic: The Gathering: The Worldbuilding: The Writeup: The Anonymous Comment (1 of a possible 8… not daring to commit at this point).<br /><br />I first want to say, I love your blog. You and I are from the same general era, i.e., the generation that grew up as the internet came into existence and then ubiquity. I find when I read your material, I’m transported through time to whatever era you’re musing about. Not sure if it’s a function of our collective connection to the era or your own writing skills (or if the latter ignites the former, or something like that) but it’s great. Could also maybe be a function of the empty bottle of Jagermeister sitting on my desk…<br /><br />For someone like myself who tends to do a lot of living in his own head I find your blog to be very therapeutic. I read your blog about your girlfriend, and what happened to her. Seems to me like you lost the love of your life there. Sometimes there are external factors that are like tidal waves of karma and we are powerless against it. I’ve been through a similar situation and understand completely, having been blessed enough to spend 2 years with the other half of my soul until that wave swept us apart.<br /><br />But on to the post. I never played Magic (I lived in a 700-person super rural town and had very little money at the time) but it’s fascinating to see how this world was built. Or, should I say, your assumptions thereto. I wonder, how much of this world is really just reactionary scrambling to give players something to hold on to and was never really given much deep thought by the creators? I remember hearing something about Akira Kurosawa once. He was asked why he chose to frame a particular shot in the way he did, and he said something akin to “well, if I had moved the camera 3 feet to the left, you’d have seen the Toyota factory in the background”. When it comes down to it there are so many pragmatic and practical reasons why creators make the choices they do and we, as consumers of their creations, tend to overestimate the amount of precognitive creation that goes into making a product like Magic (or a movie, or videogame, etc.) and underestimate how much or it was simply based on a business decision, or some forced outside factor. Looking forward to reading your next installment… which I see you have now posted.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com