It’s 2:08 am. I just ate a blueberry bagel and some Rice Crispies, and I wanna talk about some stuff.
For instance, when I play a survival game, I enjoy being pitted against the elements and hostile creatures, because I know my wits and my aim will determine whether I live or die.
Man, I just… relish the challenge. Of course, if I never got to shoot anything, and I had plentiful amounts of water and food… would I still enjoy it? I mean, would it still be a survival game if I was given all the resources I could ever use, and allowed to live in a mansion far from danger? Does forcing me to conserve and closely monitor my resources bring me… joy…? Does any of this remind you of Tenpenny Tower in Fallout 3?
The point is, it’s a very complex topic, and one that delves deep into player psychology and what it means to simply ‘enjoy’ something.
In GREEN KNIGHT, you’ll be challenged, of that you can be certain. However, the challenges you’ll encounter, and the repercussions of your actions, will toy a bit with your natural inclination to expect dinner served up with peas and carrots, and stacked ever-so-neatly next to your portion of meat. Sometimes, you’re gonna get mad. Other times, you’ll be confused.
Why?
Because I don’t care about giving you what you expect. Really, I don’t.
Unless, of course, what you expect is something new, and strange, and deliciously bizarre. And, obviously, beautiful. If that’s the case, then lemme tell you right now, you’re gonna have fun. GREEN KNIGHT is the vessel within which all my energy and enthusiasm has been poured. I’ve accepted nothing but my best in it’s creation, from the pinnacle of my artistic abilities, to heights of my technical prowess, to my best writing and voice acting.
And, for the record, I’ve found inspiration in odd places, and old memories.
In the years that I was required to attend church, I remember a time when I was 5-6 years old, and wallowing in misery at a pew next to my parents as a sermon took place. I was bored, as I always was when I ran out of paper to draw on.
In the moments that followed, as the preacher stepped off the podium, I prepared myself for another tedious bout of singing and… hand holding, or something. Instead, the lights dimmed, and I looked up in surprise at the front of the large, vaulted room, expecting someone to walk up onto the stage.
Instead, a puppet appeared up among the wooden rafters.
There was a ledge there, which I’d never noticed before, far up near the ceiling, which had just enough room for a few brave souls to put on a puppet show to the audience down below.
I was enthralled. Utterly.
It wasn’t expected, it wasn’t typical, and hell, it was kinda dangerous.
But I listened with rapt attention to every word spoken, until the segment was over and I was left to reflect back on how it had transpired and what had made it… unique.
You might say that, in a lot of ways, I don’t want you to see what’s coming with GREEN KNIGHT. I want you surprised, but intrigued. Caught off guard, yet suddenly focused.
On Saturday, which is the 21st, there’s a Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival in Seattle, near the UW Campus. As I understand it, a lantern festival is a Chinese and Vietnamese tradition that welcomes the new season and honors departed loved ones. I’m neither Chinese nor Vietnamese, and have no departed to mourn… but I do like pretty, colorful lights. And maybe, if I’m lucky, there’ll be puppets there too.
A boy can dream, am I right?