Blog Archives
Non Eventu
Prophecy is tricky. In critical theory, huge quantities of recorded prophecy fall under the category of vaticinium ex eventu, “prophecy after the event,” which is a fancy way of saying somebody jotted down some historical events in a book but pretended it was written before those events occurred. Uncovering ex eventu prophecy is a useful method for dating a document. The trick is to look for the watershed moment when the prophecy switches from accurate to nonsensical. Voila: you’ve uncovered the instant the author stopped relating history and started penning revenge fiction. For two stellar examples, see the Christopher Columbus stuff from the Book of Mormon or the politicking diadochi of the Book of Daniel.
Arcana Prophetia is all about prophecy. The supposedly real stuff, not the ex eventu kind. Designed by the same team that gave us the imperfect but gentle Kawa, this is a gorgeous production that takes cues from tarot decks and splays to weave a story about old and new gods clashing over competing visions of destiny. Metal.
Go with the Flow
Not enough games choose “quiet contemplation” as their intended emotional response. Maybe all it takes is putting the phrase on the box. Then, like a snap of the fingers, Space Alert is no longer about frantic survival, but instead the stillness of accepting one’s fate. Even when that fate involves hot laser death.
Kawa, by Singaporean design studio The Aerie Games, lists quiet contemplation among its attractions. An accurate claim, provided that one of the topics under quiet contemplation is how many points you’re handing to your opponents.
SPACE-BIFF! 