ITC 1. A renewed newsletter.

Opinion, projects, recommendations and more

Hi, friend! Yes, this newsletter is now created and delivered via Substack. I like Pencilbooth but realized it was not exactly what I needed. For better or worse, I like words and felt limited by the restrictions of the product.

From now on, this will be somewhat longer and less superficial. It will take you quite a bit longer to read it (if you want to). But I hope it brings you something else in return. We can also properly converse through the Substack site and app. If you are not interested in this new approach, I will understand :-) Welcome (back)!

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→ An editorial introduction

Overdesign

In 2023 I played Blizzard's first Diablo (1996) again. I did it to study how a saga I have followed since I was sixteen has evolved in terms of design. My conclusion is that Diablo (1) is a great example of an innovative idea that may be rough and far from modern standards but encapsulates the essence of an entire saga and almost an entire genre (ARPGs) in a very efficient way.

Its superior level of abstraction, linked to the conventions of his era and its technical limitations, actually worked in its favour. On many occasions, there is much more to what is intuited than what is shown. To me, a brief conversation with a villager or a cryptic piece of text found in an ancient tome, offered as an on-screen text and a simple voiceover, are much more evocative than the best modern cinematics.

The game itself is perfect in its scope and ten times more enjoyable and motivating than D3 or D4, infinitely more technically advanced games. Every little incursion, an exciting challenge. Every small step forward in character development, a palpable increase in power. Each new piece of lore discovered, a treasure to remember for a long time.

Diablo 4 (2023) is, in a way, an overdesigned, overproduced, insanely expensive version of Diablo 1, devoid of any of its original magic. Insufficient in its immensity.

I think that at a time when remakes and unnecessary revisions abound, in addition to technological obsession without soul and purpose, we need more D1s. I prefer simple, brave and imperfect ideas than complex, refined but empty products. But of course, effective simplicity has never been and will never be an easy task.

You can find it on GoG. If you’re a Mac user, I play that version via Porting Kit on an iMac and it works flawlessly.

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The Bat’s website

Some context for new subscribers: I started this project, as an experimental case last year. Tired of doing casual fan art now and then, I decided to develop a full creative proposal around what could be an alternative framework for Batman. I thought: “So you want to draw Batman? Well, get fed up with it.”

An ambitious project for someone with little free time. But the project will continue its course, at its own pace. I'm pretty decent at filling seas drop by drop. Will this project bring something good with it? Always.

Different Brooks Twain’s expressions

Brooks Twain and his usual work attire

Good news → Now the project has its own URL in the form of a very (let me repeat it: very) WIP case study that you can follow. Not many images yet. Probably a bore for those who don't like reading more than one paragraph in a row. Potentially interesting if you enjoy the thinking behind each project.

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Mixed Characters

Another project that has advanced at the pace of a drunk, arthritic, one-legged little turtle. I secretly hope to do a small exhibition when I have enough of these characters. (Shhh. Don't tell anyone.) Of course, you will be invited to it.

We have a new character with us! This is what vacations are for, after all:

She’s the result of combining the following concepts: DJ, Dice and Slingshot. Mixing these concepts was honestly hard. The first connection was using dice to get a random result that might be associated with a music selection. But how to add the slingshot to the mix?

After different ideas, I ended up visualizing Diane like this: she uses a physical-virtual interface. The slingshot is the main device and it features a laser thread to shoot dice against the floating UI around her, get random results from her lists and mix them in improvised sessions. Very meta! Also an interesting visual spectacle for her audience.

More: Picture dice exploding in the air and dividing into multiple floating tracks that people can touch. Almost like an in situ holographic poll :-)

Original (digital) line work, using Joe Lillington’s pencil

As always, available as a print in various formats at Inprnt.

Note → In case you don’t know, I also have a case study in which you can find all the examples developed so far, accompanied by some reflections. This page will grow as new characters are added. Take a look!

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Have fun!

Try to find the 6 differences between these 2 images from Reedsy (you didn’t see this coming). Extra hard on mobile. You’re warned!

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Recommendations

A game: Forward, Escape the Fold.

Incredibly simple in essence, but packed with subtleties. Another good example of a well-resolved base system, adequately fed with ingenious variables that make it a fun and extremely replayable game. You can find it on both PC/Mac and mobile devices.

A series: Blue Eye Samurai

I thought it was bold that a Western production would try to explain such a 'Japanese' story, but the result is really good. Despite the drastic change in tone at times, I enjoyed it in a way I haven't in a long time. Special mention for the action choreography. You can find it on Netflix. Another very successful French-American production. 2nd season confirmed.

A music album: Elegiac Beat by Public Memory

A new album by Robert Toher. Full of references that transport me to the best trip-hop from the late 90s, but put through a modern shredder. Full of nuances and wonderful atmospheric passages. Do you remember when people sat on a sofa, covered in dim light, closed their eyes and simply listened to music and nothing else? This album deserves that treatment. My favourite track: Tall In My Room.

A comic book: Dungeon Meshi

This was my favourite comic book in 2022-23. A Fantasy dungeon exploration story mixed with cuisine. A crazy idea that ended up generating something memorable and loved by many. One of the least probable successes of the last decade that now counts with an anime adaptation on Netflix. Enter the dungeon and you won’t be disappointed.

An artist: Aron Wiesenfeld

Fall (2023). Oil on canvas by Aron Wiesenfeld

Few contemporary artists touch me as deeply as Aron. There is something in the strange coldness and loneliness present in his works that reaches me like few things. As if his canvases were pieces of my unconscious that I can only remember when I meet them again: abandoned train tracks, enigmatic forests, pale skies, visions between mundane and dreamlike. I can not explain it, but I find the eerieness in it strangely comforting.

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I hope you liked this first issue of In the Cave. The cave I work at daily and also that mental state you enter when you are hyperfocused and closed to the world outside. Happy 2024 and see you very soon!