ITC 3. Something to say
Plus Cervantes, Cubus Games, Prompted#3 and recommendations
Hello, friend! Welcome to The Cave. Be careful, it’s quite dark in here… watch out. Watch out! (noise of things falling and breaking)
→ An editorial introduction
A few weeks ago I was able to chat briefly with Luis Mendo after his presentation of the book Tokio y Yo in Barcelona, right after his exhibition in Paris. A book that I cannot help but recommend. It is, in essence, a compilation of anecdotes and beautiful personal reflections arranged, in many cases, in a format that I adore: one panel per page, accompanied by a short text.
Luis and I had exchanged impressions via email or on SM before (I think many things unite us), but I wanted to meet him in person. I greatly respect his career, and I usually seek advice from people who are more experienced than me, younger or older. And I take it very seriously.
There's one thing I could refute by talking to him. Something that may have been the case for a long time, but is now especially relevant:
It's definitely not a good time, and it probably won't be a bright future for those artists who don't have anything to say.
This doesn’t mean talking about yourself, necessarily, but to delve more into your most personal aspects as an individual, as a creator. More than ever, our uniqueness will be our greatest value to treasure.
Thanks for all the words shared, Luis.
How to Design a Book Cover
Recovering the fake cover from the last newsletter, you can read this Reedsy article on How to Design a Book Cover, featuring Andromeda and Perseus:
→ Sharing inspiration
Google and Cervantes
I love Google Doodles as a concept. Illustrating them is a job that an AI should never do, because it’s all about the celebration of our history, science, art… culture. Humans celebrating humanness.
Some of their interactive pieces are fantastic, but I love the ones that explain a short story with some semi-static images. A good example of this was the one dedicated to Jigoro Kano, illustrated by Cynthia Yuan Cheng.
One day, out of curiosity, I looked for the Google Doodles dedicated to Miguel de Cervantes or El Quijote, expecting at least three, four different results in 25 years. But no. This is the only result we can get around the creator of one of the most original, influential and important literary works in western history. Not spectacular.
Surprisingly, Shakespeare does not receive a better treatment. But while the first doodle was only visible in Spain (not even in the Hispanic world), Shakespeare’s was a global doodle that was published in the five continents. We all know why. I’m seriously considering doing it myself and sending it to Google along with a menacing, anonymous note 😛
Cervantes’ life is quite an adventure in itself, by the way. Perhaps less explored than Alonso Quijano’s.
Cubus Games’ new brand
My old friends from Cubus Games asked me for a little help to redesign their brand, celebrating their 10th anniversary. My proposal was to focus more on their Narrative Alchemists claim and work on a new symbol that felt like a combination of a cube, a dice and an alchemic sigil, bringing back part of the ludic and magical component of what they do.
After all, making games has a lot to do with combining elements in the appropriate way to generate transformative experiences.
For the logotype, we used a slightly modified version of good old Ikea Sans (based on Futura but, in my opinion, better in some aspects), tweaking the initial C. After several proposals and adjustments, this was the final result, still connected with the previous brand:
A couple of mockups from the VI mini-guide:
Bringing forward a company whose core is the concept of game (associated with narrative, technology and communication, among others) is not precisely a simple feat. Here's to many more years!
→ Coming soon
Prompted Volume 3 coming…
Prompted is a magazine edited and published by Reedsy, featuring a selection of some of the best short stories from the Reedsy Prompts community. A new volume is coming, and the cover is looking good. A small glimpse:
More info next month, when Volume 3 is out, with some context for the illustration and the story that inspires it, plus the final cover. Prompted keeps growing as a small project within Reedsy Prompts!
Recommendations
A videogame: If On A Winter Night, Four Travelers
I keep recommending indie games, because I truly believe it’s there where the truly fresh and alternative proposals are found, detached from the commercial machinery of the triple A. The number of fascinating indie games out there is endless.
Referring in its title to the work of Italo Calvino, this proposal developed by Dead Idle Games (artists Laura Hunt and Thomas Möhring), was a little big surprise. A graphic adventure divided into three dark, mysterious micro-stories that deserve to be read, seen and heard. The Nameless Ritual is, honestly, an impressive piece of fiction.
The game is brief, contemplative sometimes, but highly immersive. You can feel the love put into the project and I can't stop recommending it.
Price? You decide. Also available on Steam (€3.9), but remember that developers get more royalties on Itch.io. Their next project: The Many Sins of House Ocampo.
A newsletter (and an artist): DADA Issues
Roman Muradov is one of a kind. He’s not just an extraordinary illustrator, artist and author. His sense of humor, his sharpness and his general attitude towards the world are contagious.
I have really enjoyed many of his books, zines and everything I have been able to find from him. And I laughed out loud watching his classes on Skillshare, where his apathy and almost disgust at what he was doing was palpable. His newsletter is packed with info, sketches, full comic book pages, tips, reflections… Probably one of the best publications on Substack.
A music album: Figura by Clara Aguilar
Good news. Clara Aguilar has a new album. Listen to this single first. If you hate it, you’re probably dead inside. If you like it, you can go to Bandcamp and buy the whole album for 9€.
A single: Not for Me by The Cost
El Estepario Siberiano’s new band is called The Cost. And Not for Me is their first single. When you listen to it you think: “OK, I listened to this same thing one hundred times during the 90s and early 00s.” But the more you listen to it, the more and more you like it. If you like alternative rock bands like A Perfect Circle, Tool or Esoterica, or nu-metal bands like Korn or Deftones, you should definitely listen to it.
Anti-recommendation
A film: Bliss (Joe Begos, 2019)
My religion (Unorthodox Vampirephiliaism) forces me to watch, read or play every-single-vampire-thing-ever-done. So I recently watched Bliss. I missed it in Sitges and I’m glad, unfortunately. An interesting premise, destroyed by an unbearable, pseudo-gore, pseudo-arty development and an annoyingly changing tone. You’re warned. Available on Prime, in case you want to test yourself.
Thank you again for reading In the Cave. The cave I work at daily and, also, that mental state you enter when you are hyper-focused and closed to the outside world. Currently, I’m using SM just to promote this newsletter or send memes to friends. Nothing else. So if you like this newsletter, please recommend and share it. See you next month! (if we’re all still alive)
Gràcies per aquestes newsletters! Aquesta encara no l'havia llegit :)
Has compartit moltes coses valuoses i totes m'agraden!
Por favor, por favor, por favor, ¡envía ese Quijote!