I continue to explore resonant narratives, and while listening to Magnus Archives, I’ve noticed some obvious correlations with the work of Alexis Kennedy of the Weather Factory fame. Such as to make me think MAG to be heavy inspirational for the Cultist Simulator game.
sidenote:
On the 5 of January 2017 an ad for Fallen London played in MAG 46 as Failbetter Games have sponsored that episode. Fallen London was released in 2009, Cultist Simulator in 2018.
One of the parallels is the entities: complex human aspects, like fears or desires, being shaped into complex god-like forces. Like the Chalise in Cultist Simulator is “the principle of desire, birth, seduction, and thirst” that simultaneously governs powerful charisma and eating other people. Or how the Eye in Magnus Archives is “the drive to know and understand, even if your discoveries might destroy you”, and also of paranoia.
This and the resulting theme of moderation, that could also be seen in Disco Elysium with its character skills — low Empathy makes you an “ungainly beast unable to talk to anyone without upsetting them” while high Empathy “you’ll cry for their sorrows, punch walls to relieve their angers, and be an even more unstable cop”.
Another interesting observation is the kind of principles or aspects in both Magnus Archives and Cultist simulator that captivate me — The Eye in the first and The Lantern in the latter. Both describe the requirement to know and resonate deeply with me.
I wonder if the same level of drama could be built on human graces, narrative-wise.