The Punished Backlog Crew’s Creative Endeavor: Inktober 2018

Hopefully this year’s “Spooky Month” treated you well, unless you’re reading this in the future, in which case this doesn’t apply and also has Todd gotten to TES VI yet? I’m watching that boy like a hawk. But you’re probably here for Inktober 2018.

This lovely October, a gaggle of us writers have encouraged each other to participate in Inktober. Illustrator Jake Parker started this creative exercise in 2009 as a way to challenge himself to improve his craft. Now every year thousands of artists and creative types push themselves to create something new for every single day in October based on a one-word prompt for inspiration – all for the sake of bettering their skills and the fun of seeing what others create.

The official rules are simple:

1. Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).
2. Post it – on any social media account you want or just post it on your refrigerator. The point is to share your art with someone.
3. Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2018.
4. Repeat.

And yet despite their simplicity, we’ve made addendums to nearly each rule. Whoops.

Our house rules are as follows:

1. Make something in the medium of your preference.
   1. Use the daily prompts from the official Inktober site for inspiration.
   2. Try to relate your work to video games in some way.
2. If you’re so inclined, post only a small part of your work to the group the day of, then submit all work at the end of the month for a group posting.
3. We just booted this one because of how we wanted to present our work.
4. Repeat.

The official prompt list:

So, with that introduction out of the way, we now present to you the fruits of The Punished Backlog crew’s labor. We really hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it 🙂

Here’s What We Did

ANNA HICKEY – MIXED MEDIA

ANNA’S FAVORITE PIECES

1. RO, DAY 9 – PRECIOUS, STICK AND POKE TATTOO

What did you make?

The second word of power from the Fus Ro Dah shout in Skyrim (so just “Ro”) written in Dovahzul, the fictional dragon language from the game, tattooed on the inside of my left wrist.

How did you make it?

I tattooed myself not with a tattoo machine, but by manually poking myself with the needle that gets inserted into a tattoo machine. This method of tattooing is generally called stick and poke. One of the reasons I opted for stick and poke is because tattoo machines are much heavier than pens or pencils and I’d really have to work up my hand muscles to be able to draw with something like that accurately, especially on the weirdly textured canvas that is skin. Plus, tattoo machines vibrate when in use.

Surprisingly, I did not feel comfortable using a weighty, vibrating stabbing machine to permanently alter myself. Equally surprising — getting stabbed in any fashion is generally kind of unpleasant.

Why did you make it?

THIS WAS NOT JUST FOR INKTOBER. I actually wrote an article about it because I really feel I should explain myself here. Trust me, it was a lot harder to do than it seems and I studied like I was taking the B.A.R. exam before I did it. Please, please, please do not try to tattoo yourself before doing the right research and practice.

Did you learn anything from making it?

I learned that sometimes a very simple design is the best and most meaningful design, even if not every part of the composition is a complex visual metaphor or whatever. Simple designs can remind us of more complex ideas without displaying them explicitly, which can be just as powerful as intricate symbology.

Also I learned you can hear the sound of your skin getting punctured with each poke if you don’t listen to music while doing a stick and poke tattoo, which is nasty. And that tattooing is not something I would ever do casually, if at all. 

Additional.

I figuratively stand before you — a complete but well intentioned hypocrite — to say maybe don’t do this to yourself. Or at the very least, do your research and go to a professional or use professional equipment.

PLEASE DO NOT tattoo yourself or anyone else with a lighter, a sewing needle, and India ink unless you understand the risks. I’ve seen people do this or recommend it way too often. The tattoo will probably be of terrible quality no matter how good your hand is because sewing needles are not in any way meant for bodily intrusive practices, much less tattooing, specifically.

2. CHICKEN SNAKE, DAY 5 – CHICKEN, PENCIL SKETCH AND INK

What did you make?

Whichever Snake is in Metal Gear Solid V wearing the chicken hat from the game being carried by chicken balloons, I guess? Honestly, I’m just as confused as you.

How did you make it?

I sketched Snake with the hat in pencil. Then I thought he’d look cute if he held a lil chick. Then I started drawing more and more chickens because I was making myself laugh with each additional chicken. Then I inked it.

Why did you make it?

I suppose I was inspired by chickens.

Did you learn anything from making it?

Sometimes art means drawing a bunch of chickens to make yourself laugh.

3. FALCON PUNCH, DAY 6 – DROOLING, PENCIL SKETCH AND INK

What did you make?

A falcon with boxing gloves on its feet punching the spit out of some guy.

How did you make it?

I Googled “face punch” until I found a good spit take, “falcon” until I found a suitable falcon pose, and “boxing gloves” until I found a good model. Using these images as reference, I synthesized them into a pencil sketch. I tried my best to do shading using the inking pen (which was VERY different then pencil shading), and I flicked the inking pen to get the spattered drool effect. I didn’t give the guy a body because my reference cut off and I didn’t feel like trying to draw and shade it freehand.

Why did you make it?

I figured you could go for hungry or horny with a prompt like “drooling” and I didn’t want to do either.

Did you learn anything from making it?

Sometimes going literal is absolutely worth it. This drawing delights me to no end.

4. CHAMPION ABOVE A SEA OF FOG, DAY 2 – TRANQUIL, PENCIL SKETCH AND INK

What did you make?

A very, very poorly rendered parody of Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” (“Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer”) featuring Breath of the Wild Link as the titular Wanderer and the Dueling Peaks from the game in the distance.

How did you make it?

In pencil, I sketched the foreground rocks and some of the background mountains from the painting, as well as the Wanderer with (sort of) Link’s hair and the Dueling Peaks. Then I tried my best to ink the sketch with an inking pen, but I’m not crazy about the quality. I used watered down ink with a brush to try to make a sea of fog, though I really just made the paper lumpy and saturated.

Ink is not my usual game. I’m all about graphite when it comes to traditional (non digital) art, so because of my inexperience in this medium, there are lots of hideous errors with depth and shading that hurt me to look at because I probably could do a better job with graphite. But this whole exercise is about practicing your skills, so I get to use the wonderful (and not even a cop-out) excuse of calling these bad drawings as a series a ‘study in ink.’

I’m so sorry for this bastardization, Caspar David Friedrich.

Why did you make it?

“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” (“Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer”) might be one of my favorite paintings in the world. It’s also a quintessential example of the Romantic Era in Europe at the end of the 18th century. This painting depicts a wanderer who climbed to the top of a mountain and seems to be enjoying the beauty of the world around him at the peak. When this painting debuted, climbing a mountain just because you wanted to climb a mountain and enjoy the view at the top was super duper not a thing your average person typically did, or even considered to be a possibility for anyone, much less themselves. This painting blew people’s minds because it exposed them to concepts like individuality, the Enlightened idea of the self, and an appreciation for things like emotion and nature. You know, all that Romantic stuff.

I hope I’m not vastly insulting the concept of Romanticism in saying that I find echoes of similarity between “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” and certain vistas in Breath of the Wild. I guess there’s just something about the ability to climb mountains (be it in the real world, or a virtual world) that just speaks to people, which I’ve at least tried to pay homage to. I think the box art

Did you learn anything from making it?

Sometimes the idea behind art is a lot more impressive than the technical quality/execution of said art. That’s probably why we put children’s drawings on fridges.

Also I learned that trying to adapt or parody art done in one medium (say painting) to another (say ink) arises certain challenges. I would’ve parodied one of W.M.J. Turner’s works, but I love him for his treatment of light, which would require a level skill beyond what I possess in any medium to parody.

5. ERROR 404 LINK NOT FOUND, DAY 15 – WEAK, GRAPHITE PENCIL

What did you make?

An unfinished graphite drawing of Zelda cradling an injured Link from Breath of the Wild.

How did you make it?

I sketched them and shaded them right away from a reference using the same pencil on inking paper, which were both mistakes. But hey, pobody’s nerfect.

Why did you make it?

I really wanted to get back to graphite after all the ink I did and I’ve always thought the shading in Breath would just feel really nice to do in pencil. Also this moment from the game was sort of what my mind went to for the prompt.

I was actually thinking about drawing Link in the Shrine of Resurrection before he’d woken up. Problem is — that would’ve required me to make a full body drawing (which I’m not even good at because anatomy is hard) of a mostly nude, canonically sixteen-year-old boy (give or take a hundred years). Especially with a prompt like “weak,” I felt like that would be a terrible idea.

Did you learn anything from making it?

Yeah, throughout this challenge and especially with this piece, my biggest takeaway is hands down:

The paper you do stuff on MATTERS.

The Cuphead drawing I did was going to be an animation originally (before I realized sketching 48 drawings, inking 48 more drawings, and having the combined 96 drawings result in smooth movement is more effort than I’m willing to put in for 2 seconds of runtime), which had to be done on very thin paper so I could see through the paper in order to animate the motion better. Yeah, thin paper is terrible for ink, which is very wet and easy to destroy paper with.

This graphite drawing was done on inking paper, which is thick and meant to lock ink into place to prevent smudging. The problem is, the way I typically use graphite depends heavily on the ability to smudge the graphite around the paper to create shadows and gradients. So I ended up with a drawing that’s mediocre at best, which is fine for this challenge. I could clean it up a little with some darker pencils, but you can see how much of the paper’s texture is coming through the graphite. There’s nothing I can really do about that.

I don’t know if you’ll be able to see this from photos, but take a look at the difference between the more colored in parts of this old hand sketch I did and the top of Zelda’s head. Hopefully you’ll see sort of what I’m taking about. You can see so much detail of the actual paper through her hair and this annoys me greatly

Additional.

Always use the right tools for what you’re doing — it can make a big difference.

PETER “PJ” MANNING – Musical Compositions

1) Venomous

2) Tranquil

4) Spell

11) Cruel Final

16) Angular

1. 1) Venomous

0:58

2. 2) Tranquil

1:53

3. 4) Spell

1:04

4. 11) Cruel Final

1:22

5. 16) Angular

0:33

PJ’S FAVORITE PIECES

1. Day 1 — “Quiet’s Theme/Sins of the Father” (The Phantom Pain)

What did you make?

Seems like MGSV is a popular source of inspiration among our editors. As a quick intro to my “portfolio,” I play bass (a lot, and not particularly well). I decided to find video game songs that tied to the daily prompts, then chug out some quick covers.

How did you make it?

I have two basses, an electric and acoustic. They both sound slightly different. I wanted both featured prominently in the song. I used them to distinguish between what I’ll call the melody and bass of this composition. I’ve never studied music theory, writing/reading sheet music, or any general fundamentals class. Please don’t yell at your monitor too much if I butcher the distinction between the treble and bass clefs.

My electric drove the bass of the song, repeating a simple three-note progression in easy half notes as my acoustic emulated “Sins of Our Father’s” vocals. “Quiet’s Theme” is a lament. As such, it is drawn out and rather slow, honing in on some powerful sustains and a stunning range.

Quiet hums, and I caught myself doing the same as I recorded the acoustic. I have absolutely no vocal talent, a fact I am in no way exaggerating. I had to re-record the riff to edit out my out-of-pitch throat shrieks asap, but the idea of incorporating a hum stuck in my head. Underlying the acoustic is a third layer, my electric playing the same notes an octave or two lower. This gave the song an extra, haunting element that’s barely audible unless you know to look (listen).

Why did you make it?

Right out the gate, I had absolutely no idea what worked with Poisonous, the very first prompt in the challenge. I realized Poisonous and Venomous were kinda similar and everything burst open from there.

To answer Anna’s rhetorical question in her Chicken Snake entry, MGSV stars Punished Snake AKA The Man Who Sold the World AKA Ahab (maybe?) AKA Venom Snake. There was my in.
I maintain that MGSV is an outstanding game, one of the best on this generation even if it’s clearly an unfinished narrative. But I love it. I get the rampant sexism in Quiet’s persona (a woman who doesn’t eat, poop, speak, and runs around in a bikini?). Doesn’t change the fact that she is a complete badass in literally every sense of the word, and has some absolutely killer music. It’s a leap, but a fun one.

Did you learn anything from making it?

This setup how I’d compose all future pieces. Write one riff as the melody, one as the bass, don’t freak when it isn’t perfect. After all, this challenge is structured as a quantity not quality event as production is so rapid-fire.

2. Tranquil, Day 2 — “Beneath the Mask” (Persona 5)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suOoYogz_f0&w=560&h=315

What did you make?

My favorite song off my favorite video game soundtrack. I actually cannot stop talking about how good this OST is. I mention it in our The Best Video Game Soundtracks list as well as admit it in inspired the entire list (by extension, the entire Punished Favorites family of articles) my Persona 5 review. Direct quote: “When The Punished Backlog inevitably discusses the greatest songs in gaming, you better believe I’m fighting on Persona 5’s behalf.”

How did you make it?

This cover is absolutely a work in progress. But after an extensive writing/recording session, the timer hit and I was no longer able to progress much further without pushing me behind schedule. Similar to Quiet’s Theme, I layered a bass and vocal melody to create the product you see above. Unlike Quiet’s Theme, whose bass was built of a piano riff, this bass is bass. It was a straightforward one-to-one, but an unbelievably difficult one to assemble.

The descending progression is built around three notes. In order, the riff goes C, Ab, G — rooting the song (if I remember my notes correctly) in the key of G Minor. There are several interesting notes I’d like to clarify.

Save for the bridge, the progression follows four consistent variants as they cycle through continuously. Most variants feature a prominent pull-off, a trait that took tons of hair-ripping to successfully identify. The riff gets playful using a fifth to transition from the final G back to C. Lastly, the final variation ends in an unusual slide that jerks to each note it passes as it slowly fades out.

Why did you make it?

I’ve wanted to cover a song from P5 since I first saw its stunning opening cinematic. I could never find tablature that seemed particularly accurate. At the time, I didn’t have the skills to listen and write my own. I do now. So I did.

This project was long in the making. Inktober gave me the justification to finally push through and do it. Why this song? I mentioned it was one of my favorites. The bass seemed so simple in its repetition, yet interesting in the subtle techniques it pulls to accomplish little accents — the aforementioned pull-offs and slide to name a few. It’s peaceful, fun to play, and something I want to extend into a full cover in the not-so-distant future.

I do have some issues with my arrangement. I did a poor job syncing up both layers. I struggled with timing the melody. I chunked a few of the notes as well. The bassline was my priority. In that sense, this cover achieved all I hoped (for the time being).

Did you learn anything from making it?

This song was a much more intensive transcription than Quiet’s Theme. Lot’s of figuratively moving pieces blending together in a way I couldn’t emulate on such a short time-frame. I found a workaround, one I’ll explain in the very next entry.

Additional.

A lot of editors on the Punished Backlog, both past and present, play instruments/sing. They don’t know it yet, but I will force them to play this with me. 

3. Spell, Day 4 — “Lavender Town” (Pokémon Red, Blue, and a whole bunch more)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ywWpaTE-h4&w=560&h=315

What did you make?

While I usually hold Zelda and Mario as the pinnacle of Nintendo music, Pokemon offers plenty of stellar tracks too — OST infamous, thanks to mountains of creepypastas, Lavender Town. It is one of the standout town themes in the entire franchise, though an admittedly mainstream pick. I knew I wanted to cover it from the start of this challenge. I just needed a prompt.

How did you make it?

There were three layers to hit. I first needed that iconic twinkle to underscore the entire composition, probably Lavender Town’s most distinguishing feature. As that occupied the higher range of my bass, the two remaining layers were sandwiched closer together. In my cover, I make a big deal of isolating each piece of the bass and mid-range duet. This actually is one-to-one with the original song, something I never noticed until I composed my cover.

Why did you make it?

Good gaming music is good gaming music. Lavender Town is no exception. It’s haunting and simple. Most importantly, this track is ethereal, otherworldly. That ethereal quality lent itself quite well for “Spell.” It’s a fan favorite; it’s one of my favorites; did I need another reason to dive in?

Did you learn anything from making it?

Chiptunes are very easy to transcribe. Chiptunes sound phenomenal on an electric bass. Most importantly, it’s hard to balance multiple basses without compositions sounding cramped and messy. I got away with it here, but this became a major issue attempting other covers later on.

Additional.

My covers are already rough enough on their own. Please don’t write any creepypastas on my unreleased first drafts.

4. Cruel, Day 11 — “Koopa’s Theme” (Super Mario 64)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVv5xTICNOw&w=560&h=315

What did you make?

This is the iconic boss theme from SM64. It’s gruff, angry, and a pretty solid track. The song starts with some cool snare hits and progresses into that recognizable bass riff. It gets far more complex from there. And while I play with that idea to an extend, the cover remains limited in a few key ways.

How did you make it?

Simple, I updated Garageband for the first time in 7 years.

I’m not sure if this was always a feature, but I learned I input directly into the app post-update. This got rid of all my background noise and granted me access to tons of fun effects, many of which I gleefully jumped on.

There are four parts here. I played two percussion riffs, a traditional bass riff, and a lead guitar riff all from the comfort of my four strings. For the main percussion beat (played consistently throughout), I slapped. Slap bass is a style developed by Larry Graham of both Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station. Before I jump into a history/explanation, here’s a video of the legend himself playing one of funk’s most famous songs.

Like most things I write, this story is 70% true. Graham was playing with some friends when his drummer quit. He found a bass and, in a desperate attempt to emulate the bass drum kicks and snare hits, he played a riff by slamming his thumb knuckle into the E and A string while plucking D and G. The small details might not be entirely accurate, but that narrative is a strong, general depiction of the method’s conception. The slaps have sound like a bass drum, the pops sound like a snare. While Bootsy Collins and James Brown invented funk, Graham created a technique that would reinvent funk for every bassist to come after.

For better or for (in my opinion) worse, slap bass is now the preferred style of literally every amateur bassist (much like myself) who tried to film himself on YouTube. I hate it. The bass can be so beautiful and melodic. I won’t waste too much space here, but the figurative bass market is grossly over-saturated with terrible slap covers.

However, slap bass is phenomenal for percussion. Here, I use it for percussion. I emulate a hi-hat by playing a repeating harmonic. The bass and lead were played with a bass and bass respectively, the latter having sweet distortion.

Why did you make it?

I wanted some Mario representation. This track screams cruel. It’s Bowser, one of gaming’s most-famous villains in — specifically — one of gaming’s most-famous games. It was a perfect fit.

Did you learn anything from making it?

Distortion effects are fun.

Additional.

My gripe with slap is completely with amateur covers. Sure, it’s fun to do. But slap is by no means the “be all end all” in a bassist’s arsenal. I do recommend anyone looking for further research to check out basically half of everything Flea of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers has ever made as well as (again) basically everything from Primus’ “Les Claypool.” A strong example from each will be embedded below.

5. Angular, Day 16 — The Tetris Theme (Tetris)

What did you make?

You know, the Tetris theme. From Tetris? You know it.

It has a weird, Russian name. I could look it up. Could.

How did you make it?

Everything I’d say here would be a pretty cut and paste rewrite of my Lavender Town entry, nature of the chiptune I suppose. The song was naturally divided in two parts. I studied some piano covers to get the notes, transcribed keys to frets, hit record.

I can’t remember the notes. If I had to guess, the bassline is comprised of consecutive root-fifth patterns with a couple “chord” changes. We could call them arpeggiated power chords. Full disclosure, I have no idea if that’s actually correct.

Why did you make it?

Again, good music is good music. The Tetris theme is iconic for its charming, anxious pattern. It was fun to string together. It’s fun knowing the Tetris melody, a geeky yet recognizable jingle to bust out when the party gets weird.

Did you learn anything from making it?

This was the final cover I managed. Balancing this project and my other jobs (plural) was tough. This was undoubtedly a rewarding process, but one I won’t do for a while. I’ll stick to poorly covering Led Zeppelin.

Additional.

I have a few more I didn’t mention here. I covered “Wet Hands” from Minecraft, “Song of Storms” from Zelda, Master Onion’s Theme from Parappa the Rapper, “Whims of Fate” (another Persona 5 song) and a few more I can’t quite remember.

I had a nice long list of potential covers, some of which I still hope to do. I did a lot with “Brinstar Depths” from Melee. But like I mentioned for my cover of “Beneath the Mask,” songs get too crowded when two supposedly distinct bass parts are too close together in range. I’m too sloppy at guitar-proper to have implemented it well. It ended up being a “so close but so far” situation, with most of the song recorded and transcribed.

I’m half-heartedly thinking about “Megalovania” too. The bassline in that is fun, but pretty much everything Undertale related is an absolute shitshow. I’m sorry, but I don’t really want to touch such an ironically-memed but also genuinely and passionately uncomfortable community (yet). I had to find Undertale images for our The Best Merchants in Video Games article and the sheer amount of gender-bent pregnancy fan art (literally of a Google search for “Tem Shopkeeper”) killed any interest I have in creating Undertale content. To be fair, there was also a bunch of feeder-porn for Tom Nook as well. I don’t know if that provides any consolation to respectable Undertale fans, but I had to suffer through it. Now you know my pain too.

DAVID SILBERT – POETRY

Poisonous
Lips trembled as they watched one another.
Cold to the touch, then a warm embrace.
Caress of an old friend.
Little did they know, old friends can become new enemies.
Poison to the touch, then no embrace at all.

Tranquil
His eyes stretched,
Farther than his heart,
O’er the dawning sun.

Deep, deep breath,
As the fire stokes.

Birds overhead, sky above,
Looking down, the valley below.

One fateful jump.

Roasted
The wilderness tore at his soul.
Between ghoulish howls and trees that whispered, he stumbled on, flurried footsteps falling.

His temple pulsed to a dull beat. His heart ticked its own little cadence. Call and response, like everything else that’s feral and hungry.

Suddenly, light. Blinding rays, seeping out into the thickening dark.

He drew closer, the light enveloping him. An entrance. A push of a door.

Crackles. An open flame.
Laughter and cheers.
Clinking glass. Sounds of merriment.
Frigid snowfall finally aloof.

A man steps forward from the warmth.
He smiles.

“One last seat, friend.”

Spell
Silky smooth,
Way you move,
Blue as the sea,
Mellow as can be.

Tousled hair,
Stuffed teddy bear,
Signs of life,
Signs of love.

Glitter and glamour,
Tough to ignore,
Even tougher still,
To see you, alone.

Caught in a spell,
With no escape,
My heart flutters
And I wonder:

…
Is this a date?

Exhausted
The cerulean sea of sky stretched on,
Endless and infinite.
He gazed up and let the heat of the sun strike his face.

Weariness overtook him.
Shades of yellow and blue faded away,
Giving way to hues of brown and gray.

The warmth enveloped him,
A heavy blanket.
Wind fluttered back and forth,
Brushing his face.

He dozed.

There, surrounded by friends,
Supported by family,
Cradled with love,
He dreamed of the world.

Star
Drip, drip, drop.
Twinkle, twinkle, pop.
Sprinkle, sprinkle, plop.
Don’t let the magic stop.

A flick of the wrist,
A tap of her wand.

One thousand little stars,
Descending beyond.

DAVID’S FAVORITE PIECES

Poisonous
Lips trembled as they watched one another.
Cold to the touch, then a warm embrace.
Caress of an old friend.
Little did they know, old friends can become new enemies.
Poison to the touch, then no embrace at all.

1. Poisonous, Day 1

What did you make?

A short scene detailing the often hot-and-cold relationship between Geralt and Yennefer from the Witcher series.

How did you make it?

It was Day 1 of Inktober; I was super excited to get started, and so I just hit the ground running. Didn’t think up the Witcher connection until after I’d typed up the piece—originally, it was just a nondescript love scene—but after I made the link between the White Wolf and the Sorceress of Vengerberg, it just seemed to fit so well.

Why did you make it?

Subconsciously, I think I was inspired by the book of short stories Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski (the author of the Witcher books). I’ve been reading it on the bus to work for several weeks now, and the story of Geralt and Yen—good and bad—has proven to be an excellent companion experience to the sprawling epic that is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Did you learn anything from making it?

That I seriously need to go back and finish The Witcher 3.

Additional.

A nice way to kick off my Inktober efforts, even if those efforts didn’t last very long.

Roasted
The wilderness tore at his soul.
Between ghoulish howls and trees that whispered, he stumbled on, flurried footsteps falling.

His temple pulsed to a dull beat. His heart ticked its own little cadence. Call and response, like everything else that’s feral and hungry.

Suddenly, light. Blinding rays, seeping out into the thickening dark.

He drew closer, the light enveloping him. An entrance. A push of a door.

Crackles. An open flame.
Laughter and cheers.
Clinking glass. Sounds of merriment.
Frigid snowfall finally aloof.

A man steps forward from the warmth.
He smiles.

“One last seat, friend.”

2. Roasted, Day 3

What did you make?

A short vignette of a man stumbling his way into the tavern from Hearthstone.

How did you make it?

Hearthstone is one of my favorite games ever (and a ridiculous money sink of mine). When I saw the prompt was “Roasted,” I immediately though of a warm fire, the Innkeeper, and that phenomenal quote from early Hearthstone when the Innkeeper yells, “Grab a seat by the hearth!” The rest was easy.

Why did you make it?

I have a weird fascination with snow and winter when it comes to poetry. Perhaps it’s because all poets, past and present, seem super aloof. In any case, I wanted to take a stab at imagining the perspective of whoever it is who finds him/her/theirself (himself in this particular case) knocking on the door of the Hearthstone tavern. That person must be freezing, starving, and, to some degree, feeling somewhat feral having been in the wilderness so long. And yet, sitting down by the fire, everything seems to miraculously calm down—all your worries from the cold, harsh world are gone. Quite poetic… even if I ended up writing more of a short than actual poetry.

Did you learn anything from making it?

That my Hearthstone addiction has gone way too far.

Additional.

In all seriousness, this was a nice little piece of work. Not quite poetry, again, but the point of this exercise was to get me writing, and I’m happy I came up with what I did.

Exhausted
The cerulean sea of sky stretched on,
Endless and infinite.
He gazed up and let the heat of the sun strike his face.

Weariness overtook him.
Shades of yellow and blue faded away,
Giving way to hues of brown and gray.

The warmth enveloped him,
A heavy blanket.
Wind fluttered back and forth,
Brushing his face.

He dozed.

There, surrounded by friends,
Supported by family,
Cradled with love,
He dreamed of the world.

3. Exhausted, Day 7

What did you make?

Another poem/short detailing the ending scene of (spoilers!) Persona 3.

How did you make it?

Similar to how I arrived at my Hearthstone piece, I immediately thought of Persona 3 when I saw the prompt was “Exhausted.” The mental and physical fatigue of Minato, our MC, at the very end of P3 was such an iconic moment for the series. Minato, his friends, his lover, and the blue sky surrounding him as he descends into a deep slumber. Till this day, one of the greatest narrative conclusions in all of gaming. The poem practically wrote itself.

Why did you make it?

Persona 3 is one of my favorite JRPGs of all time. It only seemed fair to honor it in some way during Inktober, especially since I knew I’d be looking for gaming references wherever I could with these prompts. Thought this one turned out pretty well!

Did you learn anything from making it?

If anything, that more people need to play this masterpiece of a game.

Additional.

For those wondering, my three other pieces—“Tranquil,” “Spell,” and “Star”—were inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, and Super Mario Galaxy.

Breath of the Wild seemed fitting for the Tranquil prompt, especially given the game’s heavy emphasis on beauty and nature. I wanted something more unorthodox for Spell, so rather than picking any one of numerous magic-related games (Skyrim, The Witcher, and practically any other RPG), I went with the timid, budding relationship between Chloe Price and Rachel Amber instead. On the other hand, Star was the exact opposite: It was completely on the nose, mainly because I was in desperate need of a throwaway poem, and because Galaxy and Rosalina’s Lumas were just about the only thing I could think of that would fit the bill for the prompt.

So yeah, The Witcher 3, Breath of the Wild, Hearthstone, Life is Strange, Persona 3, and Super Mario Galaxy were my writing muses, in that exact order. Couldn’t have asked for a better cast of games to take inspiration from, if you ask me!

Thanks so much for enjoying our creations! And please feel free to leave us a nice comment or Tweet us. If you’d like to read some of our personal favorite articles we’ve written, here are our picks below!

Anna – Going Back to the Drawing Tablet for Cuphead’s DLC

PJ – Find the Granter of Boons with our Breath of the Wild help guide!

David – Utada Hikaru’s “Don’t Think Twice” is the Perfect Send-Off Song for Kingdom Hearts III