Listen carefully.

Being a life long fan of Warhammer 40.000, I was interested to learn about a story called:

The Watcher in the Rain.

But I hit a snag. The Watcher in the Rain is an audiodrama only, it doesn't exist in written form. I became determined to listen to it so I went hunting.

You can get it from Games Workshop directly, but paying over €10 for a 75 minute drama felt a bit steep. It's not like an album that you can listen to several times a day if you want to, an audiodrama is a book, you might want to revisit it from time to time, but not as often as music.

Then I found it on Audible (not a sponsor), Amazon's audio book platform, and to my delight you can sign up for £0.99 and you get a credit with which I got The Watcher in the Rain. 

I had heard a couple of audiodramas 15+ years ago, dramatizations of a couple of Lovecraft stories,which were excellent.

The main differences between an audiodrama and an audiobook are sounds effects and multiple voices. An audiobook is normally read by one person, but an audiodrama has different people for all characters and the aforementioned sound effects. This creates a wonderful atmosphere that enhances the experience beyond mere narration.

So, I sat down, put on my headphones and enjoyed The Watcher in the Rain. I'm not going to go into detail about the story as such, it deserves to be experienced as it is, I'll only say that it was excellent both in writing and performances. If you like Warhammer 40.000 I highly recommend it. 

This experience has also rekindled my interest in audiodramas in general, and I'm going to go hunting for more. They were all the rage back before TV became a thing as something people could enjoy at home on the radio instead of going to the cinema, and they work well when playing a game that doesn't require too much audio, like World of Warcraft.

 

That's that and all that. Join me again nest time, and until then, have a great week!  

Top of the world, Ma!

I watched a video about movies Clint Eastwood loves and hates, and on that recommendation I watched:

White Heat (1949).

Directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney in the main role, White Heat is a black and white gangster thriller that never lets up.

Cody Jarrett, a veteran gangster and his gang commit a robbery that turns deadly. The feds are after him, but he is no one's fool, and supported by his devoted mother, has a plan. The feds manage to get an undercover specialist in Cody's gang to help corner the vicious and wily criminal, but Cody is not a man to go down the easy way.

White Heat is 114 minutes, but it felt like an hour. It didn't get boring for a minute even though there aren't that many scenes one would label as action. The tension is thick in scene after scene but it has balance and you also don't get overloaded.

Central to the movie is Cody himself. Devoted to his mother, a sufferer of brutal headaches and a man who'll gun down anyone who gets in his way, he is nevertheless a likable character somehow. He is a tormented soul which garners sympathy at the same time that his cruelty and careless attitude towards others makes you wish for his downfall.

The rest of the characters are good, in fact we have a surprising lack of cliches, but they all hang in orbit around Cody. From feds to gangsters, they all dance to Cody's tune one way or another.

The plot is excellent, White Heat is a really clever movie, even though the dialogue is nothing special. You have to remember that movies were made very differently back in those days. We're a long way from Tarantino's non stop clever conversations. In films like White Heat the dialogue is utilitarian, not necessarily witty, although there were a couple of good lines. The obvious one is “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” which has become legendary, but “You wouldn't kill me in cold blood, would ya?” “No, I'll let you warm up a little.” is really good.

The cinematography is top notch. The whole movie is wonderful to look at, and it really makes me wish modern directors would look back and relearn what was common knowledge in film making. No blurry jump cuts, nothing hidden in needlessly dark scenes, just solid set ups and good blocking.

So, do I and Clint Eastwood recommend this movie? Absolutely! It's one of Eastwood's favorites, and although I won't go that far, I loved it. White Heat ranges from solid to brilliant from beginning to end, and demonstrates how important it is to have an intelligent villain. Tough and scary is good, but without brains the main villain looses too much. Yes, White Heat is old, but in no way decrepit, and if you like movies, do yourself a service and watch it as soon as possible.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!

 

Questionably Good.

I have had a very hectic week, but that does not mean I don't have something for you.

The Youtube channel Dungeon Soup makes bizarre animations centered on fantasy with a D&D-ish slant.

Recently their series, Chaotic Good Barbarian has taken the Youtube sphere by storm, and I thought I'd share it with you guys today.

Be aware that both the style and humor is pretty out there, and I don't think its for everyone, but I have enjoyed it a lot. Behind the oddball antics is some pretty smart writing, and if you pay close attention to episode 2, you are going to get some neat inside information.

I'm going to let the series speak for itself, overselling something is annoying at the best of times. I'll embed the first video and link the playlist below.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!   

 

Full Playlist

From War to Games.

I have a distinct memory that I have mentioned Kriegsspiel before, but I'm not sure so here we go.

A friend recommended a video about the subject, and it was so good I wanted to share it with you all.  

The video will explain it all in detail, but let me give you a bit of a teaser. Kriegsspiel or wargame in German, was a way to simulate battles on a table before actually fighting them in real life. Countries that adopted Kriegsspiel saw a marked increase in success on the battlefield compared to those who believed they didn't need such nonsense. 

In time, civilians got into it, and thanks to that, we eventually got things like Dungeons & Dragons, the Total War games, Warhammer and much much more. Kriegsspiel even in a sense invented hit points. A huge portion of modern gaming came from generals trying to rehearse battles in advance. 

I highly recommend this video if you've ever played any of the games I mentioned or indeed anything even remotely similar, or if you just like history. 

 

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!