Mörk Borg, Black Metal and The Esoteric Hermit

Alright soooooo……

This is going to be a rather nerdy post (yes meaning exactly that), so I need you to be patient with my annoying OCD and just bare with me in general, ok? This post took ages to write (couple of weeks in reality), to think through and finally realize into manifestation. As I said OCD. Pvre fvcking essence, right?… So I am here to annoy you all with a Tabletop RPG that I now hold in very high regard. This game is not the holy grail of tabletop gaming, but it’s the philosophers stone of rare artefacts in these fields. Mörk Borg isn’t only a DOOM METAL album of a game as advertised. It’s also a BLACK METAL album of a game with vey prominent occult and pagan elements and it packs a really heavy punch!! This game is the ultimate OSR example and it should be regarded as one of the best carriers of the tradition. Eternal Hails……

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A doom metal album of a game. A spiked flail to the face. Light on rules, heavy everything else.

Darkest Dungeon – Lovecraftian Fan T-Shirt Design by Borislav Vakinov

𝙍𝙪𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚, 𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡, 𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙧? 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙧, 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙪𝙭𝙪𝙧𝙮...

Alright folks, GRAPHIC DESIGN prime time!! 

So, I’ve been playing a lot of 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 lately, trying to clear ruins, coves and warrens and not FAIL misserably in the process, but if you have played DD at all, then you probably know that FAILING is a huge part of this game, its mechanics and it’s pretty salty experience overall. (Dark Souls looks like a little child in comparison). I guess that’s why DD is so popular among hard-boiled RPG nerds and gamers alike and it’s not without reason. And so I always wanted to commemorate and pay my respects to the devs from Red Hook, but also I was very, very inspired and enchanted by the overall Lovecraftian and dark gothic aesthetic and atmosphere that the game offers and well, I made this T-Shirt design for myself and printed it and will wear the god damn thing ‘tlll my last day on this earth holding a torch, hacking and slashing my way through mobs and mobs of vermin and vile abominations!!! RAAAAAAWR!!!! No seriously I am sharing it here with the rest of ya nerds, dark fantasy lovers, tentacle-mad occultists and Darkest Dungeon aficionados, in the hopes that you might actually do the same and have an awesome T-shirt at your disposal. Print it, wear it or just make a classy poster for your man cave (or woman cave 🙂 ) It’s up to you nerds! But be aware that I have spent almost an entire day on this design (continued on the second from morning till dawn with finishing touches) and now I am giving it for free. There are no string attached here, no traps or payements, and I ain’t asking for anything, (apart from crediting me wherever or just say thanks) and just enjoy and use this design wherever or whenever you like! It’s a fan gift for the fans. All the best and see you in the murky Hamlet or through the Darkest of Dungeons and ruins of this world.

In praise of immersion, education and Arkane wisdom in video games (a short post)

And people say video games are not educational, deep, meaningful and worth the dime, and that gamers are just wasting their precious time on playing and learn nothing from games. To these claims I can only turn my back, offer my middle finger and smile. Video games and the rich, vast and expansive worlds they present are the most advanced and most highest form of education there is, and not simply a mere entertainment or passtime fun designed to, like shoot this guy and stab that guy, or whatever, and that’s just a common fact everyone should be aware of. If someone doesn’t agree wtih this, well fine I guess, sure, it’s your opinion man and you are entitled to it, but you should know that it’s ok to be wrong. So yeah, this screenshot I took last year from none other than Arkane Studio’s masterpiece of a game called “Dark Messiah of Might and Magic” released in 2006. I have played this game for years now and still enjoy every single bit of it and it’s mechanics, story and gameplay. It can also be argued that it was the prototype which gave birth to Dishonored years later, and it makes sense if you know Arkane’s history as a studio. It’s also one of the games which deals directly with the occult and practical magick oriented themes, secret orders and metaphysical concepts which can raise some serious questions. I can only praise this game until infinity and I know the reasons why I feel this way. So, indeed, Arkane offers only top-shelf stuff!!! Do I recommended their games? You bet you’re arse I do!

The evolution from the XCOM First-Person Shooter to The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

This is what the "The Bureau: XCOM Declassified" should've been. I am still looking very, very fondly to this early version and I truly wish it was made into a separate game in itself (or maybe a sequel), but that's not the point here. The point is to show you how XCOM evolved and morphed into it's current state in The Bureau. It's a fascinating journey, which not many people pay attention to, and that's a shame in my humble opinion. If you're interested in video game development and history, the cold war, UFOs and Alien invasion type of scenarios (with that special old-timey Twilight Zone twist) wrapped into a beautiful science-fiction package with a very solid "americana" aesthetic and look, then please proceed (with caution) reading down below the text, or just enjoy watching the early demo gameplay and also hearing some of the thoughts of the developers of this amazing and special tactical shooter. Reflecting after almost 10 years now, I can only be grateful that this game exist, and that it was not totally scratched and thrown into the garbage bin by some lousy company shmuck, who just wanted another Call of Duty clone to cash in and feel good about it in front of the board of directors (meaning publishers). So ladies and gents, have fun reading this in-depth review (you may call it whatever you like) and thanks for checking this game out! Now would you kindly continue reading, please?

-Borislav