Platypus of Truth

 

  What scares you? I've been studying horror art on YouTube. Diablo I is famously as much a horror game as an arpg. In this final run of images, I'm trying to lean more into that creepy element. The duo of characters has really taken on a life of its own. The question now is what world they inhabit and what antagonists they face. That still needs some development. 

 We were caught in a flash flood at the end of July, and found ourselves scrambling to higher ground as the car flooded. We have a new car now. Here is my backlog of images inspired by Diablo 1 and Marvel Comic's Mirada the Shewolf. The crop top and skirt are actual bronze age clothes except that the original skirt was a mini and made of thick ropes. Skull king in a Prydainaean vein. Heavy Metal album cover Amazons! Pace Mike Mignola Storm Giant in a Nordic mood. Proud of this one. Best one quality-wise and a throw-back to a recent reading of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

 The Mother of all Photo Dumps? I beat Diablo I. Never played it before. Missed it in 95 in favor of StarCraft. After that, it was the critically acclaimed action rpg, Titan Quest (an improvement on the Diablo franchise in many ways). Coming back to Diablo in 2026, I can say that it has lost nothing over the years. The experience of playing Diablo is one of ever-growing dread and tip-toe care. If you've done everything right, you will survive that final encounter on your last health potion with your poor little rogue. After that... comes one of the greatest surprise endings in gaming history. Tragic. Looking at other games I'm aware of, the first Diablo is unique. The sequels are power fantasies devoid of the Resident Evil-like dread. Titan Quest is triumphantly optimistic. The Legend of Zelda can only go so dark and remain Nintendo's 2nd "killer app". Diablo feels like a first session of 80s DnD or Advanced Heroquest. It is an indomitable monument at the turn fro...