Sublime Postapocalyptic Architecture
Aug. 25th, 2023 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingUnderstanding the sublime architecture of Bloodborne
https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/understanding-sublime-architecture-bloodborne/
The impulse here might be to see Bloodborne along the lines of a moralistic warning against hubris, lest we suffer the consequences, à la the Tower of Babel narrative taken on its least interesting terms. More than a didactic project or a tooth-baring of the Souls games’ mechanics, though, Bloodborne is a honed iteration of Miyazaki’s fascination with systems of mystery and a modern revival of a myth: that of architecture as a parallel to the natural world, through which sublimity can be found.
...I think I understood maybe about half of this essay. I intend to spend the weekend reading it closely, looking up references, and understanding the rest. Unfortunately, I will probably never play Bloodborne, but damn if it doesn't look cool as hell. Anyway, this is another interesting essay about architecture:
Illumination and Occlusion | Dark Souls Remastered
http://www.heterotopiaszine.com/2018/08/23/illumination-occlusion-dark-souls-remastered/
This finitude is acutely felt during a particularly intense moment in the game’s centerpiece city of Anor Londo: after cutting down the local gargoyle population, the player is forced to hastily ascend a narrow buttress while dodging arrows fired from either side. This moment is hailed as a sadistic masterstroke not just for the visceral tension of dashing across treacherous heights, but because of the contrast between the tiny range of movement made available to your character and the vastness of Anor Londo. The gargoyles drop you in the middle of an enormous, deserted metropolis, where upon you are forced you to run across tiny rafters, manned ledges, and a rather onerous elevator system just to get to the throne room. The enduring power of Anor Londo comes from the limitedness of one’s access to an overwhelming space.
https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/understanding-sublime-architecture-bloodborne/
The impulse here might be to see Bloodborne along the lines of a moralistic warning against hubris, lest we suffer the consequences, à la the Tower of Babel narrative taken on its least interesting terms. More than a didactic project or a tooth-baring of the Souls games’ mechanics, though, Bloodborne is a honed iteration of Miyazaki’s fascination with systems of mystery and a modern revival of a myth: that of architecture as a parallel to the natural world, through which sublimity can be found.
...I think I understood maybe about half of this essay. I intend to spend the weekend reading it closely, looking up references, and understanding the rest. Unfortunately, I will probably never play Bloodborne, but damn if it doesn't look cool as hell. Anyway, this is another interesting essay about architecture:
Illumination and Occlusion | Dark Souls Remastered
http://www.heterotopiaszine.com/2018/08/23/illumination-occlusion-dark-souls-remastered/
This finitude is acutely felt during a particularly intense moment in the game’s centerpiece city of Anor Londo: after cutting down the local gargoyle population, the player is forced to hastily ascend a narrow buttress while dodging arrows fired from either side. This moment is hailed as a sadistic masterstroke not just for the visceral tension of dashing across treacherous heights, but because of the contrast between the tiny range of movement made available to your character and the vastness of Anor Londo. The gargoyles drop you in the middle of an enormous, deserted metropolis, where upon you are forced you to run across tiny rafters, manned ledges, and a rather onerous elevator system just to get to the throne room. The enduring power of Anor Londo comes from the limitedness of one’s access to an overwhelming space.
