The General Babblings of Chris Wild
Iain makes an interesting point on Bark and Byte about remaking Lords of Midnight or Doomdark’s Revenge using the Rome – Total War engine.
The Lords of midnight, Rome Total WarJust picked up on a Lords of Midnight Article that indirectly talks a little about the atmosphere of Midnight.
However, despite its strong sense of location, there was little impetus to idly explore the countryside. While the land of Midnight has a stark beauty, the limited range of elements leaves little room for any surprises. If you’ve seen one mountain you’ve literally seen them all, so the few times the game does surprise, the impact is all the more for it. One of the more spellbinding moments came late into the game, when I felt like I was further north than any other man had ever been, and I saw ahead of me distant tower. Except that it nestled safely behind the frozen wastes. Having become accustomed to the frozen waste’s role as the implacable edge of the game, this seems like a mirage. Or a bug. Any thought about the campaign at hand was put to one side as I explored this anomaly. And so it was: in one corner of the world it was possible pick a path through the wastes into a little oasis of land. It’s a small, unremarkable thing, but when I was there, surrounded by the claw-like peaks of the frozen wastes, it felt like a real discovery.
I gave it a little thought and wondered what it is about the game that has drawn me to it for 20 years. I think that the beauty of Midnight is in the atmosphere of the imagination. For some reason that game landscape just allowed the imagination to run free. Once I started playing the game I would just get lost in the story of it. I still do. Which is one of the reasons whyI set up the wiki to try an realise all the information that we know about, and create so much more that we don’t. I want the place to be real, I want the place to live. Yes, the story is full of typical fantasy cliches but there are so many oppurtunities to iron them out and create a very interesting place that more people could inhabit. I am closer to the characters of Midnight, than probably any book that I have ever read. Would I rather have Midnight or Lord of the Rings? Midnight every time!
Wayne Britcliffe caught the mood just about right in my Retro Gamer Article..
Even when actually playing the games your imagination takes you beyond, especially in the case of the original’s 8-bit limitations, what you are actually presented with. Swords clash, men scream, the plains fill with marauding enemy armies and smoke rises in the distance as snow begins to fall. Lord Blood dies surrounded by those he has slain in the gatehouse of his overrun Keep – a valiant defence against impossible odds. Shimeril escapes by the skin of his teeth only to have to turn and fight before his Citadels walls.
The Lords of midnight, Lord of the Rings, Mike Singleton, Retro GamerIt’s that time of year again. As we get ready for bonfire night over the weekend, we had a moments panic when we realised that we hadn’t imported our must haves; Black Peas and Parkin. With only 2 days to go and Black peas need soaking overnight, we had to get some in the post today. Thankfully… father to the rescue and our supply should be with us with a day to spare!
Life would be so much easier if I could go to any shop and actually buy things from up north! You’d think Asda would have them!
Ask for “Black Peas” and you get the response; “Black Eye Peas?”… ask for Parkin and you’re asked; “Long or Short Stay?”
You’ll notice no direct wiki link either for those terms – like that’s going to work! You’ll notice no pictures either! What is the world coming too?
See Also: What do you miss?
Black Peas, Parkin, Bonfire Night, LancashireDehumanizer has written a small write up of Lords of Midnight over on his site; Games of My Life.
He discusses the merits of the game when you consider it as a Lord of the Rings inspired epic.
See Also: Similarties to other Fantasy Stoires…
The Lords of Midnight, Games of My Life, Lord of the Rings
Lord of the RingsNow that I’m on the topic of food…
There is a definite North/South divide in England when it comes to food.
Firstly if we take the good old staple Chippy. It is very hard to find a chip shop that will sell Gravy, Mushy Peas, or Curry Sauce. The exception for curry sauce is chippies that are Chinese take aways. If you are lucky enough to find such a chip shop, they generally sell the gravy etc as an extra in a little Polystyrene cup. You get no chance of eating it to go… what ever happened to take out trays? Also the pies down south are awful, they generally seem to be plastic wrapped Pukka Pies, whereas in the north they tend to be fresh Hollands Pies. Worse yet is that they don’t sell Steak and Kidney puddings… and even if they did there’d be no tray for it, or gravy to pour over it. All supermarkets sell Hollands products in packs of 4… in the south – nothing. There are now a few Asda’s starting to stock their products, however on the whole I have to import my supplies.
Greggs is a pretty universal pie shop now, however there is a subtle difference depending where in the country you live. Greggs in Newcastle sell Ham and Pease pudding Stottie cake, but by the time you get to Manchester you can’t buy this. Manchester have decent pasties, my particular favourite being Potato and Meat ( note the order ), however as you move south these are replaced with inferior pasties and the Potato and meat is not even available.
Warburton’s bakery is a good northern baker. You can now get a small amount of their products in southern supermarkets. I recently found that sainsbury’s were selling their Seeded Batch which is just fantastic for sandwiches, but even better toasted. Other products that are a Warbutons must… Oven Bottoms and Toastie. Although beware, the Toastie loaf is generall taller than your toaster! 🙂
Food, Gravy, Mushy Peas, Curry, chip shop, Polystyrene, Pease pudding, Stottie cake, pasties
Gravy, Mushy Peas, Curry, chip shop, Polystyrene, Pease pudding, Stottie cake, pasties