“Ten minutes til the rankings close.” The air was full of the sound of anvils being struck, saws cutting through wood, and the swish of cloth as the best crafters in Eorzea competed for the top spots in the Ishgard rankings. I’d chosen to compete with my favourite class, blacksmith, the most competitive of the… Read More Olaf Quintessa: Warrior of Light 2017-2020
I’ve been playing a lot of Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) recently, the long-running Square Enix MMORPG. In the latest expansion, Shadowbringers, you’re summoned to The First, a world in which the balance of Light and Dark has tipped too far in favour of Light and the end of the world isn’t too far away. A… Read More The Double Shame
I’m sure Andy Weatherall meant a lot of different things to different people, musically speaking – house, electronica, rockabilly, Primal Scream – but for me it’s electro. I saw Andy DJ a few times at the Haywire parties that were held at The Fortress in Shoreditch back in the early 2000s. I might even have… Read More Andy Weatherall Electro mixes
My first encounter with Magic: The Gathering was last year, when my son and I sorted out a big box of commons and put together our first decks. Since then I’ve fallen headlong into it, mostly playing the online version, Arena, but also playing lots with the kids at home. What I’ve really wanted to… Read More Friday Night Magic
There weren’t many video games that won me over in 2018, but a game did come along late in the year that captured my attention in a big way. As a result, 2019 has started on a high note. I’d looked forward to a lot of the big console games I picked up in 2018.… Read More Games of 2018 – Discovering Magic
Some short fiction based in the world of No Man’s Sky Vy’keen First Contact The Vy’keen have a terrible reputation for violence, but the first reaction I got from one was laughter. As soon as my starship was airborne, I criss-crossed the planet I’d been marooned on, looking for other crash sites. The planet was… Read More Meeting the Vy’keen // The Korvax-Techno Paradox
The original No Man’s Sky made a big impression on me when it was released by Hello Games in 2016. The fly-through galactic map conveyed a profound sense of scale, while exploring unknown star systems and planets, with practically the whole universe to yourself, was a superb mix of excitement and contemplation. Over the following two… Read More No Man’s Sky: NEXT
This poem was featured on the BBC Radio 3 “Words and Music” programme broadcast on 21st January 2018, performed by Tobias Menzies and accompanied by music by Edgar Varese. The theme of the programme was ‘dystopia’. A full description and playlist of the programme is available on the BBC website. ——————————— The machines taking over seems… Read More To the machines, should they decide to take over
fresh static :: olaf quintessa 