News
A Low-Poly Drama Inspired by ‘The X-Files’ and ‘Twin Peaks’
Developer Variable State recently unveiled their next project, a first person interactive drama called Virginia. It’s inspired by such 90s TV classics as The X-Files, Twin Peaks and The Outer Limits — all shows I grew up watching, as I’m sure many of you did too — and set in a charming low-poly version of the eponymous state that’s brimming with “loners, has-beens, creeps and beatniks.” The game follows a recently graduated FBI agent and her partner as they investigate the disappearance of a young boy.
According to the developer, their goal was to “create a game which captured their mixture of the inexplicable, the absurd and the mundane,” where “nothing is quite what it seems.” I already love it.
Between this and Ethan Carter, mystery fans have a lot to look forward to over the coming year.
Virginia is slated to release on PC in 2015.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.