Currently trying to assess any relevance of Lovecraft within game, and it’s correlation to Raxxla / Dark Wheel.
When questioned, Allen Stroud mentioned that Brookes was more heavily influenced by Lovecraft, this is backed up in Brookes tattoo and book design, yet I’ve yet to see any direct reference in game, and feel this may be an intelligence gap of some significance which may benefit mapping.
Admittedly I am somewhat ignorant of Lovecraft, mainly due to avoidance, the authors political / moral views being the primary deterrent but also his writing ability. Granted, I acknowledge his work’s importance in the genre but generally I find it too pulpy for my tastes. Admittedly thats bias.
I’m unsure of how much Lovecraft is directly referenced in game, as it’s open to interpretation, as I understand it some of the known other gods may be contextual creations, so how many would exist in game if the writer was following canon or cultural context?
I’ve a speculation much of it may be tied to the Pleiades, which might explain why it’s an important staging ground for the general narrative, and it might just be nothing more than that… but there are also general / inspirational links (although not directly) between the works of John Milton and Lovecraft…. Not sure how relevant it is but I acknowledge it’s sn area I’ve not delved into previously.
It’s perplexing and I hope it could shed light on the Yggdrasil conundrum, as outside of Milton and Lovecraft it’s the only large scale structure I’ve found with direct links to its source material. I’m now open to the possibility Yggdrasil is nought but an Easter egg, but it has some tantalising correlations, which identify it’s not random.
Why would FD / MB presumably implement a Yggdrasil tree in such depth, then potentially link it to Raxxla via a potential link with Donars Oak (near the Pleiades) but not provide as much detail to Lovecraft or Milton?
Are there any equally direct naming associations with Milton (except Pandemonium), and Lovecraft, it would seem this would be a logical conclusion.
The absence may identify Yggdrasils general unimportance, or Brookes motives were intentionally not systematic, or our assumptions are totally unsubstantiated and ramblings of space madness; it may also help us identify if anything historically relevant to Brookes is still relevant in game, or if like the SD DW missions, and FD removed them?
One speculation is the DW could have acted as a jumping point, in a storyline, that then took us to the Pleiades? We may never know, are we archaeologists, and simply uncovering discarded narratives?
I don’t believe this is unwarranted, if there exists that chance Raxxla is just a narrative event, and FD altered a previous timeline, is it possible that previous iteration is more interesting, and mysterious? I’m confident that when we do find Raxxla, this will still be here and likely will continue to perplex us and maybe even bolster our continued tin-foolery.
But I feel it only identifies an unknown and needs further investigation into Lovecraft. Even if FD altered something it could potentially identify patterns and intentions which may show the hands of the developers, without any direction this might help focus attention, it may not.
Lately, I've been revisiting the works of H.P. Lovecraft. I adore Lovecraft and I don't think I'll be saying anything terribly surprising or controversial if I refer to him as the father of weird fiction. He gave us elder gods waiting on the doorstep of reality, waiting and eyeing our sunl
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