Scott Parker
Scott is a generally okay human
He writes on this website sometimes
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“Elegance Road” is a photo series by Belgian photographer Alexandre Van Enst that captures the non-conformist style and dandy attitudes of a Kinshasa-based fashion and lifestyle SAPE collective.
The African Society of Elegant People, the “SAPE” was born in the years after the independences of Congo-Brazzaville and Zaire.
Today there are two major schools of “SAPE”, respectively inspired by the French and Japanese aristocracy. They clash with high fashion brands, millimetered steps and gestures, from Paris to Kinshasa, during parades in honor of their founding masters, or simply at the Mass of Sunday.
Codified art of sham, glamor and “hast thou seen” for some, for others the SAPE is a metaphysic, a special relation with the question of being and appearance. Sassy, narcissistic and rebellious, the “sapeur” is a romantic.
“Elegance Road” showcases these heroes of modern times. In the decadent sceneries of the city of Kinshasa, from Lemba to Bandal through Ndjili, Matete and Limete, the “sapeurs” of the “War of hundred years” defy the power in place: the Leopards.
Led by the great masters such as Tshikose, Sesele and Kadhitoza, the Congolese dandies constantly reinvent themselves to shine.
Marina Abramovic and Ulay started an intense love story in the 70s, performing art out of the van they lived in. When they felt the relationship had run its course, they decided to walk the Great Wall of China, each from one end, meeting for one last big hug in the middle and never seeing each other again. at her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing it and this is what happened.
I am a sucker for roguelikes. Most roguelikes fall into a very standard template - the very name of the genre describes derivative works inspired by an old classic, “Rogue.” New games may change the theme or improve the graphics but few fundamentally deviate from the norms established long ago in classics like NetHack, Ancient Domains of Mystery, or Angband.
Despite some strong recommendations, I initially wrote off Tales of Maj’Eyal (ToME) as another such clone, albeit one designed for newcomers to the genre. After a few playthroughs I see the differences though - interesting design decisions throughout the game kept me wondering “what if” and coming back. Take inscriptions, for example, ToME’s response to healing/mana potions. From their own documentation:
… inscriptions (infusions and runes) replace potions and scrolls. The design goal behind inscriptions is to eliminate the time spent by the player “farming” potions and scrolls in weak zones, in order to make a run at a tougher zone. They are unlimited in use, but have cooldowns attached, so you must carefully time your use of them to survive. Unlike many other RPGs you cannot rely on a large stack of potions to get you through a tough battle.
That level of care in design permeates the game. Classes are designed to be familiar, and yet each one has unique mechanics that keep me coming back. Many of the standard or monotonous aspects of roguelikes have been streamlined (no cursed items for example, yay!) so that you can focus on the interesting bits.
Great games are a continued series of interesting decisions. In that light, Tales of Maj’Eyal is a great game. If you like roleplaying games new or old, I recommend you check it out. ToME is a free, open-source project, and you can download it for virtually any operating system at http://te4.org/download.
And remember, as with any roguelike game: dying is fun.
-SP
