David V Stewart

The Weird and the Horrible

David V Stewart March 16, 2023 March 16, 2023Analysis, Non-fiction, Writing 2

Despite being called the father of horror, very few modern authors imitate H.P. Lovecraft. When they do, they tend to steal elements of his “world-building,” that is, they use the Cthulu Mythos or other elements of the stories and write in a totally different style from Lovecraft. This tends to miss what makes Lovecraft’s work compelling; it’s not the mythos itself, but how it is revealed that makes such an impact. Lovecraft is really Weird Fiction, not so much “Horror,” which as a literary genre solidified itself later in the 20th century. The feelings evoked are not merely fear, but…

Syncretism

David V Stewart March 9, 2023 March 9, 2023History, Non-fiction 0

Those who study ancient history might be familiar with “Syncretism,” which the Romans practiced, where foreign gods are linked with the home culture’s gods and viewed as similar expressions of the same deity or various aspects of the many gods and spirits that governed the world. For the Romans, this was a practical exercise. The key to Rome’s success (to the Romans) was piety and maintaining the Pax Deorum, or “Peace of the Gods.” Having the favor of the gods, along with the ancestors (who gave the Romans the Mos Maiorum, or “way of the ancestors”), gave the armies victory…

MIllennial Masculinity

David V Stewart February 14, 2023 February 14, 2023Uncategorized 9

One of the stranger things about online culture to arise from Internet 2.0, or the internet after the hegemony of social media, is the rise of various “masculinity” circles and gurus. Some important influencers, including Mike Cernovich and Jordan Peterson, have built their initial followings speaking about “masculinity” to an audience of primarily Gen X to Millennial men. This phenomenon is a bit of an oddity, historically, since the essays and talks tend to revolve not around philosophical and spiritual questions about the nature of man and his energies, but of what masculinity means on a personal, actionable level. That…

Diofield Chronicle: An Almost Great Tactics RPG

David V Stewart January 27, 2023 January 27, 2023Uncategorized 3

In short: -Solid gameplay on the micro level -Less interesting macro (leveling, skill building, crafting) -Very polished experience -Somewhat convoluted story and lack of likable characters -Can we give the “Catholic Church is secretly evil” trope a rest? It’s in far too many jrpgs at this point. -Worth buying at a discount, but doesn’t feel like a 60-dollar game. Obligatory book links:

10 Games I had fun playing in 2022

David V Stewart January 25, 2023 January 25, 2023Uncategorized 0

I played many games in 2022 as it is one of my favorite ways to wind down at the end of the day, after I finish my work and before I go to sleep. I figured this out when I was writing horror—when you are working independently from home, it’s beneficial to do something to help you disengage from work before sleep. I was lucky enough to get a steam deck when they released this year, and I also was lucky to get a PS5 (back in 2021 when they weren’t so readily available). Despite these shiny new toys, most…

Why World of Warcraft’s Writing is So Bad

David V Stewart December 21, 2022 December 21, 2022Analysis, Art, Games, Non-fiction, Writing 10

“Because the writers suck.” That’s the simplest answer. It’s a correct answer, in my opinion, but even a great writer would have a hard time working within the framework of modern WoW to produce a good story, much less good dialogue, quest text, etc. World of Warcraft was never known for having exceptional writing, but the past versions of the game were quite sharp and effective, producing long-lasting memories of characters, places, and events, while newer expansions have produced a grey blur of forgettable babble from interchangeable blobs of characters. But why? The emphasis on how the game is played,…

The AI art controversy

David V Stewart December 16, 2022 December 16, 2022Uncategorized 5

I’ve already said everything that can be said on AI image generation months ago elsewhere, but I’ll sum up everything you need to know about the controversy: Problem 1: People thinking that AI art is “art.” That is to say, it has some expressive artistic value. While valuation of art is in the viewer, intent is in the artist. 20th century artistic trends, both in academia and in pop culture, have divorced both the artist from the art as well as the intent of art from its effect. Thus people can, with a straight face, say that Disney gets to…

Metaverse Sucks… and you will use it

David V Stewart November 26, 2022 November 26, 2022Economics, Games, Non-fiction 9

Meta has ascended to memehood, and the Metaverse officially sucks, but not for the obvious reasons. And the reality is far more dystopian than you might think. What once was Facebook, now oddly rebranded to a word that describes nothing in particular, wants you to get online and get social, but this time… VIRTUAL. They even stripped the once cool-sounding “Oculus” of its name. I haven’t “explored” the metaverse as of yet (no meta headset and no extra 1,500 dollars to buy one, and if I did have the money, there are better things), but early reports are that it…

Materialist Inversions of Solipsism

David V Stewart November 17, 2022 November 17, 2022Ethics, Non-fiction, Philosophy 6

Well, we’ve come full circle from gnostics believing the material world is an illusion to materialists believing that consciousness is an illusion. People are often unaware of the materialist assumptions they hold and how they affect their view of reality, even when they lead to absurd, contradictory conclusions. Even an intelligent person like Scott Adams can end up in a silly place because of such assumptions—the primary one being that the material world is all that exists. Having read his view on free will in one of his books, he was almost at a compatibilist belief regarding free will (his…

Politics and the Alternate Utility of Time

David V Stewart November 10, 2022 November 10, 2022Economics, Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 4

Next time you turn on the news, click to open an article, or read a long post/Twitter thread on politics, consider what else you could be doing during that time. Time, after all, is the one resource you can’t get more of. Unlike economies of trade, it is a zero-sum game. The concept of alternate utility in economics deals with how resources are best used. For instance, a piece of land could be used to grow 100 units of corn or 80 units of rice. Another plot could produce 30 units of corn or 50 units of rice. If corn…

Author: David V Stewart