Tales from the Mabinogion
Stevan Anastasoff, former White Dwarf writer, and video game designer: Warhammer Online, For Honor, Assassin's Creed, and many more. Now working on Tales from the Mabinogion, a game about Welsh mythology using Welsh as its principal language.
- #LegendaryWednesday Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain, is one of the more accessible stories from The Mabinogion. In this early Arthurian tale, Owain's loyal lion companion stays by his side throughout their adventures, battling together against deadly serpents and wicked giants!
- Very nice short summary of the state of the Welsh language over the past century or so!
- #FolkloreSunday The pre-Christian Celtic festival of Imbolc became absorbed into the Christian calendar through Saint Brigid, 'Sant Ffraid' in Welsh. She is still remembered in numerous place names across Wales, like Bae Sain Ffraid shown here.
- The challenge of making a game is creating something fun and engaging. This little game jam project just popped up on my feed, and I absolutely love it. The short clip makes me want to engage with the creator's tiny world way more than any of the Genie 3 crap that's been plaguing my feed recently.
- #screenshotsaturday A quick look at the visual effects for animal tracking in 'Tales from the Mabinogion'. Animals, both natural fauna and the supernatural beasts of Annwn, are central to the game, just as in the original stories. The may hinder the player, or lead them deeper into the adventure!
- #BookWormSat The stories of the Mabinogion were written down in the 12th to 13th centuries, but they originate in a much older oral tradition. As Welsh culture faced growing pressure under English rule, especially after Edward I, recording the tales in a stable written form became more pressing.
- Reposted by Tales from the Mabinogion[Not loaded yet]
- I shared this not long ago, but today is the 181st anniversary of Poe's most well known and influential poem 'The Raven'...! Award winning Welsh voice actor Phil Rowe, who provides the voice of Pryderi for the game, has recorded a magnificent version of the poem. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSw_QIWc6iA
- Reposted by Tales from the Mabinogion[Not loaded yet]
- #WyrdWednesday "Eto i gyd, fy llafn i a dorrodd ben fy arglwydd o’i ysgwyddau, ar ei gyfarwyddyd e’i hunan. Mynnodd ei ben fy mod i’n ei gludo yn ôl i Lundain, ac ar ôl cyrraedd, yn ei gladdu er mwyn i’w ledrith ein gwarchod ni rhag goresgynwyr." 1/3
- The Slavic mythological tradition that The Witcher sits in is not directly connected to Celtic mythology (unless we look very far back!), but there is definitely a shared 'vibe'. As a fan of both historical games, and The Witcher, I'm looking forward to this. The original Reigns was a lot of fun!
- #FairyTaleTuesday Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, met Arawn, Lord of the Otherworld, after his hounds stole a stag from Arawn’s own unearthly Cŵn Annwn. As penance, they struck a bargain: to trade places and forms for a year and a day. Pwyll would rule in Annwn, and Arawn would sit on Dyfed's throne.
- #mythologymonday Branwen, sister of Bran the Blessed, High King of Britain, was betrothed to Matholwch, King of Ireland. Though made Queen, she was abused and banished to the kitchens. She trained a starling to carry a message home to her brother, sparking a war that would devastate both nations.
- Happy Saint Dwynwen's day, a day to celebrate love, kindness, and connection! Born in the 5th century, Saint Dwynwen became known as the Welsh patron Saint of lovers, with pilgrims travelling to her small church off the coast of Anglesey. The modern tradition, though, only dates back to the 1960s.
- I'll be starting to post some more content on Tumblr. Come join me if you're on that platform also! www.tumblr.com/mabinogiongame
- Reposted by Tales from the Mabinogion[Not loaded yet]
- Using ancient Welsh myth as the basis for a show themed on 'Christian masculinity' is an intrinsically weird idea, but surprisingly Pendragon is not completely terrible. But this `Hogwarts-mashed-into-Edinburgh-castle' monstrosity is pretty unforgiveable!
- #BookWormSat What better time than the harsh cold of Midwinter to be reminded of Spring! The story of Blodeuwedd, the magical woman made of flowers, is brief, yet rich with themes of creation and coercion, autonomy and desire, betrayal and punishment. It's strong imagery from only handful of lines!
- Dear me, it's Friday and I haven't shared a photo of a Welsh castle all week! Must do something about that... :) This is a fantastic photo of Castell Carreg Cennen, and certainly a good candidate for my own favourite also. For purely sentimental reasons I would have to go with Castell Conwy though.
- #ThrowbackThursday Came back to working on this scene again today, mainly to push some more dramatic colour grading. Also took the chance to adjust the stand animation, so the character keeps a correct orientation to the ship! Any thoughts? Old colour grade, or new, which do you prefer?
- #WyrdWednesday The Welsh 'tynged', meaning a fate, is used as a kind of inevitable curse. Most well known are the three 'tyngedau' placed on Lleu Llaw Gyffes by his mother Arianrhod: he should never have a name; never marry a human wife; and never bear arms unless given by Arianrhod herself.
- #legendarywednesday "There is a grave for March, a grave for Gwythur of the Red Sword, Arthur's grave is a mystery of the world." 1/2
- #FairyTaleTuesday #PenguinAwarenessDay Did you know the word 'penguin' is derived from the Welsh 'pen gwyn', meaning white head? The term was first used to describe the now-extinct great auk of Newfoundland, which was identified by the distinctive white markings on its head.
- Edgar Allan Poe was born on this day in 1809. Phil Rowe, the voice actor portraying the narrator in 'Tales from the Mabinogion', has recorded a wonderful reading of Poe's most famous and influential poem, 'The Raven'. Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSw_QIWc6iA
- #FolkloreSunday 'Tis the season of the Mari Lwyd! In this Welsh custom, the ghostly horse-figure goes from door to door, challenging each household to a battle of rhyme and wit know as the 'pwnco. If the homeowners lose this duel, the Mari and its companions enter and must be provided food and beer!
- #bookwormsat In 1838 Lady Charlotte Guest published her translation of "The Lady of the Fountain", one of the earliest Arthurian legends. Between 1838 and 1845, she published seven further volumes of medieval Welsh tales, in what became the very first English language edition of The Mabinogion.
- I turned on my PC this morning to a rare and welcome sight - a Welsh castle as the automatic Windows desktop wallpaper! Castell Biwmares - or Beaumaris Castle - is perhaps best known as the castle that Edward I never actually finished building!
- The proceedings for last year's Middle Ages in Modern Games conference are now out! I talked there about the importance of language in video games, and why TftM is narrated in Welsh. But there are many other great papers. Well worth a look if you're interested in both history and video games!
- #bookologythursday Did you know the Black Book of Carmarthen is reputedly haunted?? Researchers using ultraviolet light found several creepy faces in the margins, invisible to the naked eye. Well, it's either ghosts, or the doodles of a bored scribe that someone then erased with a pumice stone!
- #WyrdWednesday When Branwen, daughter of Llŷr, is cruelly imprisoned by the Irish king, Matholwch, she trains a starling with a message for her brother Bendigeidfran, to be carried across the sea to Britain. The resulting war would almost complete annihilate the two peoples.
- #FairytaleTuesday Tolkien created two principle languages for his race of Elves. Sindarin, the everyday conversational tongue, was inspired both phonologically and grammatically by Welsh. Quenya, the ancient formal "high" Elvish language, was influenced by Finnish and Latin.
- "And they all lived happily ever after... Well, almost all of them."
- #mythologymonday Ysbaddaden, the King of the Giants, is a central figure in the tale of Culhwch and Olwen, one of the earliest Arthurian legends. This illustration of the character is by Alan Lee, best known for his work on Tolkien's world, in particular concepting the Lord of the Rings movies!
- Many pics of actual, in-the-wild Mari Lwyd's (Mari Lwydau??) in my feed this week... But this one I found the most entertaining!
- #FolkloreSunday The traditional Hunting of the Wren - 'Hela'r Dryw' in Welsh - is seldom practiced these days, but continued in parts of Pembrokeshire in particular until well into the 20th century. 1/2
- #BookWormSat Puffin Island, off the coast of Anglesey, is one of the reputed locations of the Fairy Fortress of Caer Sidi. A spinning tower of black glass guarded by six thousand silent sentinels, it was perpetually shrouded in darkness, the only light shining from lanterns hanging from its gates.
