Aesthetics

⇢ Notes on Theme ⇠

By Michael Grasso

※ Occult/Paranormal Traditions and History B.

In the metaphysically-questing spirit of the Weird Seventies, the occult underground in this game contains multitudes. Most if not all of which can somehow be tied into the pernicious influence of History B in human history, of course, but which also stand on their own historically and culturally. Remember, everything before 535 AD is a lie and that’s the foundations of a lot of Western occultism.

The classically ‘70s apophenic and paranoiac impulse of “everything is true” is a rule of thumb in this campaign. It feels like every Madness Dossier character is probably intentionally designed thanks to their Kewl Powerz to look at History B phenomena through a unique phenomenological/paradigmatic lens. Which as an old hand at White Wolf Mage, I approve of.

※ Visual Aesthetics.

Our discussion about Solid State got me thinking about the visual aesthetics of both History B stuff and SANDMAN psychotronics.

My description of the Altamont Object definitely puts it in the Venn diagram overlap between steampunk and crystalpunk, and I think that’s fine; it’s clear from various Mitch visions (at both Altamont and Mount Shasta) that there is a common sort of baroque decadent muchness to History B objects and architecture. That’s a little at odds with the Ken Hite vision of History B as being sunbaked and clay blockish, reminiscent of the ancient Near East. I’m fine with that, as this game’s History B, with this campaign being very North America-based, is slightly different from what the MD book expects you to do as far as modern technothriller espionage in the Middle East. That bit in-game where Dr. Quarles explains to Archie that since there’s no extant architectural/belief overlay out in the boonies of rural Northern California, is as good an explanation as any for why Northern California History B looks and feels like the absinthe-soaked hallucinations of an Art Nouveau fantastic illustrator.

As far as SANDMAN psychotronics in 1973 are concerned, I don’t picture them being sleek. I mean, I could see some of the less complex pieces of tech/older pieces being encased in a nice neutral plastic IBM-style mainframe case with slashes or stripes or panels of bold primary colors; you know, a late-'60s corporate modernist sort of aesthetic. But in the '70s there's a lot of kit-bashing happening at Granite Peak; civilian think tanks and labs are making leaps and bounds in computer tech, laser tech, and even nuclear tech, but I also picture the SANDMAN labs in the early '70s being much more freaky than they would be in the ‘60s or ‘80s.

SANDMAN tech right now, especially the cutting-edge psychotronic stuff, I picture looking like it came out of a university lab; like the first iteration of the Ghostbusters’ tech: i.e., maybe not as silly as a colander on Rick Moranis’s head, but just one click less silly than that. Lots of extraneous vacuum tubes, insulated wires on the outside of the gun, surveillance bugs that have amazing range and fidelity but also have a half-dozen diodes hanging off the side, the hypnosis flash that I described as looking like a ‘70s Polaroid flash cube. Ikoters I picture having all of the above features: no sleek little MiB-style number but instead a ray-gun-looking thing with frosted glass tubes while having a ‘70s Magnum Dirty Harry-style grip and trigger plus looped wires and giant batteries and shit sticking out of the top.