[Spoilers] Metamorphoses and The Dreamhold

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Having been talking to Andrew Krywaniuk about it in another thread, I
just played Metamorphoses all the way through for the first time.
Doesn't The Dreamhold owe it a lot? The orrery, the cistern, the dome,
the eventual celestial transcendence. Emily Short's game even mentions
the concept of a Theatre of Memory.

 

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Here, Tommy Herbert <cavebloke@excite.com> wrote:
> Having been talking to Andrew Krywaniuk about it in another thread, I
> just played Metamorphoses all the way through for the first time.
> Doesn't The Dreamhold owe it a lot? The orrery, the cistern, the dome,
> the eventual celestial transcendence. Emily Short's game even mentions
> the concept of a Theatre of Memory.

No direct connection, really. I'd have to say that the orrery and the
dome comes straight from _The Dark Crystal_. I've already talked some
about the Memory Palace -- I was introduced to the idea by a Katharine
Kerr novel, a long time ago. As for a cistern, well, it's a
fluid-level puzzle. Old concept in adventure gaming; Zork 1 had one.

There are a lot of ideas drawn, or rather sketched, from Hermetic
magic and alchemy. I'm sure those have common sources from
_Metamorphoses_ -- but I didn't go do primary research; I was thinking
of fantasy writers like Patricia McKillip and Mary Gentle, and then
going off in my own direction.

--Z

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
I'm still thinking about what to put in this space.

 

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Heh... I found this topic interesting, since the story I'm currently
working on includes orrery and cistern puzzles as well, and the
similarities with Dreamhold and Metamorphoses had completely eluded me.


Have I inadvertently stumbled into a cliché puzzle setting? =)

As for the Memory Palace, I've always found that to be a fascinating
concept -- although I learned it as the "Method of Loci". If anything,
I'm surprised that there aren't more IF works dealing with that topic!