Week 2: "All these daydreams reminded him of the scenes which play through your mind in a fever"

Hello everyone, and welcome to week 2 of Themedior! In today’s blog post, I’ll go over all the sources of inspiration I’ve come across recently (books, TV shows, and movies galore) and show you some sneak peeks of our upcoming game plans!

I. Literature Review

With my newly acquired T3 freedom, I decided to go on a huge reading and watching spree these past few weeks. All of the books I read and shows I watched were centered around a mystery, from time loops and bus explosions in Reset to small-town serial killings in Dissolved. I’ve compiled all my takeaways, hopefully without any spoilers, in the table below. Enjoy!

And that’s all I have for reviews…for now. I’ve learned so many tips and tricks for story planning and character roles (victim, assailant, informer, red herrings, etc.) which I plan to implement into my story in the future. I still have a ton of movies and exciting books on my reading list, including more classics by Agatha Christie, that I can’t wait to share with you but I’ll save those for next time!

II. Themedior Sneak Peeks

As promised, I’m going to delve a bit deeper into Themedior lore today. Currently, there are two major regions featured in Chapter 1: the Crow estate and Prospera (tentative name). Prospera is a city-state governed by the Council that is surrounded by two force fields, one separating it from the outside world and another between the central and outer districts. My planned design for Prospera will likely contain SolarPunk or Cyberpunk aesthetics, combining Ebenezer Howard-style garden cities with futuristic technologies. My work-in-progress city plan is pictured below.

On the other hand, the Crow estate, ruled by a noble family and its head Albion Crow, will be characterized by Victorian Gothic architecture, inspired by Lady Dimitrescu’s castle in Resident Evil Village and the Winchester Mystery House. The estate is located north of Prospera and is surrounded by lakes and dense forests mired in mysterious illusions that have plagued the surrounding settlements for centuries (though they have become increasingly prevalent nearly ten years ago…).

In the next issue, I hope to introduce you to all the characters (including character sketches!) and more of the setting and conflicting ideologies within Themedior  that are reflected in the architectural styles I mentioned above. If you have any questions and/or know which books I’m referencing in my weekly blog post titles, feel free to comment below! And in case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night.