#elaleth

[icpe]

Legacy of kain, doodles #145 (Just some random ascendance doodles)

Raziel walking animation

And this one

[guardiansofnosgoth]

On Fans, Lore, and Generative AI

A significant amount of new item descriptions were written for Defiance Remastered, in addition to an in-game encyclopedia covering everything from the War of the Ancients to the corruption of the Pillars and beyond. Raina and Aevum (see note in comments) utilized decades of research -- chronicled on the long standing Legacy of Kain fansites, which they also maintain -- and behind the scenes content, including new concept art and lost levels inaccessible until now, to bring this game to life on a level fans never expected.

Reading the encyclopedia for the first time brought me to tears. Here is a rich trove of lore, a labor of love, beautifully written and meticulously fact checked. Think of all the extra time, effort, and budget that was dedicated to making this perfect. Even the item descriptions, written from the point of view of Raziel and Kain respectively, perfectly capture the cadence and personality of these legendary characters. If only Raina could have secured Simon Templeman and Michael Bell to voice them!

Ascendance, the dubiously canonical sixth entry in Kain's legacy, independently developed by BitBot via their studio FreakZone Games, also contains an extra helping of lore adjacent side-content in the form of collectables called codices.

BitBot styles themselves a company by fans, for fans. They may have a track record of fumbling minor details, such as coloring Lt Raziel's cloak brown instead of red in every single panel of TDSR, but surely their undeniable passion for Legacy of Kain will shine just as brightly as Raina's team! Surely BitBot put some effort into Ascendance... right?

Let's talk about chatgpt.

I was reluctant at first to believe BitBot used generative ai in Ascendance. While replacing artists with "automated plagiarism machines" is worthy of condemnation, we must take care not to conduct witch hunts. Human error and sheer inexperience may occasionally produce results that resemble chatgpt. It was trained on human works, after all.

Furthermore, I'd found no evidence of generative images or text in BitBot's The Dead Shall Rise. That comic had a different set of problems.

I like to think I have a good eye for identifying generated images and text. I've spent my entire life writing and drawing. When generative content cast its ugly shadow across the already bot dominated web, I trained myself to identify the tell tale signs of robotic thievery.

Using a so-called "ai detector" is ill-advised. These are also LLMs and prone to error. Your own brain is superior. When it comes to judging writing, there are three major tells that signal you might be dealing with an inorganic:

It's not A, it's B

Excessive use of -- or ;

Lists of three (A, B, and C)

Recall that LLMs are trained on human writing. I've used all of these writing quirks in this very tumblr post to illustrate how diagnosing generative output requires more than identifying a list of symptoms. Additionally, the reader should perform a comprehensive vibe check. Does the text read like something a human being would write? How does sentence length and structure vary? Is the author communicating with the audience or merely talking at them? Are human errors present? Ect.

Armed with this knowledge, let's take a look at a selection of codices from Ascendance.

Not off to a great start, but there's reason for doubt! It's bad form to judge an entire body of work on a single paragraph.

There are human errors in sentence 4. The word "and" is over-used. It would be more correct to write "We have inscribed the lives of twice-dead kings, the annals of bloodless wars and ashless conflagrations." Does this sentence make sense? Yes! The author is simply illustrating that their Order has borne witness to impossible occurrences, events that seem inherently contradictory -- paradoxes! This sounds interesting.

While this codex has fewer tells, I find the last two sentences concerning. Chatgpt is known to take on a "corporate" tone. Her unrest is not merely passive sorrow. It is continuing action, reads like a hilariously out of touch post from r/linkedinlunatics. This one fails the vibe check.

No human fan would make the mistake of claiming that the Guardian of States oversees life, death, and all that lies between; this is Mortanius's domain, not that of Anarcrothe.

Since BO1 States has been associated with changing forms (represented by a werewolf where the Pillar's sigil would appear in later games) and states of matter relating to the physical world. Per Silicon Knights: "Anarcrothe the Alchemist is a tinkerer. He fools around with chemicals, alien substances and strange machinery. He concocts, explores, experiments, and dabbles with forces he only partially understands."

Although such brevity is uncharacteristic of chatgpt, we are standing on shaky ground. This codex may have been cut short as the output devolved into utter absurdity.

Now this is long-winded! Sentence length varies from 20 to 30 words. Absorbing a relentless string of winding sentences can strain your eyes and brain, so if you tried to read it you might be feeling a little exhausted.

Draw your attention to the first sentence. Vampires are not born, they are sired. If the intent of this passage is to inform an uninformed reader about the nature of vampires, it has already failed. Merriam-Webster defines "sired" as "beget, especially of domestic animals" or "originate, to bring into being." The former is more common, as "sire" refers to one's biological male parent.

We, the audience, know what "sire" and "siring" mean in regard to vampires because the term has been popularized in vampire media. Diegetically however, the character reading this might conclude that it means to say, Vampires are not born, they are fathered -- which is nonsense.

The authors of the codices are established in universe as the Eyes of Nosgoth. They are presented as a scholarly order of mystics. They presumably wrote the codices with the intent to record and inform, therefore precise language is necessary. Vampires are not born, they are artificially created by other vampires. The elder vampire is called the sire.

This seems pedantic, I know, but a professional writer would take note of these details. A professional writer would not write several protracted, bland sentences in a row to bore their audience.

This is the passage that broke me. Unlike the other codices, I immediately recognized this one as generative with no doubt in my mind.

You see, "it's not A, it's B" is more than mere sentence structure now: it's become a pattern of thought. No, but yes. No, but yes. Repeated. Look how the first sentence sets up an expectation and the next sentence denies that expectation. This goes on. Beat by beat, repeated. Even when it's not saying "B, not A" it still finds a way to say "B, not A." Like an electronic drum, the text is monotonous.

Generative ai is a poison that feeds on laziness and greed. If a writer used it once, you can be sure they've used it multiple times. Still, I hope you learned something new from suffering through my exhaustive case studies.

Does this mean that all of Ascendance was ai generated? I don't believe so, though I am feeling more skeptical. The pixel art ranges from charming to visually striking and the dialogue flows naturally, at least some of the time. When the writing is cheesy it feels cheesy in a human way, as if the writer is trying too hard. LLMs never put in effort. They are incapable.

Now, do I find it extremely telling that BitBot used generative ai specifically to add lore to their collectibles? Well...

It's said that artists in favor of generative ai only use it for the parts of art they find tedious. Don't like shading? Let the ai do it. Don't like editing? Let the ai do it. Don't like writing lore? Let the ai do it.

Legacy of Kain's lore is one of its most vital aspects. Lore has sustained passionate debate and conversation and inspired fan artists and writers for over 20 years while the series languished at the edge of a cliff. The Defiance Remaster is oozing with love and curiosity for the world of Nosgoth, crafted by a small comradery of fans who literally dedicated their lives to preserving Legacy of Kain, first on the web and now in the form of an official remaster. On the other hand, BitBot has presented us with consistently rushed and lazy work that both misunderstands and disrespects what made the series special in the first place.

It's clear who deserves to captain this ship and who should be mopping the deck.

[non-stop-train-of-thoughts]

The numbers that built up TDSR! pt 1

I don't know what possessed me to do this but here we are.

A lot of people keep saying we paid BitBot almost 1.5 million dollars for a comic majority of the community does not see fit of the Legacy of Kain writing quality. ~~In my opinion~~

We did not pay $1.5 mill for the book ALONE. We paid $1.5 mill for the book AND officially licensed merchandise. We got the Reaver replicas, masks, banners, maps, shirts, hats, hoodies, music, etc. No one can attest to the quality of these products until they finally get shipped out and are in our hands. Until then I will assume they are of decent quality.

The whole point of this series of posts is I'm going to break down the cost of each portioned earned, look up some rough estimates as to how much it will cost to manufacture, and see how it all sizes up. But first we need to see what we're working with.

Part: | 1 | - | 2 |

Now lets get on with it

A full itemized list of physical rewards from The Dead Shall Rise Kickstarter.

With 33 tiers of rewards resulting in 8836 backers and $1,496,557 USD raised let us see how this adds up.

This will not include any additional optional rewards backers may or may not have added on as there is a way to see outside of your own pledges as far as I know.

First of all let's get all the reward tiers laid out in the order of: # of Backers - Reward(s) - Cost

266 - Digital PDF - $15

465 - SALE Deluxe Digital PDF - $16

693 - Deluxe Digital PDF - $20

1127 - SALE Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $40

1664 - Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $45

365 - Hardcover Therrien Variant + Deluxe Digital PDF - $75

500 - Picture Disc Vinyl - Signed + Digital Album + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $85

999 - SALE Deluxe Signed Hardcover Lovett +Digital PDF - $90

1401 - Deluxe Signed Hardcover Lovett +Digital PDF - $95

187 - SALE Raziel Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $150

22 - SALE Kain Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $150

318 - Raziel Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $160

41 - Kain Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $160

100 - Hardcover Collection (Hardcover Rapoza + Hardcover Therrien Variant + Deluxe Signed Hardcover Lovett Variant w/Slip Case) +Deluxe Digital PDF - $200 (a whopping $15 saved)

13 - Art Print Set 1 - Crystal Dynamics (10 11x17 prints from the Legacy of Kain archive) + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $200

20 - Art Print Set 2 - Limited Edition + COA (15 art prints from the Legacy of Kain archive and Certificate of Authenticity from Crystal Dynamics) + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300

13 - Art Print Set 3 - Bit Bot Collection (15 11x17 prints of art commissioned specifically for The Dead Shall Rise project) - $250

22 - Skate Deck - Signed + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $200

4 - Signed 18x24 giclée print by Dave Rapoza + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300

9 - Signed 18x24 giclée print by Aaron Lovett + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300

4 - Signed 18x24 giclée print by Matthew Therrien + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300

250 - SALE - Reaver Replica + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $375

205 - Reaver Replica + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $400

1 - Asevedo Original Pencil Art + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $500

1 - Therrien Original Pencil Art + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $500

10 - Reaver Replica Sapphire Variant + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $400

0 - Reaver Replica Crimson Variant + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $400

2 - Apparel Bundle - (15 shirts, 2 hoodies, 2 hats) - $825

5 - Apparel Bundle - (15 shirts, 2 hoodies, 2 hats) + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $825 ???!!

Seriously?! The had two of the same tier for the same price but one comes with the book?! 2 people unfortunately didn't see that.

4 - Reaver Replica Gold+ Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF + Original Sketch by Aaron Lovett - $1500

10 - Get Drawn Into the Comic - Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $1500

47 - Ultimate Fan Package (limited to 125) - $500 Savings!

Signed Deluxe Hardcover/Slip-Case Edition, Limited Therrien HC Variant Cover, Rapoza HC Cover, Signed Celldweller Picture Disc Vinyl, Crimson Vinyl, Sapphire Vinyl, Audiophile Black Vinyl, Raziel Mask, Kain Mask, Traditional Reaver Replica Sword, 30 11x17 Prints, 14 T-Shirts, 2 Hats, 2 Hoodies, 3 Giclée Prints, 2 Flags, Map Wall Scroll, Signed Script, Skate Deck + Digital PDF - $2500

1 - Preston Asevedo Original Painting - Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $2500

SO

I threw this all into an excel sheet because why tf not. It'll be easier to drudge through this in the long run.

With all of these Tiers and Rewards itemized, we get a total of $895,795. Short $600,762 in optional add-ons from the grand total $1,496,557 USD Raised.

There is also 8769 in the rewards list, shy 67 from 8836 which I assume these are late pledges.

Part: | 1 | - | 2 |

Next up: The Books

[danitheangeldevilsartblock]

When I read graphic novel Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise in online site with comic. Kinda the story was not good and art was different with some mistakes in every pages. So in January I try redraw one panel in my style. In March I redraw some of panels in my style. That was just fun to do for practise anyway.

[legacyofmistakes]

Janos, ever patient, is just in the direct path of everyone else's fate and is taking it like a champ.

[lachrymaballs]

NOOOO DON'T TURN ME INTO A MARKETABLE PLUSHIE!!

THESE LOOK SO BADDDDD AAHHHHHH

WRAITH RAZIEL IS THE ONLY GOOD LOOKING ONE WTFFFF

[loxosceleslolo]

I HAVE WANTED A PLAYABLE FEMALE CHARACTER IN A LEGACY OF KAIN GAME SINCE I WAS 13 AND MY DREAM CAME TRUE AND NONE OF YOU CAN TAKE THIS JOY FROM ME

[thunder-jolt]

I know Kain looks kinda different from how I usually draw him, but I was using a different reference image instead of my own designs, so do excuse me on that.

Anyways, Kain's just lamenting at how downhill his legacy has become since Elaleth and her disciples (BitBot) laid their hands upon it.

Luckily, in my case, at least Alycian's there to offer him a smile!