tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138202318040749770.post5536376712155654290..comments2024-03-27T03:57:15.522-04:00Comments on Hidden in Shadows: Thoughts on the Cinematic inspiration for Blackmoor Castle.DHBoggshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02170439175265397893noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138202318040749770.post-18635371203909354072018-08-16T00:08:27.481-04:002018-08-16T00:08:27.481-04:00That Kobold Quarterly interview also mentions that...That Kobold Quarterly interview also mentions that he was working on a model castle.<br /><br />"After that it just grew and shortly it was too small for the scale I wanted. But it was a neat kit and I didn't want to abandon it, so the only way to go was <em>down</em> [into the dungeons]. All this happened a few weeks before the first adventurers caught sight of it."<br /><br />The key things I note here is that he was working on the castle (and some sort of wargaming/Braunstein scenario involving it) for "weeks" before conceiving of the dungeons.<br /><br />It really doesn't take much to imagine him working on his castle kit in January (or shortly thereafter) and forming the name "Black Moor" as a simple play on "Black Room", using the movie's gothic milieu as inspiration. It's later that year that he's once again watching movies (perhaps even re-visiting the film that originally inspired the backdrop for his "medieval Braunstein") that the idea of adding dungeons beneath the castle occurs to him.Justin Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02227895898395353754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138202318040749770.post-10975633181539037262018-08-12T20:31:41.057-04:002018-08-12T20:31:41.057-04:00Charles - Thanks for that info. I was wondering wh...Charles - Thanks for that info. I was wondering where finals week fit in to that picture.<br /><br />Hutch - Holy Sky Rockets! I never thought of that. Trouble is that The name Black Moors shows up in CoTT and elsewhere prior to the air date of the movie in June, so while that particular shoing could have inspired the setting it couldn't have inspired the name. Interestingly though, The Black Room had also been aired the previous January and before that, in June of 1970....DHBoggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02170439175265397893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138202318040749770.post-50516215672403568302018-08-12T20:05:52.000-04:002018-08-12T20:05:52.000-04:00I'd bet on Arneson's story having been sim...I'd bet on Arneson's story having been simplified over time, conflating two inspirational days to one. Even if House of Dracula contributed more to the physical setting, it seems pretty obvious to me that the name "Blackmoor" was chosen as an anagram of "Black Room".Umbrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07634806106155908828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3138202318040749770.post-60964881451213929502018-08-12T14:17:53.626-04:002018-08-12T14:17:53.626-04:00As an FYI, May 22nd would have been about two week...As an FYI, May 22nd would have been about two weeks before finals at the U. (The U started in late September until the end of the 1990s to accommodate the State Fair. This meant the school year went until about the first week of June.) I can’t decide if that would be a good weekend to screw around or not.Charles Saegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00368131505593336249noreply@blogger.com