Maelstrom - Invidious

The end of September also heralds our end to Dear van Gogh, and I thought I would finish it off in the same way that I started it.
wplace pixelart as a final letter from skykids, carried by the winds to van Gogh.

Original artwork by ‪@thatskyshop‬ and ‪@thatgamecompany‬
pixelart by me via wplace.live

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
#DearVanGogh
#pixelart
Dear van Gogh
Sky cotl
Sky: Children of the Light

6 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 74

View 4 replies

Maelstrom

As we are nearing the end of Dear van Gogh, I'm wondering what are your thoughts on symbolism in Dear van Gogh?
And how do they relate to our current symbols in Sky?

Personally I see a few
The obvious is the Crow
But also the Sunflowers are used fairly symbolically for a number of things.
Yellow paint specifically seems to stand out as a key symbol that TGC used, but seems quite a complex metaphor for several things at once.
The Almond Blossom appears fairly symbolic in several ways.
There are also the picture frames in Theo's gallery, which change with each quest.
Color vs greyscale.
and it would be Sky if Stars weren't mentioned.

So I'll try to summerise how I saw each of these specifically ingame (rather than other external "art analysis", which is useful, but may not match with what we initially see ingame), and feel free to reply adding your own interpretations, and if you saw other pieces used symbolically too!

Spoilers ahead
Crows - initially appears to mean doubts, but then become issues with health, self sabotage, isolation, and ultimately suicide. Crows seem like they are set as a specific obstacle from early on, though interestingly not seen in Neunen.
In Sky, most of the Birds are light creatures, though we do see corvids, and a particular Raven during Mischief, so they already have some associations with darkness.

Sunflowers - the obvious is they represent the monetary support Theo van Gogh gave to his brother, but they also seem more than that, in the early quests in Theo's gallery, they are at full bloom, and begin to wilt as the quests progress, they are used to send supplies, but also help restore the yellow house in Arles, so they are more than just a symbol of money, but possibly generosity, support, but also possibly a kind of life force in their state of bloom and wilting.
In Sky, Days of Bloom was the most obvious connection, especially this year, which brought the day night cycle to Prairie for the first time which we have seen, and as Day is associated with youth, and Night with old age, that connection to the Sunflowers reflecting the van Gogh brothers lives seems fitting to our existing symbols.

Yellow paint - one of the main things that guides us as postman in Arles, and the letters in Almond Blossoms is yellow paint, in Arles, Vincent specifically asks Theo to send some to him, and pots of specifically yellow paint is seen in the season void area on the boxes nearest the painting of the Bedroom. Again this at first, seems to symbolise support, but with Vincent's doubts on his paintings not selling, could this be a further reminder of the darker thoughts, as it is his brother providing them, rather than himself?
Yellow paint guides us up some of the hardest climbs of the Almond Blossoms, and to other branches off the main path, but the biggest lift are given by the letters, which are, in the Almond Blossoms area, all written from Vincent. So is talking about these things and someone to listen a bigger lift than the yellow paint, and physical "gifts"?
At Saint Remy, his physician Peyron on 3rd August 1889 wrote to Theo "he’s having another crisis and tried to poison himself with his brush and paints."
So connecting paint, though not specified as yellow, as a link to further self harm.
The key areas associated with his poor health were the Yellow House, and the Wheatfields, both vibrant in yellow ingame, compared with the blues dominant color in Windmill, Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, and Almond Blossoms, and variety of colors in Bulb Fields.
We have never really had yellow paint in Sky, but yellow Dye could be an analogue to it. In which case, the lore on Yellow and symbol give us the Orange Light from Enchantment, associated with crafting, and bravery in the Trial of Fire, both of which perfectly fit Vincent van Gogh's creativity, and raw passion on display, just in the sheer number of works he created.

Almond Blossoms - seemingly spurred on by news of Theo and Johanna's son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, they seem to represent new life, and of hope. It is the only time we see something in Theos gallery from Vincent other than the letters, and Theo does not send a sunflower, but admires the blossom. So could this be a symbol of Vincent's gratitude back to Theo, and Johanna?
Again, no direct relation in Sky, except possibly the Cherry and Wisteria blossoms in Days of Bloom. Both a reflective place of calm and relaxation at home, and the start of Forest beside Prairie's temple.

Color vs greyscale - in a few cutscenes color drains leaving greyscale, similar to the Moomin season, or Days of Nature, and it seems to have a similar effect here. Even the drawings in Nuenen have a more sepia tone to them, so I think this is distinct from drawings. We also have 2 "void" like areas, both starting in a kind of despair, the Saint-Remy asylum, and the season hub area.
Most of the areas are vibrant with color, and the one area which starts grey and gets colored is the windmill in Paris, specifically using paint, but that is also the first place the crows appear, so there is certainly a link between crows symbolism, color, and colorlessness.
Days of Nature gave us a hint of this, as we clean up darkness from the water, we see the world in greyscale, and flame brings back color to our vision, but Moomin is possibly the best example of this, feeling out of place, or scared of being yourself.

Stars - these first start in Paris, then in Arles in 2 distinct parts of the quest, and then the gallery quest. Three of the main emotionally "high" points of the quests. The ones where support was most abundant. I think this extends Sky's already filled metaphor of stars being our friends, explicitly in the Little Prince, and mechanically in our constellations. The gallery was put together by Johanna with the Skykids help, and Starry Night only appears after that support is completed.

Thanks for reading, I'm looking forward to your thoughts!

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
#DearVanGogh
#Lore
#SkyLore
#Symbolism
Dear van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Sky: Children of the Light
‪@thatgamecompany‬

1 week ago | [YT] | 44

View 5 replies

Maelstrom

thatskyshop have made some truly amazing pieces with Van Gogh's artwork, and their style in general this update.

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
#DearVanGogh
Dear van Gogh
Sky: Children of the Light
‪@thatgamecompany‬

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 81

View 1 reply

Maelstrom

Did you know you can get a YouTube badge by completing the Dear van Gogh Deep Dive?

Get your badge today! www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
#DearVanGogh
Sky cotl
Dear van Gogh
Sky: Children of the Light
‪@thatgamecompany‬

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 9

View 1 reply

Maelstrom

First time trying AR mode to explore Aurora's concert valley without the rails.

I didn't realise that the whale flew across the end,

or a manta mural on the side of one of the buildings!

Steps to try it yourself:

Join the Aurora concert, get up to the song you want to explore,

wait until close to the end of the song

then go into settings and start AR mode.

Wait there for a couple of minutes to let the song end, and then leave AR mode.

If it worked, you will be back in the area, but no song, and no rails pushing you along, so you are free to explore as much as you like!

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
#Glitches
#OOB
#OutOfBounds
#SkyOOB
#EasterEggs
Sky cotl
Sky: Children of the Light
‪@thatgamecompany‬

1 month ago | [YT] | 111

View 6 replies

Maelstrom

Great news!
Since the 34.3 update, we can use our camera underwater, which means that we can see the Abyss creature up close using the drone!

Unfortunately they cannot be targeted in focus mode, but you can see them in far more detail now.

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
Sky cotl
Moments camera
Underwater photography
Sky: Children of the Light
‪@thatgamecompany‬

1 month ago | [YT] | 142

View 21 replies

Maelstrom

Have you unlocked the surfing ramp in days of Sunlight?

youtube.com/shorts/S_LfaLGtxe4

Join ‪@Lalaskychild‬and I as we go surfing, with an added speed boost!

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
#SkyCreatorCollab
#DaysOfSunlight
Sky: Children of the Light
‪@thatgamecompany‬

1 month ago | [YT] | 10

View 5 replies

Maelstrom

Sky OST volume 5 is released!

www.thatskygame.com/ost/volume-5

#SkyCreatorTroupe
#SkyChildrenOfTheLight
#ThatSkyGame
#OST
#Soundtrack
#Music
#SkyChillOfTheLight
Sky: Children of the Light
‪@thatgamecompany‬

1 month ago | [YT] | 108

View 6 replies

Maelstrom

Hi everyone,
The second episode for the Dear van Gogh quests has just gone live, and I am hoping that this series is educational enough to be considered as a course introduction to Vincent van Gogh's life, letters, and art.
I am going to be looking for critique from van Gogh fans and scholars, so if anyone knows of things which I missed, any misinformation, please let me know, so that I can make corrections.
I do not intend this to be a full account of his life and letters, but to spark interest of what is available online, resources and pointers where you can learn more.

Dear van Gogh Deep Dive: www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

2 months ago | [YT] | 5

View 0 replies