Sunday 20 January 2008

An Introduction Of Sorts

From Wikipedia:

The word Rococo is seen as a combination of the French rocaille, or shell, and the Italian barocco, or Baroque style. Due to Rococo love of shell-like curves and focus on decorative arts, some critics used the term to derogatively imply that the style was frivolous or merely fashion; interestingly, when the term was first used in English in about 1836, it was a colloquialism meaning "old-fashioned".


The above might be a descriptive of a blog such as mine which not only lacks any clear substance, but is certainly old-fashioned.


Soubise explains to Frederick that Herr Seydlitz was clearly offside.


My photos are still a little fuzzy. I'll blame that on my camera, although I have noted already that my camera fails me less often, and less grossly, when I read its manual.

Life is strange. An example of this is the contrast between the grim realities of warfare in the 18th Century, and its light-hearted recreation by wargamers. If we read Christopher Duffy's 'Frederick The Great' we can come across passages such as:

Nine battalions stood under the immediate command of Prince Moritz, but the Austrians had sixteen heavy cannon waiting for him and soon the Prussians were climbing over heaps of their own dead and wounded. Moritz had a horse shot under him, 'whereupon the soldiers, who were infuriated against him, yelled that it was a pity that the animal on top had not been killed rather than the animal beneath'.

Young and Lawford's book, 'Charge or How To Play Wargames' has a delightful, playful style that somehow evokes the Rococo period even as it glosses over the grim realities of warfare in that period. The authors, although real life soldiers, are describing a game, not seeking to teach anyone about the horrors of war. I am in full agreement with this attitude, even if I cannot aspire to anything more than imitation. So nothing I say need be taken seriously: even you disagree with me on such fraught topics as the merits of human-like figure proportions I doubt this calls for pistols at dawn.

This blog describes my efforts to create an 18th Century wargame. There are two books that represent a starting point - the previously mentioned 'Charge', and Charles Grant's 'The Wargame'. I have no illusion that my blog will interest any but a few people who are pursuing the same activity. But I hope to exchange with those that are interested a few ideas that will enrich both our experiences.



Although, as moderator, I will throw out any comments from anyone who forgets his manners.

12 comments:

Bluebear Jeff said...

Dear Sir,

Please allow me to welcome you to the world of 18th century Blogging. May your tricorn never lose its lace.


-- Jeff

abdul666 said...

Always a great pleasure to discover a new Lace Wars-devoted blog!

Do you intent, in the pure Young - Grant tradition, to allude to campaigns with fictitious countries, maybe even to build your own imaginary corner of mid-18th C. Europe?

Compliments,

Jean-Louis

Andy Mitchell said...

A certain amount of alluding to such topics is indeed planned.

abdul666 said...

How elegantly -if perhaps noncommittally?- expressed!

Then I'll post a link to the Frivolous Fusiliers under the 'Gen' header, hopefully to soon transfer it under the 'Fict' one!

Best regards,
Jean-Louis

Andy Mitchell said...

I'm afraid that a lack of commitment is one of my failings. My friends point out that the only thing I should be committed to is an asylum. This is why I don't have many friends.

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

Good Morning Andy,

Wonderful start! Are those Willie (Suren) figures at the top of this post? Lovely painting there. I'm eager to see your future posts here, and pleased that there is one more as enamored of Charge! (and The War Game) as I am.

Best Regards,

Stokes Schwartz

Andy Mitchell said...

Yes, I forgot to point out that they are indeed the Willie Figures Frederick and Soubise.

Snickering Corpses said...

Welcome to the world of wargaming blogs, good sir. Though I shall digress, having read your profile, to inquire which 3D systems you worked on for the gaming world? As a computer gamer, I am curious.

Andy Mitchell said...

I wrote a 3D editor used to create game worlds (a tool similar to 3DS Max or Maya but with additional game features). The games I worked on were high profit but undemanding titles - mostly movie tie-ins. There were some Disney titles, a Harry Potter game, a Batman game, stuff like that.

Andy Mitchell said...

If you google on:

"Andy Mitchell" +Eurocom

you will get some titles

Steve-the-Wargamer said...

...welcome to the blogging world... :o)

old-tidders said...

Greetings to imagi-nations Europa from the Kingdom of Wittenberg

-- Allan