vanguard333 Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Jotari said: Is that the book that was written by the doctor during the drug filled night that Mary Shelley came up with Frankenstein? Timeline seems like it would match (yeah, yeah I could just google it, I know, but I prefer to engage with real people). I honestly have no idea. (A quick Wikipedia read later) The answer is yes and no. Apparently, one night, the author: John William Polidori was with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, reading aloud a collection of French horror stories, when Lord Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley wrote a story that would eventually become Frankenstein, and Lord Byron made and quickly scrapped a short story, then Polidori later used that scrapped story as the basis for The Vampyre. 1 hour ago, Jotari said: As for why they didn't use him, well, is there anything resembling Lord Ruthven in Castlevania itself? Because as weird as Elizabeth is as a character concept for the setting, there is still some basis for her from the games. Making the main villain a character with no connection at all, coupled with putting the setting in Revolutionary France (I don't think the series ever went there, unless Bloodlines happened to pass by there at the right time period as there was a globe trekking aspect to that game) and the other aforementioned character changes might run the risk of this not feeling like a Castlevania adaptation at all and just general vampire fiction with some Castlevania names. I honestly don't know as I haven't played any Castlevania games. (A quick Wikipedia and Google search later) Huh; I guess there isn't any Lord Ruthven in the games. I guess not using him as a main villain then makes sense. Even Varney turned out to be Death in disguise after all. I'm very surprised that Lord Ruthven has never appeared in any of the games; he is the first modern literary vampire; why wouldn't the games use him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 12 minutes ago, vanguard333 said: I honestly have no idea. (A quick Wikipedia read later) The answer is yes and no. Apparently, one night, the author: John William Polidori was with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, reading aloud a collection of French horror stories, when Lord Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley wrote a story that would eventually become Frankenstein, and Lord Byron made and quickly scrapped a short story, then Polidori later used that scrapped story as the basis for The Vampyre. I do remember there was some argument over who actually wrote the story between him and Lord Byron. Though most versions I've been told just accused Byron of straight up stealing credit after doing nothing. 12 minutes ago, vanguard333 said: I honestly don't know as I haven't played any Castlevania games. (A quick Wikipedia and Google search later) Huh; I guess there isn't any Lord Ruthven in the games. I guess not using him as a main villain then makes sense. Even Varney turned out to be Death in disguise after all. I'm very surprised that Lord Ruthven has never appeared in any of the games; he is the first modern literary vampire; why wouldn't the games use him? If the series had continued and not fallen into limbo then they probably would have eventually. They've pulled quite a lot from that era of vampire fiction. So it actually does stand out somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanguard333 Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 3 minutes ago, Jotari said: I do remember there was some argument over who actually wrote the story between him and Lord Byron. Though most versions I've been told just accused Byron of straight up stealing credit after doing nothing. If the series had continued and not fallen into limbo then they probably would have eventually. They've pulled quite a lot from that era of vampire fiction. So it actually does stand out somewhat. Interesting; what I had read on Wikipedia (so take it with a grain of salt) was that some people mistakenly thought Lord Byron wrote The Vampyre and Lord Byron went out of his way to confirm that Polidori wrote it. Yeah, I imagine they probably would have included Lord Ruthven eventually. That said, I imagine that, if he were to be put in a game, his binding oath ability would have to be purely a story mechanic, as I don't see how one would incorporate that into gameplay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jotari Posted November 30, 2023 Author Share Posted November 30, 2023 47 minutes ago, vanguard333 said: Interesting; what I had read on Wikipedia (so take it with a grain of salt) was that some people mistakenly thought Lord Byron wrote The Vampyre and Lord Byron went out of his way to confirm that Polidori wrote it. Yeah, I imagine they probably would have included Lord Ruthven eventually. That said, I imagine that, if he were to be put in a game, his binding oath ability would have to be purely a story mechanic, as I don't see how one would incorporate that into gameplay. If he were in it he'd no doubt be a generic enemy trying to revive Dracula for nebulous reasons, just like Elizabeth Batoney, Camilla and Count Orlok. Castlevania isn't exactly known for its diversity in story telling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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