#the nomad soul

[videogamepolls]

Requested by anon

[thejaymo]

I’m sure you have all seen this clip of David Bowie talking about the Internet back in 1999 “I think we're actually on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying”. 

One of the things that is always missing whenever that clip goes viral is the context from which he was speaking. 

David Bowie was in the Metaverse before most people were even on the web. Here’s an overview

At the time of the recording ALL of the following was already happening and going on in his life:

BOWIE WORLD (1999)

Created by World’s Inc. in 1999, Bowie World was the first 3D virtual world created by a creative artist on Bowienet. Bowie World allowed users to experience the immersive world of David Bowie, interact with fans from around the world, purchase merchandise and meet with David in avatar form.

The 3D environment was powered by worlds.com technology and featured integrated chat room etc.

See this paper from 1996 ACM interactions, Sept-Oct 1996 journal for more details.

"He would never announce it in advance, but he would get on to the chat board and talk to us. The handle he always called himself by was Sailor," says Mr Carrington.

In 2016 daily dot went to visit Bowie World and documented their experience. there were people in the world chatting! Still! 17 years later! 

// If you’re so included you can read my experience of doing something similar. I toured Active Worlds (launched 1995) in the book Lost Zone. Hiking the Dawn of Metaverse //

Cyber Song (1999)

The same year 1999, Bowie recorded the worlds first ‘Cyber Song’.

Fans were invited to send in lyrics to help co-write a track, and 80,000 people responded. The song Bowie chose was by a 20-year-old American, about the idea of having a virtual life on the internet. 

You can find the song on the album Hours...

"What's Really Happening?"

Grown inside a plastic box Micro thoughts and safety locks Hearts become outdated clocks Tickin' in your mind

Fans were invited to watch the track being recorded live via a 360-degree interactive webcast!! back in 1999! 

The chat logs from that session are still online and archived at bowiewonderworld.com

The chat reads like literally any twitch livestream you’d read today:

*** Now talking in #BowieNetChat

Eileen: hmph - pFuRs: looking glass studios Bonster1: I like the hair especially ;) Eileen: (duh) Mechnic: his hair! *sigh* Eileen: I LOVE his hair.. Bonster1: it's getting really long Bonster1: my husband is jealous Eileen: first time in my LIFE I have actually LIKED the way he wears it LdyofDarkness: if I could be anyone's hair in the world, it would be his William: silly old man

Bowie also showed up

TotalBlamBlam: Is that Davis Bowie? Bonster: (David Bowie) yes I smell great

A potion of that chat in addition to the recording session is taken up with discussion about the (then upcoming) adventure game: The Nomad Soul developed by Quantic Dream and published by Eidos Interactive. 

The Nomad Soul (1999)

David Bowie is not only *in* the game and also wrote the soundtrack with Reeves Gabrels from The Cure!

I’ve never played the game but here’s a two line review:

In an alternate reality, all hell is breaking loose. And only one person can stop it - YOU.... sitting at your computer. That's not a witty commentary on video gaming, it's the plot of the game. And that's just the start of this bonkers bonanza. 

Lastly, for completeness I should also mention BowieNet

BowieNet (1998)

From 1998 - 2006, BowieNet wasn’t just David Bowies website with its virtual world, chat rooms, live-streamed concerts etc 

It was also the name of his ISP

Thats right, for 8 years Bowie ran an Internet Service Provider offering high speed and “uncensored” access to the Internet. 

The ISP provided every user with 5MB of web space, encouraging them to create and share their own websites. Newcomers were told they’d need at least a 28k, but preferably 56k modem connection – this was demanding at a time when the commercial WWW infrastructure was still in its infancy.

Through his Ultrastar company he negotiated deals to give users access to music services like the Rolling Stone Network, which livestreamed concerts, and Music Boulevard, one of the first companies to offer paid-for downloadable music tracks. 

For Bowie, this ISP wasn’t just a new means of marketing his material to the masses, it was the realisation of something he’d always understood about music: that the fan response completes the art. 

Anyways, hope his ‘Alien Life Form’ have a little more context. 

Bowie was in the Metaverse way before many of us were even on the web!

[mvfm-25]

" You think. You fight. You interact. Only, in a parallel universe! "

PC Accelerator Magazine n15 - November, 1999.

[ladydenkiart]

[retrocgads]

UK 1998

[omegalomania]

the way mania haters talk about mania is so funny they're like "this album almost KILLED fall out boy's CAREER this album lost them SO MUCH MONEY mania FLOPPED everyone HATED it" they talk about it like fob had to sell their kidneys to keep touring on the thing. like. mania? the album that debuted at number one? the album with last of the real ones on it, the song that fans loved so much that they got it certified gold despite the label doing absolutely nothing to support it or push it for radio in the slightest? the album that got fall out boy a grammy nomination? that album? you can call it polarizing if you want but you can't say it didn't do a hell of a lot for an album that had a first single with such an eclectic reception

[jacks347]

Exactly one person asked for this but that was exactly one person enough so here y'all go, enjoy the rest of the channels and their high school tropes

Nomad

Caleb and Pack Mom - Childhood friends everyone assumes is already dating (They keep correcting people but secretly enjoy it cause they've been crushing on each other for years)

Connor and Lass - Club president and joined cause she liked him ("Come on, keep up! What are you staring at?" "You. I mean-!")

Deacon and Little One - Book smart introvert and street smart extrovert ("I've never failed a test in my life" "And I've knocked out a gang members tooth once. You tell me which one is more practical")

Chester and CM - Class clown and assigned tutor ("How do you put up with him?" "Remembering he's cute and a lot of caffeine")

Mitch and Lamb - Second generation rivals ("My dad said to tell you you won't win a second time" "Funny, my uncle said to expect it")

Beau and Chef - "Secret" admirer and knowing crush (Constantly leaves notes and gifts in her locker, she absolutely knows it's him but doesn't say anything even though she likes him back cause she thinks it's adorable)

Harlow and Captain - Frequently injured and assigned helper ("How'd you break your leg this time?" "Would you believe me if I said I fell off a roof?" "...goddammit")

GB

Yargwynn and Paradise - Lead in the play and stage manager (Paradise is actually a really solid singer but has paralyzing stage fright so they just stay as stage crew)

Mak and Darling - Delinquent and "I can fix him" girl (Frank is Mak's attempted wingman, he tries so hard to get these two together)

Guardian and Zed - Foreign exchange student and guidance helper assigned to them (Even better if Guardian doesn't speak the language well so they just stare when Zed is talking which makes him nervous and he rambles more, Guardian thinks it's cute)

Albus and Faithful - School flirt and class president tutoring him (Don't lie, you're imagining it now)

Hipswitch and Partner - Reluctant student and quiet art kid project partners (Partner talks through notes ripped from the corners of his sketchbook)

Pandora - Principal's kid that everyone is kinda scared of (Is actually really nice with just a hint of overblown ego, blame football star Odin for that)

Redacted

David and Angel - Quiet kid and popular girl fake dating (Angel dug herself in a hole and needs a fresh face to get out of it, David is only mildly reluctant cause he thinks Angel's pretty)

Asher and Babe - Football star and cheerleading captain (Don't ask, this is the one that inspired all the rest and now it's stuck here)

Milo and Sweetheart - Club presidents fighting for budgeting (SH runs the NHS chapter, Milo runs the drama club, both slightly resent each other because they need the funding)

Darlin and Sam - Frequently in detention and never in detention ("And just what has landed the school's goody goody in my neck of the woods?" "...I broke a guy's nose." "Hah, same.")

Vincent and Lovely - Superintendent's kid who ditches class and vigilant hall monitor ("Come on, can't you let it slide just this once~" "Do you want me to call your dad?" "No, no, I'll go back, please don't call him-")

Gavin and Freelancer - Academic rivals (FL actually takes it seriously, Gavin only pretends cause he loves to watch FL work)

I think I got all of them

I hope I got all of them

This is going to be a nightmare to tag-

[himecommunism]

the dark Frankish lich-sorcerer Dah Veed Ka-ge, who has placed His phylactery in Vile Illusory Works masquerading as Video Games

[sailorb00]

So badly coping with RWBY hiatus already that I doodled my dream RWBY Beyond episode about a cheeky monkey faunus and his tired older cousin as they make the journey across the desert to Vacuo ✨️👉👈🥺✨️

[but-a-humble-goon]

Sometimes it's good and even necessary to rewatch Super Best Friends to rediscover your unbridled hatred for David Cage.

[puppiesandanime]

Fanart

[daily-rayless]

The kid and her burning sword.

[om0000]

i love the star nomad w all my might n then some but istg if they wont bring the skullship back into s3 im going mental

[sulli-villain]

what if I had another soul nomad phase.

this still my fav boi

[worstvideogamesong-poll]

Worst Video Game Song Tournament - Round 1 Match 23

Drawbridge Dilemma - WarioWare: Get It Together!

VERSUS

Fight Theme 1 - Omikron: The Nomad Soul

FIGHT!

I would recommend listening to as much as you can of each song before voting, but how you choose is up to you! Remember to be civil in the tags and replies!

Propaganda under cut:

Drawbridge Dilemma:

"idk it appears at the most unfair boss stage of the game (or at least one of them. the most unfair one is Ashley's)"

Fight Theme 1:

"this one is often forgotten and it sucks so bad 😭"

"Anyone who used to watch Super Best Friends will be deeply familiar with this song. It's almost normal for a while... until the actual vocals kick in. I especially appreciate how the song seems to literally fall apart towards the end."

Feel free to add more propaganda in the tags and replies, or send it to me in the ask box and I'll try to share it as soon as I can!

[falldogbombsthemoon]

THERE IS A VIDEO GAME WITH DAVID BOWIE IN IT???

So I just found out about omikron: the nomad soul (released 1999), that basically is a 3D open world game in the imaginary city omikron. As far as I understood, the goal is to investigate on a case of serial killings in the city. Also, there are demons, that want to take over the city (?) And you are the last one in their way.

The game is usually played in 3rd person, but there are some 1st person sequences and side view fights like in street fighter, for example.

David played two characters:

1. the lead singer of the band (the dreamers) in omikron, who's shows you can watch. (The gigs are like cutscenes, that david was motion captured for. The 3 'concert' songs are Survive, Something in the air, and the pretty things are going to hell)

2. Boz, the leader of the awakened (a rebel group against the demons). He is like a good guy, with blue skin and holes in his body, who tells you, that the leader of the demons (astaroth) wants to invade omikron, but also the real world, by collections souls.

David also made the game soundtrack, together with Reeves Gabrels, where david wrote 6/10 (there are different sources for that, imma put just the right number, when I'm sure which it was) completely new songs just for the game. He put some songs of his hours... album on there too.

Also, here are some critics I've picked up from the reviews I've watched now:

- the story is confusing and always brings up new plots, that kinda get forgotten as the gameplay goes on.

- the fps mode feels terrible to play

- the way characters always tell you, how this is in a computer, but at the same time its real, is kinda weird

- also: the director, david cage the founder of Quantic dream (which are known for "detroit: become human" for example), is said to be a horrible person (idk anything about him, that's just from the reviews)

The both bowies characters, Screenshots of every cam modus and the cover: