Anthony Valterra breaks his silence

[jdavis]

I looked through that artist's website...

One gallery of images almost made me wretch, but actualy, a fair number (And by fair I mean, in balance to the horrible ones) of them were, in my opinion, actualy very well done and artistic. A lot of them were just strange... not particularly good or bad. In fact, I would say the majority of them fall in that catagory.

Mind you, after having followed a few too many links posted at random in IRC channels, I'm fairly immune to horrible pictures at this point... So I might not be the best baseline example there.

I think that exposure to certain material has jaded my view of such things, I really wasn't bothered by the site, but I could understand where people would be. There are a couple of things on the site that draw people's attention when they first go there and those things might not be what you want people to associate with a gaming book. The photographer may have a wide range of work but it's the most controversial stuff that will stick in peoples' minds.

 

[shadow]

I have a question for AV.

You said in the press release that you helped found an occultic church (Church of the Blood Red Moon, if I remember correctly). What exactly is it, and how is it relevant to the Book of Erotic Fantasy? Is it somehow related to Tantricism(sp?)?

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Re: Re: Re: Very offended, but still 100% IMO

Thanks for pointing out the AC's forum thing, btw. By the time I had read the news release, followed a link or two, and ended up at the photographer's portfolio, I completely forgot to read their forums (which I had intended to do).

No problem... I'm inclined to agree that VP could have organized a bit better for this; I would have had the VP site up with a few "appropriate" examples of Hypnox's and Eliza's work for proper representation prior to the press release, but that's me... Certainly would have cut down on much of the negative fuss.

[Edit: I keep spelling his name Hypnotix... Must stop that...]

 

[Leopold]

Re: Re: Re: A Heads Up

I wouldn't that be "EI"?

work with me here...

 

[psionotic]

So tell me, was your departure from WotC a planned transition?Did you part amicably?

Maybe I'm just a suspicious cynic, but after hearing those exact words, repeated over and over in the exact same way, I'm not so sure I believe them.

It kind of reminds me of Marc Anthony's burial speech in Julius Caesar, where he keeps referring to Cassius and Brutus by saying, "But these are all honorable men...", while of course meaning quite the opposite.

 

[Wolv0rine]

I think that exposure to certain material has jaded my view of such things, I really wasn't bothered by the site, but I could understand where people would be. There are a couple of things on the site that draw people's attention when they first go there and those things might not be what you want people to associate with a gaming book. The photographer may have a wide range of work but it's the most controversial stuff that will stick in peoples' minds.

Which is funny, because it's my former expose to such things that's made me sensitive to them. Jaded in the negative, you could say.
Yes, quite true. The photographer could well have a much wider range of work. But we cannot assume so based on his own portfolio, and since that's the link we got...

Hey, maybe it all came down to it being Anthony's first Press Release. That would be kind of us I suppose, to give him the benefit of that doubt.

 

[Wolv0rine]

Maybe I'm just a suspicious cynic, but after hearing those exact words, repeated over and over in the exact same way, I'm not so sure I believe them.

It kind of reminds me of Marc Anthony's burial speech in Julius Caesar, where he keeps referring to Cassius and Brutus by saying, "But these were all honorable men...", while of course meaning quite the opposite.

Yeah, after the second or third time, it struck me as an imposed legal response to the question.

 

[Gothmog]

Hi Anthony,

I also wanted to say good luck with this venture, and I hope Valar is successful. It is high time someone takes a more mature look at themes in D&D.

Something did occur to me though that I thought might merit asking. Does your company plan to release a series of "mature" themed products? If so, is there any chance we might see "mature" adventures? And is there a chance that the BoVD might be put in the SRD so other companies could use ideas contained therein? Personally, I'd love to see a series of supplements/adventures that draw upon the BoEF and BoVD (maybe something that takes characters from 1st-15th level or so), full of intrigue, political/religious mechanations, and mature themes.

Thanks for your time,

 

[Creideiki]

So tell me, was your departure from WotC a planned transition?Did you part amicably?

*Curiosity:
Planning started on Wednesday?
Not until Thursday?*

 

[Enforcer]

Re: A Heads Up

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