In The Banshees of Inisherin, there's a lot of different readings you could impart onto its characters. The alleged crux of Colm's new dislike for Padriac is the idea that Padriac is "boring" or "simple." But when Colm is faced with an intelligent conversation with Siobhan, he crumbles. All he can talk about is the weather. When Padriac calls out that Colm might have always been cruel instead of kind, the man has no defense. Its soul-crushing because that existential angst is such a hard mentality to fight against. That paranoia that nothing we'll do matters, that we'll leave no impact on the world, that we won't be remembered. I think the best way to fight that mentality is with... little things, you know? Colm is obsessed with building some great symphony, but I think if he started playing music at the bar he'd find the kind of joy he's after. Padriac's focus in conversing over minutae is delightful to me. He finds joy in little things, pleasant things. It can be boring for some, sure, but I think there's some nice in its straight-forwardness. Keep a grip on the solid things, the day to day. Its not a perfect solution to the existential dread but I think it helps keep your footing on solid ground.

I wonder how Colm would have fared in the digital age. I don't think well. Chasing internet clout, obsessing over becoming "popular" on media circles.... its a miserable mind-set. I remember as a teenager obsessing over internet personalities like the Nostalgia Critic, convinced the only way I'd be happy is by becoming famous like them. Then you get older and you learn the truth about how the internet depicts these idealized versions of these people, and then you learn how Doug Walker's kind of a piece of shit, and how that thing you obsessed over wasn't that great to begin with. But that's part of growing up. You didn't grow up, Colm. You don't want to be Doug Walker.

I sometimes find myself chasing a bit of a social serotonin high writing reviews or fanfic. There's a part of me that played this just for the sake of keeping up a streak. That backloggd badge for logging something every day is more tempting than I like to admit. But I also just like writing bullshit, you know? I find a joy in it. And if people like that, that adds some joy too. I think, as long as you keep that in mind and try to avoid the addictive nature of social media, you're not doing too badly.

I guess the question I'm building to is: who the fuck are Cogs and Marvel?

Banshees: The Game released in March of this year, developed by a Dublin team under the Cogs and Marvel company. I googled on impulse. I assumed it was a quiet itch account, with maybe two to three people working together. Instead, I encountered page upon page of tech bro/business speak. The most clean-up among them was an article in 2017 about an event organizing company built in 2006.. "Founded by Róisín Callaghan and Jane Gallagher in 2006, the company, which organises and develops events ranging from major industry conferences to in-house company days, has grown rich working with the Dublin-based subsidiaries of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter."

The company itself put out a press release for the Banshees game. They certainly provide an interesting cultural context behind the decision. '“St Patrick’s Day, like the film which inspired us, is an exploration of Irish socio-cultural identity,” says Hozier-Byrne. “For one day a year, political and historical baggage is cast aside, leaving only bright green hats and drinking. We wanted to apply the same kind of dramatic over-simplification to such rich cultural material.”'

So the team is aware of the undertone of turning such a complicated cultural film into a Pac-Man remake, or at least they proclaim to be. But I can't say that any of that message comes forward in the actual text. It uses the iconography of the movie, but in disjointed forms. You're collecting fingers instead of throwing them at Padriac. Dominic and Siobhan are treated as lackeys of Padriac instead of someone increasingly disgusted with how these men are behaving. If the intent is simplifying the story, they certainly succeeded. Its just a strange goal to intentionally seek out.

So what is Cogs and Marvel chasing with this release? They got a few days of press, a joke around a water cooler. It doesn't cost any money, I'm not even sure if its officially licensed or not. It got the company some light attention. They got to plan more events, gain a foothold in Silicon Valley. Saint Patrick forcibly assimilated Celtic pagans into Christianity. Saint Patrick's Day assimilated from a religious event to an American excuse for tourism + drinking. An Irish film assimilated into corporate gaming sphere. The cycle continues.

But maybe it worked. I played this game just to see why and log a joke review. I fell into the trap. The marketing ploy worked. The chase of attention, of clout, under the belief it will fill the existential hole inside.

Or maybe I need to sit down and enjoy the company of friends instead of explaining patterns and philosophies.

...I should rewatch Banshees.

Fun riff on Pac-Man, and always funny to see a movie you’d never expect to have a game adaptation. The premise sort of goes along with the movie, though I’m not sure why Colm has to determinedly collect his own fingers when he was making such a point cutting them off in the first place.

I can’t beat this to save my life though. Barely scraped to stage 5 a couple of times with one life left, and then was quickly defeated. The tag team duo of Padraic’s relentless pursuit and Siobhan actively working to cut me off made this too much of a challenge.

The hit boxes are also funky and at times I got caught where I definitely think I shouldn’t have. Guess I’m not pro enough to finish this game. Also a fair warning- this controls horribly on phone- you definitely need a keyboard for this game to really function.