Board Thread:Lords of Shadow 2/@comment-216.170.54.18-20140306104746

Quote from Alvarez on page 172 --  "The castle in LOS2 is, I would say, the second most important character in the game," placing only Dracula ahead of his grand design. "When I was writing the story, I wanted to conceptualise the castle as if it was in Dracula's mind."

A reference point for Avarez was Forbidden Planet, the 1956 classic that takes Shakespeare's The Tempest and builds upon it a science fiction spectacular. In Cyril Hume's story, much of what is perceived as real is in fact an extension of a character's mind.

Alvarez quote page 175 - "In Lords of Shadow 2, it's pretty much the same. The castle is in the subconscious of Dracula's mind. It makes sense in his mind, but it's not real, it's not there - but it is at the same time. The castle represents the past of Gabriel Belmont. But the castle itself is a living creature. It's a creature that wants Dracula within it. This is really important for the story. The castle tries to shut Dracula into it, and doesn't allow him out. If Dracula manages to abandon the castle, that means that he's a good guy - but the castle's holding him back from that. It's not a castle that *feels* like it's inhabited by Dracula, his minions or his multiple wives - It represents the state of mind of Dracula. Our Dracula is not a character that feels happy with his condition. It's like, you know, fate has made him as he is. He's not Dracula by choice. He's tired after centuries of doing evil and the castle represents this state of mind. It's populated with strange creatures that one day, served Dracula but now they don't. It's quite an interesting take on the setting of traditional Castlevania games."

Alvarez quote Page 177 - "The castle's always been a key part of the Castlevania series - the clue, quite obviously, is in the name - but it's never been as imposing as in Lords of Shadow 2. Having stalked its halls for centuries, Gabriel's brooding nature becomes written on the walls, its cold stone and dark corners becoming a *permanent* part of his own character.It's a fascinating relationship - the building made flesh as it imposes itself on its sole inhabitant."

I highly recomend this book to any fan of the series. Nearly 200 pages of some of the best artwork the series has ever seen and it's very informative as well.

http://titanbooks.com/the-art-of-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-limited-edition-7417/ 