Arrr, me hearties! Step aboard as Ben and Tao turn insurance sleuth to investigate the mystifying, mysterious mystery of her not-so-good ship, The Obra Dinn. On the Orlop Deck they enlist the help of the Bosun (or is it Boatswain?) and his Mate (or Steward?) to decipher all the nautical jargon (or is it lingo?); they offer competing high brow references in their effort to find an appropriate analogy for Lucas Pope’s unique style of game design; and are tested on their knowledge of ancient geography and accents. Much lolling is had by all. Major spoilers throughout.
Content Warning: PEGI 12. Strong language. Arguably offensive accents. Homicidal Kraken and mer-people and that.
Clarifications:
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic, and editorial cartoonist.
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England and culminating in the Battle of Hastings.
Moby Dick is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville.
Heart of Darkness is an 1899 novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad.
Bill Bailey riffs on the West Country accent at length in his brilliant stand-up show, Part Troll.
Audio extracts:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Samuel Coleridge (1772 – 1834)
Master and Commander - feat Russell Crowe
Jean-Philippe Rameau's "Les Cyclopes" - Rondeau in D minor
The Wire - Season 1 Episode 4: "Old Cases"
The Simpsons [S06E25] - Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 1
Austrian Yodeling
HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Theme
Rockstar’s ‘LA Noire’ Theme
The Lighthouse - feat Willem Dafoe
Age of Empires 2 (Dock Sound)
The Office (UK)
Shaun of the Dead
Part Troll - Bill Bailey
E10 Return of the Obra Dinn