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by Escade. . 90 reads.

Gameplay Magazine - Arts & Culture: Let the Synthwave Take Over

[align=center][img]https://i.imgur.com/z6XGxR9.png[/img]
[url=https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=457639]Forum[/url] | [url=https://discord.gg/G97csQQ]Discord[/url] | [url=https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1151447]Dispatch[/url]

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[size=150][b]Arts and Culture: Let the Synthwave Take Over[/b][/size]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/dippXh7.png[/img]
[i]Kyrusia's synthwave Discord avatar[/i][/align]

Discord users of NationStates may have noticed the sweeping nature of the Synthwave avatar trend. Players are sporting this particular avatar inspired by Nation States Senior moderator, Roleplay mentor, and talented writer and artist - [nation]Kyrusia[/nation]. 

Kyrusia began the trend by making his own Discord avatar, seen above, using the synthwave sun symbol. He was inspired by, “the album art from FM-84's album "[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSGnNMnvM6M]Atlas[/url]." Kyrusia uses [url=https://inkscape.org/]Inkscape[/url], a free vector graphics program.

After creating his avatar, Kyrusia received requests from fellow players in the Roleplay server with the very first being [nation]Vocenae[/nation]. The trend moved from Roleplay to Gameplay with the number of users asking for or emulating the Cult of Synthwave Overgoat spiralling.  New players are requesting synthwave avatars each day as the trend sweeps NS Discord servers.

[align=center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6Yi56qH.png[/img]
[nation]Vocenae[/nation]'s Synthwave avatar features an eagle. And so the synthwave spread...[/align]

[size=150][b]What is Synthwave?[/b][/size]

Synthwave is modern music and art produced in the early 2000s. It is informed by an aesthetic inspired by reenvisioning movies, music, videogames of the 80s. Think neon, reverb, distorted electronic sounds, nostalgia for visions of the future as presented in the 80s, and heavily inspired by the European dance, electronic, and house music. 

Movies like the [i]Back to the Future[/i] series, [i]Blade Runner[/i], the [i]Terminator[/i] series, and Tron imagine a future, our future, through a mixture of upbeat vibes, fear, dystopian grimness but also glimmers of hope and that 80s kitsch. 

[align=center][img]https://i.imgur.com/90vB0AO.jpg[/img]
[i]I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.[/i] ~ Blade Runner (1982)[/align]

Synthwave, developing since the early 2000s, reached popular culture through Kavinsky’s 2010 soundtrack for the movie [i]Drive[/i]. The song [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY]Nightcall[/url] and Kavinsky’s work brought many new fans to the aesthetic.   Other popular works that explore or dabble with this aesthetic include the soundtrack of [i]Stranger Things[/i] which is straight up synth; [i]Thor: Ragnarok[/i] which dabbles in synthwave and retrofutiristic vibes; and [i]Ready Player One[/i] which is a homage to 80s pop culture. 

Ready for a deep dive into the Synthwave genre? Check out this awesome [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th29zm5u8yM]Stranger Synths Mixtape[/url]!

Check out some beautiful synthwave Discord avatars below and get your own!

[align=center][img]https://i.imgur.com/bfl2Sjm.png[/img]
[nation]Mghnb[/nation]'s synthwave Discord avatar captures an imposing Wild West feel. Anything can happen....

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XO6Aokw.png[/img]
[nation]Roselladrelos[/nation]' synthwave Discord avatar features a beautiful gradient.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/QmOU3zK.png[/img]
[nation]Altmoras[/nation]'s synthwave Discord avatar captures the lightning bolt striking with speed. 

[img]https://i.imgur.com/C5nRicQ.png[/img]
[nation]Escade[/nation] ;) My favorite (of course).[/align]

Let the synthwave take over....

Escade

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