Thanks for the response!
Kingpin wrote: ↑August 12th, 2018, 10:22 am A good number of the portraits are from Shandor Island, of the various members of the Shandor family. A couple are portraits featured in the New York Public Library.
I figured something like that. I believe they are also meant to represent members of the "Cult of Gozer" or Gozer worshippers, not just family.
I also think that the people portrayed were part of the team at Terminal Reality / Sierra, etc. It would be nice to figure out who these people are. This is like the ultimate easter egg / treasure hunt in GBTVG.
For example; I think this may be the Lead Level Designer Andy Dombroski
This may be the Creative Director Drew Hayworth
This may be the president of Terminal Reality Mark Randel
The guy on the right of the first pic and and second from the left on the second pic could be Shawn Spetch the Environment Artist. The third guy from the left could be Brendan Goss the Executive Producer.
I wish some more could be identified or some of the people could come forward and leave a post!
Kingpin wrote: ↑August 12th, 2018, 10:22 am The newspaper, board with the Subway map and lobby are not ones I recognise... A couple may be from deleted content from the game.
The newspaper was lying all around the game in various levels. Notably Times Square but also the Firehouse, Museum, etc.
The lobby is a strange image. That location isn't in the game but the file was called "cube_test_microsoft.tex" before I converted it to .png.
The subway map I don't recall seeing in game either. Or maybe I didn't pay close enough attention.
Kingpin wrote: ↑August 12th, 2018, 10:22 am The board full of architectural renderings is probably from the architecture office in the Times Square level.
I agree. Perhaps the images were split apart and each featured in a different location in the architecture office.
Kingpin wrote: ↑August 12th, 2018, 10:22 am I don't recognise the collection of signs and notices, that may be from the Times Square/parade levels.
Same, I vaguely recall seeing some in the Times sq. level.
Kingpin wrote: ↑August 12th, 2018, 10:22 am The kitchenware and Doritos images might be unused adverts.
The kitchenware is actually the same type as in the hotel Sedgewick.
They were designed by and named after environment artist Jeff Cavitt.
http://www.jeffcavitt.com The Doritos ad I remember seeing on a truck in the beginning of the Times sq. level.
Also in this unused cutscene in the game:
https://www.facebook.com/spookcentralgb ... 011543470/Kingpin wrote: ↑August 12th, 2018, 10:22 am Octopi are creepy, and suggestive of otherworldly creatures like the Lovecraftian old ones.
True. I think there's something more to the octopus motif though. Concept art for the game features it heavily for Shandor Island.
Spoiler!- > I'm still leaning toward the Gozer / Tiamat battle explanation as heard in the audio logs in the museum level. That Tiamat banished Gozer from our world.
Tiamat was exclusively a salt water God (primordial goddess of the salt sea). The interesting thing about octopi (and all cephalopods) is that they are exclusively salt water creatures and cannot exist in fresh water. None of them.
The imagery of the Cult of Gozer manhandling and apparently dissecting(?) the octopi in the paintings leads me to think it is symbolism of condescension against Tiamat.
Spoiler! -> Also with Shandor having eliminated Gozer, it would make sense that the Island might have latent remnants of Tiamat haunting it as shown in the concept art.
The eyes all over the body still puzzle me though. Neither Tiamat, Cthulhu or the Kraken myths feature that detail.
I wish some of the artists who made the drawings could come to this forum and comment to stop us guessing though
Kingpin wrote: ↑August 12th, 2018, 10:22 am Man in a dress? That's Ivo Shandor's mother, Ilyssa Selwyn's ancestor.
Lol.
I meant this one: