I’ve long been a fan of games by From Software. Before I even knew I was actually. My first foray into the PS2 was with Eternal Ring (not too shabby), and eventually the allure of giant robots called me to the Armored Core series. In 2010 I got hooked on a game you may have heard of called Demon’s Souls. But it wasn’t until Dark Souls came around that it clicked for me. All these games were made by the same company. And they all had a similar reason for being memorable (and sometimes transcendent) games.
The Devil From has captured, is truly in the details. I can craft my own magic rings? That’s pretty sweet. Hey, my robot’s leaning when I try to jump. What gives? Needs more ballast of course. I won’t even get started on Souls customization.
I’ve been gaming since the mid-eighties. I’ve come across more games than I can recall that have had solid gameplay, story, graphics, etc. Bloodborne has all of that, but as is usual with many From games, it’s the details that have me running for a monocular (or wall to exploit the camera) over and over and playing long after I’d be done with most titles.
Let’s examine this particular Devil closer with an icon of the latest/greatest From venture:The Blade of Mercy
First off, you need to know something. I don’t even use this weapon in game. Maybe I will at some point, but my starting gear ofThreaded CaneandHunter Pistolhave been too close to my heart to change up much (Tonitrusand theCannonare certainly good friends of mine too however). It was by a chance accident that I decided to examine this more closely, with fascinating* results.
I stumbled upon a reference that the Blade of Mercy and theBurial Bladewere the only two weapons made of some fantastic and mysterious substance known as “siderite.” Neat.
What the **** is siderite?
Blah blah blah, science science science yadda yadda…it’s a real thing. Some sort of ore with iron in it. Neat? Yes.
Siderite, as it turns out, can be made to have magnetic properties. Blah blah blah, science science science yadda yadda…but probably not anything like the game shows. I’ll spare any more comparisons to the real world with this material as I am sure that the magnetized siderite probably can’t do what the Blade of Mercy asks of it. But since the game shows us that religious figures turn into 50 foot tall wolves after too much sacramental wine and mushroom aliens seek to aggressively hug the bejesus out of you, let’s assume that a few laws of science can be “bent” shall we?
This new knowledge led me on a fact finding mission that resulted in this article gracing your peepers. So go siderite! Add this article to your résumé.
My first point of exploration was to examine the transformations with both the abovementioned weapons. Note the joining of the Burial Blade’s sword to staff. Is there sufficient mechanical means to hold it in place like that without magnetism? Yeah, probably. There’s even a thumb lock like the Saw Cleaver has. Magnetism doesn’t seem like it’s a “thing” with this weapon. So much for that great siderite idea I had…
Just to ensure though, I transformed the Blade of Mercy a few times. Press L1: he grabbed the handles and pulled the blades apart. Nothing to see here folks, move along. Press L1 again:
What…the…crap…? What was that?
After watching it again a dozen times or so: “Did he just toss the left hand one behind his back?” 10 more tries to confirm… “He DOES** throw the left hand dagger behind his back. But how did it come back together?” 10 more tries later… “The left hand dagger tip connects to the right hand dagger tip and SPINS into the right hand?” 10 more tries to confirm the entire animation… “So then Skare Ol' Pal do we have this right, he throws the left hand dagger behind his back, which connects to the right hand dagger via their blade tips, and the left hand dagger spins (still joined by the tips) into the right hand to form the short sword form. How in the hell is that possible?”
I checked the blade shape for hooks (since this is similar to a hook sword trick in real life). Nope. That ain’t gonna do it. The left hand dagger…maaaaaybe. But both would need hooks and the right hand one sure don’t. Then I got close to a wall and inspected the blades closely for a pin or other mechanical method of joining. Nothing. Just smooth and deadly blades. I tried to find another explanation. Really I did. As awesome as the idea sounded (and still does), it was difficult to believe that my first nerdy exclamation of “MAGNETISM” held any weight. But I can’t find another explanation with this weapon. During transformations, they’re razor sharp nunchakus because of…magnets.
Being an obsessive fool that I am, I wanted to explore the depth of detail with this weapon. Transformation attacks show the same phenomena. The blades can spin around on each other by connecting at their tips. My first thought (other than “AWESOME”) was that the entire weapon must magnetized. After all, I posited, the handle should come together firmly as well so as not to cause problems there.
But then something else caught my eye. The first transformation animation that at first seemed unremarkable. The one which looks like nothing more than him grabbing the left hand dagger and getting ready to cut some fools. A shower of sparks now stood out, thanks to my new perspective. When pulling the handles apart there’s no resistance. The hunter does indeed simply grab the other handle (or half handle, we’ll come back to that). The tips of the blades though, now that’s a different story. There’s a brief pause where the hunter still has the tips touching. Then a quick jerking motion to separate with a grand flourish of sparks. What at first struck me as showing off, now looked to me like the blades resisted separation (animation in video above). But my mind crept back to the handle. If it comes apart with no effort (it does) that’s surely a mistake. Either magnetism is at play or some other trickery must be at work to prevent the handles from separating while fighting.
Remember I said they’re half handles. The first time I noticed this I passed it off as mostly trivial. With that cursory examination, what I thought I had discovered was that the two daggers each used a simple half circle for a handle (to make one complete circle together). Well, half cylinder if you wanna be technical. The cross section would look something like this terrible diagram I made.
While crappily made, that diagram is MOSTLY right.
I saw the anomaly on the left hand dagger first. The way the blade is held by the character makes this one easier. In fact I had to actively seek out its counterpart on the right dagger, but I can assure you it’s there. The left dagger handle you see, has a small groove right down the center. It is not a mere half circle. It doesn’t look like much, and unless you’re the kind of person who routinely hangs out by walls to get a better look at things, it might never be noticed in the first place. If you’re familiar with flooring, you’ll know the concept of “tongue and groove***” (let’s stick to flooring usage). You’ll probably anticipate at this point what the right dagger has going down it’s center line. It’s most easily seen while walking (this takes patience, camera fun times and a quick eye), but it’s there.
Warning! Impending crotch cam! And it’s very tough to get a good picture of that right hand..
I won’t go into more engineering and construction discussion now, instead letting these facts sink in. Also, that second and obviously amazing diagram I made should have cleared up everything. I’ve seen expertly designed weaponry and more over and over again in video games. I’ve even come across several designs I’d call masterpieces. But the simple perfection created from an obscure mineral reference in concert with a small shower of sparks and a groove; come together to form an explanation for physics defying moves that is simply sublime and a recipe for a run on sentence.
And lest we forget this blade’s monstrous purpose amid all this beauty of design, try out the backstep R2 in short sword mode. The placement and small twist of the knife tell you everything you need to know…
*Actual fascination level will vary
**Actually he doesn’t. FextraLife forum membersAlaraandLich180insisted it was passed off in front of the player and I had it wrong. And they were right.
***The safe money is that you clicked on that link hoping it had nothing to do with flooring
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