HomeFeaturesArmored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
Armored Core VI’s use of grey could inspire a new generation of carpetThe Carpet Man returns
The Carpet Man returns
Earlier this year I compared the MMOLost Ark to grey carpet, in the sense that the MMO Lost Ark is exactly like a grey carpet: trendy yet drab. At the time I’d been in the market for a new – and entirely necessary - underfoot experience, so I turned to a local Carpet Man to procure said plush. In the end he seemed pleased that I rebelled against the majority and opted for a sunny corn colour.
But the latestArmored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicontrailer from this year’sGeoff Awardshad me in a contemplative mood. “Perhaps”, I thought, “Carpet Man would appreciate FromSoftware’s use of grey”. Even though there isn’t a fuzzy floor surface to be seen, could the trailer have triggered grey’s redemption arc?
ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON – Reveal TrailerWatch on YouTube
ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON – Reveal Trailer
I’ll be the first to admit that I know nothing about the Armored Core series. Technically, I suppose, I know that the games feature big robots that fight each other, but that’s it. And it’s never interested me, either, as machines can’t ragdoll down cliffs like the deer from Oblivion. They only fire large gatling guns and rarely flinch, because they are unfeeling, unthinking slabs of metal. Yawn, am I right?
Then at the Geoff Awards I saw “FromSoftware” flash up on the screen, having just watched a world succumb to some fiery apocalypse (it wouldn’t be FromSoftware without fire and cinder, would it?). Then: blam! GREY. There’s ash all over the gaff, with a grey sky, and the disintegrated remains of a grey building. Even the colour of the font they use is grey, not white (aside from the “FromSoftware” pop-up) rather than white. A grey robot wearing a backpack hoists a grey limb from the floor.
Today I learned that Rubicon is a river in Italy and not just one of the best drink brands to buy at a petrol station. Nice use of grey here, though, right?
I can see Carpet Man’s eye ignite with new excitement as various mechs slide into view and their components clunk into place. Look at all the shades! The fumes and the streaks of grey from helicopter blades! The machines genuinely seem like ancient warriors who oncewerethe very embodiment of primal grey, before the humans watered it down and tinted their silly little curtains with it. “Ooo, a bit of sunlight too much for you?”, these mega-bots would say. “Grow up. We mechs had to deal with the fires of Rubicon, for fuck’s sake.”
And Carpet Man would take the mech’s history on board and see his stocks of grey carpet in a new light. Maybe he’d chuck out all of his stock and order in some metal sheets and start his own trend for cold, unfeeling flooring. I hope he does. Maybe I’ll return one day, when I too want to play Armored Core VI in my silly little living room and want to replace my silly little carpet with some of the shabbiest, chic-est metal sheets on the market.
Thanks to FromSoftware, maybe grey could be cool again.
For more of the latest news and trailers, check out ourGame Awards 2022hub. We also live-blogged the show as it happenedright here.
