#Nidhogg art how to#

It is a spectator-hyper-friendly speed-decision-making exercise wherein the decisions regard position and action. To put it into bland terms, Nidhogg is a two-player competitive one-on-one minimalist electronic sport with a fencing metaphor and the rules of tug of war. Heck, depending on your opponent, it might actually be more fun to watch than it is to play (and I mean that in the best possible way). Nidhogg is that rare breed of videogame that is certainly as fun to watch as it is to play. I have, for many reasons or many others, been to plenty of independent-game-celebrating events in the past four years, so I’ve played Nidhogg many times-and, more importantly, I’ve seen dozens (hundreds) of other people playing Nidhogg against each other. Either that, or you’d know that it has something to do with Norse mythology. Actually, your brain would probably try to convince you it’s something boring, like a Scandinavian band that isn’t very good. I can only imagine what you’d think a Nidhogg is if you are not into independent videogames. Grímnismál, stanzas 32-35.If you haven’t attended numerous videogame-related gatherings over the past four years, you might not know what Nidhogg is. I’ve also written a popular list of The 10 Best Norse Mythology Books, which you’ll probably find helpful in your pursuit. Looking for more great information on Norse mythology and religion? While this site provides the ultimate online introduction to the topic, my book The Viking Spirit provides the ultimate introduction to Norse mythology and religion period. However, this conception of the afterlife as marked by moral retribution is totally foreign to the indigenous worldview of the Norse and other Germanic peoples, and must be an instance (one of many) of Christian influence upon the poem. Later in the same poem, Nidhogg is also said to preside over a part of the underworld called Náströnd (“The Shore of Corpses”) where perjurers, murderers, and adulterers are punished. In one especially important Old Norse poem (the Völuspá or “Insight of the Seeress”), Nidhogg is described as flying out from beneath Yggdrasil during Ragnarok, presumably to aid the giants’ cause. Nidhogg’s actions have the intention of pulling the cosmos back to chaos, and he, along with his reptilian cohort, can therefore surely be classified among the giants (or, as they were called in pre-Christian times, “devourers”).įrom this it would make sense for Nidhogg to have a prominent role in Ragnarok, the downfall of the cosmos. This is highly injurious to the tree, which holds the Nine Worlds of the cosmos. Nidhogg ( Old Norse Níðhöggr, literally “Curse-striker” or “He Who Strikes with Malice”) is the foremost of several serpents or dragons who dwell beneath the world-tree Yggdrasil and eat its roots. Nidhogg gnawing the roots of Yggdrasil (Anonymous, 17th century Icelandic illuminated manuscript) Book Review: Neil Price’s The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia.Who Were the Indo-Europeans and Why Do They Matter?.The Swastika – Its Ancient Origins and Modern (Mis)use.

#Nidhogg art how to#

The Old Norse Language and How to Learn It.

The 10 Best Advanced Norse Mythology Books.

The Vikings’ Conversion to Christianity.