Genii Locorum

Before the Crash // Hypnospace Outlaw

We have so many feelings about 2019's Hypnospace Outlaw. Sure, it's an alternate sort of universe at the turn of the century, but the way it captured the feel of the actual turn of the century and ESPECIALLY the way it captured the internet then is SO PERFECT.

@hexterah had a lot of fun learning how to make a repeating pattern for fabric to design the SquisherZ pillowcase and we will forever cherish the COOLFEST '99 tickets we got printed (even if we didn't get to actually attend the infamous event ourselves) -- handpainting the 3D-printed model of the Hypnospace logo though was a feat, hehe.

(Fun fact: There's a lore/year-accurate photo of hex included in this setup since she too was a goofy tween at the time and holds a special place in her heart for what the internet was then.)

If you're interested in a print of this photo or any of the other GL photos you can check out our shop or our RB (we don't have prints of this one just yet on our own shop but it's up on RB!)~

War Never Changes // Fallout series

We've wanted to do a Fallout photo for this project for so, so long and we finally got everything we needed/wanted for it (including a space to set it up). The old terminal was something @hexterah had for a long while (it used to be her dad's) and more recently she found the old books and the tin in a stash of her mom's stuff and knew they'd be perfect to add in as well. :)

(Fun fact: the backspace on the terminal didn't work so typing up a RobCo hacking screen without being able to backspace was A CHALLENGE!)

Happy 10th Anniversary to Grand Theft Auto V! :D

Here are the two GTA V photos we've done for Genii Locorum! Both of them can be found as prints over at the shop: To My Darling and Take Me To Sandy Shores. We have a couple more ideas on our to-do list for GTA V photos (as well as some other games in the series) so keep an eye out for those as we get back into taking photos!

To My Darling // Grand Theft Auto V

We know we’ve already had a GTA V photo in this project, but like we said before we love this game with all our weird little hearts and keep finding inspiration for photos from it. The simple image of this note from Amanda to Michael (along with the “I <3 Los Santos” magnet) was an image that stuck with us while playing since it was a turning point -- something which there are a ton of in that game. And they’re all A+. 

We need to play this game again. It’s been too long. ;)

Infused With Greatness // BioShock: Infinite

We had this plate, coin, heads/tails sandwich board and infusion bottle for our old Robert & Rosalind Lutece cosplays and figured they would be perfect for a Genii Locorum photo! The hand towel was also something we used when we wore these costumes again to a con and didn’t have the sandwich board with us (since there’s the part where you meet the twins in a restaurant and Robert is cleaning the bar with a hand towel and Rosalind is standing there holding a shield infusion bottle out for you on the plate the coin had been on when you met them outside earlier)~ 

Basically, the Luteces are our favorite part of BioShock: Infinite so of course our first B:I photo had to revolve around them! :)

I See Bushels // Layers of Fear

We apologize in advance for the number of Layers of Fear photos you’ll see in this project here on out -- they won’t all be at once though! There’s so much content in this game that we want to turn into Genii Locorum photos. The atmosphere is amazing. ♡

The first one you see above relates to one of Heather’s favorite things in the game. The running out of apples note. You see apples all over this game and right after you find this note you walk into a room that is full of apples.

So of course, loving this note so much... we had to do something with it.

*Click* // Hotline Miami

Do you know how much fun it was to scour ebay for an 80′s phone? We have many neon, violent feels re: this game and we were excited to add a photo for it into the Genii Locorum project!

Batter Up // Danganronpa

We’ve been gathering the things to do this photo for so long. The shoes were the last find (we wanted to find a cheap pair since we were covering them in bl-- errr, paint ;D) and once we had those we knew it was time! We both have massive feels for this ridiculous (and amazing) series of games so expect more Genii Locorum photos from Danganronpa games in the coming months.

Turn Around // Five Nights at Freddy’s 4

You knew this was coming, right? ;) We have a couple more ideas for FNaF photos (one involving a giant Freddy head -- which we hope to get to soon) but once we got our Freddy plush in the mail from Sanshee we knew we had to try this out. So there we were, crouched at the foot of our bed trying to somewhat recreate one of the things you have to check during those long nights as the child in the latest game in the series. One of us with a flashlight, one of us with a camera and a cat continuously trying to jump on the bed and poke Freddy over with her nose. There are some fun shots where there’s just a gray blob of fur running into the flashlight beam.

High-fives for Poindexters // ToeJam & Earl

This little game from ‘91 was one of the first games the two of us played together (a little less than two decades after the original release). We took a photo somewhat like this after we made these two clay versions of the titular characters which was shortly after we finished the game. When we started Genii Locorum we knew we wanted to take a better shot -- pull the view back a bit and make it look more like a screenshot from the game. 

One of our favorite things in the game is when they dance with the hula girls, so of course that was what we focused on with this photo (and the original one we took a long time ago). We know you’re not supposed to let them dance because they get distracted and could get attacked but it’s so adorable.

Take Me To Sandy Shores // Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V is one of our very favorite games.

There will definitely be photos from the other GTA games here (as well as more from V) but we had to do a GTA V one first because we have so many feels for it. And out of all the GTA V ideas we have, we had to do a Trevor Philips one first because Trevor Philips. This one is inspired by a Snapmatic photo Heather took of the space between the wall and Trevor’s bed. We took that and ran with it. Or we… took it and jumped on a stolen golf cart and went screaming down the Del Perro Freeway with it.

We’re going to have a few prints of certain photos from GL at any tables we have at future cons, but if you’d like a print and won’t be a con near us in the future you can hit the Genii Locorum section on our Redbubble shop!

Psych Profile // Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was sort of a polarizing game in the SH series - some people loved it, some hated it - we were definitely into it! It was different and it was actually one of Nate’s first adventures into the town of Silent Hill (we played it early in our relationship so he’s been on a bunch of adventures to SH now, MUAHAHA). We both think that that game should really be experienced on the Wii though. Hearing stuff through the Wiimote (“Door’s open.”) reeeeaaalllly added an extra “NO WHAT WHAT WAS THAT WHAT” factor.

Obviously the phone/phone screen/etc. don’t look like Harry’s from the game but we worked with what we had! It was snowing and we freaked out and thought SHATTERED MEMORIES PHOTO TIME HURRY FIND THE FLASHLIGHT AND CHANGE MY CONTACT INFO TO SAY CHERYL. ;D

We’re going to have a few prints of certain photos from GL at any tables we have at future cons, but if you’d like a print and won’t be a con near us in the future you can hit the Genii Locorum section on our Redbubble shop!

Sachiko Ever After // Corpse Party

Corpse Party is an amazing little visual novel filled with an insane amount of creepiness. We wanted to include the Sachiko charm as well as one of the save points (one of Ayumi's candles) then we thought the spot on the wall could use something so we added the "Admit it. You hate all your friends. Eventually, you'll kill one another." note that you find in one of the school hallways.

Originally the Sachiko charm was going to be intact but we tore it up and added some blood to specific pieces. That took a lot of staring at a certain few screenshots to tear it up and mark it correctly!

We're going to have a few prints of certain photos from GL at any tables we have at future cons, but if you'd like a print and won't be a con near us in the future you can hit the Genii Locorum section on our Redbubble shop!

Welcome to Genii Locorum!

What is Genii Locorum?

Genii Locorum is a project I originally wanted to do many, many moons ago in my last year of high school. It was 2003, I was in Photography III and I loved video games (and fandom in general) then as much as I do now. Originally, I wanted to take my favorite games and set up photographs that looked as if they could've popped right out of that universe. A couple were taken with my SLR and processed in the photo lab at school - there was also a Persona 2 photo (a hand and a cell phone - Joker!) and a Final Fantasy VIII photo (jet trails that reminded me of the missiles from Galbadia Garden) that crept onto a black and white roll (which you can see above).

All these years later I find myself taking photos at conventions of costumers from my favorite games, movies, etc. and still find myself taking photos of things that remind me of those universes as well. I figured I could finally take these photos, gather them in one place and show my love for my favorite fictional universes. Nate (the other half of zhobot.net) took interest in this project when I showed him the photos I took in high school and the rest grew from there!

Okay I get the site. But why Genii Locorum?

Since many of the photos in this project are video game related, I chose this name because it is one of my favorite ideas/tropes.

Genii Locorum is in the most basic sense "spirits of places." Genius Loci is Latin for "spirit of a place" and since this project is spanning many "universes" (or places) and the camera acts as something observing something else happening inside the universe, I thought spirits of places was a term that could apply in a way to the project. It's been through a couple names but they were all strictly video game related. This one can encompass any fictional universe we dive into.

Oh man, you did a photo from ______! I love that show/book/game/etc. Can I take it home?