Swamp of Resin
“Step one foot in the swamp and you will never struggle again.”
Artist: roz_paints
Series: 3
What’s in the Picture?
The image is of the fictional Swamp of Resin, a representation of how Dan views items in games which boost your stats. The Resin referred to in the name is a reference to Gold Pine Resin of Dark Souls origin. This item became Dan’s go-to Danglish phrase for an item that makes a challenge so simple that if you beat a boss using the item, you didn’t really beat the boss after he learned how simple it made the Dual Gargs fight in Elden Ring.
What Does the Quote Mean?
Dan likes to suffer. As part of that, he takes on often times self-imposed challenges in games that a lot of other people would give up on rather quickly, such as playing through many Soulsborne games without increasing his health (“Leveling Vig”). The quote is Dan’s opinion that using these items removes the suffer from a game, thereby removing the fun. The bigger the struggle, the bigger the dopamine release when you finally succeed.
What’s Hidden in the Full Art?
The sun isn’t simply shining through the trees in the Full Art Variant of this card. It’s shining a beam specifically on a wonderful honeypot overflowing with Gold Pine Resin.
What Other Things has Dan Considered Resin?
There isn’t an official list of what is and isn’t resin at any given moment. Over time, anything that consistently breaks a game or a specific challenge has been considered resin. In the Hitman series, using Instinct is considered resin because it gives the player too much information making locating the target too easy. In the PGA2K series, using the putt preview mode is extremely resinous. Drawing a line in the sand on what is and is not resin is very difficult, but the truth is that now that you understand what resin is, you will know when an item is resinous.
