What is Gray?
To tell the truth, even I don�t understand Gray anymore. As is often the case, it can be best appreciated through its beginnings.
We all daydream, doodle, scribble, carelessly let our imaginations run free now and again. In these transitory forays into the creative realm worlds are created and destroyed. Characters lead epic, fantastic lives in a heartbeat. And every so often one of these myriad microcosms sticks to your mind. It persists, nags at you, like an infant crying for its mother. You nurture it, and it grows, expanding, branching out like some great oak tree.
Gray is simply one of those dreams that never went away. I make it habit every night to envision stories in the hopes they will take root in my dreams. It was one evening the raw idea of Gray coalesced in my mind � the idea of a horror story where the characters were in fact the monsters. I don�t claim it was totally original � hardly anything is anymore � but it intrigued me. I began with a story, a mental movie projected into my mind�s eye that I replayed each night before I went to bed. The plot became more complex. It diverged and split, forming subplots, backgrounds, sprouting characters, themes, motifs, and symbols. One night I knew it had to be expressed somehow if it were to prosper. So what was I to do with it? A novel? Perhaps, but quite a big project. A comic strip? I�m a writer, not an artist. A roleplaying game? Tempting, but it still didn�t feel right. For months it lay dormant in my imagination, partly out of laziness, and partly out of fear that the concept was nothing more than another banal fantasy � worthy, at best, of being a trashy dime-a-dozen sci-fi novella among countless others. Pure escapism. I decided to test the story as a roleplaying thread at the Megatokyo forums. It soon became one of the most popular series there. I did not of course conclude from this that Gray was a hit, but it did tell me that it had potential.
So all this brings us back to the original question. What is Gray? It is a mythos. A concept, a universe, a place � to quote Terry Prachett � where stories occur. It is a pseudo-philosophy, or collection of philosophies. It is a niche in the imagination I want to share with the world. It is (or will be, I hope) a community of writers, artists, and readers interesting in expanding and exploring the base idea.
Gray is, in short, anything you make it. If you want to write a short story set in the Gray universe, stupendous. If you wish to contribute some art, wonderful. If you simply wish to discuss Gray�s philosophy, great. Gray is all about possibilities. I don�t expect a lot out of it, but who knows? Regardless, of warnings, the future doesn�t scare me at all (Simple and Clean, KH).
With all that said, I must acknowledge certain individuals, works, and traditions which have helped inspire Gray. Firstly, the writings of the two great psychologists Carl Gustav Jung and (to a lesser extent) Sigmund Freud have had a tremendous impact. Their ideas, theories, and concepts are tightly interwoven into the fabric of Gray. Secondly, the ancient �religion� of Gnosticism has had great influence. I must also mention the excellent horror game series Silent Hill. From an aesthetic point, this series has proven a remarkable inspiration to me. There are also elements of existentialism, solipsism, and other philosophical ramblings laced here and there. See if you can find them all.