(with special guest Tori Amos)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Bombay Holiday Party 2009 Walt & Solange
Here's a picture of me in Second Life from a holiday party the other day in world. I'm the one with the beard.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Urban Fantasy in HeroQuest 2: A Werewolf Keyword
While this keyword was influenced mostly by the Mercedes Thompson books by Patricia Briggs, it can just as easily be used in any sort of urban fantasy game with supernatural creatures like werewolves and vampires.
Werewolf
The werewolf is a primal creature, a creature of lusts and rages, more at home in the wilds and the forests than in the cities that most of them live in these days. While their transformations are rules by the power of the full moon, many wolves can control their changes and move from human to wolf forms with varying degrees of ease. The degree to which wolves are able to control themselves and their bestial nature can depend on when they were first "changed" into a werewolf and the savageness of the attack that forever changed their lives.
Werewolves have very long lives, unless their savage side overcomes them in one form or another, and can live for hundreds of years. Some older wolves can have a variety of anacronistic tells that vary from speech patterns to affectations of dress. Older wolves that have a harder time with fitting into a modern world often stick to staying within established werewolf communities rather than deal with a world that they do not understand.
Physically a werewolf is very powerful, even when in their human form and can be physically imposing and highly charismatic to normal human, who may not know that they are facing a wolf but rather something very much stronger than they are themselves. This physical power can be very sexually compelling to some individuals, whether supernatural in nature or not. In their human form, wolves are stronger and tougher than a normal human and this is only amplified when they are in their wolf form.
The senses of a werewolf are also more intense, vivid and finely honed than humans as well, even when they are not in their wolf form. This makes it difficult to lie to a wolf, as it does hiding strong emotional states like fear or arousal. The nose of a werewolf can tell them many things that others would miss.
The society of werewolves, called packs at their basic unit, are heirarchial in their nature and are based upon the dominance of the personality of the wolf. The idea of this is that it is the position within the pack of the stronger, more dominant wolves to protect those who are weaker and more submissive. Dominance in werewolf packs has to do with strength and force of personality, rather than any sort of sexual relationship, and wolves that are more submissive can often have unique niches within a pack that cannot be filled by a more dominant wolf. Submissive never equals useless in a wolf pack, as each wolf has their place within the pack. Also, as wolves mate for life, there is a difference between the strong and mystical bond between mates and those who merely have spouses. Each pack has its own territory, which can be an area as small as a remote town or as large as a region of a State or country. The pack is lead by the most dominant wolf in it, called the Alpha. As the strongest wolf in the pack, the Alpha is charged with the protection of the entire pack and has a supernatural bond with each member of the pack that allows the Alpha to know the well-being of members as well as allowing the Alpha to draw upon the strength of the pack through magical means.
Wolves are social creatures by their nature, pack animals as it were. For some though, mostly due to the savageness of their being changed into a wolf, integration into a wolf pack is not easy or even possible. These lone wolves, sometimes also called ronins, are able to wander freely around the world (as long as they extend the proper curtesies to local packs and their Alphas) but at the expense of never having that bond or feeling of belonging that comes with being a part of a pack. Lone wolves tend to be more dominant, as most packs would feel too protective of submissives to allow them to wander unprotected.
Abilities
The description of this keyword should give you a good deal of possible abilities for your HeroQuest werewolf characters. In addition it gives you an idea of what the world for this kind of werewolf is like.
Further detail of the keyword could add, for example, that in the game world that wolves have "outed" themselves and knowledge of their existence is known to the general public. There could be "PR wolves" who are purposely put out into the public eye to put forward a positive PR spin on wolves, so that the world at large would fear them less. Also, the existence of alpha wolves could denote the existence of an "Alpha of Alphas" wolf, one who is so dominant that they are put above all packs and are able to give orders to those who are the alpha of an individual pack.
Some sample abilites:
Werewolf
The werewolf is a primal creature, a creature of lusts and rages, more at home in the wilds and the forests than in the cities that most of them live in these days. While their transformations are rules by the power of the full moon, many wolves can control their changes and move from human to wolf forms with varying degrees of ease. The degree to which wolves are able to control themselves and their bestial nature can depend on when they were first "changed" into a werewolf and the savageness of the attack that forever changed their lives.
Werewolves have very long lives, unless their savage side overcomes them in one form or another, and can live for hundreds of years. Some older wolves can have a variety of anacronistic tells that vary from speech patterns to affectations of dress. Older wolves that have a harder time with fitting into a modern world often stick to staying within established werewolf communities rather than deal with a world that they do not understand.
Physically a werewolf is very powerful, even when in their human form and can be physically imposing and highly charismatic to normal human, who may not know that they are facing a wolf but rather something very much stronger than they are themselves. This physical power can be very sexually compelling to some individuals, whether supernatural in nature or not. In their human form, wolves are stronger and tougher than a normal human and this is only amplified when they are in their wolf form.
The senses of a werewolf are also more intense, vivid and finely honed than humans as well, even when they are not in their wolf form. This makes it difficult to lie to a wolf, as it does hiding strong emotional states like fear or arousal. The nose of a werewolf can tell them many things that others would miss.
The society of werewolves, called packs at their basic unit, are heirarchial in their nature and are based upon the dominance of the personality of the wolf. The idea of this is that it is the position within the pack of the stronger, more dominant wolves to protect those who are weaker and more submissive. Dominance in werewolf packs has to do with strength and force of personality, rather than any sort of sexual relationship, and wolves that are more submissive can often have unique niches within a pack that cannot be filled by a more dominant wolf. Submissive never equals useless in a wolf pack, as each wolf has their place within the pack. Also, as wolves mate for life, there is a difference between the strong and mystical bond between mates and those who merely have spouses. Each pack has its own territory, which can be an area as small as a remote town or as large as a region of a State or country. The pack is lead by the most dominant wolf in it, called the Alpha. As the strongest wolf in the pack, the Alpha is charged with the protection of the entire pack and has a supernatural bond with each member of the pack that allows the Alpha to know the well-being of members as well as allowing the Alpha to draw upon the strength of the pack through magical means.
Wolves are social creatures by their nature, pack animals as it were. For some though, mostly due to the savageness of their being changed into a wolf, integration into a wolf pack is not easy or even possible. These lone wolves, sometimes also called ronins, are able to wander freely around the world (as long as they extend the proper curtesies to local packs and their Alphas) but at the expense of never having that bond or feeling of belonging that comes with being a part of a pack. Lone wolves tend to be more dominant, as most packs would feel too protective of submissives to allow them to wander unprotected.
Abilities
The description of this keyword should give you a good deal of possible abilities for your HeroQuest werewolf characters. In addition it gives you an idea of what the world for this kind of werewolf is like.
Further detail of the keyword could add, for example, that in the game world that wolves have "outed" themselves and knowledge of their existence is known to the general public. There could be "PR wolves" who are purposely put out into the public eye to put forward a positive PR spin on wolves, so that the world at large would fear them less. Also, the existence of alpha wolves could denote the existence of an "Alpha of Alphas" wolf, one who is so dominant that they are put above all packs and are able to give orders to those who are the alpha of an individual pack.
Some sample abilites:
- Strong Dominant
- Drawn By The Moon
- Of A Different Age
- Secretive Wolf
Monday, October 26, 2009
Mac Tonnies: Blogger, Transhumanist and Paranormal Expert Dead
It is with a lot of sorrow that I pass along the word that Mac Tonnies, writer and blogger who ran the Posthuman Blues blog has passed away. Mac wrote about some very brilliant stuff and, the reason why he is mentioned here, is because he was the very first blogger to ever link to my blog. I hadn't spoken with him in a long while, and all of my communications with him had been virtual, but he is defintitely going to be missed.
Here are a couple of information links:
Sentient Developments: Remembering Mac Tonnies
Mac Tonnies is a voice in these topics that will be missed.
Here are a couple of information links:
Sentient Developments: Remembering Mac Tonnies
Back in 2006 I discovered that a prominent UFOlogist had been linking to a number of articles on my blog. Even more startling was the realization that the blog in question, Posthuman Blues, was an effort to bridge transhumanist discourse with that of the UFOlogists.UFO Mystic: Mac Tonnies Gone
Eager to break the memetic linkage between the two seemingly disparate schools of thought, I penned the article, "Unidentified Flying Idiots." It was typical of my rants, a vitriolic diatribe directed against a group of know-nothing X-Files zealots who were giving legitimate scientific studies a bad name.
It is hard to find the right words to describe my feelings at this moment.
The last time we talked was just after his appearance on Coast To Coast on September 28th. He asked if I thought he had done a good job. I said he hit one over the fence.
Mac Tonnies is a voice in these topics that will be missed.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Librarians Won't Give Child 'Porn' Book
I'm not one for censorship, and I am probably going to get some grief over this but I completely agree with these women and think that there's a great deal in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics that are definitely not suitable for children and I don't think they should have access to them. If parents think that it is ok, and have the comics around the house that's an entirely different manner.
Unfortunately many libraries seem to lump all comic books together, sometimes even in children's book sections. I used to go around with the local branch of my library back in Cleveland because they shelved Alan Moore's From Hell (a comic about the Jack The Ripper killings that inspired the movie of the same name) in their children's section. They finally moved it into a more "adult" section of the library.
Unfortunately many libraries seem to lump all comic books together, sometimes even in children's book sections. I used to go around with the local branch of my library back in Cleveland because they shelved Alan Moore's From Hell (a comic about the Jack The Ripper killings that inspired the movie of the same name) in their children's section. They finally moved it into a more "adult" section of the library.
The two women say they were fired last month when they wouldn't let a young girl check out a book from The League of Extraordinary Gentleman series. Now, both women say they're less concerned with their jobs and more concerned with keeping material like this out of children's hands.
'Residents in Jessamine County do not realize that these books that are so graphic are available in the library let alone to their children,' former Jessamine County librarian, Beth Bovaire, said.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Mirage Group Sells Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TM) to Nickelodeon
As previously announced, The Mirage Group, owners of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TM) property, have sold the iconic brand to Nickelodeon - part of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B). 4Kids Entertainment (NYSE: KDE) has received a payment of approximately $9.75 million at the Closing in consideration of its agreement to terminate its right to serve as the merchandise licensing agent prior to the scheduled expiration of the representation agreement in 2012. 4Kids may also receive an additional $1 million upon expiration of the escrow relating to the transaction.
The sale of the Turtles property, which has achieved popularity across the world, comes in its 25th anniversary year, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles having made their debut in an eponymous comic by TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in May 1984. In the quarter century that followed, the Turtles brand embraced nearly every medium and product form: four of the most successful independent theatrical motion pictures of all time, over 350 half-hours of TV programming, top 10 all-time sales status for worldwide sales of toy action figures, and over 600 worldwide merchandise licensees.
Monday, October 19, 2009
RPG Reviews?
Whither are the RPG reviewers? We've had 30+ years of this hobby/industry and yet we can't seem to get reviews that are elevated past the fanboy stage. Yes, I am biased in what I expect from a reviewer because I did do the whole Opinion Editor thing while in college, and a big part of that was fostering people to write reviews that were more than "this is my opinion, suck it!" Opinions can be bad, wrong, poorly informed, and even poorly articulated. Yes, everyone has them but that does not make them right. You know?
I look at comic websites like Comic Book Resources (link) and I see that, while in a similar geeky milieu to gaming, they manage to rise up put together a decent body of review. Mind you, I'm not calling for the New York Times level of quality (although that would be nice) but RPG reviews need to really to elevate themselves. The leading RPG site on the internet doesn't come close to the level of quality that sites like CBR or even Newsarama achieve. Even those sites are not perfect.
Now, it isn't like there aren't bright spots in RPG reviewing. SJ Games' Pyramid has always been the "gold standard" for reviews in gaming. This is something that I never made a secret of, even when I was actively posting on gaming "related" message forums. I think that RPG reviewers across the internet, particularly those at sites like RPGnet, could learn a thing or two, or three, from going back over the body of work from Matthew Pook.
Now, this is a completely different effort from a body of critical thought for gaming. As bad as the bulk of RPG reviewing tends to be the attempts at "critical" thought on gaming is even worse. I would like to see someone who is well grounded in Art and/or Literary theory (and by this I mean actual scholastic work in these fields and not some "well, I am an academic" person who thinks that they can do that sort of work) start to create a body of critical thought for RPGs. Yes, there is some out there but its really misguided attempts by people who think they know better about tackling the field. A shame really.
None of this is an attempt to get people to "convince" me that I should be doing these things. Yes, I can do both reviewing and critical writing but I'm not often moved to review something these days and while I would be interested in seeing critical work done on RPGs at the same time I'm not convinced of the real need for it. Really, I think that for design purposes much of the time a more solid grounding in the history of game design would serve most designers better than a critical overview.
Think of this more as a call to arms. I want to see reviews being done, and I want to see them being done better than they are. You are a reviewer and not an entertainer, while you do have to hold the attention of your audience you are not a replacement for the entertainment of the experience of gaming. Get in. Give us your opinions, explain them and rationalize them if you can. Get out. There is no need for fiction, no cutesy tricks with inserting the reviewer into the review. And for Pete's sake there is no need for hundreds upon hundreds of words. Editing is your friend. Be concise and make your point, and then get out. As a reviewer you are not the end destination.
Maybe, though, it is time to put my money where my mouth is and put out a few reviews myself here.
I look at comic websites like Comic Book Resources (link) and I see that, while in a similar geeky milieu to gaming, they manage to rise up put together a decent body of review. Mind you, I'm not calling for the New York Times level of quality (although that would be nice) but RPG reviews need to really to elevate themselves. The leading RPG site on the internet doesn't come close to the level of quality that sites like CBR or even Newsarama achieve. Even those sites are not perfect.
Now, it isn't like there aren't bright spots in RPG reviewing. SJ Games' Pyramid has always been the "gold standard" for reviews in gaming. This is something that I never made a secret of, even when I was actively posting on gaming "related" message forums. I think that RPG reviewers across the internet, particularly those at sites like RPGnet, could learn a thing or two, or three, from going back over the body of work from Matthew Pook.
Now, this is a completely different effort from a body of critical thought for gaming. As bad as the bulk of RPG reviewing tends to be the attempts at "critical" thought on gaming is even worse. I would like to see someone who is well grounded in Art and/or Literary theory (and by this I mean actual scholastic work in these fields and not some "well, I am an academic" person who thinks that they can do that sort of work) start to create a body of critical thought for RPGs. Yes, there is some out there but its really misguided attempts by people who think they know better about tackling the field. A shame really.
None of this is an attempt to get people to "convince" me that I should be doing these things. Yes, I can do both reviewing and critical writing but I'm not often moved to review something these days and while I would be interested in seeing critical work done on RPGs at the same time I'm not convinced of the real need for it. Really, I think that for design purposes much of the time a more solid grounding in the history of game design would serve most designers better than a critical overview.
Think of this more as a call to arms. I want to see reviews being done, and I want to see them being done better than they are. You are a reviewer and not an entertainer, while you do have to hold the attention of your audience you are not a replacement for the entertainment of the experience of gaming. Get in. Give us your opinions, explain them and rationalize them if you can. Get out. There is no need for fiction, no cutesy tricks with inserting the reviewer into the review. And for Pete's sake there is no need for hundreds upon hundreds of words. Editing is your friend. Be concise and make your point, and then get out. As a reviewer you are not the end destination.
Maybe, though, it is time to put my money where my mouth is and put out a few reviews myself here.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Game Designer Blues
First off, I really need to have that breakthrough for the Deadworld game. I've been chasing my tail on explaining how I want conflict resolution to work for over a month now. It works in my head but I just can't seem to find the right way to explain/phrase it that looks right to me on paper. I keep having false starts that lead to nowhere. If only there was a way to transcribe what is on the whorls of my brain I'd be done by now. This is something that I really can't even hand off to someone for polish because, well, it's in my head. Game design can be frustrating sometimes.
I think that part of the problem is that I need to be gaming. I need to step up trying to pull some gamers together.
In The Queue
Kicking it Oldschool: I'm going to be starting active work on a retro clone once I can get Deadworld out of my head. I've talked with Daniel Proctor and I have a bunch of ideas that are going to go into a revised edition of the GORE rules. Rather than trying to be a more generic system I'm going to live up to its name and refresh the system into a modern-era horror game that draws upon both Call of Cthulhu and the classic (Pacesetter) version of Chill as inspirations. GORE is a great little system and I think that marrying it more closely to a setting will really help the system go somewhere. This isn't going to be a dramatic edition revision by any means. While the system is going to stick to its old school roots the setting is going to be more modern by comparison. I'll go more into this one various places (here and on Twitter most likely) as I get more involved in what I want to do with the game.
Kingdom of the Blind: The title is a reference to the quote "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." by Desiderius Erasmus. As you can tell by reading this blog I am a gamer, a game designer, more than a bit of a geek, and a fan of comics. One of the things that I have been looking forward to for a bit is the upcoming First Wave mini-series from DC Comics that is going to reintroduce comic fans to the pulp characters of Doc Savage and The Avenger in a world without super-powers that is also going to blend in Will Eisner's Spirit and non-powered DCU characters like Bat-Man (yes, that is how they are going to be saying it in this world), Black Canary, Wildcat, The Blackhawks and others into a pulp influenced world where the greatest hero of the world is Doc Savage. This has inspired me to pull together a system that will also create characters of this caliber (but without super or supernatural powers) and unleash them upon the world of 1938.
Jane Austen's Tales of Terror: This is going to be a setting book for Crafty Games' FantasyCraft game that will be set in the British Regency period and influenced by the works of Austen, the Brontes, Thomas Hardy and the British Romantic poets. The "high concept" pitch to Crafty was "Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a Merchant/Ivory production." Also expect some various FantasyCraft musings on here as well.
I think that part of the problem is that I need to be gaming. I need to step up trying to pull some gamers together.
In The Queue
Kicking it Oldschool: I'm going to be starting active work on a retro clone once I can get Deadworld out of my head. I've talked with Daniel Proctor and I have a bunch of ideas that are going to go into a revised edition of the GORE rules. Rather than trying to be a more generic system I'm going to live up to its name and refresh the system into a modern-era horror game that draws upon both Call of Cthulhu and the classic (Pacesetter) version of Chill as inspirations. GORE is a great little system and I think that marrying it more closely to a setting will really help the system go somewhere. This isn't going to be a dramatic edition revision by any means. While the system is going to stick to its old school roots the setting is going to be more modern by comparison. I'll go more into this one various places (here and on Twitter most likely) as I get more involved in what I want to do with the game.
Kingdom of the Blind: The title is a reference to the quote "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." by Desiderius Erasmus. As you can tell by reading this blog I am a gamer, a game designer, more than a bit of a geek, and a fan of comics. One of the things that I have been looking forward to for a bit is the upcoming First Wave mini-series from DC Comics that is going to reintroduce comic fans to the pulp characters of Doc Savage and The Avenger in a world without super-powers that is also going to blend in Will Eisner's Spirit and non-powered DCU characters like Bat-Man (yes, that is how they are going to be saying it in this world), Black Canary, Wildcat, The Blackhawks and others into a pulp influenced world where the greatest hero of the world is Doc Savage. This has inspired me to pull together a system that will also create characters of this caliber (but without super or supernatural powers) and unleash them upon the world of 1938.
Jane Austen's Tales of Terror: This is going to be a setting book for Crafty Games' FantasyCraft game that will be set in the British Regency period and influenced by the works of Austen, the Brontes, Thomas Hardy and the British Romantic poets. The "high concept" pitch to Crafty was "Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a Merchant/Ivory production." Also expect some various FantasyCraft musings on here as well.
Monday, October 05, 2009
She had Seven Seconds to save the world. Part One.
Trevor Von Eeden's recent interview in the Comics Journal, along with Michael Fiffe's excellent series of blog posts spotlighting his art over the years (scroll down, they're not tagged), has caused a bit of buzz in some circles about the artist and his work, and one of those works just happens to be an obscure 12-issue mid-80's title called Thriller, created and written by Robert Loren Fleming, and illustrated by Von Eeden, which just happens to be one of my all-time favorite comics series.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Boot Camp This Saturday
I've been working on a set list for my Boot Camp at Club Republik in Second Life off and on for the past few days and I think I've got it locked in. Or at least until I start spinning it.
You can find the Club Republik website here with information about the SLUrl for the club and other fun flash facts.
1. Party Ben - Another One Bites Da Funk (Daft Queen)(2009 Rework) (3:57)
2. lobsterdust - NirGaga (Niravana vs. Lady Gaga) (4:23)
3. World Famous Audio Hacker - What's That Sound? (6:24)
4. DJ Earworm - The Night Of Kittin's Messy Dream (Miss Kittin vs. P.J. Harvey & Thom Yorke vs. Corey Hart vs. Human League) (4:56)
5. DJ Le Clown - U Not Alone (Will Smith vs Michael Jackson vs The Beatles) (4:44)
6. Go Home Productions - LSD Forever (2:28)
7. Tarzan Of The Apes - Rat Inferno (3:06)
8. Phil RetroSpector - Looking Back is a Losing Game (2:33)
9. Celebrity Murder Party - Coma Girl Acid Test (4:32)
10. The Ciccones - communication (5:52)
11. Apollo Zero - New York From Blue To Green (Moby ft. Debbie Harry vs Chicane)(Apollo Zero Reconstruct) (5:12)
12. ElectroSound - Trans London Express (3:16)
13. Dunproofin' - Infused Peaches (4:40)
14. DJ Gaston - Groove In A Radioaktive World (6:22)
15. 9freak9 - Stressproof (La Roux VS Laurent Wolf VS Daft Punk) (5:23)
16. iBall - Light Will Be The Death Of Me (2:26)
17. DJ Payroll - Losing My Advertising Space (4:31)
18. Elocnep - Space Cadet Could Say... (Birdy Nam Nam vs. Lily Allen) (4:20)
19. MC Sleazy - Don't Call Me Blur (3:50)
20. Mighty Mike - Paperlong (M.I.A. vs. Foo Fighters) (3:35)
21. Thriftshop XL - Do You Wanna Cuz It's Tricky (Franz Ferdinand vs. Run-DMC vs. The Knack) (2:47)
22. Disfunctional DJ - You're The One I Want In The Next Episode (Grease vs. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dog) (3:50)
23. Aggro1 - Depeche Mode v. David Bowie v. Beatles (4:04)
24. ATOM - Music Non Stop (ATOM's Drunken Bunny Mix) (7:22)
25. Cheekyboy - NightRider (War vs. Fatboy Slim) (4:29)
26. DJ Prince - Mashing It Up (5:27)
27. DJ Schmolli - Land Of Sonic Numbers (4:25)
28. DJ Schmolli - Fire, Smoke And Tone Loc (3:32)
29. DJ ShyBoy - You Spin Me Upside Down (Diana Ross vs Dead Or Alive) (4:10)
30. DJ Tripp - Don't Go Weird (Yaz vs. Oingo Boingo) (4:38)
31. DJ Zebra - Golden Blonde (Blondie vs. The Klaxons) (3:19)
You can find the Club Republik website here with information about the SLUrl for the club and other fun flash facts.
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