No, that’s not a new RPG. It’s just a brief description of what is conflicting in my mind right now. On the one hand, I recently saw Quantum of Solace (very fun movie, not quite as good as Casino Royale, but good nonetheless). So, my mind, as it usually does, has taken a detour from fantasy to the world of superspies and fantastical espionage. Yet, the fantasy is always there in the background, especially with a new D&D game looming on the horizon. Add to that a sudden, and inexplicable renewed interest in Edgar Rice Burroughs and his John Carter of Mars series, and you can see how my creative juices are flowing like a showerhead, with lots of little streams going in all directions.
Of course, there’s the idea of combining them. A friend on Facebook jokingly suggested an Orc Superspy. And that reminded me of a D&D world I had created that had gone through an industrial revolution, and the technology was about where we are now, but with magic (in a watered-down form) being utilized alongside hi-tech gadgetry. I may have to explore this option.
On my own RPG creation front, my Orcs RPG is awaiting a little review from a buddy. I had borrowed a bare-bones version of a dice mechanic from another game, and I am waiting to hear his opinion of just how much I can get away with without being accused of stealing.
So, what do geeks read? Well, depends on the geek, I guess. A lot of the people I know and talk too read a lot more “educated” books than I do. Many read historical non-fiction, “classic” fiction and generally the kind of stuff that makes my head hurt. What do I read? Um, a lot of fiction based on RPGs and other games, Mack Bolan books, occasional comic books, sometimes a Conan story or two. Basically, I read at the same level as I did when I was 14. Does this mean I’m weird? Not that it matters. I KNOW I’m weird compared to Normal Society, so being weird compared to Geek Society wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I’m just curious if any of my fellow geeks have the same thoughts and habits.
I’m hoping to afford a new scanner someday. I’ve been doodling a bit more lately, and perusing DeviantART a lot more. I really want to draw more, and learn how to do more art-related things. Eventually, we’ll be getting some painting supplies, since my wife has a healthy interest and talent in that area. Someday, I want to do a painting that is “Frazetta-worthy.” That’s my artistic goal. Well, one of them anyways.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Budget Geekery, World-Building and a Quantum of Solace
Being poor can really be a drag for anyone. And geeks are no exception. We recently purchased the 4E D&D books for a nice little penny (thank GOD for my employee discount!), and that’s pretty much going to be it for a long time. The newest expansion for WoW came out yesterday for a whopping $40 or so, depending on where you get it. That’s really not a whole lot…unless you don’t have it.
This is nothing new for me. It’s been about six years since I could afford to actually support my gaming habits without worrying. Now, I have to look at my finances closely, and when there needs to be cuts, entertainment seems to be the first thing on the chopping block.
I’m just glad I have the internets.
So, over at Scott Oden’s blog, he recently vented his frustration about how to go about writing a book that focuses on orcs. For those who don’t know, Scott is a writer of historical/adventure fiction. I’ve read his first book, Men of Bronze, and found it to be highly enjoyable, and I plan on reading the rest of them as well. But what drew me to strike up a dialogue of sorts was a mutual near-obsession with orcs. And even though our views of them differ (he’s a Tolkien-esque person, while I tend to be more Warcraftian), we both agree that our favorite fantasy race needs to be in the spotlight as protagonists. Anyways, to that end, he was debating on whether to create an original world for them, or to place them within ancient mythology. He’s leaning towards mythology, since he professes that world-building is a skill he just doesn’t have. And that got me to thinking about world-building, as it relates to fantasy.
In 1996 TSR (Now WotC) put out a book called The Worldbuilder’s Guidebook. I still have my copy, and reference it often. I even created an Excel spreadsheet that randomizes a lot of that book, and with a push of your F9 key, you can “create” an entire world. One of the complaints Scott had was that any of his attempts seemed like rehashes of other people’s worlds. And while I can sympathize, I don’t necessarily view that as a bad thing. Most modern fantasy worlds are very similar, and many are based on either Tolkien’s Middle Earth (high fantasy) or Howard’s Hyborian Age (sword & sorcery). These in turn are based largely on real-world civilizations and cultures. So, in the end, is there really anything “original” in world-building? I don’t really think so. I think the best you can do is take a concept that is old and put new elements in it. For instance, taking a Tolkien-esque world and making the orcs the dominant race. Maybe they’re aren’t inherently evil, and without a “Sauron” to misguide them, they could be a major force for good in the world.
Nice how I went full-circle with all of that nonsense, wasn’t it?
And now to arc things back to an even bigger full circle, the latest James Bond movie opens today. Quantum of Solace is Daniel Craig’s second outing as Bond, and it promises to be a fun time again. A couple of people on the Mack Bolan forums have seen it already (dang Brits!), and they say that it falls a bit short of Casino Royale in “Bond-ness” but it delivers in spades as an action movie. I’ll reserve judgment for myself, as always. But one thing that bothers me is that they said the director uses the “shaky-cam” technique too much. I have to say, that filming style gives me a headache. And it’s the main reason I stopped watching SciFi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica. But, it didn’t seem to bother me so much on the big-screen with The Bourne Ultimatum, so maybe this won’t be so bad. All I know is that it’s James Bond, and that’s enough for me. Hopefully we’ll be able to spare some change to see it on Sunday morning. Otherwise, I’m going to be squirming in my seat until we can.
This is nothing new for me. It’s been about six years since I could afford to actually support my gaming habits without worrying. Now, I have to look at my finances closely, and when there needs to be cuts, entertainment seems to be the first thing on the chopping block.
I’m just glad I have the internets.
So, over at Scott Oden’s blog, he recently vented his frustration about how to go about writing a book that focuses on orcs. For those who don’t know, Scott is a writer of historical/adventure fiction. I’ve read his first book, Men of Bronze, and found it to be highly enjoyable, and I plan on reading the rest of them as well. But what drew me to strike up a dialogue of sorts was a mutual near-obsession with orcs. And even though our views of them differ (he’s a Tolkien-esque person, while I tend to be more Warcraftian), we both agree that our favorite fantasy race needs to be in the spotlight as protagonists. Anyways, to that end, he was debating on whether to create an original world for them, or to place them within ancient mythology. He’s leaning towards mythology, since he professes that world-building is a skill he just doesn’t have. And that got me to thinking about world-building, as it relates to fantasy.
In 1996 TSR (Now WotC) put out a book called The Worldbuilder’s Guidebook. I still have my copy, and reference it often. I even created an Excel spreadsheet that randomizes a lot of that book, and with a push of your F9 key, you can “create” an entire world. One of the complaints Scott had was that any of his attempts seemed like rehashes of other people’s worlds. And while I can sympathize, I don’t necessarily view that as a bad thing. Most modern fantasy worlds are very similar, and many are based on either Tolkien’s Middle Earth (high fantasy) or Howard’s Hyborian Age (sword & sorcery). These in turn are based largely on real-world civilizations and cultures. So, in the end, is there really anything “original” in world-building? I don’t really think so. I think the best you can do is take a concept that is old and put new elements in it. For instance, taking a Tolkien-esque world and making the orcs the dominant race. Maybe they’re aren’t inherently evil, and without a “Sauron” to misguide them, they could be a major force for good in the world.
Nice how I went full-circle with all of that nonsense, wasn’t it?
And now to arc things back to an even bigger full circle, the latest James Bond movie opens today. Quantum of Solace is Daniel Craig’s second outing as Bond, and it promises to be a fun time again. A couple of people on the Mack Bolan forums have seen it already (dang Brits!), and they say that it falls a bit short of Casino Royale in “Bond-ness” but it delivers in spades as an action movie. I’ll reserve judgment for myself, as always. But one thing that bothers me is that they said the director uses the “shaky-cam” technique too much. I have to say, that filming style gives me a headache. And it’s the main reason I stopped watching SciFi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica. But, it didn’t seem to bother me so much on the big-screen with The Bourne Ultimatum, so maybe this won’t be so bad. All I know is that it’s James Bond, and that’s enough for me. Hopefully we’ll be able to spare some change to see it on Sunday morning. Otherwise, I’m going to be squirming in my seat until we can.
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