|
|
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Angels & Men
I'm now back from my trip to New South Wales. It was a fun time, I got to spend Easter Sunday with my partner's family and it was great to get to know all of them a little better. So overall, it was a good time.
Unfortunately I had food poisoning or something, I've been pretty sick for the last few days. We had a ten hour drive home on Monday and I was stuck in the car the entire time, feeling terrible. It's not nice to be in a car for that long while you're incredibly sick. Yuck.
Since getting back I've continued with the work I was doing and I've given further thought to my upcoming RPG. I am happy that some older members are interested in it, although admittedly I now feel a lot of pressure to make it work. Despite what people may say about my own RPGs, I always feel that there are other writers on OB who are far better than me - and far more inventive, too. None of my RPGs would have been successful without such people. So if I can have only a fraction of the talent in Hybrid Vigor that I had in Kill Adam, I will be very fortunate indeed. But moreover, that'll make the RPG incredibly good fun (as Kill Adam has been).
I am going to try two new systems with this RPG too. One is a system I'm calling "freestyle chapters", which involves non-restrictive chapters that people can basically opt-in with or ignore. It's kind of tough to explain without giving everything away, but I think it might work well in practice.
The other system is called "revelations and artifacts", which I've mentioned in the Underground thread. While I may be controlling the overall plot of the RPG, my control will be very general. I am going to try to allow players themselves to invent major revelations that will shape the course of the entire story, to a point where it may very well evolve well beyond my original concept. I hope that this is the case, anyway.
In Kill Adam, the story became so much deeper and more interesting simply because other players developed their characters to a very fine degree. Josh in particular created many tangents and side-plots, which gave the story an incredibly rich texture and depth. As a result, what began as an incredibly simplistic idea soon became a vividly detailed body of work. It's that kind of natural evolution that I hope I will see in this new story.
I've also been re-thinking the soundtrack. I suspect that I'll maintain some classical tracks, but those will be mixed with stuff from Sigur Ros. Somehow their music really fits the mood of the RPG.
Oh, before I forget, I encourage everyone to visit Orange Lazarus, Tony's new site. With the help of Shy (Josh), he's built quite an impressive place. I've already read several articles there, including various retro reviews as well as Tony and Josh's roundtable on The Simpsons (which I found myself agreeing with pretty much every step of the way). So, yes, I encourage you to take a good look at it when you have the time.
mysterious rei: Thanks for visiting, I appreciate it. ^_^
Alexus: Your idea there is really interesting. My approach with Hybrid Vigor is something a little different to the norm, if only in the sense that there is a rebellion but it's quite different to what players will initially expect. I suppose the idea is that "rebellion" can come from many places and it can involve many things - not necessarily just a people rebelling against their government. There are ideological and personal rebellions too and I suppose I am going to try to express those in the RPG.
And thanks for sending your best. I'm very happy at the moment and I'm feeling very settled in my current relationship. I definitely realized how much I missed this feeling. ^_^
CosmicSailor: I do not think you are at any risk of talking way above my head - so I encourage you to feel free in choosing any topic you like. I am pretty flexible when it comes to subjects for discussion. ^_^
As far as RPing goes, I can say that what we do at OtakuBoards is probably totally different to the kind of RPGs you will see elsewhere on the Internet. Some forums have built-in RPG "systems" and others have a more traditional collaborative writing type of RPG.
At OtakuBoards, our RPGs have really evolved to a very specific art. Even the implementation of sign-ups, ratings, chapters and other things have really given us something very unique. There are still many styles of RPGs written on OB, but generally speaking I'm very proud of the fact that RPGs and creative writing in general have become such important cornerstones of the site.
I agree with your preference for depth over mindless violence, though. I personally prefer RPGs with intricate character relationships and histories. I also like RPGs that explore politics, technology and differing perspectives.
Aaryanna: I would love it if you sign-up, but that's entirely up to you. At the very least, I'd be honored if you choose to read it (and if you actually enjoy it).
You take care too! Nice to see you.
SunfallE: I still remember the old black and white monitors (with graphics) as being incredibly impressive at the time. Seeing animated pictures, rather than just text, was quite a revealation!
As I said to Aaryanna, I would be honored even if you just read the RPG. I'm happy to hear that you like the concept, anyway. ^_^
|
|
|
Comments
(11)
« Home |
|
