Thursday, April 27, 2006

... I couldn't think of a title for this post, probably because things have been pretty monotonous lately. I am really looking forward to going home for a week and I find myself counting down the days 'till it happens. My birthday is on Sunday (the 30th) and unfortunately I won't be home for it. But I'm sure my day up here (or in NSW, as the case may be) will nevertheless be very special. My sister's birthday is on the second of May, so I'm hoping to be down at home by next weekend. Apparently she's having a few friends over and I really want to be there for that. To add to the excitement, my parents have just moved into a new house that they are eager for me to see. It's larger than our previous house and it sounds pretty interesting from what I've heard. It's something that sounds very typical of my mother; it has a lot of funny little passageways, a wine cellar and a very unusual layout. She loves living in an unusual home. Our last home was very strange too - it was a "2.5 storey" house and from the side, it had a bizarre wedge shape to it. Also, I am getting that Xbox 360 package today. Apparently something else was added to it (I don't know what that is yet though) and they've added an optional faceplate in there. Apparently it's some faceplate with orange swirls or something. Regardless, I haven't seen it so I'm hoping it looks good. Once I've played around with the games I might write my views on each one and let you know what I think. But at the moment I only have dial-up Internet and no HDTV...so I really won't be experiencing the system to its fullest. We're looking at getting an LCD screen soon though. And apparently you can hook the Xbox 360 up to your computer screen - I don't quite know if I could connect it to my laptop, but that'd sure be nice. Kei: I am continually saddened by the way The Simpsons has gone downhill. Yes, some of the new episodes are good and show promise...but something is missing on a fundamental level. I assume the writers are different or something. Either way, it's very disappointing. I'm very eager to start Hybrid Vigor, but I will be home for a week as of next Friday. Perhaps I should launch the sign-up beforehand, to give people a week or so to think up characters. Piro: Nice to see you comment on here, despite the circumstances. ~_^ jellybeans rock: Erm, thanks? ^_^;; CosmicSailor: Without attempting to shrug off your lengthy comment, I should probably say that I largely agree with Tony's response. The RPG system on OtakuBoards is not very rigid at all. Yes, we require ratings, but that's about it. The actual format of RPGs can be whatever the player desires. The big problem, I think, is that so few people truly experiment and try new things. But chapters and other things are certainly not rules...they are pretty much just conventions, rather than rules. I like it when people break convention, though. I am much like you in that generally, I enjoy RPGs with some depth to them. That depth can come in many forms, but even an RPG like Kill Adam (which was, on the surface, all about mindless violence) actually had more character depth than I've seen in many RPGs on the site. In a way, the concept was so simple that it kind of forced us to think carefully about our characters and their motivations. In that way, it was very much like a Tarantino-like story. It wasn't so much about the violence, it was about what motivates that violence and what the effects are. It was more about violent people than violence. It's that kind of depth that I find interesting. I am hoping that I see a similar kind of character complexity in Hybrid Vigor, anyway. I liked your sample, by the way. The first paragraph was a little bogged down (though the descriptions were very good), but generally I really enjoyed it. I think your writing would be more than welcome in Adventure Arena or OB Anthology, should you ever choose to particicpate there. Mimmi-chan: Thank you for the good wishes, Miss Mimmi! I am happy to see a comment from you here...and I hope you are doing well. Looks like I may be in the car for that long again this weekend. And on my birthday, too. >_>; Tony: Bingo. I could not have said it any better myself. Your posts were some of the best I've ever seen in that forum and yet, as you mentioned, the ideas came to you as you wrote them. Despite that, the posts were highly cohesive and very enjoyable to read. And no worries about the site. I have been enjoying it quite a bit and I'm eager to see what else goes up there. I would really love to see some Xbox 360 reviews from you as well...even though you've commented on some of the games on your blog. Your reviews are always good to read and I always like to hear the advice of other gamers when it comes to this stuff. Sammy: I think you may like the new system, hopefully it's the best of both worlds. As far as players being killed off...I have no specific plans for that. If a participant wants their character to die, however, they are more than free to work that into the story. The mutations will not be obvious, at least not as obvious as other RPGs might make them. But I am thinking of allowing varying degrees of mutation - that is, you may have some freedom in terms of appearance, when it comes to how much "animal" you put in your character. But it won't be a 50/50 split or anything like that. Tony: Yeah, I think this was probably one of the biggest misconceptions about the chapter system. But as you've said, the only level of control I really had was writing the chapter summaries at the beginning of each chapter. The idea was to direct the plot in a very general way, but to allow players to fill in all of the specifics - and to influence the broader plot itself. Some of my chapter decisions actually revolved around what people had written in their own posts...so it certainly wasn't a case of me trying to box everyone in with an extremely rigid plotline. SunfallE: The chapter system was present in Kill Adam and Kill Adam: Volume 2, so those threads will actually show you how they were used. In any case, it'll be cool to have your involvement, even if you choose to only read it. I think that gives some added motivation to participants as well, if they feel that others are enjoying the story. Aaryanna: In terms of RPGs, all you really have to do is read some others to work out how they operate. But it's pretty simple. I think it's quite easy to get involved once you have chosen a character and nailed down some of the details. ^_^ Alan: Gremlins or midges...I think those midges have power well beyond what we can comprehend. >_>; indifference: I had fun before I got sick, yup. It was kind of a vacation, but not a real one. We spent a great deal of time doing chores for other people, which wasn't fun. We have yet to go on a vacation by ourselves - although we'll be in Melbourne on our own, which is good. And yeah, it's heading into winter here...although Queensland really doesn't have a "real" winter like other states. It's sub-tropical here, so it's really just "dry season" and "wet season". That's about it really. But the temperature has been wonderful lately...not too hot and not too cold! Hiking sounds good, by the way. I hope you enjoy it and take lots of great photos. ^_^

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