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Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Bloody & Beautiful
Well, the long-awaited next chapter to Kill Adam has been posted. Actually, two chapters have been posted (I wrote one myself, and the next features Shinmaru's character).
We're nearly there, kids.
As I read through Kill Adam as a whole, it does become apparent that the story actually is quite long.
I mean, most RPGs can take an entire page to describe what amounts to a relatively short amount of time in the story itself. You know what I mean? Not that this is a bad thing; far from it.
But by creating a chapter-based system, I was able to decide what parts of the story I wanted to uncover at what times. So, by doing this, we now have a mosaic of occurrances and discussions, which create a broader picture. I am particularly impressed by the fact that Kill Adam is actually so different to Kill Bill. Yes, there are similarities in the tone and the style of dialogue. But really, consider the fundamentals; the characters, their histories, their relationships and the specific occurrances within the story. It's all pretty original stuff. The more I read it, the more I come to realize that Kill Adam stands on its own two feet as a collaborative effort.
I am happy with this, because I originally felt that everyone would be very tempted to stick to things that were very close to Kill Bill. But it hasn't really happened that way.
I'm also impressed with the way that the "mature" elements have been handled. Sex and violence (particularly when combined) are never easy to write about. And many RPGs that have come along seem to feature these things simply for the sake of it.
But I think when you look at Kill Adam (particularly Josh and Tori's posts), you get a sense that everything is in-context and that it makes sense. It's not there without a reason or a purpose. Jamie and Joshua are violent, bloodthirsty killers, but not without reason. Obviously revenge plays a role, due to the kidnapping (and presumptive murder) of their son. But also, there are some important glimpses into their own histories and lives, before they met Adam. My sign up for Jamie really underlines, in a simple way, why he is the way he is. And Josh has done a fantastic job of creating many subtleties with his own character -- a character who seems to be very torn between the two extremes of love and hate.
These are elements that I think make Kill Adam something fun to read. But I think they also make it incredibly rewarding to write; I'm definitely very honored to be participating in a story with so many fantastic writers.
It's nice to reflect on RPGs too, especially as they come to an end. Someone mentioned the idea of holding an "open discussion" about Kill Adam once it concludes. We could reflect on the writing, the characters, specific elements of the story and broader meanings of certain things. I think this was a great idea (I think Arcadia mentioned it; please excuse me if I've forgotten ^_^;;).
I'm wondering though, do you guys think that it would be a good idea? It'd certainly be a novel end to what has become a pretty novel RPG.
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