Wednesday, August 4, 2004

Morolian Invasion
The last header reference belonged to an episode of the WB series, "Freakazoid." In a time when tv animation was fairly traditional, this show pushed a lot of boundaries. Family Guy and the other Adult Swim series owe a lot to it's fast pace and completely insane plots.

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It's a very busy time for the Adventure Arena, and like I had predicted the forum isn't suffering from an lack of quality projects, it's actually the lack of quality members to participate in them. In the past week, I have seen six or seven fantastic RPGs that I would love to sign up for... if I wasn't already a part of four others.

With a full-time job and "real school" this Fall, I just don't have the time for too many RPGs at once. In between George Washington, hero, Cowboy and the Vending Machine I have bills to pay and dogs to feed and errands to run. A few members have spoken to me citing the fact that it's difficult for any "minor RPG" to gain a lot of attention; with so much other activity out many members might simply overlook what could be a potentially awesome idea. A few have asked for specific ideas in how to promote their RPG more, and while I will argue that quality will win out over flashy advertising, I see the need for flashy advertising these days.

With the exception of "hero" (which is so freakin' cool these days) every RPG that I have made has failed miserably. The original Anime Stereotype High School died after a couple of pages, and it was one of my more successful efforts. I think the only one I had created that lasted more than a handful of pages was a Pokemon RPG, but that survived due to Raiha's involvement. (That woman isn't willing to give up on a character very easily.) Everything I touch seems to burst into flames; and some of what I considered to be my best ideas never took off.

Once I get a spare moment (this depends on whether or not I have to show up for jury duty tomorrow) I'm going to start working with Team Hanzo to create a stronger sense of organization in the forums. One of the ideas being tossed around is the creation of a monthly thread, where members can talk about some of their favorite RPGs at the moment. Each thread would be accompanied by a poll, and at the end of the month some type of award for "Best New RPG" would be given out.

This would presumably bring a lot of attention to the RPGs mentioned in the thread, and even more attention for whatever project(s) won the monthly award.

A few cool members have already begun taking advantage of the Arena Underground to promote their newest RPGs, and I think that's an excellent place to build some excitement about what you are working on. Chances are I'll be turning the largely neglected myHero site into an Underground thread as well, since they basically serve the same purpose.

Speaking of which, Issue #3 for "hero" was dynamite, and issue #4 is looks like it will be just as awesome. I know Zidargh is very exicted about what he is working on, and ColourDeaf is still replying to my PM's.. so that's a good sign.

Apartment Building C is a bit slow these days. I enjoy the laid-back pace more, although the plot (or lack thereof) is difficult to follow. Once Shinmaru gets back from his vacation I'm sure he will straighten things out there.

Tori-ness has the very annoying task of following my Kill Adam post. Not that I'm a difficult act to follow, mind you, but I am building things up towards a very specific and very difficult to write conclusion for the chapter. I do not envy the poor soul who have to write a fight scene with six main characters, and their opponents. I deleted the fight scene half of my post, and just stuck with the dialogue -- I don't feel comfortable enough in my writing ability to undertake something like that. I'm not a very creative person when it comes to writing fight scenes.

I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position, Miss Tori. You rock, so I know you'll managed to make it much cooler than I could have.

And um... Anime Stereotype High School is launching soon. If you thought playing as George Washington was bizarre, just wait until you see me write for a sentient vending machine.
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