geekdom
2010 in review
Floating around somewhere is a post I did early last year saying what I wanted to acheive in gaming in 2010. I would link to it, but I can’t seem to find it. Regardless I thought I would sum it up here:
- I spent the better part of 2010 writing, in collaboration with two others, a 66 person LARP called Al Shir-Ma. It’s set in an Arabian Night-esque world which borrows from Al-Qadim. It was done for the yearly KapCon gaming convention here in Wellington, and it’s first run through is happening next weekend. It’s been a really interesting experience and has I think made me a better scenario writer. But man, has it been a lot of work.
- I wrapped up my campaign, using the Green Ronin A Song of Ice and Fire rules, in a not hugely satisfiying way. By the end I’d kind of lost interest and time, and it all got a bit too railroady. It showed me that I really want to run long term games that leverage off character backgrounds and story rather than some over arching plot I’ve come up with. Means less work for me too.
- I ran Peril in King’s Landing a pre-written scenario for ASoIFRP. It’s one of the few times I’ve actually run a pre-written scenario and while I liked the low prep of it all, I found that I had the most fun when I was adding in new elements passed on player actions.
- I played a lot of Xbox 360. Notably Alpha Protocol, Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Fallout New Vegas. Some of these games, like Mass Effect, I played through for a third time so I could carry my character into the new game. Yes I am that much of a geek.
- I played a lot of table top and LARP games. For the first time I played more than I GM’d and it was great.
- I discovered some great new table top games like Prime Time Adventures and Apocolypse World.
So from a gaming perspective 2010 was great. Though as the silence from June on might have told you, other stuff wasn’t. Now though it’s time to look forward to 2011!
They just need girl time…
While I’ve never played Zelda and I haven’t player Super Mario since the Sega days this is pretty funny.
More on the Game of Thrones
It looks like HBO has started the publicity machine for the new Game of Thrones TV series. Check out the new HBO page for more info.
Green Ronin bags another licence
But is it one too many? I was surprised to read that Green Ronin had signed an agreement with DC Comics to release a series of four books as part of their Mutants and Masterminds line. It makes me wonder how many licensed products are sustainable for a small publishing house like GR.
Fall – Episode 23 Lull before the Storm
This is also known as the Filler Episode (as Norm couldn’t make it), and happens to also be the most amazingly awkward roleplaying Ive ever done.
Not much happened in terms of plot in this one, most of it is dealing with the bomb Calvin dropped in the episode before and Alex not knowing how to deal with it all. As all of this is gone into in by Jenni in her blow by blow recaps, I think I’ll leave it at that.
But to sum up:
- Calvin and Alex barely talk when they wake up in Calvin’s bed the next morning, having spent the night together.
- Alex gets busted leaving the house by Martha, Calvin’s sister.
- Megan tries to sweet talk a priest into giving her some holy water, and when that doesn’t work steals it instead.
- Darius is still recuperating (either in hospital or at home, I was a bit confused).
- Calvin tries to find Gina, and discovers that shes disappeared. The car she borrowed is found in a parking lot near the train station and he assumes that shes left town.
- Megan is oblivious to whats happened between Alex and Calvin, even when the three of them hang out at her house trying to find out what happened to Gina. (Cue awkward silences)
- Alex totally confuses Calvin by bursting into tears in front of him, after he offers to just forget about the night before and she says she doesn’t want to.
- Calvin and Alex have another bonding cemetery moment when they’re attacked by two vamps. This fight doesn’t go so well and Calvin ends up getting bitten.
Next time round well be getting back on track with the plot and edging that much closer to the end of Fall, Season 1!
Previously on Fall
Jennis write ups
Joss and The Avengers?
So a little under a month ago shock waves of glee hit the geek community. Our demi-god, Joss Whedon, would direct The Avengers movie!
Now unlike many geeks I’ve never been that into comics, and those comics I have been into haven’t been the Marvel/DC variety. However Joss Whedon directing and no doubt being involved in the script of a superhero movie had to be a good thing, right?
Unfortunately though, during a conversation with a friend, doubt started to creep in. Joss was going to make the most amazing Wonder Woman movie ever as well… but due to “creative differences” with the studio it got shelved.
And as we all know he often has ‘creative differences’ with the studio, and there are only so many times this can happen before you really have to ask. Is it Joss or the studio that’s being difficult?
I think anyone who has read this blog will know I’m a huge fan of what Joss creates. Buffy, (most of) Angel, Firefly, Serenity and Dollhouse are all fantastic. Hell I even liked Alien: Resurrection. But I can’t help but feel that there is a measure of diva in what drives him and that diva means that he has a habit of throwing his toys.
I hope I’m wrong and that The Avengers is a fantastic movie that hits our screens in 2012. But I’m keeping a certain level of healthy cynicism till then.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh on The Whedon? Or is there merit in what I say?
Iron Man 2 – a few thoughts
I took myself off to the big leather seats of the Embassy Theatre here in Wellington last weekend to check out Iron Man 2.
As you can tell from the trailer this movie is pretty unabashed and it’s title character is also convinced of his own greatness.
I enjoyed the explosions, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Junior and the total over the topness of the whole thing. I thought they were a little heavy handed in the way they tied it all in with the upcoming (and potentially Joss Whedon directed, though that’s a whole other blog post) Avengers movie.
For a bit of mindless fun about a narcissistic genius who dons a shiny suit and flies around, you should totally go see it.
Robin Hood
Say what you like about Russell Crowe, but the man makes movies that reek of gameiness. Check out the trailer for Robin Hood which opens in a few weeks.
Awesome.
Terrifyingly weird – Darth Vader’s other voice
I’m … speechless….
Fall – Episode 21 “Reaching my Limits, Part 2″
For the past two weeks, since our epic session, I’ve been trying to write this actual play report on Fall. I’ve found it extremely hard, as it was a dark and difficult road that my Slayer started down. I’ll warn you this will be long, and may have emo musings littered through out. Don’t say I never give you an out!