A Gaming Announcement, Unitarian News, Labor leadership, Iraqi Election..

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In 1981 I watched some young lads playing Runequest at the school library. The amazing combination of gaming, mythological narrative and improvised drama captured my imagination. Since then I played numerous campaigns using a huge variety of game systems. At university in W.A. I started the Murdoch Altertnative Reality Society, and wrote Rolemaster Companion VI, a product which sold over 10,000 copies and even today usually triples it's cover price in online auctions. In Melbourne, I helped set up Mimesis as a roleplaying publisher (ill-fated little organisation it was).

Recently I've tried running a play-by-email based on the Malay archipelago in the early sixteenth century. The play-by-email isn't going too well, due to the problems of asynchronous communication. Basically, it requires response from all participants, and if they're not responding, the game freezes, which is a shame because it's a damn good setting and I'm trying to work up an interesting narrative as well. What I'd give for just one more committed player who could put in an hour per week of online cooperative storytelling. That is a very broad hint, dear reader. Most recently, I've started editing the code for Roleplaying Tips

In any case, the crux of the matter is a decision. This year, I'm getting back seriously into gaming and I'm going to write a roleplaying system. It's going to be realistic, it's going to have clever game-tricks to aid simulation and narrative and it's going to be heavily based on "real-world" mythology. I intend it to become the best damn thing on the market, because that's what sort of damn perfectionist I am. It's about time the industry was given a swift kick up the arse and a new standard to aspire to - and I reckon I'm up to that task.

Here ends the announcement.

Gave my presentation on Providence and Common Wealth which was surprisingly well received. As of next Sunday, I'm learning the radio recording system as well, so I get to add another communications technology on my list of "how-to's". Easter is still earmarked for a visit to Christchurch (ch-ch?), NZ, as a deleage to the ANZUA international conference.

Somewhere in the past several days I had a birthday. True to my nature, I managed to book a visit to the art exhibition opening "Raw Attitude" 2004, with my friends Paula and Craig without even noticing what day it fell on. The exhibition was reasonable, consisting of works by Lily Mae Martin (digital prints, cartoon) and Asha Duggan (acrylics and mixed media, portraits). That evening caseopaya and I went off on the Port Phillip Council sponsored Penguin walk, the highlight being a swimmin rakkali (indigenous water rat). On the morn of Invasion Day severina_242 and I went to see "A Series of Unfortunate Events". Quite a good narrative, decent overacting great costuming etc. The "children's gothic" is a deserving genre.

Beazley is apparently going to have a clear endorsement as Labor leader. This makes sense in terms of public popularity and his campaigning ability. Both Gillard and Rudd are competent and clearly have a future but not yet. Gillard also has to make ammends with her own factional colleagues on the left after her performance on the refugee issue at national conference. Speaking of which, I'm about to give the rest of the state Labor for Refugees groups a serious kick in the rear - Victoria seems to be the only functioning state branch these days!

Few are taking the Iraqi election seriously. Not surprising given that the interim leader, Allawi, seems to be happy with carrying out extra-judicial murder. In any case, keep on eye out on how well the Iraqi Communist Party goes - the organisation that opposes Saddam, the current puppet regime, the Islamicists and the US-led occupation. Apparently they are the largest registered political party in Iraq.

Brain-breakers this week are numerous, but only one that's amusing. shocko had me in fits over this set of LoTR animated gifs. greylock presents, "Senior US Officials Cozy up to Dictator Who Boils People Alive", whereas severina_242 showed me the power of the tsunami, whose death toll is now approaching three hundred thousand. Dawn of a new dark age? Russian MPs call for ban on Jewish groups.

Comments

[icepick666.livejournal.com]

ahhh the ol rpg days!
i remember arcanacon I !

[jazzyjay.livejournal.com]

I'm interested in your play by email scheme and would like to subscribe to your newsletter. I mean, role playing game.

[jadine.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you had a lovely birthday- glad to hear it!

I'd be interested in "listening in" on your play-by-email to see whether it's something I could commit some time to.

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

Hey, I try and keep up with the play by email game!!!

[aceris.livejournal.com]

Does this mean you are an Aquarian, too? :)

[lefae.livejournal.com]

A belated happy birthday hug for you then :)

BTW, have you encountered this site: http://www.rpol.net/

It's very popular.

[baralier.livejournal.com]

I've been involved in a PPM Castle Falkenstein for about 3-4 years now. Sometimes it's hard keeping track of where things are as it takes so long to get anything done.

Roleplaying Systems

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

Hmm,
I think before you type a single word of your new roleplaying system, that you ring up or e-mail Dave Cake and have a LONG chat with him about the gaming theory stuff he has been researching. He opened my eyes and improved my gaming. He knows STUFF™

1) Gaming is now a spectrum. No single system could ever cover all of us.
2) There has been a HELL of a lot of quite hardcore research into roleplaying games done recently. Most importantly it covers and expands on what familys of gaming styles exist. Note I don't say Systems, I say Styles. It's fascinating stuff!
3) Although you were a good GM last time I gamed with you, I don't think I could do it again. Your style and mine had been drifting down fairly different paths last time we tried gaiming. If that trend continued (And it did for me) we are probably almost polar in our gaming.

I use a system called Risus now. http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm
It fits on 7 pages. Many of those are amusingly illustrated. That includes 2 pages of optional rules. It rocks! It is also phenomenally light. Just right for MY gaming style (four colour, story driven with a fair amount of story changes being made by the players, not the GM). Most people don't go THAT light. Last I saw you were gaming pretty "real world" with increasingly "hard core" rule systems. That is cool too. I know a lot of people who like that stuff.

Gaming has matured, diversified and changed. This is good for all.

It does, however mean it is impossible to make the "best damn thing on the market" because that market no longer exists. Instead a multitude or spectrum of markets exist.

I'm not saying don't write the system. Do so. But Mr Cake will give you some great "food for thought" and hopefully help you channel your energies via the "new" concepts coming through.

[bastett666.livejournal.com]

hi there, was reading in abbadons lj that u were thinking of moving to wellington?

as a person who has lived in both dunedin and wellignton i woudl have to say wellington is better by far, it has a great atmosphere, no mater how weird u are ther eis someone worse!

dunedin however is full of students, if u are wanting to not really remember much of your time and be in a state of drunkenness the whole time then dunedin, for culture (walking down cuba st bare foot wiull give u all sorts of different cultures but im sure a doc can clear that up) then wellington is the place. also dunedin tends to be a bit more on the critical side, they are mostly student but give the goths a hard time