Get Spooky
Hey, if any of you Draculas are going to be at SERE this weekend, I’ll be playing the party on Saturday night. Come say hello and shake a leg.
Justin Achilli
Month: February, 2009
26 February 2009
Manifest Destiny
Without a doubt, a lot of the fun I get from gaming is in the world creation. I’ve said as much here, and many, many other GMs find the same joy in it, whether the malicious glee of a cleverly designed trap, or the dramatic turning point of a story or scheme that’s going to provoke an emotional response from players.
Something like Ben Robbins’ Western Marches, then, is almost perfect for me. First off, just imagine the sheer volume of worldbuilding going on there. Second, it’d challenge me — the overwhelming majority of the time, I design my antagonists to be other people, because I like the interpersonal dynamics that happen. But Ben’s design pushes those dynamics aside to focus on exploration, conquest, and mood of a different sort.
I’m one of those “tangled skein” storytellers. Something like the Western Marches, in leaving complex plots and backstories in the GM’s toolbox, would have me flexing creative muscles I don’t normally use. That’s why I’m inclined to give it a spin. On the downside, most of the people I game with are around my age. We have responsibilities. Game time is at a premium. So there may be a whole lot of worldbuilding preparations that never see the light of day. That’s okay to some degree, as that’s part of the fun of doing it — for its own sake, and for the challenge. It’s not like I don’t have dozens of unused ideas already committed to paper already. Part of the experience, though, is putting the thing into use. And I’ve already got a thousand other projects going on. Do I need a new one? No. No, I don’t. But damn, if it doesn’t sound like a hell of a lot of fun.
26 February 2009
Manifest Destiny
Without a doubt, a lot of the fun I get from gaming is in the world creation. I’ve said as much here, and many, many other GMs find the same joy in it, whether the malicious glee of a cleverly designed trap, or the dramatic turning point of a story or scheme that’s going to provoke an emotional response from players.
Something like Ben Robbins’ Western Marches, then, is almost perfect for me. First off, just imagine the sheer volume of worldbuilding going on there. Second, it’d challenge me — the overwhelming majority of the time, I design my antagonists to be other people, because I like the interpersonal dynamics that happen. But Ben’s design pushes those dynamics aside to focus on exploration, conquest, and mood of a different sort.
On the downside, most of the people I game with are around my age. We have responsibilities. Game time is at a premium. So there may be a whole lot of worldbuilding preparations that never see the light of day. That’s okay to some degree, as that’s part of the fun of doing it — for its own sake, and for the challenge. It’s not like I don’t have dozens of unused ideas already committed to paper already. Part of the experience, though, is putting the thing into use.
And I’ve already got a thousand other projects going on. Do I need a new one? No. No, I don’t. But damn, if it doesn’t sound like a hell of a lot of fun.
24 February 2009
Payment in Cheddar
As a follow-up to a previous post about non-conventional economies, here’s a story about a bank that uses cheese as a collateral. Obviously, it’s not the same as basing an entire economy around cheese… but what about an economy based upon essentials rather than precious metals or modern fiat? Merchants would effectively become banks — or would they? Would they instead be brokers between "banks," with the "banks" becoming manufacturers or prospectors or farmers or whatever? Where is the line between banker and procurer drawn, especially, if the banker-procurer requires the manufactured tools from another provider?
Anyway, yeah: cheese.
21 February 2009
Stuff to Enjoy
Fine tuning some nuts and bolts over here, as you may be able to tell, but I can offer a few really cool bits of outside diversion.
Tell NASA What to Do
NASA is adding Node Three to the International Space Station. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tell them what you’d like it named. My suggestion is to write in “Tranquility,” since Tranquility is the name of the server on which EVE Online’s world runs.
Get Your Finances in Order
Here’s a well-presented explanation of the collapse of the lending and housing industries. It’s at least a little depressing to watch, but the design on it is great.
Learn a Thing
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History is a lot of fun if you like podcasts and, well, history. I particularly enjoy his speculative looks at events that could have happened. It’s a good mix of having the basics explained (I admit, I’m not very knowledgeable on the steppe nomads of Central Asia) and learning exciting details about them.
14 February 2009
Spend a Quarter of a Million Dollars on Sushi and Martinis
We’re looking to buy a house.
Now, the good-sense part of me thinks that it’s wise to find a place out near the office. The problem is, the office is right under Stone Mountain. It’s a suburb. There’s not a whole lot out there aside from strip malls and Wal-Mart. It’s the sort of place I claw my eyes out to get away from. For the longest time, one of the great parts about going to work was that, when I was done for the day, I could head home into The City. City Ahoy
9 February 2009
Penny, Thoughts, &c.
What if, instead of a gold standard, a silver standard, a real estate standard, or fiat, the standard used as the basis for an economy was information? Each culture would be engaged in a race with its neighbors to continue progress in whatever avenue of information it sought to mine.
What would a unit of information currency look like? What would it be? An economy of information doesn’t necessarily mean an economy of truth. One culture might focus on scientific research while another might focus on philosophy or faith, the information of which would be subjective or even speculative. One culture might even develop misinformation, with its progress based as much in its own success as how greatly it impedes others. The economy doesn’t even need to be a national one. This might be an arm of government, an institution, or a cross-cultural group of thinkers, activists, or agents. Does this sort of thing already exist? Certainly, some idea of status exists among academia, but it lacks a unit of currency, and something for which that currency can be exchanged.
