Affirmations & Altercations

I've noticed on the D&D next boards a focus on 'entertaining players'.

I have to say entertaining is basically, once you realise the 'secret' of it, really really easy.

It's flattery.

As long as you suck up to them and flatter them (subtle is best, but often enough you don't even have to be subtle), you've entertained. Done. It really requires no particular skill.

If you want to only partly entertain and partly do something else, now that's where it gets hard.

Destiny FPS - thinking outside the first person frame? How?

There's the funny thing about the first person - how do you escape it?

So how does a new first person shooter like Destiny do something much different than holding a gun by your groin and swiveling like a camera on a swivel mount and making hit points go down on bags of hit points.

What is the new thing?

Or what is the new thing audiences are yearning for, that they think this mysterious new FPS will somehow contain?

"You shoot guns and you cast magic!"

Okay.

But really, what is it that folk seek - perhaps some sort of new opportunity for gaining fame for themselves that real life so often lacks?

What will the game say about real life and it's many issues - or will it deliberately avoid real life entirely* so as to support those who are attempting to avoid real life?


* Partly avoiding real life is part of the fun. Partly doing so works well. But when it gets to entirely...

The RR Martin pause

I wonder on the RR Martin pause between books as to whether it's sort of an artist protest.

Or reminder.

I mean, were kind of used to the automated providing of various goods and services. You don't have to know the person who delivers it, nor know the people who provided the materials. You can just demand.

So what happens when the person wont just damn well give you what you want, when you want it?

You're sort of left questioning who they are to do that?

Sort of left learning about the other person. For a change.

Though he's not going to learn about you, is he, so is it warranted?

Still, maybe its worth learning this, instead of feeling you live your life not depending on anyone - when were at the peak of infrastructural needyness ever (sorry, do you bury your toilet waste?).

Make our dependencies far more obvious - all on waiting for a book.

Good Game: Dave Callan gives the transhuman extinction the nod

As is the trend at the moment, transhumanism gets the usual thumbs up and this time on the ABC program Good Game in a segment by Dave Callan (discussing the game 'Infamous').

I'm not quite sure what definition he might be using - maybe it's a 'you're human, but you have cool powers built into you now' sort of dealio. Possibly even that is a type of extinction - the Deus Ex video game examined the difference between the haves and have nots.

But unless I'm wrong transhumanists think you can modify the human mind as well - and that's fine, because the magical human spirit or ghost that lives inside the skull is still there, you've just modified the brain bit which has nothing to do with being really being human, because magic.

Okay, a less than neutral description. But folk only notice a contrast they haven't seen before when it's an extreme one.

Anyway, I am charitable on whether he's supporting that definition or just the 'regular stone age brain but with supa powers' definition. Though I guess the title suggests he's giving the nod to the mind alteration part, which if you think about there not being any particular ghosty bit to being human, is just making someone, piece by piece, not be human anymore.

World of Darkness MMORPG cancelled

I like to think that CCP, who were developing the World of Darkness MMORPG and are the makers of Eve online, didn't like how the game was panning out because they looked at the spaceships with crudely drawn vampire faces on the front mining ore and thought, we haven't quite hit this nail on the head, have we?

Working on a less than flattering game

Just really, really un-huge. If that's a word.

Sure there will be some bashing of (minor) monsters, but it's small scale.

It's the sort of 'you tumbled out into the world, maybe there's stuff going on, but it's not like some gods gone and crafted you a special extra last unicorn destiny to pass through'

Oh, well, a fragmentary destiny, yes, because it's a game - so there's like a track where you can get good at self healing. And get some armour. And be able to swing a club or staff a few times without getting tired.

Not the huge 'you are a god in the fictional world, nerdy gamer! A god!' stuff that is spouted everywhere. Even modern games that have rangers or fighter or others have these super capable dudes who are basically gods who, well, what else would they do with all that but follow their super special secret club destiny to big, huge, enormous things...

Tired. So tired.

I mean I know traditional fantasy structure just reeks of this.

But why bother? Unless you can't see how contrived the whole super mega personal destiny is.

How about instead yeah, you can look forward to putting together some nice armour, being able to recover fairly quick. But apart from that, if some lord is looking to invade some land, no, there wont be some promised investigation phase where you discover their plans then a promised combat that is fully balanced and you will save the day.

Maybe you'll build yourself up, stick your nose into that.

And die.

So why do that?

Why do that indeed - it's a good question.

One you don't ask when you've got a super special double famous destiny laid out for you and a GM desperately hoping you wont fall off it by standing in the fire.

Different Topic Side note: Oh, and think the idea of having lying in roleplay design is a social sickness. Just thought I'd chuck that in as a contemporary note. But hey, nobody has to listen to anyone else on social behaviour because...well I dunno, but they don't. So keep on deleting those posts that nay say! Oh wait, this is my blog, can't delete this one - that's disappointing.