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Friday, October 31, 2008
Posted by
SFWriter13
What I'm Listening to Now: Valentine Pontifex by Robert Silverberg
The third in the Majipoor series, this book covers the period about ten years after the events in Lord Valentine's Castle. The book is performed by several readers, which adds to its variety and effectiveness.HeroCon 2008
Yeah, I know this report is a little tardy, but still . . .
On October 18th, I spent some of the day at the inaugural HeroCon 2008, a fun-filled day of all things City of Heroes/City of Villains. I went to two panel sessions and one workshop:
- Walking the Cat-Walk: Fashion in City of Heroes
- Getting Your Foot in the Door: How to get a job in the industry
- Making Movies with City of Heroes
I only took 10 photos, none of which are all that spectacular. But I post them here anyway for your amusement and bemusement.
It was interesting to see the wide breadth of ages (and cities of origin) of people who came to HeroCon. I was by no means the oldest person there. That was reassuring. :) There were a lot of couples there, both of whom were involved in the game. (I wonder if there's ever been a study . . .)
NaNoWriMo 2008In five hours and thirty minutes Pacific Standard Time, NaNoWriMo 2008 officially begins. Expect only weekly updates here as time permits. As always, you can follow my progress here.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Posted by
SFWriter13
In the context of a friend's references to Digital Natives in her blog, I got to thinking about the recreational pursuits of members of that generation. Online gaming is a big part of the digital revolution. I think there is little argument over the pervasive influence that MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft have had on the recreational landscape. Certainly, there has been much press over their purported detrimental influences on people of all ages. While I cannot entirely dismiss some of the claims, it does seem that many of the positive effects have been either overlooked or given little notice.I'm not a World of Warcraft player myself. I find City of Heroes a more interesting premise, but to each their own. So, my points here will be based here on my experiences with that game, but I don't believe I'm too far off the mark in reference to many of the others.- Mathematics: both simple and intermediate. How many experience points do I need to make it to the next level? If I add this enhancement, by what percentage does it increase my powers over this one?
- Economics: supply and demand, buying and selling of goods and services. The addition of the auction and consignment system for buying and selling items provides a tangible insight into real-world economic forces.
- Logic and Strategic Thinking: These enemies have these kinds of powers. If I attack them this way, what will happen? If I use these other powers, what will happen? What's the best way to deploy my team members? Should we split up or stay as a group?
- Teamwork: City of Heroes in particular is structured in such a way that you will succeed more quickly--and be more likely to succeed on challenging missions--if you work as part of a larger team. Part of the challenge can also be finding the optimal combination of characters and powers to achieve your objective. (Refer back to Logic and Strategic Thinking.)
- Social Skills: Unless you participate in these games as a solo player--which is possible, but seems to me would greatly diminish the overall enjoyment of the game--you constantly interact with other players, both in and out of character. As such, most of the social forces you encounter outside also come into the play. The chief difference is that it's a whole lot easier to walk away from people who don't like.
- Creativity: The basis of these games involves creating a character with a particular appearance and attributes. The level to which this can be expanded is usually limited only by the player's imagination. The games also provide tools that give players a virtual playground of options. City of Heroes, for example, has an absolutely amazing design center for characters, including not only basic body appearance, but costume elements as well. For those drawn by visual design, many, many hours can be lost in playing "dress up" with your characters. For those of us with less visual talents, it's possible to create complex stories for your characters, stories that can often be played out and expanded within the game.
I offer these chiefly as points of discussion and items for further thought. And, I guess, a note to parents that your kids just might be learning something useful during all those hours online.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Posted by
SFWriter13
Boxes have always been an effective tool of the imagination. Who among us has not spent hours as a child using an empty box (large enough to climb into, of course) as a race car, secret fortress, spaceship, or just a comforting place to sit and relax?Several months ago, as part of a department-sponsored training exercise, I once again took the Myers-Briggs personality questionnaire. (This was the second time I had done so; the first time had been about eight years earlier.) For those of you who care, this time around I was determined be of type ISTJ. One of the things that the facilitator said when summarizing the traits of this type was that ISTJ types don't tend to be as good at thinking "outside the box". However, if you want to know everything about the box and what you can do with it, we're the people to ask.Several days ago, this came back to me (I don't really recall why), but it got me thinking about the ways that I explore characters and situations in my fiction (also including, this case, my gaming characters). I like to create what I like to refer to as a context that the characters exist in--essentially the world they live in and some of the people they regularly interact with. For two of the characters, I have also created their "evil" mirror images.
It has been suggested that I've limited myself by dipping back into the same pool over and over again. There might be some truth to that. Thinking about it now, though, I think it has more to do with wanting to learn everything about the box. I have a good sense of who the original characters are, but what would they be like if they walked the other side of that often ambiguous moral line? (Consider the persistent fascination Star Trek fans have with the crews' Mirror Universe counterparts.) As discussed somewhat in a previous post, after creating Hope's Fury, what else is there to know about Aerians? How did they and humans meet for the first time? What was that like? What other aliens are there?As you can probably tell from this, the "box" can sometimes become galactic in scale (think Star Wars or even The Lord of the Rings). The broader the context, the greater the potential for a larger box. The kind of stuff that long-running television and movie series are made of.I was also thinking about this in the context of when I was writing "Building Baby Brother". As I wrote that story, and it grew, I found myself wanting to explore all of the possibilities and implications raised during the course of the story. Hence, what started as a 2,000-word short story eventually became a 21,600-word novella. I had found a new box, and--darn it!--I wanted to explore it! (This might also explain why so often when I start a writing new novel, ideas for potential sequels come unbidden to mind not long after the original one is started.)Have you found any good boxes today?
Monday, July 16, 2007
Posted by
SFWriter13
Gaming, for me, is a form of recreation and escape. I hardly believe I would be classified as a "hardcore" gamer, nor do I think I really fall into the "casual" category, but in some strange nether land in-between. I know I will never be as good or skilled as many of the more experienced players, not because I don't want to be, but chiefly because I don't take it as seriously. I do want to be a good and skillful player, but there are limits to how much energy I am willing to devote to something I consider a recreational activity.
I'm in it for the fun. I'm in it for the stories. I'm in it for the characters. For me, now, the game provides a framework, a setting, a context in which other stories can occur.
I play to associate and spend time with people that I come to consider friends. I play to be someone other than I am. (Okay, we can argue that one at a later time. Yeah, yeah, I know how characters often mirror ourselves. Shush! I'm trying to make a point here.) I suspect if it weren't for role-playing, I would have left the game for something else a long time ago. If I wanted to just run around and shoot things and blow things up, I can go back to XBox Live and take out the Covenant on Halo night after night.
Mostly, I want to have a good time. I want to laugh, tell stories, crack (usually bad) jokes, and gain some XP and gameplay wisdom along the way. I think I'm a better player today than I was a year ago, six months ago, or even three months ago. Will I ever be as good as the best among you? Doubtful. Do I care? No. Because that's not my primary goal. Will I also ever be able to put in the hours that a lot of players do? Also doubtful. (This part used to bother me—a lot. People who I would team with would out-level me night after night until my character was no longer really a viable teammate. My solution: I try to keep a slate of characters of various ranges available so there's a high likelihood that I'll have one in the right level range. While this can play havoc with storyline RP, it seems to generally work.)
Why is all this important? Because I believe that how a player views their goals for the game colors how they play, who they play with, and how long they stay interested and active. For me, if I'm not having fun, then why the heck am I doing it?
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Posted by
SFWriter13
There's just something about a Jimmy Buffett song . . . But that's a whole different post . . .
Most days, I have to admit, I don't feel my age. There are certain routines, I suppose, that come with being at a certain stage of one's life: sleep, wake, eat, shower, drive, work, drive, eat, play, sleep. Repeat. But within that context, I sometimes catch myself thinking, "Gee, at your age, why do you still think that? Or do that? Or want that? Or want to be that?"
Some specific thoughts I've had:- I think video games are very cool. I'm hardly expert at them, but I sure do have fun playing them—alone or online with a group of virtual friends. I have my own XBox, Playstation 2, and City of Heroes account.
- I want to be a published novelist/screenwriter. I'm still at work at this. Even after twenty years I hold onto this dream. Maybe I just don't know when to give up, but I don't see why I should.
- My career is not my life. It's a means to pay the bills and to develop and exercise skills that I have acquired over the years, but it does not define who I am.
Sure, I still have to be responsible for "grown-up" tasks like mowing the lawn, paying the mortgage, and changing the oil in the cars, but those are just things I have to do, not part of who I am.
I'm not really sure where I was heading with this, but thought I'd share . . .
The third in the Majipoor series, this book covers the period about ten years after the events in Lord Valentine's Castle. The book is performed by several readers, which adds to its variety and effectiveness.
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