You are Dr. Doom
| Blessed with smarts and power but burdened by vanity. |
Monday, January 15, 2007
Supervillain!
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You are Dr. Doom
Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz
You are Dr. Doom
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Of Dreamers, Shifters, and Disciples
I just finished Dreamfall: The Longest Journey last night. Almost exactly a week after I installed it. And the game's ending left me shocked.
Zoe faded away while in coma, April Ryan was apparently dead in the swamp, and Kian was captured by his fellow Azadi. To top it off, WATICorp still manages to release the Dreamers and "the Undreaming has been unleashed," apparently upon the twin worlds of Stark and Arcadia.
I'd like to say I feel cheated, but if there's one thing my most favorite story of all time has taught me, it's that heroes do fall, if only to make them more heroic when they do rise again (and, um, return). Dreamfall is the second game in The Longest Journey series, and it seems like Ragnar Tornquist took a page from The Empire Strikes Back!.
So, all in all, looking forward to the next game in the series! Be it TLJ3 or DF2 (really, I don't see the difference), I'm hoping it will finally bring The Longest Journey to a satisfying destination. I just hope it gets released in my current PC specs' lifetime. Heh.
Game on.
Zoe faded away while in coma, April Ryan was apparently dead in the swamp, and Kian was captured by his fellow Azadi. To top it off, WATICorp still manages to release the Dreamers and "the Undreaming has been unleashed," apparently upon the twin worlds of Stark and Arcadia.
I'd like to say I feel cheated, but if there's one thing my most favorite story of all time has taught me, it's that heroes do fall, if only to make them more heroic when they do rise again (and, um, return). Dreamfall is the second game in The Longest Journey series, and it seems like Ragnar Tornquist took a page from The Empire Strikes Back!.
So, all in all, looking forward to the next game in the series! Be it TLJ3 or DF2 (really, I don't see the difference), I'm hoping it will finally bring The Longest Journey to a satisfying destination. I just hope it gets released in my current PC specs' lifetime. Heh.
Game on.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Video Games!
Picked up three games last week when I got my paycheck: Neverwinter Nights 2, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (or is that the other way around?), and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. So far, I've installed and played the first two only.
Neverwinter Nights 2
I still haven't finished Neverwinter Nights 1, having only reinstalled and restarted playing the game earlier this year. For the original NWN, I've installed everything: the two expansions, the community expansion pack, some premium modules (Witch's Wake, et.al.), but I've never finished even the original campaign. I'm lazy like that. And now, with NWN 2 installed, chances are high that I won't be able to play NWN 1 again anytime soon. Times like these, you wish you don't have Real Life(tm) to attend to.
I've played quite a bit of the NWN 2 original campaign since I installed it last Wednesday. As usual, my character's a fighter/rogue, Laire Random, with almost the same build I used in the first game. I'm also shooting for the weaponmaster prestige class. Fighter/Rogue's are the epitome of the fantasy hero for me, or rather, the fantasy adventurer: wise-cracking, witty, quick-on-his-feet, tough without being too brawny, and most of all, wields a big-ass sword. Not to mention access to most magical items via Use Magic Device, and you've got a very well-rounded character that could go toe-to-toe or hurl spells from a distance, depending on one's mood.
From what I've heard, a lot of people are unhappy with the changes made in this latest edition of NWN. Which is puzzling, because most of the changes I've seen actually do improved the game experience. Well, "improved" in the sense that you get a more true-to-the-pen-and-paper-game feel. For example, and perhaps one of my most favorite changes was the removal of the Stone of Recall, a magical item that you get since Chapter 1 of NWN 1 that allows you to essentially zip back to base and return, a la Diablo town portal. Another example would be the new familiar/animal companions, which bring them more inline with what you'd actually get in the actual D&D rules. Maybe it's just that those complaints come from people who have not played the actual pen-and-paper game.
The graphics are nothing to get all excited about, although they're definitely an improvement over the previous game's. One of the things I really like was when you finally reach Neverwinter. The city layout was vastly improved, owing to NWN 2's new capabilities, I guess. Gone was the squarish city blocks of the old game, and the districts actually look like they've been taken almost directly from the Forgotten Realms pen-and-paper game supplements.
All in all, NWN 2 is definitely recommended for RPG fans everywhere, especially if your tabletop game of choice is D&D 3.5.
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Dreamfall is the sequel to The Longest Journey, which is an adventure game (in the traditional point-and-click gameplay sense) featuring a single female hero who must travel between Stark (the Earth of high technology) and Arcadia (the Earth of magic) in order to save both worlds. At least that's how I remember it, since I can't remember when I actually played the first game. Nor can I find my copy of the game cds.
Anyway, Dreamfall is essentially part 2 of TLJ, and this time, the story focuses on three people: a new chick, the old chick from the first game, and an adventurer-type guy. I forget the names right now. Too lazy to check the manual. Sorry.
Dreamfall's set in the same world, or worlds, as the case may be, and is still an adventure game (in that you need to solve puzzles and pick things up in order to advance the plot), but with the addition of certain action game elements, like a combat system. So in this game, unlike most other adventure games, there's a possibility for game over thoroughout most of the game.
The graphics are crisp, colorful and cartoony, but not too cartoony--a combination I like very much. The worlds of Stark and Arcadia, some locations of which you'll revisit in this sequel, have all been rendered in glorious 3D.
I haven't gotten very far yet, because of NWN 2, but I'll definitely play more of this later.
Maybe I'll post some screenshots later.
As for Oblivion... I don't really like the cultures presented in the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, although the game really was immersive. Well, at least until I started playing Lineage II. But since it was cheap, I thought I'd buy a copy. But I don't think it'll get installed any time soon.
Well, then, I'm gonna clock some more quality gaming hours. Until next time, folks. Game on!
Neverwinter Nights 2
I still haven't finished Neverwinter Nights 1, having only reinstalled and restarted playing the game earlier this year. For the original NWN, I've installed everything: the two expansions, the community expansion pack, some premium modules (Witch's Wake, et.al.), but I've never finished even the original campaign. I'm lazy like that. And now, with NWN 2 installed, chances are high that I won't be able to play NWN 1 again anytime soon. Times like these, you wish you don't have Real Life(tm) to attend to.
I've played quite a bit of the NWN 2 original campaign since I installed it last Wednesday. As usual, my character's a fighter/rogue, Laire Random, with almost the same build I used in the first game. I'm also shooting for the weaponmaster prestige class. Fighter/Rogue's are the epitome of the fantasy hero for me, or rather, the fantasy adventurer: wise-cracking, witty, quick-on-his-feet, tough without being too brawny, and most of all, wields a big-ass sword. Not to mention access to most magical items via Use Magic Device, and you've got a very well-rounded character that could go toe-to-toe or hurl spells from a distance, depending on one's mood.
From what I've heard, a lot of people are unhappy with the changes made in this latest edition of NWN. Which is puzzling, because most of the changes I've seen actually do improved the game experience. Well, "improved" in the sense that you get a more true-to-the-pen-and-paper-game feel. For example, and perhaps one of my most favorite changes was the removal of the Stone of Recall, a magical item that you get since Chapter 1 of NWN 1 that allows you to essentially zip back to base and return, a la Diablo town portal. Another example would be the new familiar/animal companions, which bring them more inline with what you'd actually get in the actual D&D rules. Maybe it's just that those complaints come from people who have not played the actual pen-and-paper game.
The graphics are nothing to get all excited about, although they're definitely an improvement over the previous game's. One of the things I really like was when you finally reach Neverwinter. The city layout was vastly improved, owing to NWN 2's new capabilities, I guess. Gone was the squarish city blocks of the old game, and the districts actually look like they've been taken almost directly from the Forgotten Realms pen-and-paper game supplements.
All in all, NWN 2 is definitely recommended for RPG fans everywhere, especially if your tabletop game of choice is D&D 3.5.
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Dreamfall is the sequel to The Longest Journey, which is an adventure game (in the traditional point-and-click gameplay sense) featuring a single female hero who must travel between Stark (the Earth of high technology) and Arcadia (the Earth of magic) in order to save both worlds. At least that's how I remember it, since I can't remember when I actually played the first game. Nor can I find my copy of the game cds.
Anyway, Dreamfall is essentially part 2 of TLJ, and this time, the story focuses on three people: a new chick, the old chick from the first game, and an adventurer-type guy. I forget the names right now. Too lazy to check the manual. Sorry.
Dreamfall's set in the same world, or worlds, as the case may be, and is still an adventure game (in that you need to solve puzzles and pick things up in order to advance the plot), but with the addition of certain action game elements, like a combat system. So in this game, unlike most other adventure games, there's a possibility for game over thoroughout most of the game.
The graphics are crisp, colorful and cartoony, but not too cartoony--a combination I like very much. The worlds of Stark and Arcadia, some locations of which you'll revisit in this sequel, have all been rendered in glorious 3D.
I haven't gotten very far yet, because of NWN 2, but I'll definitely play more of this later.
Maybe I'll post some screenshots later.
As for Oblivion... I don't really like the cultures presented in the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, although the game really was immersive. Well, at least until I started playing Lineage II. But since it was cheap, I thought I'd buy a copy. But I don't think it'll get installed any time soon.
Well, then, I'm gonna clock some more quality gaming hours. Until next time, folks. Game on!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
So True.
| You Are 15 Years Old |
 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. |
Yay! I'm more boyish than girlish!
| You Are 70% Boyish and 30% Girlish |
You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch. Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes. You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them. You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be. |
Friday, March 17, 2006
On the bus home...
It's the end of the day. End of the week as well. YAY!
Sky's still blue, but Park Square 2's orange night lights are already
on. Someone just sat beside me, had to move over. Paeng just texted
me: HOSTEL TOM. Don't know if I can come. Bus is leaving now, and my
mobile's lowbatt already, so until next time...this is fun!
test again
hiya! this post was done using mini opera and gmail mobile and my post! heehee!
--
=-====================
Leonard Anthony P. Arcilla
[blog]Random Punk: http://randompunk.blogspot.com/
[serialnovel]Beyond Black Doors (A Knights of Obscurity Tale):
http://beyondblackdoors.blogspot.com
"Without this playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever come to
birth. The debt we owe to the play of our imagination is
incalculable."
--Psychological Types, Carl Jung
Thursday, November 3, 2005
Cave Story
I heard about this game from a post on rpg.net.
So I checked out the link he gave me, which lead to the Aeon Genesis website. Aeon Genesis is a fan-translation group who had brought over a lot of quality Japanese games, mostly SNES RPGs which we non-Japanese folks would have no hope of playing otherwise.
This time, they translated a freeware Japanese game called Doukutsu Monogatari ("Cave Story"), released December 2004 by Studio Pixel. Such a simple name for a wonderful action adventure game. With gameplay akin to the current incarnations of Castlevania, you control a soldier girl who must explore the caves until she gets to the end. A bit simplistic but Cave Story actually has a "story" of sorts: there are NPCs sprinkled althroughout that advance the plot, as well as give helpful hints. You'd even come to love the villains you'll encounter.And then there're the hero's different guns, ranging from the basic Polar Star to weirder ones like the Bubbler. Each of these guns can be powered up 3 levels by collecting crystals from destroyed monsters, with their effects growing with each levelup. However, if the hero takes any damage, the weapons also take damage, often resulting in them degrading. Powering them up doesn't take much effort fortunately, so it becomes only an issue during boss battles.
The gameplay is solid and the graphics are charming, especially when we consider the fact that this is a freeware game. Which kind of puts to shame those US/UK game companies who churn out crap games.
I played Cave Story using my Logitech Dual Action Gamepad, and the game automatically maps to the buttons, even to the point of using the Left Analog Stick for its directional control.
If you loved Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (inclusing the various GBA remixes) and Metroid, be sure to check this game out. Here are the download links again:
Doukutsu Monogatari -- LZH is a compressed archive format; I used WinRAR to unpack mine.
Cave Story English Translation Patch -- unzip this, run the patch, and tell it where you installed the game.
Game on.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Massively Multiplayer Roleplaying Games
As I'm writing this, Windows Update is downloading the Microsoft .NET Framework (it's taken 2 hours and counting... don't you just love crappy 56k dialup?). I need it to run WinTin, a MUD client. I've recently begun to play MUDs again, hoping to find there what I found lacking in graphical MMORPGs like Ragnarok Online.
I'd use zMUD instead as the client, except it'll cost me $30, which I can't pay for right now. So I chose WinTin instead. It's got the same power functionalities and it's free and open source too!
What exactly am I gonna play? Lusternia! One of the things I hated about RO was the bland fetch quests. Lusternia seems to tout it's quest system a lot on their page, so I thought to give it a whirl. So in case you find yourself adventuring in Lusternia, give my character, Laire, a call.
I'd use zMUD instead as the client, except it'll cost me $30, which I can't pay for right now. So I chose WinTin instead. It's got the same power functionalities and it's free and open source too!
What exactly am I gonna play? Lusternia! One of the things I hated about RO was the bland fetch quests. Lusternia seems to tout it's quest system a lot on their page, so I thought to give it a whirl. So in case you find yourself adventuring in Lusternia, give my character, Laire, a call.
D&D 3.5e and Humor
Since my disconnection from Ragnarok Online, I've been prepping up on reviving my pen and paper gaming hobby. Got the v3.5 books (didn't get around to buying 'em when they first came out because I was too hooked on pRO at that time). Did some online surfing to get a feel for the state-of-start in gaming. Subscribed to a couple of RSS feeds (mostly rpg.net and morrus'). And that's how I stumbled on this little web comic serial called The Order of the Stick.
Now I'm a fan.
If you haven't read the comic yet AND you're a D&D gamer, then you're missing out. Get your d20s ready and join the party ASAP! You'll be traveling with Elan the Bard, Durkon Thundershield (dwarven cleric of Thor, complete with Highlands accent to boot), the beautiful rogue Haley Starshine, the halfling ranger Belkar Bitterleaf ("world's best tracker under 4 feet tall"), the mysterious elven wizard Vaarsuvius, and their leader, the veteran fighter Roy Greenhilt.
Now I'm a fan.
If you haven't read the comic yet AND you're a D&D gamer, then you're missing out. Get your d20s ready and join the party ASAP! You'll be traveling with Elan the Bard, Durkon Thundershield (dwarven cleric of Thor, complete with Highlands accent to boot), the beautiful rogue Haley Starshine, the halfling ranger Belkar Bitterleaf ("world's best tracker under 4 feet tall"), the mysterious elven wizard Vaarsuvius, and their leader, the veteran fighter Roy Greenhilt.
Happy birthday to me!
I think that title kind of makes me sound pathetic... *shrug*
Haven't posted in ages, despite previous promises to post more regularly. So I won't make any this time. Okay, so here we go. What have I been up to?
Well, for starters, I've semi-retired from Ragnarok Online. That's right. My decision was a bit forced; someone (who I trust enough to give access to my game account) freaked out and deleted all of my Loki server characters. Took me almost two years to get those electronic avatars to where they were. Guess that's life for you. I did cry about it, mostly because it was the lowest blow she could deal me, but, on the other hand, I guess I'm thankful. My life's been starting to move in another direction right before this incident happened, so I just took this as confirmation of my new path.
Of course, I won't forget what she Fynn Elenium and the others. They will be avenged someday. I shall have to cause the deletion of the culprit, her entire family, and all her hopes and dreams. Oh sweet, sweet revenge.
All that's for later.
I've been working again (for a month now, I think). Systems Administrator for some exclusive girl's school. Job's good, no complaints there.
My girlfriend's leaving soon (November 13th) for Abu Dabi (sp?). I do hope this time we'll hold on. We didn't have much luck the first time she left (about a couple of years ago, for Qatar). But we've learned, we've loved, and we're gonna try harder this time around. I love you, Janette.
OH RIGHT! Today's my birthday! Sorry, I almost forgot. Mom and sis just treated me to a very nice birthday lunch. Nothing fancy, just spaghetti and chicken and those little hotdogs and marshmallows on sticks... Heehee. Like a kid's party. I should be in Katiklan later today though (to meet Paeng and Krishlex and hangout at Boracay). But with my girlfriend's imminent departure, I had to take a raincheck on that.
I'm also enjoying Day Number 2 of our ultra-long vacation! No work on Monday (Oct 31st) because November 1 is a holiday. School holiday on the 2nd as well (All Soul's Day; thank you, catholicism). And I think November 3's the end of Ramadan (thank you, Islam), and the 4th's also declared a holiday since it's lonely getting stuck in between two non-working days. To make it short, no work until the 7th! It's nice having a long-ass time to relax.
I'm, like, 29 years old already, I think...? Or at least that age when you're in denial that you're growing old. Growing old's only a mindset anyway. I'm still that impish 15-year-old boy who loves gaming.
The future might be hazy, but I'm thankful that I'm getting somewhere.
Haven't posted in ages, despite previous promises to post more regularly. So I won't make any this time. Okay, so here we go. What have I been up to?
Well, for starters, I've semi-retired from Ragnarok Online. That's right. My decision was a bit forced; someone (who I trust enough to give access to my game account) freaked out and deleted all of my Loki server characters. Took me almost two years to get those electronic avatars to where they were. Guess that's life for you. I did cry about it, mostly because it was the lowest blow she could deal me, but, on the other hand, I guess I'm thankful. My life's been starting to move in another direction right before this incident happened, so I just took this as confirmation of my new path.
Of course, I won't forget what she Fynn Elenium and the others. They will be avenged someday. I shall have to cause the deletion of the culprit, her entire family, and all her hopes and dreams. Oh sweet, sweet revenge.
All that's for later.
I've been working again (for a month now, I think). Systems Administrator for some exclusive girl's school. Job's good, no complaints there.
My girlfriend's leaving soon (November 13th) for Abu Dabi (sp?). I do hope this time we'll hold on. We didn't have much luck the first time she left (about a couple of years ago, for Qatar). But we've learned, we've loved, and we're gonna try harder this time around. I love you, Janette.
OH RIGHT! Today's my birthday! Sorry, I almost forgot. Mom and sis just treated me to a very nice birthday lunch. Nothing fancy, just spaghetti and chicken and those little hotdogs and marshmallows on sticks... Heehee. Like a kid's party. I should be in Katiklan later today though (to meet Paeng and Krishlex and hangout at Boracay). But with my girlfriend's imminent departure, I had to take a raincheck on that.
I'm also enjoying Day Number 2 of our ultra-long vacation! No work on Monday (Oct 31st) because November 1 is a holiday. School holiday on the 2nd as well (All Soul's Day; thank you, catholicism). And I think November 3's the end of Ramadan (thank you, Islam), and the 4th's also declared a holiday since it's lonely getting stuck in between two non-working days. To make it short, no work until the 7th! It's nice having a long-ass time to relax.
I'm, like, 29 years old already, I think...? Or at least that age when you're in denial that you're growing old. Growing old's only a mindset anyway. I'm still that impish 15-year-old boy who loves gaming.
The future might be hazy, but I'm thankful that I'm getting somewhere.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Like A Phoenix...
(or, Yay! KoO's now level 2!)
The Knights of Obscurity, my pRO Loki guild, was broken a couple of weeks ago. It was immediately reformed on the very same night, last January the 5th, with Fynn Elenium taking on the guildmaster position as replacement for former guildmistress, Sevrin Astergarden. Now, a little over two weeks and two guildhunts later, the new KoO has gained it's first level up! (Pwede na ulit maki-salingpusa sa guild wars! XD~!!)
800k EXP to go (from left to right): Ices Frostmourne, Fynn Elenium, Sevrin Astergarden, Alena, Leon Cross, Maria (and her pet lunatic, Kimmy), and Kaela.
Knights of Obscurity, Guild Lv. 2 again (from left to right): Kaela, Stajah (who joined us just as we entered the "guild" dungeon), Sevrin Astergarden, Fynn Elenium, Alena, Leon Cross, Alestor (who managed to join us shortly before levelup), and Ices Frostmourne. Maria had to back out during the middle of the guild boost on account of extreme sleepiness ^^;; Special mention to Maraksus, who did join the guild as we celebrated at the Prontera tambayan (in front of Grandma's House) XD.
Game on!
The Knights of Obscurity, my pRO Loki guild, was broken a couple of weeks ago. It was immediately reformed on the very same night, last January the 5th, with Fynn Elenium taking on the guildmaster position as replacement for former guildmistress, Sevrin Astergarden. Now, a little over two weeks and two guildhunts later, the new KoO has gained it's first level up! (Pwede na ulit maki-salingpusa sa guild wars! XD~!!)
800k EXP to go (from left to right): Ices Frostmourne, Fynn Elenium, Sevrin Astergarden, Alena, Leon Cross, Maria (and her pet lunatic, Kimmy), and Kaela.
Knights of Obscurity, Guild Lv. 2 again (from left to right): Kaela, Stajah (who joined us just as we entered the "guild" dungeon), Sevrin Astergarden, Fynn Elenium, Alena, Leon Cross, Alestor (who managed to join us shortly before levelup), and Ices Frostmourne. Maria had to back out during the middle of the guild boost on account of extreme sleepiness ^^;; Special mention to Maraksus, who did join the guild as we celebrated at the Prontera tambayan (in front of Grandma's House) XD.
Game on!
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Turning Japanese...
My japanese name is 猿渡 Saruwatari (monkey on a crossing bridge) 駿 Shun (fast person).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.
Happy New Year, everyone! ^_^v
Sunday, November 7, 2004
Another Year Older
Had my birthday last week. Whoop-de-doo. I'm feeling just how mortal I am, and I'm not even 30 yet! LOL. Still, I'm happy with my life, my love, and where everything's all going at the moment. But enough of that. Here's what I'm up to currently:
Beyond Black Doors
Okay, my online collaborative novel about the guild, Knights of Obscurity, has been posted everywhere: RagnaBoards, Writing.com, and even FanFiction.net. But we've finally decided to use Blogger to serialize the entire story. So check out Beyond Black Doors: A Knights of Obscurity Tale, for an action-packed fantasy saga where the knight Sevrin Astergarden, the assassin Fynn Elenium, and the rest of the Knights of Obscurity must face the demons of their past in order to save Rune-Midgard's future. Has Ragnarok finally come?
Dragon Quest V
I'm currently playing the fan-translation of this SNES console RPG classic using Snes9x, and I'm hooked! This is one of those must-play games for console RPG fans. I love the nostalgic feel of the game, which takes me back to that magical time when console RPGs were more game and less eyecandy. I'll write a full review when the Quest ends!
Plans
I'm trying to go back to pen-and-paper face-to-face RPGs (with some of my old gaming group intact) and a new campaign is in the works. I really miss GMing a lot. Soon, the dust would be blown from my rulebooks and the stacks of old campaign notes would be opened and reviewed, and this Yuletide would be a gaming-filled season for my gaming group. Hope you have the same too!
Well, that's all for now. Game on, all.
Beyond Black Doors
Okay, my online collaborative novel about the guild, Knights of Obscurity, has been posted everywhere: RagnaBoards, Writing.com, and even FanFiction.net. But we've finally decided to use Blogger to serialize the entire story. So check out Beyond Black Doors: A Knights of Obscurity Tale, for an action-packed fantasy saga where the knight Sevrin Astergarden, the assassin Fynn Elenium, and the rest of the Knights of Obscurity must face the demons of their past in order to save Rune-Midgard's future. Has Ragnarok finally come?
Dragon Quest V
I'm currently playing the fan-translation of this SNES console RPG classic using Snes9x, and I'm hooked! This is one of those must-play games for console RPG fans. I love the nostalgic feel of the game, which takes me back to that magical time when console RPGs were more game and less eyecandy. I'll write a full review when the Quest ends!
Plans
I'm trying to go back to pen-and-paper face-to-face RPGs (with some of my old gaming group intact) and a new campaign is in the works. I really miss GMing a lot. Soon, the dust would be blown from my rulebooks and the stacks of old campaign notes would be opened and reviewed, and this Yuletide would be a gaming-filled season for my gaming group. Hope you have the same too!
Well, that's all for now. Game on, all.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Gaming Style Evolution
People play roleplaying games for differing reasons. That's a given. There are a myriad of styles, and gamers over the years have tried to classify them into several different models in hopes of making sense out of the chaos. Here we'll focus on the typical roleplaying game which uses rules to resolve conflict, and freeform storytelling roleplaying games.
For far too long, people have wagged it in my face: that storytelling is the "superior"/"more evolved" gaming style. That is all well and good. Different strokes for different folks I always say.
Let's forget the fact that such freeform games (they are barely "games" as such) are more of a devolution, a return back to the make-believe "games" we played as children. RPG rules were created to resolve the problems we had when we played Cops & Robbers: the "I-hit-you!-No-you-didn't!" arguments that almost always ended the game soon after.
I favor moderate rules that cover most instances that would crop up in a game with little to no question. It needn't be heavy. But a game system can get too rules light, to the point that everything is vague it's unplayable for me. Rules that offer tactical choices for the player and GM alike (crunchy bits as some may put it) are my preference. The point to a game system is to supply the game part in a roleplaying game.
Even so, however, that does not preclude me from telling a good story, given the framework of the game system. I am, after all, a writer as well. I just want to get my game in my RPG, and keep my freeform RPing in my own stories. People who wanted to freeform to be able to tell a good story (because otherwise, they claim, that the rules get in the way) should just write their story. There's no need for the false pretense of calling it a game.
Game on.
For far too long, people have wagged it in my face: that storytelling is the "superior"/"more evolved" gaming style. That is all well and good. Different strokes for different folks I always say.
Let's forget the fact that such freeform games (they are barely "games" as such) are more of a devolution, a return back to the make-believe "games" we played as children. RPG rules were created to resolve the problems we had when we played Cops & Robbers: the "I-hit-you!-No-you-didn't!" arguments that almost always ended the game soon after.
I favor moderate rules that cover most instances that would crop up in a game with little to no question. It needn't be heavy. But a game system can get too rules light, to the point that everything is vague it's unplayable for me. Rules that offer tactical choices for the player and GM alike (crunchy bits as some may put it) are my preference. The point to a game system is to supply the game part in a roleplaying game.
Even so, however, that does not preclude me from telling a good story, given the framework of the game system. I am, after all, a writer as well. I just want to get my game in my RPG, and keep my freeform RPing in my own stories. People who wanted to freeform to be able to tell a good story (because otherwise, they claim, that the rules get in the way) should just write their story. There's no need for the false pretense of calling it a game.
Game on.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Spire City Ascendant
Hi, everyone!
I haven't posted here in weeks! (I know, I know, I just promised a couple of posts back to post regularly =P)
But I actually have an excuse! My play-by-post Returner Final Fantasy RPG playtest campaign, Spire City Ascendant, has finally begun! It's on this site called StoryCrafter, a place for online collaborative storytelling, freeform roleplaying, and of course, role-playing games (I love my dice *kiss kiss*).
Well, go have a look into Spire City if you're interested. The game's full right now and all five main characters are just starting to poke around in the old tower-city. Hopefully, they'll all be caught up in the tangled storyline about falling empires, evil High Priests, mysterious ever-changing dungeons, cults using a previously unknown dark magic, and of course (no Final Fantasy without this one) the end of the world.
So join Dent Flair, an Okami Swordmaster; Jack Lorekeeper, the Thie--err, Treasure Hunter; Kylor Tristan, the Black Mage; Vilis Valenti, the Rune Knight (and her dragon, Valostine); and Yate the Red Mage (he's a male Mithra too, of all things!), as they make their fortune in Ascendant, the Spire City!
It is in the nature of things to change. Eternally.
Game on!
I haven't posted here in weeks! (I know, I know, I just promised a couple of posts back to post regularly =P)
But I actually have an excuse! My play-by-post Returner Final Fantasy RPG playtest campaign, Spire City Ascendant, has finally begun! It's on this site called StoryCrafter, a place for online collaborative storytelling, freeform roleplaying, and of course, role-playing games (I love my dice *kiss kiss*).
Well, go have a look into Spire City if you're interested. The game's full right now and all five main characters are just starting to poke around in the old tower-city. Hopefully, they'll all be caught up in the tangled storyline about falling empires, evil High Priests, mysterious ever-changing dungeons, cults using a previously unknown dark magic, and of course (no Final Fantasy without this one) the end of the world.
So join Dent Flair, an Okami Swordmaster; Jack Lorekeeper, the Thie--err, Treasure Hunter; Kylor Tristan, the Black Mage; Vilis Valenti, the Rune Knight (and her dragon, Valostine); and Yate the Red Mage (he's a male Mithra too, of all things!), as they make their fortune in Ascendant, the Spire City!
It is in the nature of things to change. Eternally.
Game on!
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Final Fantasy: Another Story
Hi, all.
I miss pen-and-paper gaming.
Since I've started playing the philippine Ragnarok Online (pRO), I didn't have the time to run any face-to-face games anymore. And that's sad. Maybe I did need the break though; it's been 15 years since I started GMing afterall and I was seriously burnt out.
Now, though, I feel ready to take on the GM's mantle again. I'm planning a mini-campaign that'll be using the current 3rd Edition of the Returner Final Fantasy RPG. Aside from giving me a much needed pen-and-paper gaming fix, it'd also introduce a new player to the world of tabletop RPGs, and playtest the new Final Fantasy rules as well!
The working title for the campaign I'm planning would be tentatively titled Final Fantasy: Another Story. It'll feature an entirely new world and an action-packed story inspired by the themes prevalent in the Final Fantasy series of console games (well, FF I to FF IX, for the most part). I plan the venue to be online, using OpenRPG as the virtual tabletop.
Players can expect lots of action as in the console games (but not to the extent of random encounters every few steps or so), as well as dramatic scenes involving character development. I'm aiming to make it just as enjoyable as the eye-candy in the recent FF games. My GMing style focuses on the story as well as the game, a nice middle-ground between being freeform and being too rulesy.
Tentative timeslots would be from 4:00 to 8:00pm (GMT/UTC). That's 12-4:00am in the Philippines (GMT+8).
I've got about 3-4 slots open so anyone who'd like to try are invited to contact me by posting a comment here or emailing me (my email address is in my profile). Keep in mind that you need to have OpenRPG installed in order to play. A copy of the 3rd Edition Returner Final Fantasy RPG rules can be downloaded here (you can view the rules in the wiki or just download the latest compilation as a Windows Help File here).
Game on.
I miss pen-and-paper gaming.
Since I've started playing the philippine Ragnarok Online (pRO), I didn't have the time to run any face-to-face games anymore. And that's sad. Maybe I did need the break though; it's been 15 years since I started GMing afterall and I was seriously burnt out.
Now, though, I feel ready to take on the GM's mantle again. I'm planning a mini-campaign that'll be using the current 3rd Edition of the Returner Final Fantasy RPG. Aside from giving me a much needed pen-and-paper gaming fix, it'd also introduce a new player to the world of tabletop RPGs, and playtest the new Final Fantasy rules as well!
The working title for the campaign I'm planning would be tentatively titled Final Fantasy: Another Story. It'll feature an entirely new world and an action-packed story inspired by the themes prevalent in the Final Fantasy series of console games (well, FF I to FF IX, for the most part). I plan the venue to be online, using OpenRPG as the virtual tabletop.
Players can expect lots of action as in the console games (but not to the extent of random encounters every few steps or so), as well as dramatic scenes involving character development. I'm aiming to make it just as enjoyable as the eye-candy in the recent FF games. My GMing style focuses on the story as well as the game, a nice middle-ground between being freeform and being too rulesy.
Tentative timeslots would be from 4:00 to 8:00pm (GMT/UTC). That's 12-4:00am in the Philippines (GMT+8).
I've got about 3-4 slots open so anyone who'd like to try are invited to contact me by posting a comment here or emailing me (my email address is in my profile). Keep in mind that you need to have OpenRPG installed in order to play. A copy of the 3rd Edition Returner Final Fantasy RPG rules can be downloaded here (you can view the rules in the wiki or just download the latest compilation as a Windows Help File here).
Game on.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
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