MMO Monday - Everquest

MMO Monday - Part Two

Everquest

While this game also released in 1999, months before Asheron's Call, I didn't experience it until it's first expansion was released in 2000. My closet gamer was salivating over what this game offered, though, when I finally got around to investigating it. Unlike Asheron's Call, Everquest offered a full world to explore, not just a single continent. While that world was broken into multiple zones, complete with loading screens and everything, the promise of adventure from landmass to landmass was too much for me to ignore. Not only that, but it also gave me the opportunity to explore other races besides Human, and races that I had, up until this point, only read about in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. Wood Elves, High Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, and more were all available to play, and I couldn't wait.

But what drew me in was the cover art for the first expansion, The Ruins of Kunark. Whoever designed that must have known what captured my attention, because this did immediately as I spied the game box on the shelf at Target so long ago...

MMO Monday - Asheron's Call

MMO Monday - Part One

Asheron's Call

With the newest expansion of the world's most successful massively multiplayer online RPG releasing inside a month, it has inspired me to take a retrospective look at how this genre of video games has influenced how I look at gaming, role playing, and the online community as a whole. I've played my share of online games, and tried subscriptions to various MMOs, World of Warcraft being only one of them.

This post is the first in a four post series that will go through the most influential MMOs in my gaming history, and how they have shaped who I am today. So, for starters, we're going back to the year 1999.

Alien: Isolation - Early Thoughts

Alien: Isolation - PS3 Digital Version

Early Thoughts

For those of you who know me personally, you know my birthday was just a couple of weeks ago. Last Saturday, to honor this occasion, my girlfriend bought me the digital version of Alien: Isolation on the PS3, since I have yet to upgrade to the PS4. Having bought Aliens: Colonial Marines for full price the week it came out, and not to mention AVP years before that, among nearly a dozen other Alien-themed games from when I was younger, I knew that the list of quality Alien games was much shorter than the list of terrible ones.

The only franchise that comes to mind with a greater disparity is Star Wars, and that is simply because there are so many more Star Wars games to begin with.

Anyways, here is a breakdown of my early experiences with the game. Keep in mind I'm only about two and a half hours into the game, and I will refrain from any major spoilers, focusing instead on the game-play and strong tones rather than plot. Just know that, from what I've seen of the plot so far, it seems to hold up well enough, with much more credibility than Colonial Marines's fan-fiction-like story.

Vlog Post - 10.09.2014

New Vlog post for October 9th, 2014.

Silent Hill finally gets its due

This post contains mild spoilers for PT. To find out more about information on PT, please look here.

Anybody who knows me understands that I have an indescribably infinite love for well-made horror stories. It is my how to one day write serialized horror/science-fiction, and I'm certain that those stories will be incredibly influenced by the Silent Hill franchise, among my other favorite horror stories.

This year's Gamescom saw the announcement of P.T. on the PS4, a playable trailer that raised a lot of questions and sparked a lot f discussion. Upon experiencing it, we find it to be a disturbingly ongoing walk down an infinite hallway, which gets increasingly unnerving with each new loop.

The pacing is rough, or can be, since what little progression exists is based solely on the nerve of the player as well as their ability to spot and activate the nuances of the environment. Three of the play-throughs that I watched all went between twenty minutes and three hours of play, and none of them reached the end, either because they were too scared, or because they were too frustrated with not finding the clues needed to progress to the next version of the hallway.

After finally finding a short video of the final moments of PT, I'm greeted with a very reassuring sight. Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro are collaborating on the next installment of the Silent Hill franchise, entitled Silent Hills. It is also starring the likeness and voice of Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead.

This is an amazing bit of news that has me incredibly excited for a franchise that has done nothing but disappoint me since Silent Hill 3 (although Shattered Memories was an interesting revision). Del Toro's artistic flair and haunting imagery combined with Kojima's knack for breaking the fourth wall (which is displayed in PT), will combine for, what I expect to be, one of the greatest Silent Hill experiences in the franchise long and storied history. And these are high words coming from someone who is normally much more conservative with his excitement.

Massive Updates (plus some minor ones, too)

Hey readers!

Wow, two new posts inside of a week? What's going on!?

I've been really busy setting the groundwork for my coming serial releases, and I wanted to share the results of all that work with you, my loyal blog readers. A lot of things have changed or been added, to here, to the Round 10 Website, and to my new central author website, and I would love for you to check out any and all of them. However, for your convenience, this post breaks them up neatly so that you can skip right to the ones that interest you the most.

Lessons Learned in Self-Publishing: Part One

For those of you who only keep up with my blog and don't pay much attention to anything else I do (and why you only keep up with my semi-hardly-regular blog, I have no idea), Elephants in the Living Room part II, and the Complete Edition of Elephants, have both come out. And, if you follow my Facebook page, you know that my next book, an all new series, will be releasing early in June this year. On top of that, my beta reader notes came back for the Round 10 Core Rules, meaning the printed edition will become available soon enough.

So, I've been fairly busy. But that's not the point of this post.

The Candle Which Burns Twice As Bright...

Another play has come up in my area. Not only am I interested in auditioning, but it is a musical, which is part of my bucket list. It only seems natural that I should audition for it, right? I mean, I've hit up every audition that has been available since last April, so why stop now.

Unfortunately, I'm not as excited for this audition as I would've originally expected. So much so to the point that I am not even 100% certain if I will audition for it. While I have no doubts that it would be an amazing experience and it would be truly exciting and engaging, and I would meet new wonderful people and get the chance to work with others I already know and love within the local theater community, I can't help but wonder if I'm filling my plate too full already.

Life, Work, Writing & Balance

Recently, and by recently I mean in about the last week, I've been struck with a new fear. I know, my list of fears is pretty long, but this one is new and immediate and so it gains some additional attention. The new year has started, and the end of the first full week is approaching. According to my count, I've done a total of 9275 words of writing this week, beating my weekly goal by 2275 words. Not too shabby, and a good start to what will hopefully be 52 weeks of consistent writing.

Zimildran Excitement to the Extreme!

I mean, look at that! How can this image not excite you? I guess the dinosaur junkie in me just gets giddy when seeing this image. Ramon is such a talented individual, and seeing him bring a specific, full world of my own design to life through wonderful art is, to me, breathtaking.

Zimildran has been going well, with the writing and development staying just ahead of our weekly play-test sessions. It is the culmination of almost everything that is at the core of my interests; dinosaurs, mysticism, intercultural diplomacy and conflict, with a dash of steampunk, all spread thickly over a thick base of cosmic horror. It feels wholly original, yet also like I've known it my entire life. Its ancient ruins, spiritual essence, and primal wildlife have stalked my dreams and sneaked into my writing over the years, and it is finally coming to fruition later this year. I am literally beside myself with excitement for this project to be finished.

I can only hope that this excitement holds true throughout the production of this book. It is already much larger than I ever expected it to be (130 pages and counting), and only continues to grow with each passing week.

Soon enough, in the next few weeks hopefully, I will post an excerpt of the world of Zimildran on the Round 10 website, giving you a bit more of a taste of the nature of this world, giving substance to the image above and a window into my imagination.

To Kickstart or not to Kickstart

While my personal experience with Kickstarter hasn't been the greatest (two failed projects in less than 6 months), I would be lying if I said I haven't considered using it again. A man with as many ideas as me needs all the help he can get when trying to turn those ideas into reality, and between Round 10, Zimildran, Dreams of a Dying God, and a certain other, unnamed gaming project, I have a lot of opportunities for help. Namely in the illustration department.

Start the Year with some (more) Self Assessment

Well here we are; 2014. Eight years after I graduated from high school, almost nine years since I started working at Target, and going on twenty two years of living in Brainerd. When I look at things like that, it's easy to get a little disheartened. However, with the way things have been going lately, I feel much more inclined to believe that they will only go upwards from here on out.

I am a published author. I am an independent game designer. While neither have been 'successful' from a sales standpoint, at least they're out there. I am a wellspring of ideas, and I find myself having to pull back the reigns when cataloging my aspirations for future projects. I want to start working on all of them right now, and I want to see them all through to fruition. If only I had a team of me's.

Happy Holidays from Experience Points!

Hello readers! It's been a while since I've updated the blog, so here's a quick recap of the last few weeks, as well as some minor plans for the near future.

The holidays have been busy and hectic as I bounce from one part of the family to the other, balancing work, work, writing, friends, family, and girlfriend. In actuality the business is a blessing and I welcome it with open arms. I am very fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life, even if scheduling can get stressful at times.

I have been continuing to work on three different projects at once, as is my way, while also throwing down the groundwork for a new pet project in the future. The print format of the Round 10 Core Rulebook is at a solid start, but it will not be ready by the end of the month, as originally expected. I think, when it comes to releasing books, I'm going to stop posting my expected release dates, as I can never seem to stay on top of them. Additionally, I am tightening up the writing of the first adventure module for R10, Operation: Heavenly Discord, which should be ready for digital download in the near future. And finally, I am starting to revise and piece together the sections of the Zimildran Setting Module for R10, which should be ready for publication sometime next year. Add to this the fact that I am also developing a second tabletop game that may or may not see release, as well as trying to balance every other aspect of my life, and I hope you can understand why my blog has been so silent as of late.

As for the future, I've said this before, but it is something that needs to happen and I plan to hold myself more accountable from here on out. Unlike years prior, I will be holding myself to a set of resolutions for this coming new year. Where once my resolutions were abstract and difficult to define, such as 'be a better friend' or 'be more creative', this year I plan to make the resolutions concrete and easy to track. Also, they will be recorded here, in my personal journal, and posted on my fridge at the apartment, so that I will always be well aware of their importance. As resolutions in years past have been about myself and my relationships with others, these ones will almost entirely be about me and my work, with Round 10, online publishing, illustration and game development. I am excited to share the resolutions with you when they are finalized!

As always, thank you so very much for your continued support and readership. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or criticisms about the blog, Round 10, or my writing in general, please email me at lostlegacyrp@gmail.com. Check out my Current Creative Projects page to see what I'm officially working on, and keep up to date with all of your Round 10 needs at the Round 10 Website, Round 10 on Facebook, and by getting Round 10 from RPGNow!

Round 10 Core Rulebook PDF is available!

Yes, finally, the Core Rulebook for the Round 10 Role-Playing Game System is now available for digital purchase as a PDF from RPGNow. Simply click this link to go to the book's page!

The Print-On-Demand should be available by the end of the month, as formatting for PoD is more time intensive than I originally expected. However, until then, you can get exposed to the initial Round 10 experience, a 217 PDF document, for only $19.99!

What does this mean for my other writing projects? Well, Elephants in the Living Room is postponed. It is still my goal to get it out before Christmas, but now with Round 10 making noticeable headway, my drive and effort is more easily placed in that venue. My other, mentioned-but-not-elaborated-upon, writing project is also postponed, likely until early 2014. My apologies to anybody who has been waiting for either of these, but my guess is that those individuals are few and silent. However, if you are waiting on those, then feel free to check out Round 10 until they release!

All jokes aside, I have always been one to undertake more projects than I can adequately finish in a reasonable time. And so I end up, weeks later, finding that I've over-committed and under-delivered. My apologies, but Round 10 has been almost 3 years in the making, and the excitement of it finally hitting digital shelves is too much for me to ignore right now.

As always, feel free to leave your feedback here. Check out the Round 10 website, Facebook page, and get the Quick Start Guide for free. Thank you so much for your continued support, and I hope to only continue to deliver quality written products to all of you, be it in the tabletop gaming venue or the digital creative writing venue.

NaNoWriMo - Oh yeah, I was writing something...

I once again prove to be not very disciplined. It is now November 22nd, and I finally got some more writing done in my NaNoWriMo project. About another 3,000 words. I'm either not going to make the goal (again), or I'm going to have one crazy last week of November.

In addition to my creative writing project, it turns out that 'Elephants' parts 2 and 3 will be combined into a single part, since the word count of what would be part 3 is much lower than I originally expected. I do still expect to have that edited, revised and published for December 5th, so keep your eyes peeled.

If I can get this second creative piece ready for January 5th, I'll be a happy writer.

And finally, as far as Round 10 work goes, final edits have been made for multiple sections. We are fast approaching the release of the Core Rulebook, only 6 months behind schedule! Stay tuned for where and how you can get your hands on a copy!

This post is really just a generic update, and also a plug. Make sure you check out the Round 10 website, my book 'Elephants in the Living Room - Part One' on Amazon (be kind and leave a review!), and Round 10 on Facebook.

What is a Writer who doesn't Write?

Wow, browsing the Vlog posts is an interesting pass-time. It's like a facial hair gallery. Anyways, it's been a while since I made a text post, so here's my attempt at channeling my inner writer. Who, as you may well know, I am trying to bring out again.

My focus for my future has changed, yet again. This blog was started to help follow my drive for teaching and becoming an English teacher. However, with certain circumstances these last couple of months, mainly my financial situation, the educational hoops, jobs changing, family emergencies, theater productions and closing in on Round 10's final stages of production, my drive and desire to teach has been curbed in light of what is more readily viewed as 'real life'.

Summer Resolution

You know, I should just do away with my proposed blogging schedule. I'm not sticking to it at all.

Anywho...

I went on another late-night walk a few days ago, before this bout of rain and wind hit central Minnesota. I actually left my headphones at home, for once, to allow myself time to really think, rather than drowning out my thoughts with music.

I realized that, as is my norm around this time of year, I was becoming quite restless. Desires and drives were building up in me, causing my satisfaction to dip and my lamentations to rise. I saw time as something slipping away from me, as days wasted and relationships waning, and there was little I could do to reverse any of it. I wanted to call people and talk to people for no reason other than to do it. I wanted to play my drum outside again. I wanted to go on a road trip. I wanted to turn my life on its head, make decisions before I had time to think about them, and live my life, even if only for a short while, on the edge of my seat.

Sitting back and thinking about it all now, I feel that it isn't so much that I want to shake my life up with some random event or some big decision. Lord knows big changes are coming soon enough, anyway. Rather, I want to ensure that I feel good about how I spend my time overall. And the one way for me to feel good about my time, hands down beyond any doubt, is to spend it with people I care about, friends and family.

And so that is my "Summer Resolution." Consider it an expansion to my New Years Resolution (which was to be a better friend, brother, uncle and son, for anybody keeping count). For this summer, I am making it my goal to create more memories, take more pictures and do more with other people.
So if you're reading this and you know me personally, hold me to it. I've been known to hit stretches of complacency, times where I'm content just sitting at home doing next to nothing, and then I always regret those times later. I want to limit those times as much as possible this year, and again, if you know me personally, I want to be with YOU more this summer.

Now to get back to work on Round 10...

Changing the Game

Things have been moving at a very definite pace for me these last couple of weeks. I made some big decisions, the nature of which I can't really get into yet, but that will be changing the course of my life for at least the next year or two. It's both exciting and frightening, but I know that these are decisions that had to be made, considering my future goals and my current direction.

On a smaller scale, I made a tough choice about my personal belongings today, selling a good number of old video games for past - and current - generation systems. They were simply sitting on the shelves or in drawers, collecting dust and not seeing any use, and since I had to spend extra money on phone repairs and dropped some more cash into Round 10 (necessary cash, that is), I've been a little tight on funds.

But creativity is one of my strengths, and being creative with how I spend my money is a skill I've been tempering since January, thanks in no small part to the guidance of my sister. And it's something I'm going to have to get better at, looking at the road ahead.

I am nothing if not a work in progress.

The Round 10 Quick Start Guide is now available - for FREE!

Check it out at RPGNow.com! As always, let me know about your questions, comments, concerns and criticisms! You can contact me for Round 10 information at the Round 10 Website or by emailing support@round10rpg.com.

ISBNs and Barcodes

Just purchased the ISBNs and the barcodes for the Round 10 Quick Start Guide and the Round 10 Core Rulebook, meaning that the QS Guide should be available for free download within the next few days! Meanwhile, work on the Core Rulebook is nearing completion, though the June release date may be a bit ambitious, and it might have to get pushed back to July, simply to ensure it is complete and ready to go.

I've gotten a few questions about what sort of programs I am using for putting the book together, since I am self-publishing. I started using simple Microsoft Word for the rulebook, and after it's first draft was complete I moved it into Scrivner for basic layout editing and revising. Scrivner is great for layout work, it's cheap, and it allows me to achieve the look I want with the pictures I have. For the cover I've used Photoshop Elements to put together the images that were made by my illustrator, logo designer and typographic artist, as well as adding in the cover credits and (now) the barcode.

Not really much to report on other than all of that. I've been spending a lot of time both on Round 10 and on my schoolwork, as we're approaching the end of the semester. Blogging may be dropping down a bit for the next week or two, so I apologize to my more regular readers. Please, bear with me!