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| Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 |
gobi
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1:49p |
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mycroftca
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7:36a |
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with_gusto
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8:50a |
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gobi
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7:06a |
[Do] Archipela-Do: Ownership
[This post is part of a series examining Archipelago 2 and what parts of that game might help solve some issues in Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple. Previously: Ritual Phrases, Destiny Points]
Ownership
Archipelago: Ownership is pretty cool. Each player controls some aspect of the setting and has veto power over any player's narration when it involves that element. For example, if you control Geography, you can add descriptions of the physical space in a scene, interpret aspects of the geography when they come up in Fate Cards, etc.
Do: I'm uncomfortable with "Veto" rules in games. They've always felt too ephemeral and capricious to me. Maybe it's just my board game experience talking there, but it makes the enjoyment of the game way too dependent on the players. I'd rather write a setting clearly enough that everyone knows the kind of story that will be told. And I would rather design a system actively, concretely encourages that kind of story. It may not work, but at least I'll know I've tried instead of just being able to blame it on a bad group.
There are a couple options that I might be able to work in Ownership, though.
Option 1: I can tie that to the Worldly Name. If you were to say "My worldly name means 'The storms bursting on the shore.'" That means you can incorporate storms, shores, and bursting into the story.
The problem is that worldly names don't communicate ownership as clearly as the flowery metaphorical temple name. Also, it might be loading too much information into one stat.
Option 2: Each letter might have elements of that world that are up for ownership. At the beginning of the session, each player takes ownership of one element, incorporating it into resolutions and troubles.
For example, in "Swallowed Whole," Melanie the letter-writer conveniently lists a handful of elements of the setting.
Dear Monk(s)
Hi how are you! My name is Melanie. I come from a very small planet.
There is me, my house, my cat, and two trees (see drawing).
I am not so good, because my planet has been eaten by a whale.
It is a very small planet. I woke up and I was inside a whale. I don't want to get (more) eaten.
Please help!
your freind
Melanie (age 8)
P.S. Drawing is on the other side.
P.P.S. I will make you cookies.
I could list the following elements in a sidebar, just as I'd been planning on doing:
- The Whale
- The House
- Melanie
- The Cat
- The Trees
At the beginning of a session, each player picks which elements they want to own this session. If I make things very, very strict, I can even say "No secondary characters may be introduced except those owned by a player." That automatically conserves characters and focuses the cast tightly on the pilgrims and a handful of worldly folks who put them into troublesome situations.
When we playtested this letter at Dreamation, it got super-duper gonzo after someone introduced a pygmy village living inside the whale's blowhole. Was it silly and fun? Yeah, but it was also unfocused and didn't really allow for a natural conclusion to events. |
gobi
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6:56a |
[Do] First stab at a swim lane flow chart.
PDF: www.danielsolis.com/Do-Overview.pdf
My first attempt at doing a swim lane flowchart. I wanted it to look a little more organized than the chart in the original post, but that's tough when the second half of the process involves so much cross-collaboration between players in different combinations. I thought using photos would help, but I wonder if it just makes things cluttered.
Folks in this thread are making me think a swim lane flow chart may not be necessary for character creation since so much of it becomes redundant in the first half. Also, that I should reserve the photos for the examples of play as I'd originally planned. |
| Monday, July 13th, 2009 |
thefreak
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10:08p |
You need more reason to come to ground control?  |
psione
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4:54p |
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gobi
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10:55a |
[Do] Swimlane Flowcharts
Anybody have examples of swim lane flow charts that look better than this?
I'm using a Swimlane structure for an overview of Do's turn order, but I can't find many references that don't either look barebones or garish. |
with_gusto
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9:10a |
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gobi
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7:20a |
[Do] Archipela-Do: Destiny Points
[This post is part of a series examining Archipelago 2 and what parts of that game might help solve some issues in Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple. Previously: Ritual Phrases]
Destiny Points
Archipelago: Destiny points are an end in your character's story that you will reach by the end of the game.You actually know how your story will end right from the start, so the rest of the session is about how those events come to pass. From the text, it sounds kind of like an in media res or "Coming up next, on Archipelago..." technique
Do: I've got something kind of like this in the current draft of Do.
A while back, I was trying to think of a way to reflect a pilgrim's adventures changing her a little bit at a time; growing into the adult she will become.
If you recall, the first word of your temple name is called your Banner and it represents how you get into trouble. The second word is your Avatar and it represents how you help people. At the end of each session, your little choices will culminate into one big change for your character: The Banner or the Avatar will change.
In other words, your character's experiences on each world will change how she helps people or how she gets into trouble. What that new word might be depends on what happened in the story. For example, let's say the following events occurred in the story.
Trouble: Pilgrim Liz the Little Bird is unconscious, probably something in the mysterious elixir she accepted from the spooky merchant.
Resolution: Pilgrim Daniel the Fluffy Curl uses his voluminous hair to lift Liz's body in the path of a lightning storm. The mystical powers of the storm flood her body with a powerful energy, resurrecting her!
New Trouble: The lightning and the elixir had an unexpected combined side effect. Pilgrim Liz the Little Bird is now a zombie with a thirst for living flesh. Yes, thirst. She prefers smoothies.
So those are the events that happen in the story. If in the course of the gameplay the player had chosen to keep more black stones than white stones, her character's Banner would change at the end of the session.
Pilgrim Liz the Little Bird becomes Pilgrim Liz the Zombie Bird. Instead of getting into trouble by being small, she now gets into trouble by being one of the living dead.
In Archipelago's destiny points, you know what will happen. In Do, you know you're going to change, but you don't quite know how. Is this is a specialized, dichotomous Destiny Point or something totally different?
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| Sunday, July 12th, 2009 |
marvel_universe
[ aaron_who ]
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12:50p |
I heard some crazy news yesterday! They're making a green lantern movie. (yes I know it's DC but oh well). And they've already casted Ryan Renolds to play the green lantern...WHAT?! Is the green latern not a serious black guy???? Not a goofy white guy!? Tell me what you think guys. |
| Monday, July 13th, 2009 |
mycroftca
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1:25a |
Leaving the house, we stopped at Fry's in City of Industry; close as it is, I've never been in it before. We got several items we've been needing, but for me, it was memory for the Sony Reader. Then, on to Dad's cemetery. We placed rocks on the gravestone taken from our yard...it just seemed right to leave something from our place there. We talked a bit about how life is going, and then left. We followed that with a meal at some restaurant off the I-405 at Nordhoff. It was Argentinean cuisine. The food was very good, but the service was abyssmal, and then, to top it off, they had the chutzpah to log the tip on the bill at 15% before we even were handed it. I'd planned on giving more like 8% because of the terrible service, but I just had to laugh. Still, the food WAS very good. Then, up the Sepulveda pass to go to the Skirball Cultural Center. We took in the various displays, including the delightful Noah's Ark piece, but I went there purposefully, as my father had gifted the Center with materials from his father's pharmacy in a display relating what the immigrant Jews had done when they arrived in America. There's also a photo of my Dad on a bicycle in front of Grandpa's pharmacy in the 1930s. I was on something of a spiritual and ancestral quest, you see. We wandered into Santa Monica, and then finally got in touch with friends who directed us to a going away party for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) sewyrn and his fiance, Mika (sp?). We had a pleasant time, and it was nice to see them again. I admit that we gave sewyrn something of a roasting, but it seemed all in fun. Then, it was off home; I zombied in front of the TV, clearing several shows off the DVR. Before bed, I came up to the computer room to try to do a better job of loading the Reader, while catching up on emails, which today seemed to be primarily birthday greetings, unsurprisingly enough. I'm just about done, now, but gosh, it's gotten late! And that was my birthday. |
mycroftca
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1:12a |
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mycroftca
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1:12a |
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thefreak
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12:11a |
File Under Oil
I should start posting about the amusing sections I've been encountering in my lengthy read through, "The Prize: he Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power." Basically, showing how every major historical event since the discovery of oil was because of oil itself. I first read this in college as part of my Environmental Policy studies, but lost interest after Standard Oil was broken up. Then I saw "There Will Be Blood" and got excited about that period in history again. I picked it up and started reading it again. It is falling apart as I do, so I don't think rereading will be too possible. And since I read it before bed, I haven't gotten through it very quickly (I get about a page or two before zonking out). However, i keep coming across the most wonderful historical moments, such as a chapter detailing the attempts by oilmen in New Guinea to destroy the oilfields and disperse into the woods only hours before the Japanese came, capturing those who didn't hide well enough. But recently, I have finished two passages that are particularly fascinating: The Suez Crisis and the Yom Kippur War. In the first, you all might know that Egypt took control of the Suez canal after having given up its shares in the company a century earlier. Nassar was a crazy nationalist and wanted it back...plus, he needed the revenue after the Americans pulled out of the Aswan Dam project. So, giving a code phrase during a speech, his armed forces rolled in and took it over. The British and French were, of course, pissed and wanted to go in their forcibly. But America wanted a diplomatic solution. But France and Britain were still in a colonial mindset, though their empires were slowly being liquidated. They weren't used to listening to America. SO, they talked Israel into going in there as an excuse for Britain & France to 'back them up.' Here's where it got interesting...Nassar scuttled a ship in the canal, thus closing it (which B&F were trying to avoid, ironically). Europe is now cut off from their oil. So they turn to America, their ally. Except that Ike was so infuriated by the surprise attack by B&F that he told them to suck it. He refused to give them any oil (America was still a major world supplier at the time) until they pulled out. This took a while. B&F weren't used to be told what to do, especially by us. Eventually, they had no choice, as their countries were going to shit without their oil. They left, Ike initiated a major emergency oil transport to Europe...and most importantly, it was the last gasp of the British Empire. They were officially powerless and America was the new world power for the first time. Next update: The Yom Kippur War, the rise of OPEC, and what a pile of festering, corrupt, incompetent shit the Nixon Administration was. Basically. |
| Sunday, July 12th, 2009 |
thefreak
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8:12p |
Look who we bumped into in Venice. I didn't know he wore anything but white  |
thefreak
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5:09p |
At the beach, lookin for bob  |
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officialgaiman
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7:36p |
Day 2 of ALA, and reading things aloud.
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/07/day-2-of-ala-and-reading-things-aloud.html posted by Neil
Yesterday I had a breakfast with many librarians, then signed was interviewed in front of a crowd by Roger Sutton from Hornbook, signed for happy librarian-folk for three hours, then napped and went off to dinner with the Newbery Award Committee, the sort of dinner where you have each different course at a different table, and talk to everyone. Then I signed books for them (and for a few stray Printz Committee judges, who crept in). This morning was Dim Sum with Jill Thompson for breakfast ( Here is Jill. People always want to know where she got that bag, and she made it herself. I told her she should take orders for them for a ridiculous amount of money.) Then with Elyse Marshall, ace HarperChildren's publicist, to a local studio where I was interviewed for Barnes and Noble, then recorded some paragraphs from Kipling's The Jungle Book, Ray Bradbury's story "Homecoming" and James Thurber's The 13 Clocks. I loved doing them -- B&N will pick one sequence and have it animated and put up online. Was fascinated by how different the voice of the narrator was in each case -- the voice of the book, and that reminded me that I had not yet answered this, and had meant to: Neil ~ Thank you for many hours of entertainment, whether I'm reading your works, or you are! My daughter is finding that chapter books are a good thing, and wants me to read them to her. I'm glad to do so, but I'm looking for some suggestions from a masterful book reader (you) to a very coarse book reader (me). How do you keep the character voices straight in your head? I suppose it helps that you know the words particularly well since you wrote them, but any tips or suggestions? Any other pointers for engaging the listener? I know my daughter doesn't mind (she still wants me to read, after all!), but I'd like to be better for her and for me. Thanks and keep up the superb work, both here on the blog and in the offline printed universe! BRIANLet's see. Character voices are more or less easy: I sort of cast them in my head as I go. What's the person like? Who do they remind me of? I'm appalling at doing accents, but not bad at doing people. And mostly you're not even doing impressions, just general brush strokes. How does a person sound? Well, you hold them in your head and generally sound like that. When dealing with a larger than life story I'll sometimes go for a larger than life cast in my head: In (for example) The 13 Clocks, in my head, when I read it aloud, I tend to cast Marty Feldman as the Golux, and Peter Sellers (doing his Laurence Olivier in Richard the Third impression) as the evil Duke. It's hard though, in a big book with a lot of characters, some of whom may nip off-stage for seven or eight chapters at a time. Do your best, and have a picture in your head. Borrow from your life. Steal voices shamelessly. Most important, just do the voices (including the voice of the Book, which may not be your voice exactly, but should be close enough to it that it won't be a strain), and do not be shy. Even at your worst, you're doing better than you would if you didn't do the voices, and kids are a mostly uncritical audience, especially if you do it with confidence. Read it as if you're telling a story. Read it as if you're interested and you care. And, the biggest and most important one, vary the tune. I heard a young writer reading some of his own work in public a few weeks ago, and every sentence had exactly the same tune, the sime rising and falling cadences. They all ended on the same note. The beat that ran through the whole passage did not change from first to last. It was hypnotically dull. Listen to people read who are good at it. BBC Radio 7 and BBC Radio 4 ( here's the Radio 4 Readings website)are a great source of an ever-changing series of books and stories, fiction and non-fiction, all read aloud and read aloud well. Listen to the tune, where voices go up or down. Listen to what makes a reader speed up or slow down -- listen to what keeps you interested and where you lose interest. And do it as they do -- change the tune, change the pace, keep interested and it will keep interesting. But mostly my advice is this: just do it. Enthusiasm and willingness to do it counts for most of it, and you learn by doing it and get better from doing it. I've been reading in front of audiences now for almost 20 years. I've got significantly better in that time, mostly because I've done it so much. You learn as you go. You get better as you go. Practice makes if not perfect then at least pretty decent. And that's all. Except to wish Roz Kaveney happy birthday.
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conatonc
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10:27a |
I Got in After All
So I talked about the Orff Level II music ed. class I was supposed to take this summer, and how I didn't get in for a variety of reasons. But asking to be put on the waiting list paid off, because the Thursday afternoon before the class started, I got a call to see if I was still interested. Of course I was. Although it was a week from payday, so the $350 (200 for registration, 150 for materials- there's a lot of books) took a bit of creative accounting to come up with, but I managed. I was a little surprised when I got there last Monday. Last year, for Level I, we had about 35 people in the class, so with Level I and II going on this year, I expected about 60-70 people. But each class has about 16 people, so it's a lot smaller. The small size makes it a lot more manageable. The other nice thing is that every person in my class took Level I here last year, so I know everybody and it's pretty cool. After the first week, I'm finding Level II of the program is a lot easier than Level I. I think it's because it's a lot of work figuring out exactly how the Orff program works the first year, and the second year is more of an extension of the method. And I'm actually having quite a bit of fun. This is my third year in the program (2007 was just a 2-day workshop, not a full level), and I've enjoyed each year more. Plus, you know, Judy and her whole family left for Colorado on Wednesday after she finished up her summer class on Tuesday. And they're not back until Saturday the 18th. So it was gonna be a long 10 days without her around and only a few things to do. I'm glad to have something to occupy my days. Although I have to say that this weekend, having exactly zero commitments, has been really nice. Did I mention that Comic-Con starts in a week and a half? I'm excited, as always. That's probably worth another post all on its own. Current Mood:  geeky |
mycroftca
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8:28a |
So, today is my 53rd birthday. I'm older than some, and younger than others, of course. I've been gifted thus far with four bottles of hard cider, of which three are gone. I've been gifted with a pair of boxers in a beagle print. I shall keep them in a safe place, as I do not wear boxers. I have been gifted with some paper towels monogrammed with a "P". They are safely ensconced in the guest bathroom. And then, my beloved surprised me with a Sony Electronic Reader. Oh. My. I've spent part of the morning loading it; I have lots more to load, and it will take a while to ferret out all of it. I need to go to Best Buy to get memory cards for it, because I have no spares at this time. After posting yesterday afternoon, we went out again to The Boiler, and the food is still terrific. I was a naughty boy thereafter, and we had a dessert at Tutti Fruity Frozen Yogurt. We did some shopping, then went home, and I popped in a Netflix disc of City of Ember, which, though not a classic, was a bit of fun, somewhat like watching Fallout, the computer game, on the screen. The film over, it was just past midnight, and forestcats retrieved my gift from its hiding place. I thought it was a book. I was gobsmacked when I opened it. For the rest of the day, I expect we won't be home. I want to do a few things on the West side of town, including wishing bon voyage to sewyrn. So, busy busy busy. |
mycroftca
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8:20a |
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mycroftca
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8:20a |
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mycroftca
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8:19a |
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gobi
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8:06a |
[Do] Archipela-Do: Ritual Phrases
[This post is part 1 of 4 in a series examining Archipelago 2 and what parts of that game might help solve some issues in Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple.]
Ritual Phrases
Archipelago: I like that there are ritual phrases that help create consistent scene-framing throughout the a session of Archipelago. I have a big list of tips and suggestions very similar to the "Important Techniques" section, but nothing really bringing them into play.
Do: If I apply ritual phrases to each of my tips, that might be that extra nudge needed to make sure players know that they're the referees for story style. For example, one of the tips is to conserve secondary characters. In other words, to not introduce a new secondary character when you could reasonably add more details to an existing character.
Let's say Luke Skywalker's father has not actually become present in the story. But we have this character named Darth Vader who we don't really know a whole lot about yet. You *could* keep the two as separate characters, but it makes a far more interesting story if you conserve characters and say that Darth Vader *is* Luke's father.
So what would the ritual phrase be to make that happen? I have no idea... It's a cool technique though. You can see the tips I've listed so far here under "Making Trouble" and "Telling Stories." Maybe you can think of some phrases? |
gobi
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8:03a |
[Do] Archipela-Do
Remi pointed me to Archipelago 2 as a source of possible solutions to the creative exhaustion problem from the Dreamation playtests.
This is the sort of narrative, rules-light game that I was really into in college until I actually tried them out and realized just how much I needed structure in my play. I was skeptical about whether I'd find useful bits here, but only because I doubted whether I had the heart to potentially overhaul the whole game if the only solution was to make it more Norwegian.
Thankfully, I don't think that will be necessary. There are a lot of little gems to pluck from Archipelago without having to dye Do's hair blonde. ;)
There's a lot to talk about, so I will split these up into several blog posts to focus the comments on each subject:
Ritual Phrases
Destiny Points
Ownership
Resolution (Wednesday) |
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