Writing... the beginning
So, I finally got the last of my comp from Catalyst for GenCon and Dragon*Con ($70 cash and $70 in comp from their online store). It added to my thoughts that I should write more. There's not an open invite for people to submit for the Shadowrun tournaments for Origins and GenCon. I think I'm going to toss my hat into the ring.
This will be my first real venture into something largely published. I get to set the standards, I get to set the scene, it's not just an adventure, but something that will first be judged, then if successful, it will be used to judge others (and thus judged again by those interested in it).
I was told that I should develop story lines for games by a co-worker. The funny thing is, it was from me describe why I have issues with a class I'm taking, specifically one of their methods of memorizing things. It's too bland.
You use numbers and words to associate the item, and thus can even do it in a list.
For example, 1 - Run. If you remember that, then you remember horses at the races. And as a horse jumps from the gate, he has the object you want to remember either in his mouth or on his back.
The problem I have? I see this:
1 - Run. It's race day here at Camptown RaceTrack. The regulars are sitting in their box seats, tickets in hand for who they know are going to win, be it by luck or mathematical calculation based on the horses, weather, track conditions, and jockeys themselves. A gentleman seems slightly more on edge, as if he shouldn't be here, but he has to be. Possibly for the sake of his daughter? If one of his horses doesn't win, he won't be able to afford the treatment for her that she needs.
And the gates are open and the horses are off! But wait! This is the Centaur race, and it looks like the #7, Down-Trodden Swiftly, has taken the lead! His dark black coat obviously freshly shined for just this race. He's putting everything he's got into it, as if he knows something we don't. But look out, there's #4, Sandman-Come-Early, a brown and white coming up to try to take the lead. The gentleman in the stands looks anxious, then stands and boldly begins cheering on #7 with every bit of breath in his lungs.
Oh, and I'm trying to remember a shopping list, and the first item is rice...
While my story telling (and past speech/leadership classes) allows me to not have to do any home work for the class, I'm still slipping on some things like this. Kind of sad really. If asked in the future what the horses' names are, or if Camptown RaceTrack is 5 miles long, I could answer very easily. But, I would forget in a matter of an hour or so that I need rice for the Chicken Teryaki tonight. I would be more likely to remember it by remember the entire recipe and how to prepare it, and compare it with the image in my head of the pantry without rice.
So, while I won't be posting my game stories (due to not wanting possible players to read them), I hope to start post randomness to be openly critiqued and eventually get away from programming for Wal-Mart (or for a living, honestly) in the future.
This will be my first real venture into something largely published. I get to set the standards, I get to set the scene, it's not just an adventure, but something that will first be judged, then if successful, it will be used to judge others (and thus judged again by those interested in it).
I was told that I should develop story lines for games by a co-worker. The funny thing is, it was from me describe why I have issues with a class I'm taking, specifically one of their methods of memorizing things. It's too bland.
You use numbers and words to associate the item, and thus can even do it in a list.
For example, 1 - Run. If you remember that, then you remember horses at the races. And as a horse jumps from the gate, he has the object you want to remember either in his mouth or on his back.
The problem I have? I see this:
1 - Run. It's race day here at Camptown RaceTrack. The regulars are sitting in their box seats, tickets in hand for who they know are going to win, be it by luck or mathematical calculation based on the horses, weather, track conditions, and jockeys themselves. A gentleman seems slightly more on edge, as if he shouldn't be here, but he has to be. Possibly for the sake of his daughter? If one of his horses doesn't win, he won't be able to afford the treatment for her that she needs.
And the gates are open and the horses are off! But wait! This is the Centaur race, and it looks like the #7, Down-Trodden Swiftly, has taken the lead! His dark black coat obviously freshly shined for just this race. He's putting everything he's got into it, as if he knows something we don't. But look out, there's #4, Sandman-Come-Early, a brown and white coming up to try to take the lead. The gentleman in the stands looks anxious, then stands and boldly begins cheering on #7 with every bit of breath in his lungs.
Oh, and I'm trying to remember a shopping list, and the first item is rice...
While my story telling (and past speech/leadership classes) allows me to not have to do any home work for the class, I'm still slipping on some things like this. Kind of sad really. If asked in the future what the horses' names are, or if Camptown RaceTrack is 5 miles long, I could answer very easily. But, I would forget in a matter of an hour or so that I need rice for the Chicken Teryaki tonight. I would be more likely to remember it by remember the entire recipe and how to prepare it, and compare it with the image in my head of the pantry without rice.
So, while I won't be posting my game stories (due to not wanting possible players to read them), I hope to start post randomness to be openly critiqued and eventually get away from programming for Wal-Mart (or for a living, honestly) in the future.