Introspective
...shake yo' groove thang, baby, shake yo' groove thang, yea yea...
(fade into a brisk Spring morning, -7 degrees outside, with a chance of
freezing rain throughout the day. Somewhere, a dog barks. A baby
fiddles with the buttons on the television six feet away, as the host
takes a long pull of his first coffee, cracks his knuckles, and stares
groggy-eyed at the halcyon glow of the monitor.)
Morning, kids. Welcome again to Spec's Friday Dance-stravaganza. Today
we're going to examine some of your most common questions surrounding
the host of our show, yours truly. Later, we'll get back into the
normal swing of things, with the usual book and art updates.
Our first few questions come over the Hotmail wire.
Dear Spec:
Your daughter is the most beautiful animal in the universe... are you
also as gorgeous, or does Winnie's awesomeness come from her mother's
side of the family?
Thanks,
(Name Withheld)
Good question. First, let me say that you're right about Winnie. She
is, as you say, made of awesome. As for her looks, I must tell you that
the curly hair that you see comes from me, as does her complexion -- so
yes, I'm cute, too. The eyes and smile come from her mother, though.
Thanks for writing.
Dear Spec:
Are you a writer, or an artist, or an all-round creative type, or what
the hell?
Thanks,
Ed
Well, Ed, I think all of us here in the Great Digital Expanse are all
of those things, in some measure. As for me, I like to think of myself
as an "imagineer". I get an idea, and express it in the best medium
required. Sometimes it's a book, or a photograph, or a painting, or a
cartoon. I dabble in everything, so I don't pigeonhole my talent.
Thanks for asking, I appreciate it.
Dear Spec:
What's the deal with the ranting? Are you that mean to people in real
life? Because if you are, how are you not in a body cast a lot of the
time?
Angry Joe
Good heavens, no. I couldn't possibly say to people the things I say
here. I rant in my journal because I spend a lot of time observing how
truly stupid a lot of people are, and it makes me feel disappointed
that they aren't as astute as they should be -- but I usually swallow
my anger until I can vent it safely. Truth be known, I'm trying really
hard to avoid ranting in my LJ as often as I did previously, because
it's getting to the point where I'm starting to become known for that,
rather than anything else. "Angry Bastard" isn't the kind of thing I
want at the top of my digital resume.
Dear Spec:
Do you still work on Wraith stuff, despite recent events? If so, what's
next on the agenda? If not, do you miss it?
Frothing Zombie #32
I do miss it, quite a bit actually. When you pour so much of yourself
into something, and then the end product of what you've done is put in
chains and locked away, it's more than just a disappointment -- it's a
note from the creators of the game that your effort, time and affection
for their game is the equivalent of iron sulfide -- it's shiny and
pretty, but ultimately not worth anything to them.
As for future Wraith work, I'd like to do a completely different game
that deals with ghosts in a "world of darkness"... but it wouldn't be
Wraith. Too many of the game's concepts and ideas would have to be
gutted and rebuilt from the ground up... so I think I'd rather just
stay here as a repository of advice, with maybe the odd essay here and
there.
We're running out of time, so I'll read two more questions before
signing off.
Dear Spec:
What the hell is GREY, and what's next, when that's done?
Drooling Fanboy
GREY is an rpg about aliens. It's a standalone game, in that it doesn't
have any little books that supplement it. Instead, it's probably going
to be part of something I call a "cluster project"; rather than a core
book with a pile of little supplements, there are a number of 'core
books' that act as cross-supplements to each other, but stand on their
own if you want to run them by themselves. Unlike the World of Darkness
1.0 stuff, you're not getting a mixed message that says both "crossover
is discouraged" and "crossover is possible". There
is no crossover with these books -- it's all one place, where the level
of detail you want depends on how many books you carry, and you're
always getting a complete picture of the world, without any rules
conflict.
Also, GREY and the other books will explore variations on the
'dieselpunk' genre, which I can't really go into here. If you want to
have exclusive coverage of my thinking on all of this crazy game stuff,
specs_attic is where it all happens, in random bits
and snippets.
Dear Spec:
What the hell with the "Day XX"? How long have you been on the patch,
exactly, and how many days do you have left?
Surgeon General
Officially, today is Day 55. I have fifteen days left before I don't
have to wear these itchy little bastards anymore, and I'm proud of
myself for not cheating in all of the time that's passed.
Thanks to everyone for writing, and thanks to our readers for joining
me today.
Next week we'll take an in-depth tour of the inside of my refrigerator,
and find out once and for all exactly what the hell is in that covered
plastic container that I've been so afraid to open.
(sound of a light being clicked off, and a door closing.)