Month: May 2007

I’m working on a new game.

Notice, however, that I didn’t say a new game design.

That’s one of the interesting things about my chosen profession lately. Whereas in the past, I would start from scratch, building the framework of a rules set and then adding the things that I consider the “nifties” to it, today it’s possible to grab a framework of existing rules from the Open Gaming License, and then concentrate on the development of those “nifties.” More often than not, this means releasing a based-on-D&D sort of thing, using the d20 system. However, some folks have released other systems via the License as well. I hadn’t really be paying much attention, to be honest.

I had intended to design this new game from the ground up. However, now that I’ve taken a look at the rules presented in the free System Resource Document for Spirit of the Century, my brain is already jumping with developmental ideas that add to those rules — “nifties” that make the game that I’m developing something different from SOTC, but similar enough to benefit.

It allows me to concentrate on the development of the setting-specific rules systems that are the game’s equivalent of the hooks or riffs you’d find in a song. The bassline and the beat are already layed down, and I can now compose the leads over the top of them.

I have to admit that part of me feels like I’m cheating. The other part, however, is really excited about this project.

(as seen on xomec‘s journal)

Pretty damned funny.

and I hit Planet ComiCon yesterday. Fairly typical small show — mostly a back-issues flea market with a few guests doing signings. I did manage to score some good stuff:

• The complete run of Alien Legion (vol 1), for about a dollar an issue.
• The complete run of Doctor Strange: The Oath for 10 bucks.
• A copy of the Doctor Strange: A Seperate Reality trade paperback, for 5 bucks.
• A copy of the Doctor Strange-related Witches trade paperback, also for 5 bucks.
• A copy of the Moonstone short-story collection of The Spider, signed by the interior artist (a guest, whom I knew from various online fora).

I was thwarted in my wish to track down a set of 52, as nobody had complete runs (oddly). I’ll wait for the trade paperback. I also grabbed a “Free Comic Book Day” issue from Dynamite Press that featured their take on The Lone Ranger — it was cool enough that I now want to track down the first 6 issues of their series. In other news, I noted with some small depression that two 70s/80s series that I onced owned, and hope to own again (namely Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts and Master of Kung Fu) are now going for near 30 bucks an issue for early issues. Nostalgia, thy name is Expensive.

Had a lovely “Cinqo de Drinko” lunch with and , whom we met up with at the show.

Slept in today, and spent the late morning watching the live broadcast of Arsenal vs Chelsea on the Fox Soccer Channel. An absolutely amazing game — Chelsea had a man sent off, yet still managed to come back to tie, and very nearly win the game, fighting until the last second of stoppage time. With the Chelsea tie, however, Manchester United has now secured the mathematical certainty of being Premiere League champions.

To which I say: U-N-I-T-E-D…!