Slow Reflection Time...

Another day... another day at the store. It's been relatively quiet thus far today, but it's early yet. We have a "Dammit! I bought this game and I'm gonna play it!" day happening, but that has drawn pretty much no one as of this moment. I'm not really minding. Given what time I got out of here last night/this morning (3AM), I could use a little slow.

Beyond all that, though I tried to plan some game stuff last night, fatigue got in the way of brain cells forming complete thoughts. With the slow time today and the night off tonight, I will be putting together a plan of action. Will probably be one game... might be two, as I have another couple of ideas in my head from passed days that I want to revisit. One of these things will require a game system to be written. I'm not certain if I will modify one of the SIX that I currently have written in one form or another, or if I will just create another one out of whole cloth.

I've made no secret that I want to run another superhero game. One that is more story driven than most. The other ideas floating in my head are...

...a dark, modern horror game along the lines of Dark Conspiracy/X-Files/Conspiracy-X.

-AND-

An early-era-of-cyberpunk game where the technology is just emerging. Bionics/cyberlimbs exist, but they are not entirely reliable, nor are they easy to acquire. Never mind the hacking tech that hearkens back to the early days of cyberpunk literature, with physical interfacing and actual keyboards...

Not sure what direction I want to take with it all. As it goes, I might just want to combine to two ideas into one intriguing mash-up... hmmmm...

-- GopherDave

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

A number of changes are affecting our household. The most noticeable of which is Skribl's increasing Independence. He has a driver's license and access to a car that is 5% his (one payment to Mom & Dad down, nineteen more to go). To say that he is reveling in his new found freedom is an understatement. Skribl is changing right before our eyes, and it is amazing to see. He is a good person, and a fine Young man. I'm very amazed that he turned out as well as he did given the fact that *I* had a hand in raising him... and... in so many ways... he is a younger version of myself, though he thankfully has his mother's maturity at that age.

Tonight at the store was Friday Night Magic. While it wasn't as busy as it has been in prior weeks, we still had 28 people playing, so a good turnout was had. It's hard to believe that this one game has brought the store the prosperity that it has. We do well with other stuff (most notably, board games), but Magic: the Gathering feels like we are printing money at times. That being said, it *is* a very good game. One of the best core game designs to come down the pipe in decades when it was first introduced.
Beyond that, I'm just sitting at the store running the after-FNM event and realizing that it is now my parent's 54th wedding anniversary. Damn, that's a long time to be married. The Loquacious one and I are working on our 21st year together as a married couple. Though we have our issues to this day, I can't imagine her not being in my life. She's my angel... pure and simple.

Now, I'm off to try to stay awake and think about game stuff. I need to get something down... It is starting to be "poop or get off the pot" time...

-- GopherDave

Ugh...

Okay... many things were accomplished yesterday, chief among them, getting license plates for the new car so Skribl could actually drive it. Mission accomplished, and I got to ride around with him a small bit as well. Skribl's not the best driver there is, and he is *very* aware of this fact. The level of caution he displays while behind the wheel is almost Grandma-like, but I would rather have that than Skribl thinking he is the next Mario Andretti. I have no doubt that he will get better at vehicular operation with time and experience, and that he has the tools to be very good at it. Now to convince him that he is in no way, shape, or form ready for driving in Chicago yet. He has friends there he wants to see next week and is looking at driving up there by himself. Needless to say, Mom and Dad think this is a B-A-D-D bad idea...

Now... as I stated above, many things were accomplished yesterday. Those things were accomplished by me getting up way early (6:00 AM) and going to bed way late (3:00 AM). As a result, I am incredibly tired, and with the weather change, I also have a sinus-driven headache that refuses to go away. Fatigue and pain hasn't stopped me yet, though almost no side work is getting done at the store today due to those factors. The main work for the day has been finished as orders have been received and processed, the web site has been updated, and I've let non-regulars know that special orders are in. Other orders have been placed, and are awaiting arrival so I can do it all again. Depending on how I feel, I might stick around after Skribl arrives to work so I can get some other stuff done, but at this point, I'm not counting on it.

My darling Loquacious wrote a neat post today over at her playground. I could do something like that, but it would go on for pages and pages and pages... It brings up some interesting thoughts, though. Ones that are intermixing with my current desire to run another game. Her post mostly has me thinking about the RPGs that have influenced my the most in my gaming life and how they have contributed to game design philosophies. Over the years, I have found that I enjoy running melodramatic, personal-level, story-driven games. I suppose my ideal mix of game system would take Feng Shui, HERO System, and Storyteller, throw 'em in the proverbial blender and hit "Frappe" until smooth. 'Tis a shame that no one has done that yet. It would save me time from having to do it. This line of thought does bring up an interesting analogy, though...

Like most food, I am finding that homemade games are are frequently better than those that are store-bought and pre-made...

-- GopherDave

It's Early Days Yet...

Long nights sometimes lead into early days, and today is one of those times. There are a handful of errands that have to be run before the store opens and if I am to get at least the bulk of them accomplished, I need to be out of the house by 8AM. Sooner would be better...

Loquacious is getting ready to set up the RPG she wants to run, and I'm happy for her. We have carved out a place in the schedule for the game and now it's just a matter of getting it started. Me? I'm still trying to find the system that tweaks most of the correct buttons. The more I look, the more I am thinking that I need to just write what I am looking for, which then delays the game further. As much as I like creating game systems I just don't have the time necessary for me to do so currently. HHRRRRRMMMMM...

I am taking time just looking for the "right" system, time I could use to write and construct... Stupid, logical conclusions driven by creative urges...

How's a guy supposed to just relax, pet his dog, eat chips, and watch N.C.I.S. with his brain twitching like this?

-- GopherDave

Summertime...

The kids are now out for summer, which changes some of the routine here at the house and the store. The most jarring change is the fact that the boy is now 18 and can pretty much do what he wants. Yeah, he still has responsibilities as long as he lives here, but for the most part the leash is off and he's on his own.

Tonight was KnightErrantJR's DC Adventures game, and it was fun as usual. We beat the crappage out of the Time Trapper by having Bjorn (our resident Werebear) hold him, Myrmidon point out exactly where Time Trapper should be struck, and Marathon punching hm in the ding-ding until unconsciousness is reached. Necromancer tossed in sorcerous help, and despite some Villain Point shenanigans keeping him up for a bit to be more threatening. We had Time Trapper down before Paradox could be back with items pertinent to his TT's desire to stop/de-exist us. With Time Trapper defeated, we closed a temporal rift that had been widening. This allowed the Justice League/Justice Society/Teen Titans to pop back into our reality and be rescued. The session ended with the wedding of Myrmidon to Vicky Vale. According to KEJR, there is one more story arc left before the campaign is finished. I for one do not look forward to the ending. I like this game and I really do dig and appreciate KEJR's handling of it all.

Good times...

-- GopherDave

Memorial Day And A Party...

Hey All...

My apologies for being absent these last few days, but they have been busy.

Today, however, It's Memorial Day and the store is closed. I would like to thank the men and women of our armed forces, past and present, for their service to our country. 'Tis appreciated, folks... ...more than you may realize.

On a more personal note, the boy has officially graduated high school, and so we are throwing him a small party. I'm making my uber-delicious Hawaiian honey-teriaki burgers for folks here at Casa Gopher this afternoon. They are the bomb-diggity and they are coming with full-effect. Just so you know...

-- GopherDave