Calling The Muse...

It's Friday, so that means Friday Night Magic. Usually the store would be very busy, but I'm not so certain that tonight will be the case. Finals week at the local university has pretty much ended, and much of the student population has bolted town. As a store, we have a very strong local customer base, so summer doesn't affect us as much as it affects other places. We are quite lucky in that respect.

My game thoughts are still jumbling, but ideas are beginning to sift free. One thought I had was to attempt to refocus this blog to be less of the "fool in the sweater vest and tie" and more of a design journal aspect. What I am after with the design journal, though, is raw design as it happens. Instead of posting notes on design decisions and why I made said decisions, I want to just start typing game material into a blog entry, haphazardly, without any thought of why I am typing what I am typing. I want to let readers see creativity in a raw, unmasked, unfiltered, unedited form. The general idea would be to dedicate one day a week to designing a game. Using that time to put thoughts together into electrons, and letting y'all see the journey.

 Is this something folks would be interested in?

-- GopherDave

Minor Thoughts On Games...

Things are mellowing for summer at the store. That being said, I think we'll do okay. We have a fairly loyal customer base and things are going steadily well.

I was speaking with a friend of mine on the phone earlier, and the subject of game of choice came up. He's a big fantasy guy, and he's really into what Paizo is doing with Pathfinder currently. That's all well and good, but I personally am about half-tired with fantasy. Most (not all) of what is out there is straight ripped off/inspired by/modeled on Tolkien and the whole Hobbit/Lord of the Rings "mythology", and that has lost so much appeal to me over my 35+ years of role-playing that it isn't even funny.

Anymore, my game of choice happens to be any homebrew system I am working on at the time. My game ideas tend to be kind of off-kilter at times, and making an existing system do exactly what I want takes pretty much as much work as making a new system that better fits what I have in mind. So, when in doubt, I write games. Yeah, that makes my campaigns almost as much playtest as they are story, but no one can argue the rules with me. I wrote them. I know *EXACTLY* what they are *SUPPOSED* to do, even if they are sometimes not written that way.

I've run a few different games with my homebrews. They been through a *TON* of one-shot campaign games. I've even run a few long-term campaigns with them. As with any experiment, some have been more successful than others, but I have always learned a bit more about game design with each effort. The biggest lessons that I have learned are...

1. Any new RPG game system is just reinventing the wheel. Others have been here before. Don't think your game is the BESTEST EVAR done, because it's not.
2. No game system will handle *EVERY* genre you throw at it perfectly. It just won't happen. some have come close (Savage Worlds, HERO System, GURPS), but even those hit styles they just don't handle well.

As with anything, your mileage may vary...

-- GopherDave

Routine *IS* Too Much To Ask For Sometimes...

Okay... just as things at the store is starting to settle back down at the store into some sort of routine, some other stuff is rearing its head that may force me to deal with it. I don't really mind, though. The matters in question are forcing me into the role of protector, which I am pretty good at in a lot of ways. Protection usually means that there is or is about to be conflict. I like conflict. I am *VERY* good at confrontation. Give me some reasons to be righteous in a conflict, such as having to protect someone I love, and I am in Heaven.

That all being said, I am actually going to look for a less confrontational way to resolve these matters first. Why? Well... when I get into a confrontational mindset, I tend to get a bit... brusque... and chaotic. The resulting chaos sometimes means that I inadvertently damage those I am trying to protect during the process of protecting them. I'm trying to avoid incidental damage if I can, and minimize it if I cannot.

It's a fine balance, and its a balance I don't always keep...

-- GopherDave

Time Away...

I have had most of Sunday and all of Monday off, so now it's time to get back to work. That's okay, though... I like my job.

Sunday, I took the Loquacious one to see the Avengers. She seemed to enjoy it. =)
Monday, I went into the store to do orders, but was done prior to the store being open. After talking a bit with HiSign, I managed to leave about a half an hour after we opened. Spent the day watching TV, petting the dog, and eating potato chips. Eventually, I went and got gyros, though my heart was really set on schwarma. I did find a place in town to get said schwarma, though, and that should be achieved later this week.

Today, the aforementioned orders came in and they've been placed into the system, priced and shelved. I'm already noticing a drop off in business due to it being finals week at the local university. This is the first time that has happened here. It'll be odd to see how that goes.

Gamewise, tonight I get to go play Gazdok the 2nd in my semi-regular Pathfinder RPG that I am in. Pathfinder is not my game of choice, but it's still a good group, so I'm sticking around. As for my game(s) of choice? I'm in mental noodling mode currently... Something is stewing in this head of mine, and it won't be too long before it pops out... It's that close...

-- GopherDave

Slowdown...

Okay... today was a slowdown day. We had an event scheduled that barely went off, but it did. It was low key and mellow, and that was good because I am still recovering from the last couple of nights.

On the agenda tonight? Laundry and hanging out with the daughter-person. Beyond that... not much.

I've got some game thoughts to think about and a couple of e-mails to be sent, but none of my gaming stuff is concrete enough to type out.

Sigh... I hate how my brain works sometimes...

Back at you later...

-- GopherDave

Tired, Busy, and Giddy...

I'm rather late blogging to due to the 3-hour nap that passed for sleep last night and the release of the new Magic: the Gathering set today. I've been active and busy all day.

Went and watched the Avengers last night. In a nutshell, if you like superheroes and superhero movies, then go see this movie... NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went in with some high expectations due to how much fun the Captain America movie was, and the Avengers absolutely *SHATTERED* those expectations. It's *VERY* good. The new Batman flick is due in mid- to late-June, and I would not be surprised if the Avengers was still in theaters kicking the backside of all comers when Pointy-Ears shows his head. Do not get me wrong... I *LOVE* the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, but for sheer fun, they pale next to Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.

I'll stop now. I'm rambling because I am tired, so I shall alleviate the fatigue issue...

-- GopherDave

A Host Of Angels...

This particular combination gets the Loquacious stamp of approval...

I arrived at the store this morning to find all of today's shipments waiting for me at the neighboring business. Inside all of these boxes, outside of a few other games, was the initial wave of product for the next Magic: the Gathering set that releases tomorrow. With 62 boxes of booster packs, 20 Intro Decks, and 48 Fat Packs having to be moved from one store to another, I have made one definitive conclusion...

Angels are FREAKING heavy!!!

That being said, tomorrow looks to be a good day... =)

Today... Today we have a Pathfinder one-shot being run and some Malifaux pewter being pushed around. Afterward, we have the Avengers!!!

GOPHERS ASSEMBLE!!!