With a little help from my friends...

Life has been a bit crazy lately.  I don't always get the free time I'd like, but with that kind of time it would imply that I was unemployed with no friends or family.  So I choose to not be totally alone and therefore get busy from time to time.

So, I have not made the progress on my game that I had wanted to.  It is obvious to me that I will miss the June deadline for the "Cyberpunk Revival Contest".  Such is life, I would stand little chance to win the $30 Amazon gift certificate with such great competition.

But my intentions for this Cyberpunk thing were not to win a prize of such magnitude.  My intentions were to finally put my game system out for someone to play.  So, I will continue.  I think that if I work hard I can have a final product up for people to look at and hopefully earn me some folding money by the fall.

Progress might be slow but it is significant.  I have written a few pages of text now and have lined up a great artist and greater friend -- John aka "Ajaxone" at http://ajaxone.deviantart.com/.  He is a talented comic artist and I am quite pleased he is able to prove some art in my efforts!  If you are a wealthy RPG developer and want high quality art, please contact him and shower him with cash to work on your next major project.  His amazing talents are unlimited but his time is not, act now before you are at the end of the queue!

*NOTE: I had to block comments on this entry because of spam. I will put up a new post soon!

"Cyborg" infected with computer virus infects computer

From http://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/05/26/1214214/Scientist-Infects-Self-With-Computer-Virus

Here is the gist, a man with a RFID chip infected with a computer virus scanned the RFID chip with a computer and infected the computer with the virus.

I hope you are thinking "so what?".  I hope are thinking "why?"  The idea that media can contain malware which can infect other systems when opened should come as no surprise to most computer users.

In the world of Cyberpunk (as I am working on the contest, but know I will not meet the deadline unless there is some miracle) malware would be a threat for all systems.  In my game there is a big lack of implanted Cybernetics.  In 30 years I think the idea of implanting a dirty machine should be thought of as crude and primitive (like a hook for a hand or peg leg).  In a world where tissue can be cloned and grown I don't think there will be a need for hearing aids, pace makers and other common cybernetics we see every day.  

But an idea remains.  Scientists recently created artificial life (here http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100526/full/465406a.html ) -- as much as the guy from the above article is a cyborg.  The idea of manipulating or programming DNA as you might software is the roots of genetic engineering.  A custom virus used to insert DNA to correct a genetic disorder might cause harm to another person.  It might mutate or be fused with another disease in an unexpected way.  As this branch of medical science progresses there will be points in time where scientists will have to choose between their Boss' desire to make money and their ethical responsibilities.  My current view of doctors and where medicine is headed in general, I am sure there is some sloppy guy about to enter medical school today who will make the wrong decision in time to mess up life in the year 2032...

what do you think?

Detriments (I hate coming up with names for stuff)

What I hate most about my sick need to make a RPG of my own is coming up with names for stuff.  When I look at other games I think to myself "Oh, there is a good name for something."  But then immediately feel self-conscious about plagiarism.

This is not healthy because I am drawn to games, especially homebrew games (I am really liking where StarGazer is taking Gears -- http://www.stargazergames.eu/2010/05/04/catch-a-glimpse-of-gears/ ).  But when I look at them it is like I have seen something which I can not un-see and therefore am aware of "copying".

There are so many things you can call a spade (Shovel.. ah, spade.. digging-stick?), so it should not be a surprise to use a name for a mechanic in a game the same name as another game.

In "the Counting Game" (yep, still keeping with that name), you have abilities which are worth character creation points.  The good ones that help you cost points and the bad ones give you points.  I'd call the ones that cost points "abilities" but have been on the fence as what to call the ones that give you points back.  The opposite of an ability is a disability, but it would not be politically correct or sensitive to use "disability", right?

Then that makes me say "Disadvantage" and then ability becomes "Advantage".  If you are a GURPS player, you see that that is a term they use.  I don't like that, I'd rather steal from a more obscure source.  So I have been thinking of calling them "Detriments"..

Yeah, I hate coming up with names for stuff.. I stink at it...

Gaming this last weekend with my kids..

My wife went out of town this last weekend and I had the kids.  We watched "Iron Giant", "Princess Bride" and the older one and I watched "Dune".  We also had a chance to play a very short game of "Fair Use Space Opera" similar to a unrelated Space Opera with the initials of "S.W."

The game was a big hit with my 7 year old.  He was instantly fascinated by the idea of numbers on paper to simulate the world and dice to decide how things work out.  He was very excited and we had a great time.  His brutish "Space Trooper" had a hard time with pushing the correct buttons and natural 20s resulted in some exploding control panels.  Great comic fare for a 7 year old.

Character creation was interesting, he has a great grasp on mathematics but most of the process was verbal -- "Could your guy walk a tightrope without a net?"  His 7 year-old exuberance left him wanting to play the "Ultra" version where attributes normally on the scale of 1-20 were in the hundreds.  While this was possible, it is not really playable.

I look forward to playing again soon with them as each time it is a lot of fun.