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This will probably end in tears but I'll take a shot.
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Jan 19, 2017 04:48
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 02:44 |
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This consensus that anime only treats cyberpunk as an aesthetic is pretty silly, I have to say. The only way to make it stand up is to make the definition so narrow that only a handful of works in any medium meet it. To start with there's plenty of shows - Akira, GUNM, and Texhnolyze to name just a few - that stick close the original formula, with a corrupt society obsessed with technology and protagonists as outsiders or disconnected from the social order. Then you have shows that hone in on one or two specific themes - LAIN with social alienation and transhumanism, for example. I''ll agree that the bulk of the shows beyond those tend to be post-cyberpunk, in the sense that the protagonists are embedded in the social order. But you still have many of the same themes, just in different context. It's certainly not just "an aesthetic" in something like Ghost in the Shell; pretty much the same themes examined with another perspective. Besides which a lot of the best works outside of anime are post-cyberpunk in exactly the same ways. Reading Neuromancer (and/or Gibson's short stories) is still a great idea. But ignoring everything else isn't. Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Jan 23, 2017 |
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Jan 23, 2017 01:01
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Error 404 posted:Gunnm is the same, baa is just the english name
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Jan 23, 2017 07:11
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We can't swap genres with someone, right?
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Jan 25, 2017 22:22
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 A battle for history has begun! You are the valiant Dazzling Knight, the unyielding Iron Shinobi, or the fearless Ace Green! But the mysterious hero is more than just one champion of freedom! Your legacy stretches back to the tumultuous days of the last century, to the upheavels of the warring states, to lost ages when legends walked the earth! It reaches forward into the future and beyond! In Mysterious Hero Legacy, you'll play as every fighter to take up the your chosen hero's cause. You'll flash back to your predecessor's greatest triumphs and worst defeats, and you'll leap forward to your successor's noble struggles. Along the way you'll unlock new powers, and gain new insights. And there's plenty of action along the way! Seize the mantle of the mysterious hero and join the eternal fight for justice! Let's go!
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Jan 31, 2017 20:23
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So with people working on design steps, I wanted to say a few things about play testing. I've had the good luck to participate in some play tests, and it wasn't what I expected. So I'm gonna share what I've learned. I let TheSoundNinja I was gonna do this ahead of time. What Play Testing Is (and Isn't) The first thing to know about play testing is that the games you get are going to be broken. Rules won't work properly, if at all. Others won't make sense as written. Certain play modes won't be fun. There will be weird, non-intuitive interactions.This is entirely normal, and should be expected. That's not saying play testing isn't fun, but it's not fun the way playing a finished game is supposed to be. If you're playing, you probably should expect to re-run certain game interactions to try out rule variations, or home in on what is and isn't working. You should also expect to skip ahead if a interaction is utterly non-functional, and that you probably won't finish anything like a normal play session in your game time. You should also be ready to take notes. Lots of notes. Here's some tips on taking notes. Include the following:
When you detail specific incidents,
When you write things down, try to be as clear and specific as possible. Remember that specific doesn't mean narrow - if its a recurring issue with an entire character archetype, say that, don't peg it to whatever specific power or feature was in play at that exact moment. Also remember that clear doesn't mean you have to know exactly what happened. Make sure it explains what you did and experienced in a way that's easy to follow. And if you don't know the underlying cause, it's totally appropriate to say that. If the game in question is a hack of another system, you want to focus on the new stuff - but don't ignore the pre-existing rules! Sometimes rules that worked fine in the original game aren't quite right now. There's an unexpected interaction, or the focus is off. Maybe the chase rules assume a free for all, but this game has teams working together. Maybe the exploration mini-game is too cooperative for a game about love triangles and betrayals. Also, sometimes existing games have broken rules themselves, and a new hack is a chance to fix them along the way. By the way, it's a really good idea to have a game log - if you're playing in person or over voice chat, try to record it. If you're playing via text, see if you can put time stamps in. Summing up, vague responses aren't particularly useful. Hearing "yeah it went fine" is the worst feed back you can give. Well, the second worst - "your system is a jank-rear end pile of crap" (cf. TheSoundNinja) is worse. Because it's mean and not helpful. A game that works right from the start is a rare and special jewel. Most games, even ones that end up being good, spend some period of development being terrible. Even if the game wasn't enjoyable and/or didn't work, tell the developer why. Running Your Play Test That's if your a player - or a GM, really. But how should you go about running a play test for your game? Literally running the game is usually a good idea - especially early on, you're the only one who's going to know how to. But as soon as possible, try to get on the other side of the screen. Participate as a player, and let someone else run the game (or facilitate in terms of a GM-less game). No only does this give you a ground floor view of what's going on, you can also observe the GM/facilitator and see whether everything is working for them. Another useful mode is to observe play - let someone else run/facilitate, and then watch. Take notes yourself. In this mode, try not to jump in every time they hit a speed bump, but it's okay to step in if things are either totally screwed up or if the fix is very simply (eg. you typo'd and said "add' instead of "subtract"). Decide before the play test if you want to try hot-fixes or multiple rule variants. In the first case, if you hit a broken rule, you can insert a new one and try it right then - a great way to get immediate feed back. Or if you have two or three ideas and aren't sure which you like, you can have the play testers try them all out. You want to make this decision ahead of time and stick to it, though - it means you'll re-run encounters or scenes, and will really mess with game flow. You don't want to spring that on a group. Also, you learn different things if you don't try to fix stuff on the fly. Relating to that, the design of a play test module is a bit different from a normal module. You want it to have at least one of every major play interaction. Sometimes your entire play test session will be re-running a single scene to turn a microscope on a specific rule. This means your module should be modular (sorry). The more you can run specific scenes in isolation or in different orders, the better. If you're working from an existing rule set, make a list of what you changed and give it to the players so they know what to specifically watch for. As you probably guessed, ideally you want to be running multiple play tests. It helps a lot with the design process in general. Of course, with the contest time crunch that might be feasible, but because of that you also shouldn't freak out if your play test for the contest doesn't go amazingly. Remember it's a learning experience. A Misconception There's this weird idea that the designer shouldn't be at play tests because people won't speak their minds. I submit the following: If you're a play tester, you need to be honest. Platitudes don't help. Conversely, this isn't a license to be a jerk. Be polite, be clear, be honest. If you're a designer, then you need to be ready to take criticism, and you also don't have license to be a jerk. This includes, by the way, being overly negative about your own game. The play testers took the time to help you out. If you don't think your game is worth their time, they won't either. Also, if the players are afraid of your response - whether you get angry or depressed - they won't give you the feedback you need. All this being said, you can learn things from play test reports of sessions you didn't attend - specifically, whether what you've written down for rules is clear enough for someone else to play your game. It's just not as useful as attending until pretty late in the design process.
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Feb 3, 2017 06:13
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I'm going to end up using my late pass for this week; illness and extra unexpected work and some other things came up.
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Feb 12, 2017 21:07
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 02:44 |
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 Here is the first draft of the playtest document. Mysterious Hero Legacy runs on a hack of Fate Accelerated Edition, so access to those rules is necessary. I'll probably add some more commentary and make changes over time. Below is my bit of fanfic to cover the late pass from last deadline.  Crimson Sentinel ducked and threw herself backwards as the Void Lord pressed his attack. The twisted creature laughed, raising his massive claws. Behind him the Wizards of Night continue their chant. "It's not working! None of my attacks can break through his armor!" She shouted to her companions, dropping into a defensive stance. Behind her, Cobalt and Amber Sentinels helped Onyx Sentinel back to his feet, while Jade Sentinel dropped in to stand beside her. "Maybe try harder?" Jade needled, but her heart wasn't in it. Even she was worried. Amber gave the others a nod of thanks as the other three stepped into line, their weapons ready. "There has to be way," Cobalt interjected, her voice tight with concentration. "The First Sentinels defeated the Night Wizards a thousand years ago! We just need to figure out how they did it." Onyx suddenly looked up. "Wait, I read something in the archives..." ~~~~~~ "It's not working! None of my attacks can break through his armor!" Fire Sentinel snarled, barely getting her blade up in time to block the Void Lord's admantine claws. The chant rose in time with the monster's attacks as the Wizards of Night neared completion of their ritual. Behind her, Water and Metal Sentinels pulled Earth Sentinel to safety. It distracted Fire for a moment, but Wood Sentinel was suddenly there, slapping aside the Void Lord's other claw. "We need to try harder," he said, the intensity of his focus obvious in his voice. "We need a plan," Water countered as the other three stepped into line, their weapons at the ready. "Wait, I have it!" Metal said suddenly. "If I tie one of my banishing scrolls to Earth's arrows, then she can hit the Dark Gem!" "I appreciate your confidence," Earth said morosely, "But he's deflected every shot." "Leave that part to us," Fire replied, raising her blade. "Sentinels, Forward!" ~~~~~~ "Amber, give me one of your arrows," Onyx said. "I don't see how it'll help, he's blocked every shot I've made," Amber replied gruffly, but handed over one of his arrows anyways. "That's where we come in," Crimson replied. "We'll keep him too busy to block it! Jade, Cobalt, with me! Sentinels, Forward!" 
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Feb 20, 2017 04:59
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