08 Jan 07
If only I could remember that obscure rule … fret no longer, some new boardgame reference sheets have been added to the Freebies section: AT-43, BattleLore, Blue Moon, Blue Moon City, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Game, Call of Cthulhu CCG, Dracula, Dungeon Twister, Fury of Dracula (2006 version), Jambo, Mall of Horror, Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel, Nexus Ops, Runebound 2nd Edition, San Juan, Star Wars: The Queen’s Gambit and Zombies!!!. Enjoy!
24 Dec 06
Perhaps that last post wasn’t quite in the spirit … but a very Merry Xmas to my readers—and may 2007 bring you much health and happiness. I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve!
Have a good one.
22 Dec 06
Regular readers may recall a little rant called Hell is other people? back in June. It was sparked off by an altercation with my neighbour, a boofhead who refused to modify his lifestyle the slightest iota despite the fact that our side windows are about a metre apart and our front two rooms share a wall seemingly made of tissue paper.
Every morning I would awake to a deafening SNNNOOORRRTTT!!! as he blew his nose in the bathroom; every Thursday night we would be woken by his child, who stayed one night a week, waking up bawling her eyes out because of some nightmare in the early hours of the morning; every evening I would go to bed with the sound of his TV playing too loud late into the night.
Finally, this jerk moved out of the rental terrace next door and we had a couple of weeks of blissful silence. Surely, we thought, we’d have better luck next time? A nice couple in their late thirties/early forties with no kids or yapping dogs? Is it too much to ask?
Apparently. Yesterday, the gods took their revenge and gave us everything we had before, but turned up the dial marked “Fucked” another couple of notches. A couple with two screaming little kids with voices like flensing knives. One woke up bawling its eyes in the early hours of this morning, pulling me out of sleep. They’ll be at home all day every day and I work at home. The father stayed up til 1am watching TV, but they’ve moved the TV one room closer to our bedroom now. The couple are sleeping in the bedroom next to ours and I can just about hear every time they turn over in their sleep. and – wait for it – the final nail in the coffin. 6am this morning, I’m awoken by a SNNNOOORRRTTT!!!
Sigh. Right now, we we’re looking at the expense of double glazing, sound reinforcing the walls, air-conditioning, and anything else we can find to get a little bit of our sanity back. And trying to work out what we did to deserve such rotten luck.
Tell me your noisy neighbour stories people. What do you do to stave off the madness?
24 Nov 06
After reading a cagey article in Empire about Christopher Nolan’s new film The Prestige (from the book by Christopher Priest), I was eager to go and see it before reviews, and friends, started ‘accidently’ giving away the plot. Not to mention that Nolan (Batman Begins, Memento) is one of the more interesting mainstream directors out there. If you haven’t see it yet, I recommend you stop reading now and get thee hence to the nearest cinema—while I won’t be giving anything away, this is a film best enjoyed with as little foreknowledge as possible.
For those of you still with me, The Prestige explores the bitter rivalry between two turn-of-the-century stage magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). The tragic outcome of a trick turns these colleagues into enemies, driving in a wedge that, as the years pass, further prises apart their already very different personalities. Angier is the showman desperate to discover the secret of his rival’s greatest trick ‘The Transported Man’, Borden the intense and obsessive magician lacking flair but wholely committed to his art. Cutter (Michael Caine), an ‘ingeneur’ (a man who designs new tricks for magicians) and Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), an assistant, are both drawn ever further into the obsessive competition between them.
The Prestige is one of the most satisfying cinema experiences I have had for years; a film that—at last— doesn’t treat me like an idiot, but trusts in my ability and willingness to go along for the magical ride. In typical Nolan form, the plot weaves and jumps back and forth through its timeline, slowly building up a collage of mystery and obssession that captivates and entrances. The acting is excellent (Hugh Jackman’s most impressive turn to date); the production flawless, the period atmosphere heavy. Even David Bowie surprises with his best work as the softly spoken inventor Nikolas Tesla.
Also worth noting is the minimalist, threatening music by David Julyan; I was surprised to discover he wasn’t responsible for Batman Begins (though he did do the music on Memento and Insomnia), because a similar dark build-up of chords is used here to equally strong effect.
Best of all, the plot keeps you guessing. I thought I had worked it all out up until the last ten minutes, when all my presuppositions were shattered. We walked out of the cinema comparing notes, discussing the plot, looking for holes and weighing each other’s impressions; the sure sign of a thought-provoking and intelligent film. I look forward to enjoying its rich detail again and again on DVD.
But don’t let me give anything away—go see The Prestige now, before some so-called ‘friend’ can’t help themself and gives away a crucial plot point!
Four and a half canaries out of five.
03 Nov 06
Back when I was a little tacker, at about the age of twelve, I discovered Dungeons and Dragons. For me, like many others of my generation, the game was to make a big impact on my life. It sucked up many, many hours, both with friends—sharing adventures in imaginary worlds—and alone—designing worlds and underworlds, painting figures and preparing for the next game. I was always the ‘Dungeon Master’, or game referee, which meant I did a lot of work to prepare the games we played and make the whole game experience as smooth and enjoyable for everyone as possible. In contrast, the players pretty much just had to show up with their characters on a piece of paper (a ‘character sheet’ that I’d lovingly designed) and play.
As D&D became more popular in the early-80s it started to cop some flack from hysterical fringe groups, due to a few isolated and unfortunate incidents involving obviously unhinged teens taking the game a bit too seriously. Right wing Christians, in particular, attacked the game for its inclusion of demons and devils, and accused it of being a ‘thin end of the wedge’ for Satanic groups. Sniffing a good story, the media latched onto these accusations and ran sensationalist stories about this strange new obsession that was gobbling up the minds of innocent teenagers. I remember in particular one story by the American Sixty Minutes show that was run here in Australia, that focused on a teen homicide supposedly inspired by D&D. In the story, the camera zoomed dramatically into artwork from the game books, focusing on monsters and demons and juxtaposing them with a lurid reconstruction of the crime. Enough to send any parent running terrified into their teen’s room to grab those D&D books and chuck them on the fire.
The story so incensed my early-teen self that I wrote the program a carefully composed letter berating them for their sensationism and extolling the virtues of playing D&D and similar games: what about the fact, I asked, that players were being creative, developing their imaginations, learning skills (I still credit those early days with my later interest in graphic design, at which I now I make a living), socialising etc. Why were the actions of a couple of crazy people overshadowing the millions of happy, well-adjusted gamers?
Well, more than twenty-five years have passed and, surprise surprise, millions of teens didn’t grow up to be Satan-worshipping nutjobs. In fact, they mostly grew up to be highly intelligent and often unusually creative adults, and some of them, along with whole new generations, still play role-playing games. Of course, the fringe loonies still rail against the dangers of D&D. Here’s a quote from one of their websites: “Literally millions of young people are unknowingly participating in genuine occult practices and opening the doors for demons to enter their bodies through this seemingly innocent game.” Uh huh … riiiiight.
So what reminded me of this kind of intolerance? The upcoming game BattleLore by Days of Wonder has a terrain piece called a ‘Magic Pentacle’ that features a pentacle symbol. To my amazement, some people on public forums have expressed concern that the use of such a symbol will offend some Christian sensibilities and possibly lead to some sort of ‘backlash’ for the company; or that it was a bad marketing decision to include such a symbol.
Leaving aside for the moment that the pentacle is a symbol that goes back to ancient times and was only co-opted by occult groups in the last century; or that Days of Wonder publishes in several countries, not just America, where the vast majority of this kind of criticism comes. Instead I just have to shake my head in slack-jawed amazement at the kind of people who go through life with beliefs so intolerant, with world-views so narrow, with ignorance so complete, as to be offended or angered by the use of a pentacle symbol in a fantasy boardgame.
Save us from the small- and narrow-minded, those who strive to restrict the boundless possibilities of the imagination to the claustrophobic confines of the religious fanatic. Tonight my girl and I sat down and watched The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring again together. I still had to hold back tears. Imagine if Tolkien had been forced to take out the balrog because it was too much like a demon, or Sauron himself because he offended right-wing conservative Christians with his similarities to the Devil. Let’s get rid of those witches in Grimm’s Fairy Tales shall we? Look, while we’re at it, Edgar Allan Poe wrote some occult stories … imagine how grey the world would be if we were not allowed to play imaginative games, or read stories or see films, until they’d been approved by some self-appointed, self-righteous body who had decided they had the right to determine what was a threat to our morality? There are always those who want to stifle creativity, sanitise stories, censor art. What a terrible shame their imaginations have dried up from disuse.
Anyway, all that aside … repeat after me people: it’s just a game.
11 Oct 06
I’m finally having a holiday; very soon my girl and I fly off to New Zealand for a couple of weeks where we’ll drive around the South Island wherever the whim takes us. I can hardly wait to get away from my computer and indulge myself in fresh air, long walks, Alpine-like scenery and no email. My wrist and arm hurt, I’m burnt out, and I’m way, way, way overdue for a break.
In the meantime, have a look around Battlelore Master, a new fan site I whipped up a few weeks ago (probably when I should have been working). You’ll notice I did save myself a bit of trouble by reusing some Headless Hollow code and graphics (I’ll get around to customising it more later).
I’ve sung the praises of a game called Memoir ’44 by Days of Wonder; well, this shares the Commands and Colors system by Richard Borg, but is designed for historical medieval warfare or fantasy-themed battles. Days of Wonder are really going all out with this one, planning a long-term series of expansions, extra armies and figure blister packs. It’s looking incredible.
I’ve done a fan site before (The World of Tékumel) and they not only give me a chance to make a particularly visually appealing site in a fun genre, but are good additions to the portfolio and can lead to client contacts. BattleloreMaster.com uses a MovableType shell like Headless Hollow, but also features a set of discussion forums. I’m betting Battlelore is going to be a hugely successful game system, so here’s hoping the site will become the number one stop for fans of the game.
Even when I’m not designing for work, I’m designing for play. No wonder my wrist hurts! Time for two weeks R&R. More when I get back, hopefully refreshed and re-inspired.
10 Sep 06
Regular gaming readers may have gathered that I’m a big fan of the games produced by Days of Wonder; they make beautiful and fun games that don’t strain the brain and are perfect to play with a few friends and a few drinks. Cleopatra and the Society of Architects is their newest production, and it raises the bar yet again. While some gamers would call it over-produced, since DOW have managed to pack in a lot of plastic components and kept the price at the usual level, what’s wrong with a little bit of overproduction I say?
Cleopatra is a great game to play with non-gamers as well, as the rules are easily picked up. It basically follows the Ticket to Ride model of collecting cards in order to get points, only instead of building train routes across America or Europe, you’re an architect in ancient Egypt building parts of Cleopatra’s palace. First, you turn over the box and it becomes the framework of the palace, along with two boards that go on top of and in front of the box. The players can visit the market (draw cards) or trade combinations of their artisan, stone, marble, lapis-lazuli and wood cards for plastic pieces that are placed on and around the palace—a processional of sphinxes, two obelisks, the main doorframes, the walls of the palace, garden mosaics and the pedestal and throne—receiving money, or talents for each piece they build.
There are ways of speeding up the process with special cards and cards with double the usual number of resources, but they’ll cost you Corruption Amulets, as you participate in shady deals to get ahead of your architect rivals. Your Amulets are kept secret in a cardboard pyramid and revealed at the end of the game, and the most corrupt of the players is immediately fed to Cleopatra’s pet crocodile—or, in less prosaic terms, loses. The richest of the remaining players wins the game.
There are ways of getting rid of Corruption however. Occasionally, an Offering to the Great Priest may be made, where players blind bid Talents in an attempt to lose Corruption. And you can build Sanctuaries in the palace garden where Corruption Amulets are placed at game end.
In our first game, I managed to come out the richest architect—but unfortunately also the most corrupt. Pet food.
Four hieroglyphs out of five.
Cleopatra is a fun game, and well worth purchasing. Some die hard gamers might wish for more choice and strategy and less luck, but this is a game for the family and for a bunch of friends spending an enjoyable hour together. The rules are simple but I’ve whipped up a one-page rules summary that includes the official two player rules posted on the DOW website. As always, it’s available in the Freebies section here.
02 Sep 06
Regular readers might recall a few rants on this site about the current state of the English language, but I’m also frequently astonished at the quality of writing out there. You can stumble across a witty, erudite blog without even trying.
Similarly, given a chance, most people can churn out a good tale. Which brings us to myself and seven friends and our little writing group called Slush. Amazingly, this regular gathering of friends to write stories, listen to them, and generally get together and have a laugh has endured for over six years now. In that time we’ve churned out a lot of good stories, and even won an award (the Malvern Newsheet Writers Award for an anthology by a writering group).
A few nights ago I sat down and gave the website an overhaul and bought a new domain name (www.slushpress.com), so now’s a good time to introduce you to Slush: about seventy-five short stories, numerous short writing exercises, and pages and pages of damn good reading.
31 Aug 06
I actually saw The Strokes almost a month ago, which shows how slack I’ve been updating the Hollow lately. This is the second time I’ve seen the band live, and it was interesting to compare the two gigs, which were both at the Hordern Pavilion, one of my favourite (and one of the oldest) venues in Sydney. One of the great things about the Hordern is a ticket entitles you to get in and stand around—no reserved seats, no jumped-up security telling you to sit down, just take your beer in and stake a place.
Anyway, I wish I’d reviewed that first gig here, because it was the best I’ve seen in years. It was the first visit of The Strokes to our shores, just after the release of their second album Room of Fire, and it was clear they were blown away by the audience reaction. There was an exciting, positive vibe, and I walked out drenched in sweat and grinning my head off (and feeling pretty good that I could still dance into a frenzy at a gig at the age of almost forty).
Of course, things have changed. Three albums in and The Strokes have almost become mainstream, and the crowd was a very different kettle of kids. Unfortunately we were standing next to a group of arseholes overfuelled on testosterone, and when the band kicked off with ‘Juicebox’ from the new album First Impressions of Earth we immediately felt as if we’d been thrown into the middle of a Hitler Youth rally. Fists and devil horn gestures (oh, come on) thrust into the sky as, purposely bashing into those around them, the dickheads who’d just discovered the band last week proceeded to ruin the night. My girl shot me a slightly panicked look so we allowed ourselves to be squirted back about twenty rows where things were a bit quieter, losing our friend in the process. He later told us he’d been fuming because one of these guys made some crack about his age. Yeah right, I bet that arsehole will still be going to gigs at my friend’s age.
But how were the band? Sure, they were as tight as ever, but unfortunately some of the magic has leached away. That youthful, enthusiastic edge has gone, no doubt battered into submission by the drudgery of thousands of gigs all over the world. The new album tries to move into new territory, but to me it’s almost as if the band has become a little ashamed of the feel-good nature of its earlier material. This is a shame, as not many bands these days are able to craft such perfect pop-rock, and it’s a skill they should be proud of. The material from the first two albums was still the best live, contrasting with parts of the new tracks that felt like they were just taking up space in between the choruses.
I may think twice about seeing the band next time they’re out here, but that first gig, at least, will always be remembered as one of the best I’ve been to. It’s a shame The Strokes can’t play with the enthusiasm of youth forever. Then again, they still have the potential to mature into something even better.
31 Aug 06
Comments Off on Ahhh-choo!
Hmm, it’s getting a bit dusty around here. Looks like I’ve been working too hard again and neglecting the place. I must get the cleaners in.
Oh, by the way, sorry the comment links have disappeared off the Diversion posts. Some bizarre technical glitch I haven’t been able to fix yet. I’ll get them back as soon as I can. In the meantime, if you really have something important to say about a Diversions link, click the Archives button at the end of the list. Thanks.
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