Fusion Potential

An interesting idea came up yesterday while I was discussing this project idea with my friends: the combat and class system of tabletop RPGs. I've played my fair share of systems, and each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. What weapons can be used, what skills and feats can be used at what levels, and so on and so forth. Choosing one system over the others brings up a problem: some feats and weapons can't be used with other systems, and that might detract from the realism of the campaign.

But what would happen if I were to combine them...? *flurries through all the pages he's read so far*

All of the Reading

Still looking through all the rulebooks here. There's a lot to wrap my head around, and it's making me both excited and nervous. *keeps reading*

Not-So-Light Reading

I recently got my hands on some rulebooks for a few tabletop role-playing games. After spending about two hours prying through all the pages and looking up various rulesets and what not, I realized that deciding to make this "new world of Terani" project into some kind of d20 campaign would be... quite challenging.

And yet I still find myself drawn to the task.

All the things I've been looking up have made themselves look quite appealing should I decide to run some kind of tabletop campaign. Whether it's the medieval-esque nature of classic Dungeons & Dragons or the street-savvy technology present in the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game, each book I've taken the time to look at has shown potential in my eventual selection of a campaign ruleset.

What I'm aiming for is some kind of (semi-)modern setting. I'm envisioning Terani with a technology level that's relatively close to our level (give or take several decades). Despite this, magic would sound quite interesting. Imagine it... a world with both guns and arcane magic. Trippy, isn't it? There's already a few rulesets that attempt to fuse this desire into reality (Urban Arcana looks very interesting right now...), but I've only begun to scratch at the surface. As I keep reading over all of these rules, I keep getting more and more ideas. Gods know that I can use them all in some way to affect this potential campaign (if I indeed make this world an RPG campaign).

There are other books I need to look over, and now I think I'll take the time to go through them. As I keep going, I'll keep jotting notes down and figuring out things here and there.

Working Playtime

I've been having some difficulty in determining the outcome of the first battle (or rather: the first battle in my story) in my world. The logistics of it all are so staggering due to me wanting to make it both fantastical and realistic. Depending on where this story ends up unfolding (be it a war epic novel of sorts or a tabletop RPG campaign), I'll have to make sure I can transcribe everything I develop here into something ridiculously amazing.

I keep forgetting how much "work" my free-time projects often summon. It's a habit - but a fun one, at that.

Of Course, Josh

I keep getting interrupted by life when I get an idea for writing. It's a mixed blessing, really.

Anyway, if I plan everything correctly, I should have something nice up tomorrow.

Drawn In

I honestly think I'm getting waaaaaay drawn in to all this cool stuff I'm making for this world. Something should come up tomorrow...

Terani World Map

On Wednesday I showed you a little doodle I was working on that was involved with my current project. After some time, work, and (not-so-)careful thought, I was able to finish up that map.

Those continent colors do seem kind of familiar...

Behold: the world of Terani. *fanfare*

Sixty-three countries scattered across six continents, separated around the world by six oceans. (There is no "six" motif; this was pure coincidence.) For those of you wanting to gaze at this map, you're in luck - the photo is at its default 4000x3000 pixel size because I didn't have the heart to shrink it.

Anyway, I'll let you gaze in wonder. But for those of you who're confused, here's a brief legend:

Names in Pen: Continent (Blue) / Country (Black)
Names in Blue Colored Pencil: Ocean
Names in Sky-Blue Colored Pencil: Minor Body of Water
Red Dots: Capital City Location

Interesting, huh? Well, we'll see where this leads.

Constant Mapping

Plotting everything all over the place is a lot harder than it looks. Good thing it's Sunday - that means I have time do plot things all over this map. I hope.

Tomorrow, something should come up. I think. I'm not exactly sure. In the meantime I'm going to go ahead and draw up some cities and countries and what not.

Bachelorettes of Awakening: Introduction

It's usually scary when I can count the number of video games I touched over the past month-and-a-half on one hand. Normally, this is a sign that I'm too busy with tasks or I'm somehow being social. However, I have plenty of spare time even after performing mundane activities or hanging out with my friends... and yet that number is still countable on one hand. There's one reason - one culprit - responsible for this "travesty."

To say that I've been obsessed with Fire Emblem Awakening would be a sheer understatement - it has consumed my soul. I've just racked over 200 hours of game-time on the 3DS game (and that's not counting the resets and lost time spent after receiving a casualty), and yet I'm still drawn to it despite the fact that I beat it a month ago. I already made it quite clear how much this game has gripped me (there's a reason why it's still on that "Current Video Games" list to the left), and its influence was strong enough for it to land a spot on my last Top List.

Before the more attentive of you start asking: yes, this entry is the one I promised back on the 13^th. Matter-of-fact, it's the introduction in a series of entries I'll be posting on here. (Yes, I said "series" - prepare for a project that was long overdue.) There's a major dilemma I'm facing in-game and I'm having problems bringing myself to some kind of conclusion.

What's Over the Fence?

A series of funny entries will be coming... tomorrow.

What's In a Name

And with a map comes the fun part: naming it all.

Mapping Out a Future War (Revisited)

So, those ideas I was talking about yesterday? Here they are.

All the world's a stage... and its citizens mere combatants.

Okay, while this may not be as hilarious as I was claiming to be, it is full of ideas. And by "ideas," I mean "continents." Yes, that's lame (sorta), but I don't think this map quite is. Hehehe.

Quit your yapping - you know this is cool! *smiles*

Uhm... This Again?

I have some ideas for tomorrow's entry. However, as it is tomorrow's entry, you don't get to see it today. Instead, you're to deal with this, so nyah. (Bee tee dubs: tomorrow should prove to be hilarious. And silly. Hilariously silly.)

Leafing Through the Archives

As I keep drawing this world, I keep thinking of ideas and what not for countries, characters, and campaigns that could be staged all over.

Yes, I said "campaign." I once had this idea of making a role-playing world in which my friends and I could do some ol' fashioned tabletop role-playing gaming. Said idea was indefinitely shelved when we stopped playing a few years back (sadly), and I haven't really touched the Microsoft Word documents ever since.

Until now, that is. I'm dusting off the files and giving each of them a thorough read. If I'm getting inspiration for several ideas from out of thin air, then imagine what I could get from other shelved projects.

Good Day

So another Sunday well-spent. By that, I mean I spent it looking at funny pictures on the Internet and leveling my team in Fire Emblem Awakening. Oh, and watching my girlfriend play Valkyria Chronicles for the first time while I work on those maps. Well-spent, indeed.

Draw, Draw, Draw

I'm finding this map-making to be quite fun indeed. Originally, I only had one continent in mind when I was drawing up the map y'all saw yesterday. As I kept drawing and designing, I figured I could make the entire world this story's going to be staged in. Of course, that means I have to make other continents, but hey - this is going to be quite fun, indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to keep drawing this world out.

Mapping Out a Future War

I was taught that characters are the most important part of a story. It makes sense, really - boring characters contribute to a boring story, which contribute to a boring book, movie, show, or what-have-you. To a writer, that would mean that there'd be no one to read it - and to the writer wishing to strike it big (be it monetary, fame, or a combination of the two), a boring project gives them the exact opposite.

And this is how wars are started: by figuring out the geography of the enemy's land.

However, that's not what I'm working on today. Instead of fleshing out characters that will become heroes, villains, or both, I'm drawing out the geographical setting of the world that this story will be taking place in. I already have a semi-decent idea of the characters and what happens for the first part of the story, but I have yet to figure out how the terrain will affect the characters' actions.

Yes, I'm letting the lay of the land affect this story due to the fact that I'm trying to work on a war epic. As such, details such as these miiiiiiiiiiiiiight be necessary for the story. Hehehe.

A Little Too Much There

This day has been claimed by Fire Emblem Awakening. It's getting to the point where if I could, I would publicly declare my love for it, run off to Las Vegas, and get married with it right away. Fortunately, I can't - which saves me the trouble of saving up money for gasoline and a veil.

...

A-Anyway, speaking of marriages and Awakening, expect a pseudo-paper-slash-rant thing to come up either tomorrow or sometime over the weekend. I'm just... going to go look less embarrassed... o-over there... *flees*

The Top Twenty: Favorite Video Games

After talking about reviving my writing (as well as this blog) almost two weeks, I told myself that I'd get working on a brand-new Top Ten list and have it up here within the following two weeks. It's just about now officially that deadline, so I figured I'd get to work on it. And after two six day's two weeks' worth of typing, searching the web for good photos to use for this entry, and getting distracted by clicking fifteen thousand too many links on Wikipedia and TV Tropes, it's finally here! (Seriously this time.)

The last time I threw a Top Ten List on here was back in May of last year - roughly ten months ago. After noting that rather large gap, I told myself that needs to be patched up now. So, what to talk about? While there's plenty of subjects and plenty of lists I have compiled for just the occasion, I decided to go with a rather unique challenge: my favorite video games. I say "challenge" because this was honestly one of the more difficult ones to rate. There were so many games that made some kind of impact on my life, many more that gave me joy in my younger days, and still many that I have played altogether. So what to choose...?

Initially, my plan was to write a list of every game I remember playing to date that I love(d), narrow the selection down to ten games, and introduce a new "honorary mention" section alongside the list. Seemed really simple and easy on paper. When it came down to performing the task, however, I couldn't bring myself to thin the ranks. Many of the games I wrote down were games that I carry soft spots for, because they were the games I played as a child, a teenager, an adult. They brought joy, sadness, fury, understanding, clarity - and to deny the most influential games the right to have their name be heard? I couldn't.

So I decided to try two new tactics:

1. Narrow any video game series present down to ONE game.
2. Expand the buffer to twenty slots.

The end result is today's entry and the very first Top Twenty list featured on this blog. Now, I could pay my respects to all of the important games I've played and love(d).

Of course, one question remains to be asked: What twenty games made their way onto my favorites list? You'll have to read on below if you've any interest in finding out!

It's Almost There

I seem to have a habit of incurring "Asian Standard Time" on my blog. I'm pretty sure I said I'd have a Top Ten list for you up and running by Saturday. It's Tuesday. Nice one, me.

That number's not a typo, is it?

But don't fret - it's on the way and it'll be here very soon (I hope...)! I'm aiming for tomorrow, but with Asian Standard Time, ya' never know.

I'm still aiming for tomorrow. *cracks knuckles*

Motivationally Speaking: Powerleveling

Some Kind of Life Lesson

Again, I find myself getting suckered in to life's nuances and all the plans people make. I swear... It's not my fault at all that I get drawn into a plan that leaves bereft of time.

...okay, maybe it is. If I had actually managed my time well before I get suckered into these plans, maybe you'd be getting what I had planned as opposed to a short entry such as this one. Unfortunately, it seems as though we're stuck with such a post again today.

Of course, this warrants some kind of defense here. Lauren Bacall once said that "A planned life is a dead life." I wholeheartedly agree, and if I had actually stuck with the schedule I had planned for myself today, we'd have that Top Ten list... but I think I'd be bored with myself for the rest of the day once I posted.

So maybe it could be said that postponing the entry I had planned could be a good thing after all. We don't want a boring me, because boring me... well, sucks.

The Social Life Trumps Most Plans

Life seems to be getting of the way lately. That's never a bad thing, especially if I'm with friends.

Due to this, that Top Ten entry that was supposed to be up today... It's showing up tomorrow. For now... *goes back to socializing*

Change Ahead

It's Friday, and it just dawned to me that Daylight Savings Time strikes us on Sunday. Be sure to turn all your clocks one hour ahead!

A Lazy Thursday

Today's a lazy Thursday, and as such I didn't really do much. Sorry.

Mid-Week Held Off

I forgot how much typing was involved in my Top Ten posts. A good amount of HTML, some playing around with words and tags to make sure they look good (at least on my browsers), and some dedicated focus-time to make sure I actually work on typing all this stuff up.

All those words... so much HTML, even though this is all simple stuff.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough of the latter. Hehehe. Odds are, though, that it'll be up before the week's out.

Distracted By Other Things

Okay, so as it turns out, there's nothing fully finished for you today like I said there would be. Somehow this doesn't feel disappointing... just normal. *shrugs* I'll admit, I got heavily distracted. Tomorrow. Tomorrow it should be up.

Peeking Over the Fence

Well, well, well... what have we here?

Conveniently censored to prevent spoilers.

Could this very well represent the shape of things to come tomorrow? Tune in and find out!

Roundabout

It's only now in the evening that I was able to get my hands on an Internet connection. I've been busy running chores and other things to have time to post anything. Wanna know the sad part about this? Now that I have a connection, I don't know what to write. I swear... my luck seems to be ridiculously crappy lately, but there's not much I can do about it except roll with the punches and go on with life somehow.

In other news, remember how I hit the drawing board? While I was working for one project, I accidentally ended up composing things for another project. The blessings (and curses) of mental hyperactivity, I guess. It could be why I never get anything done. (If this is indeed the case, then that would explain quite a lot...)

Anyway, I'm going to see if I can write some fun things this week. You're going to have to stay tuned to see (or check out the links I slap on Facebook). Time to work on a Top Ten list and other things that will eventually show up on here!

Break Out the Drawing Board!

I yearn for some kind of reader base for my blog here. Despite what I put on here, I just can't seem to draw people in. I write decent entries (well, at one point I did), make the site feel accessible to most potential patrons, and occasionally put something cool and/or funny up. And while I can get some views (I usually get more if I post a link on my Facebook), the resulting statistics are not what I was hoping for. I went to sleep wondering why, and it took me the whole night to realize the very obvious answer.

This is a personal blog.

Renaming Dilemma

A major problem has recently been presented to me - one which I must say I'm having difficulty in solving.

The situation arose back on Wednesday, several hours after I posted that day's entry. I was involved in a conflict with some friends that ended up becoming quite sour after a backstab went horribly wrong. I assigned myself the position of "interventionist" and somehow brought the situation to a steady calm, only to lose control and watch as my friends and I embroiled ourselves in another brawl that would prove to be quite bloody.

In the end, I somehow ended up on top and unwittingly tasked myself with solving a major crisis. There's also a bit of a time limit - I was only able to bring about a metaphorical ceasefire, and if things go the way I'm foreseeing it, this crisis may escalate into yet another fight by tomorrow's end. Said crisis requires a bit of input from all of you, so I thank you in advance for taking the time to read this entry.

So, what is this dramatic and important dilemma, you ask?

Australia as it currently lies in our Risk Legacy game. As can be seen, I've yet to write a name for the continent.

I have won the right to rename Australia.
But what should I name the continent?

Cue many facepalms from people who did not see this anti-climax coming. Hee hee hee. =P