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the clothier of the revolution
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|11:37 pm] |
no need to disguise
your world-wise eyes
thirty years gone by
in the blink of surprise
your beauty is not your skin
the source is deep within
let it shine
let
it shine
we all grow up
sometime
and it makes us angry
and it makes us scared
every day on the calendar
is one less day we're here
and it all goes by
in the blink of surprise
it all goes by
goodbye
you look at me
in the darkness of sleep
and i see you see me then
before the years
scarred my face
embedded their trace
back when i was half my age
we're all poorly written
just when you become smitten
destiny turns the page
oh-oh
it all goes by
in the blink of an eye
oh-oh
it all goes by
no need to disguise
your world-wise eyes
thirty years gone by
in the blink of surprise
your beauty is not your skin
the source is deep within
let it shine
let
it shine
we all grow up
sometime |
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| Oh, The Places You'll Go |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|03:09 pm] |
Oooooh, spooooky
I'm settled in for an Eerie, Indiana mini-marathon. Wife and kids are at the pool so I thought I'd sit down for a Little Fears Nightmare Edition inspiration celebration. Laptop on, document open, jotting down notes and ideas as I watch the first disc. |
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| I've Had It With "Should" |
[Jun. 7th, 2009|02:28 pm] |
I should talk about something else
All I'm asking is for a modicum of respect, a pause to consider that I have worked in publishing for ten years. I don't profess to know everything but, in that time, I've certainly learned something.
I've worked with a range of budgets from "We've got how much?" to "We've got HOW MUCH?!" I've worked with in-house and freelance artists and writers of all stripes and skill levels.
I've worked on original, licensed, and inherited IP. I've worked on turnarounds so tight that I had to drive to the printers to go over the proofs because we didn't have time in the schedule to ship them overnight. With Little Fears, I drove to the printer to pick up the 300 books they had printed so far just so I had some for conventions. I've waited inside the UPS loading dock for books that were supposed to be there two days ago and that should have shipped to stores already. I've paced the floor while customs considered whether they're going to release my products in time for the show.
I've put together promotional proposals, digging into page hits and distribution numbers, going over demographics and testimonies, trying to get the most bang for our marketing buck. I've researched printers from around the globe, assessing print quality, turnaround, reputation, and cost. I've stayed up all night assembling catalogs by hand, rushing out to Super K at 2am to buy more toner and cursing myself because I forgot the slip with the model number of the printer on it. "I think/hope it's a LaserJet 1000."
I've worked through the night putting together graphics for postcards, takeaways, and brochures. I've made mad dashes to Kinko's because our supply of flyers dwindled to ten while my back was turned. I've written press release after press release and heard folks tell me "I don't care what it says, just write one."
I've broken my back in 95 degree convention halls putting together tables and racks. Trying to figure out where my stock is and which union member I need to speak to in order to get a flatbed. I've stood behind convention tables for hours on end, ran demo after demo, and pressed the flesh with consumers, retailers, distributors, and consolidators in hopes of igniting a single spark of interest in my unknown product. I've pitched until I couldn't speak.
I've had surprise hits, and crushing failures.
And I'm not alone. A lot of people have. That's the publishing game. That's the adventure game industry.
So, please, when you have an idea of something that may benefit what I'm trying to do, recommend it. Say, "I found this and thought maybe..." or "I was thinking this might help with...". Present your argument with the consideration that I've chosen my current course of action for a reason but that I'm not inflexible. There may be better ways to do something and I'll consider them. But don't say "should." Don't tell me that I "should do this". Even if you phrase it like "Don't you think it's time you...?" or "So you're going to..., right?"
Consider for a moment that I may know what I'm doing. That perhaps I have a plan. That if I'm going at a pace or in a direction that's contrary to how you'd do it that it's my own experience and know-how that are guiding me. That's it not a rookie mistake but a considered action. Please.
To clarify: This happens as much in person or in private communication as it does with some random Internet person. |
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| A Network of Doors |
[Jun. 7th, 2009|11:41 am] |
Tweedley-deedley-deet
Closetland has invaded social networking! Follow Little Fears on Twitter at @littlefears. |
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| No Sleep for the Whatever |
[Jun. 7th, 2009|01:46 am] |
The tired?
I just sent the files for Little Fears Nightmare Edition to the playtesters. My little baby is meeting all kinds of new people.
Good luck, kiddo. Talk to you soon. |
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| Little Fears Playtest Update |
[Jun. 6th, 2009|02:04 am] |
Up-to-date, even when late
Little Fears Nightmare Edition Playtest Files are done. Character creation, all the rules (except Character Advancement--which there is in this game!), monster creation, monster rules, all done. Coming in at ~24k words for the three chapters. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cazmonster and I are giving them another read-through before I send them out to the Closed Beta playtesters.
That'll free up my time to focus on a layout project that's due in two weeks.
But first, I'm going to sleep. I reckon I'll be lucky to manage five hours with my blessed Somnus. And if you've ever met me face-to-face, you know I need all the beauty sleep I can get. |
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| Madison Games Day is...TODAY! |
[May. 30th, 2009|09:51 am] |
Bring your dice and your love of games
Madison Games Day is today, from noon to 10p. I'm pretty much packed up, just need to get the stuff in the car, and get myself ready.
10 hours of gaming goodness with local both familiar and unknown. I'm looking forward to it! If you're in the Madison, Wisconsin area, stop on by for some roleplaying games, board games, and card games action.
I'll be running Normal, Texas, Little Fears Nightmare Edition, and Dust Devils. Others are running 3:16, Hunter: The Vigil, Savage Worlds, and more! |
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| Adventure Game Bachelor Weekend II |
[May. 24th, 2009|12:37 pm] |
Like Weekend at Bernie's with less hi-jinx and corpses
Next weekend will not only see Madison Games Day (on Saturday, May 30th) but also Adventure Game Bachelor Weekend II.
You may remember that last year's Adventure Game Bachelor Weekend was nearly preempted by a flooded basement. Let's hope that doesn't happen this year.
In honor of the event, I have picked up Police Quest Collection (PC) at Half Price Books for under $7 (thanks to their 20% off sale; still, it's only $8 regular). Other games in the pipe include: The Experiment, Barrow Hill, The Lost Crown, and possibly finishing Still Life.
I'll also be spending some time with the Wintermute engine for reasons I ain't sayin' shit about just yet.
Of course, there's even more! I'm driving to and from Chicago on Thursday, hitting the Madison Writers Meet & Greet (also on Thursday), meeting a contact on Friday for a beer and to discuss some potential freelance work, spending Saturday at the aforementioned Madison Games Day, and doing some preliminary layout work on a roleplaying game contract I signed this week.
And every single one of those things (except the going to Chicago part) depends on my getting Little Fears Nightmare Edition ready for playtest by Wednesday. Hello, Monday. I think you know what we need to do. |
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| Help Wanted? |
[May. 6th, 2009|12:46 am] |
Laying it out
I'm putting together a portfolio centered around page layout/graphic design. I have quite a few samples already.
In the next few weeks, I'd like to take on some page layout projects so if anyone has any needs, any projects or leads, for page layout and/or graphic design, don't hesitate to contact me. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 28th, 2009|12:34 pm] |
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder where you are
i look back in dreams
i see you falling
from the window sill
an angel in flight
your eyes are turned
toward the setting sun
a flash of a gun
in the darkest night
i was leaving for the war
never been away before
away no more
you were fighting the war at home
fighting all alone
fighting no more
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder where you are
wonder where
you
are
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder who you are
who you
are
we exchange names on the train
to the coast
we make the most
of a chance encounter
one night awake
one night asleep
one night must mean
a life without her
hands cupped in prayer
toward the sky
the jealous eye
of a one-time lover
clouds of sin begin
to roll in
the sound of thunder
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder where you are
where you are
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder who you are
who you
are
one scream
one dance
one very last
chance
one night of peace
sweet release
one moon
one sun
it comes undone
no relief
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder where you are
where you are
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder who you are
who you are
who you are
i look back in dreams
and i hear screams
where once was laughter
a sudden light
cuts the night
and silence follows after
a devil's dance
a devil's chance
our circumstance
a devil's strife
a devil's knife
all our life
even though we've traveled so very far
i wonder where you are
where you are |
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| Announcing Madison Games Day - May 30th 2009 |
[Apr. 9th, 2009|11:38 am] |
Meet new people. Play new games. Madison Games Day, May 30th 2009.
Matt M. McElroy (of Flames Rising and DriveThruComics) and Jason L Blair (designer of Little Fears) announce Madison Games Day, a ten-hour event dedicated to introducing Madison-area residents to meet new people and play new games.
Madison Games Day will take place on Saturday, May 30th 2009 at the Pizza Oven on Monona Drive. From 12p until 10p, Madison-area gamers are invited to stop in, meet local players, and try new games. A variety of games are slated for play and attendees are urged to bring their own as well. Have a game you want to try but your regular group isn't into? Bring it! Have a hankering to dust off an old favorite for one more spin? Bring it! Want to give a game you weren't sure about another shot? Bring it! There is an official event schedule but pick-up games are encouraged. If you have something you want to run or play, bring it along!
If you have games you no longer play or wish to own, bring them too! A table will be available for attendees to display copies they're looking to sell or trade.
For complete information on Madison Games Day, to register an event, or view the existing event line-up, visit the official website at http://madisongamesday.wordpress.com/ or join the Yahoo!Group at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/madgameday/
Madison Games Day is a free event but donations will be gratefully accepted onsite.
Matt M. McElroy is the owner/editor of the Flames Rising horror webzine and Publisher Relations and Marketing Manager for DriveThruComics.com. His fiction work includes the novella "Time to Burn" in the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society collection from Abstract Nova.
Jason L Blair has been a writer and designer in the pen-and-paper and video game fields for almost ten years. His critically-acclaimed, award-winning game Little Fears - the roleplaying game of childhood terror is currently being revised. Little Fears Nightmare Edition is slated for a Summer 2009 release. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 9th, 2009|12:07 am] |
blank expressions passing by
near the window sill am i
painted portraits are just rain
falling down slow
interpretations in the sky
could mean anything but i
prefer the concrete evidence
boring i know
this is not where i thought we'd be
a hundred years ago
this is not where i thought i would be
a hundred years ago
hands in dirt, mud, rust, blood, cavewalls
scratching patterns into clay with a crude knife
down on my haunches sniffing at the wind
hungry for anything not in human skin
i feel my claws
thirsty for the blood of fawns
i feel my soul
burning for redemption
i feel my heart
pushing against my chest
beating every day and night
it won't give me any rest
it seems a thousand years ago
when i was one among the fold
just a couple minutes old
i was bathed in potential
it seems a thousand years ago
when my eyes were still closed
and my breaths were screams
i was bathed in light
look he'll grow up and he'll be
oh he'll grow up and he'll be
oh he is so precious
every baby's wonderful
look he'll grow up and he'll be
oh he'll grow up and he'll be
oh he is so special
every baby's someone special
this is not where i thought we'd be
a hundred years ago
this is not where i thought i would be
a hundred years ago
i'm on the verge
of screaming
i'm on the verge
of screaming
i'm on the verge
of
on the verge of
screaming
screaming
screaming
SCREAMING
screaming
screaming
SCREAMING |
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| Interview Me |
[Apr. 6th, 2009|03:57 pm] |
For Internal Use Only
Had a job interview today. Very nice people, good questions, engaging. I was relaxed, honest, tried to get some humor in there but not too much. Wore a shirt and tie and everything.
It's a corporate job, and it's been a long time since I worked one of those, but it'll be a godsend if I get it. And, yeah, I want it. I am not in a position in my life to not have a steady job. As much as I'd love to live the indie artist lifestyle, it disadvantages my kids. Even short term, I won't have that if I can do otherwise. And I'm asking for a decent salary which apparently didn't cause them to flinch. So, good thing so far.
Should know something by the end of the week. They're filling two positions and only asked six of the applicants to face-to-face interviews. Even base figures, without knowledge of the variables, those aren't bad odds. Wish me luck. |
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| Watched, Man |
[Mar. 30th, 2009|09:33 am] |
Who obviouses the Obviousmen?
I was invited out by cazmonster and, as luck would have it I was actually available, so I finally saw Watchmen last night.
I don't have time for a full review but overall my opinion of the film is not favorable.
Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson were standouts for me with Malin Ackerman, Billy Crudup, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan turning in solid performances as well. The flaws are not theirs, certainly. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 29th, 2009|01:19 pm] |
Faking life, clutching to any semblance of human form
Closed eyes, clenched, trying to muster a prayer
but it only ends in tears.
I breathe in. Hold it and try to see through the haze
of failure that envelops me like smoke
Try to care, hold a silhouette of hope but it's a chalkline
an outline of another dead body.
This is here. This is now, a heaviness I have brought upon my kin
There's no escape. None that won't leave them more abandoned than I am right now.
Time is a bullet, a deadline, and the rhythmic tick of the wallclock grows louder every day.
My stomach turns and I beat at the walls around me
but all I get is bloody knuckles and holes I have to patch.
I scream. And it's louder than the sunrise
so I hold a sweat-soaked pillow to my face.
No metaphors or pithy inspiration. Nothing to inflate
that will save me from this fate.
A car pealing rubber, leaving a black mile on the road. A hand
barely attached, just nudging the wheel.
I want to sleep, but sleep will bring the guardrail
then through it, over it, and onto the rocks.
And if I survive. I'm worse off than I was.
And if I don't. Everyone around me is instead. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 13th, 2009|09:41 pm] |
I didn't know Chris Passeno particularly well but when he shared with me the diagnosis he received in January, I felt like I had just been punched. Chris and I met face to face in 2002 at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. I knew him from his posts at The Forge and the day-glo orange business card he handed me cemented his personality and outlook in my mind.
We played a game of InSpectres together that con. Me, him, Ron Edwards, Jared Sorensen, and Jake Norwood. It was a great game. I saw Chris a few more times that con. Over the following years, I made a point of finding Chris every time I went to Origins, just to catch up, chat about what was cool at the show, and just hang out.
Over the past couple years, I haven't been able to make it to Origins. Hanging out with him was one of the things I missed most.
I wish I had had the opportunity to know him better. From what I did know, he was a great guy. I know that his positivity and gentle demeanor left an indelible mark on me. When I heard of his passing Tuesday night, my mind refused it. Even though it eventually sank in, I still don't believe it. It's hard for me to reconcile that I won't see him the next time that I actually do make it to Origins.
He was a great guy. And I'll miss him. |
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| Me Thoughts On Game Design |
[Mar. 9th, 2009|10:51 am] |
As seen on Twitter
Below is an overview of my personal design philosophy with respect to games, written this morning as I prepared to work on Little Fears Nightmare Edition.
1) There are two basic design stances: game and simulation. A single design can use elements of both but too much mixing muddies the design.
2) Good games have a clearly-expressed design goal. The design goal is the play experience mission statement. Write one for every game.
3) "Games" (see 1) build systems relative to the other systems in play. Player 1 gets X; Player 2 gets Y. X=Y but possibly inversely. Player 1 can be a single player, multiple players, or any person or system actively working towards the win condition. Player 2 can be a single player, multiple players, or any person or system actively working against Player 1.
4) "Simulations" (see 1) build systems relative to systems external to play, such as "real world physics" or "ballistics-based combat." (drivingblind also points out "story structures like Frankenstein" or "plot arc like Die Hard" which are other good examples.) Simulations and Games follow the same basic set of design rules. At times, the distinction is invisible. What is different is the force behind the design, the question the designer is answering. And every design answers a question in line with the design goal. A solid design goal and intelligent questions stemming from that goal are the backbone of design, whether a game, a simulation, or a mixture of both.
5) No matter what the goal, the questions, or the answers, the design must be engaging. It must lock in an aspect of the player. It must draw on a need, a want, or a goal within the players. Great games connect with multiple. Games, as with any pasttime, must fulfill.
(One day, I'll address what I consider the difference between a game and a sport.)
Note that with the exception of where I need to clarify, I have used "game" as a generic for both "game" and "simulation." Hopefully the areas where the distinction matters is apparent. Games and simulations can address the same design goal. They're more a method, a pathway. |
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| Eine Kleine Aengstemusik |
[Mar. 6th, 2009|08:56 am] |
Sprechen ze notsomuch
Back in 2001, I was approached by two publishers who were interested in translating my game Little Fears for their respective markets. One of them was Feder & Schwert (Feather & Sword) who was already the German publisher of White Wolf's products and would later get the D&D 3e license.
Oliver Hoffmann and Oliver Graute were the gentlemen I worked with and they were fantastic. In 2002, they released an absolutely beautiful and haunting edition of the book. Its translated title was Kleine Aengste.
Soon after, I received an email from them saying they were interested in releasing a soundtrack for Kleine Aengste as they had with their internal product Engel. My mind was pretty much blown at that point. Having seen what they did with the print version, I trusted them to find a band who would knock the soundtrack out of the park.
That band was JANUS. And they totally did.
JANUS released Kleine Aengste as a bonus disc to their studio release Auferstehung (which I believe means "Resurrection"). (RIG, from the band, also released an audio storybook called Kleine Aengste Hoerbuck limited to 666 copies.)
Most folks here probably haven't heard any tracks from the soundtrack which is a shame because it's awesome. That will soon be corrected.
A link to a YouTube video using the title track was recently posted to the Little Fears Yahoo!Group. I found another video though, this one listing the lyrics (in German). Neither are official videos but they get the job done.
So here it is. JANUS' track "Kleine Aengste", the title track to the soundtrack for the German version of Little Fears. Enjoy.
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| Superbly Smashing! |
[Feb. 28th, 2009|02:11 pm] |
Hell yeah, I'm excited by this
My daughter and I played some Super Smash Bros Brawl before lunch. We managed to not only (finally) beat Tabuu (the end boss of the SubSpace Emissary) but unlock all the remaining playable characters as well (Toon Link, Jigglypuff, and Wolf were the ones we were missing).
HELL YEAH! |
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| Old Ass Meme |
[Feb. 26th, 2009|11:25 pm] |
But it's what I feel like doing right now
Go to Wikipedia and click Random Article. That's your band's name.
Click Random Article again; that's your band's debut album.
Click Random Article 15 more times; that's the track titles on your band's debut album.
This is the track listing from my band Macusani District's debut album Philishave.
1) Islamic jurists
2) Birdseye, Indiana
3) Ricki & Copper
4) Aladdin4D
5) An-Naziat
6) VG-lista 2006
7) Lake-Sumter Community College
8) Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas '75
9) King Missile
10) La vallée des bannis
11) Bliszczyce
12) 1685 in England
13) Ahí vamos
14) John Poulett, 2nd Earl Poulett
15) Arowry |
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