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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Pontypool: French, Zombies and Basilisk Hacks
« on: May 15, 2012, 04:44:50 PM »
oh, I guess this is cool but on the wrong sub-forum. well. that's. that's how it goes sometimes.
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47
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Pontypool: French, Zombies and Basilisk Hacks
« on: May 15, 2012, 04:38:23 PM »
is it even remotely appropriate to make a thread for a movie? well I'm DOING IT. just try and stop me.
anyway, I just caught Pontypool on sweet, sweet Netflix, as trailered here:
and could not but think of RPPR, what with the basilisk hack early Eclipse Phase core theme and the zombie sub-theme. it's like if Caleb and Ross could breed. as a horror movie it's a little weak--I mean, you won't be scared, I promise--but it's probably the most interesting treatment of zombies I've ever seen, and how often do you get memetic viruses in film?
it's super worth a watch if you don't mind a long character-establishing build and a little bit of hokeyness along with your second-degree nightmare fuel. check it owwwt.
anyway, I just caught Pontypool on sweet, sweet Netflix, as trailered here:
and could not but think of RPPR, what with the basilisk hack early Eclipse Phase core theme and the zombie sub-theme. it's like if Caleb and Ross could breed. as a horror movie it's a little weak--I mean, you won't be scared, I promise--but it's probably the most interesting treatment of zombies I've ever seen, and how often do you get memetic viruses in film?
it's super worth a watch if you don't mind a long character-establishing build and a little bit of hokeyness along with your second-degree nightmare fuel. check it owwwt.
48
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« on: March 28, 2012, 07:09:01 PM »
so how hard will it be to blackjack Ross, borrowsteal his shit and get Bryson Springs 2.0 recorded? I wanna go back to Otiss! I don't even know how to visualize Dangers of Frat sans Thad.
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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: What RPPR Kickstarter would you rather see next?
« on: March 28, 2012, 07:05:39 PM »
I'm in the shut up and take my money camp. I don't have a useful crew of people to play with, so the end product is only of abstract interest to me. but the closest thing I've ever felt to religion is Kickstarter and RPPR is the only Kickstarticipant that's ever given me shit I love for free before even asking anyone for money, so you can count me in whatever you end up goin for. voted for New Arcadia just because I'd like to see some of the thinking behind the APs, if it would indeed be for the same DIYTranshumanity setting.
and Dangers of Fraternization alone was so wonderful in the bonus episodes last time that you've got me hypnotized into doing my best to reach any tier that offers preview episode rewards again. =3
and Dangers of Fraternization alone was so wonderful in the bonus episodes last time that you've got me hypnotized into doing my best to reach any tier that offers preview episode rewards again. =3
50
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« on: March 01, 2012, 10:23:43 PM »
there's a kickstarter I couldn't not do. I've already thought about trying to fill the hole in my own creativity with some Calebclones. getting that shit in written-up form I might actually get around to running a game more complicated than D&D for my nyerdfriends at some point.
are you keeping all the backdata organized enough that Know Evil might be made available somewhurr once it's all played out, or is that too distant a prospect to think about? I've often wondered if the EP guys have heard of it. can't imagine they wouldn't be fans. I shoved Anders towards your Think Before Asking via Twitter, 'cause I'm a nosy oversharer with/of total strangers.
are you keeping all the backdata organized enough that Know Evil might be made available somewhurr once it's all played out, or is that too distant a prospect to think about? I've often wondered if the EP guys have heard of it. can't imagine they wouldn't be fans. I shoved Anders towards your Think Before Asking via Twitter, 'cause I'm a nosy oversharer with/of total strangers.
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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: How do you envision RPPR stories while listening to them?
« on: March 01, 2012, 10:15:50 PM »
I think I've seen pictures or video of errbody but Thad and RJ at this point, and it's a weird blending of how I used to think of them before I'd seen photos, how I know they look now and a primitive filmreel of the action. not a very visual person, tend to think more in abstractions of RPPR settings than in mental setpieces. Thad and RJ are both totally glamorous in my head, Thad because he fills me with happy and RJ 'cause he's a sassy gay and I feel better about myself assuming random internet queers are pretty.
on the topic of the value of knowing real faces, I think it's totally worthwhile. I find that I like Aaron a lot more having seen his "Send Aaron to GenCon!" Kickstarter video. when all you've got is a stuttering goodytwoshoes planruining voice on the internet, it's easy to dislike somebody, but once you've actually gotten a look at them, some of those ape empathy instincts kick in. which is a good thing. it's always better not to be annoyed at internet voices.
on the topic of the value of knowing real faces, I think it's totally worthwhile. I find that I like Aaron a lot more having seen his "Send Aaron to GenCon!" Kickstarter video. when all you've got is a stuttering goodytwoshoes planruining voice on the internet, it's easy to dislike somebody, but once you've actually gotten a look at them, some of those ape empathy instincts kick in. which is a good thing. it's always better not to be annoyed at internet voices.
52
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: I love Thad like hedonism senator loves orgies!
« on: March 01, 2012, 10:07:55 PM »
my mental image of Fae-Yin is imprecise but glowing with color. she's too glamorous for me to concoct a specific picture of. I can hear her brow furrow and see her kind of pretending not to notice while still occasionally glancing back with a hyperbitchy supermodel "...what? uh, mmkay." look on her face every time the Know Evil boys say or do something insane or murderous.
and yeah the Aldo Raine take-off in Fraternization was fucking peerless from start to finish and was the moment I realized I need Thad and Caleb to have a Kirk/Spock marshmallow sparring battle to determine where my affections truly lie.
it's interesting the way the styles of the English-background players differ from the film-background players. it's almost like Caleb and Thad think more in terms of character arcs for their PCs than do the rest of the group, or maybe just improvisationally reveal their characters more gradually than do more up-front, straightforward players. when I first heard that episode whree Ghost Robot was being flustered with the cops, I thought it was Thad himself just pulling an Aaron and not knowing what to say. took more familiarity with his style to realize that, no, that was fuckin Ghost Robot being a really real person, and that that flusterment was all part of his robattitude. so much good.
but yes yay thade +1 if he ever GMs I might die
and yeah the Aldo Raine take-off in Fraternization was fucking peerless from start to finish and was the moment I realized I need Thad and Caleb to have a Kirk/Spock marshmallow sparring battle to determine where my affections truly lie.
it's interesting the way the styles of the English-background players differ from the film-background players. it's almost like Caleb and Thad think more in terms of character arcs for their PCs than do the rest of the group, or maybe just improvisationally reveal their characters more gradually than do more up-front, straightforward players. when I first heard that episode whree Ghost Robot was being flustered with the cops, I thought it was Thad himself just pulling an Aaron and not knowing what to say. took more familiarity with his style to realize that, no, that was fuckin Ghost Robot being a really real person, and that that flusterment was all part of his robattitude. so much good.
but yes yay thade +1 if he ever GMs I might die
53
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: New Arcadia/Wild Talents errata
« on: December 20, 2011, 09:03:28 AM »
I only ever get disappointed when a misread rule detracts from player tension in a scene. because the only true bliss I know is hearing panic creep into a player's voice. 's why I like the three strikes death save system from 4E, holds back instant punishment but gets the dread mounting real well. having tried to read Wild Talents after deciding I loved New Arcadia, I have to say that I'm stunned that you guys use the rules as well as you do. how many hours of the game have you put out now? 20+? and between that and my skimming the core I still don't feel like I have a full grasp of the system? I've learned languages in fewer manhours than that.
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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« on: December 16, 2011, 04:25:48 AM »
I'd been too embarrassed to ask about it (aren't most people MORE forward on the internet than in real life?), but yeah, I'd been hoping for some Caleb oneshot ransoms, too. When people entertain me on the regular week in and week out with the fruit of their imaginations, I wanna reward them with dollars, yknow? And if I get to copy them the better for it, so much the better. Andrew's Fortune and Bryson Springs in particular really caught my imagination as beautiful just-complicated-enough self-contained scenarios. Lover in the Ice was awesome, too, just one that I'd be more comfortable improvising.
So yeah, count me in for at least $20 or so on a Kickstarter! Definitely more if you come up with some short stories or can talk Ross into providing preview podcasts as enticements! RPPR is my favorite way to waste ready cash.
So yeah, count me in for at least $20 or so on a Kickstarter! Definitely more if you come up with some short stories or can talk Ross into providing preview podcasts as enticements! RPPR is my favorite way to waste ready cash.
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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« on: December 04, 2011, 11:15:25 PM »
When I was a kid, I used to think I didn't really give a fuck about plot. I read an awful lot of awfully mediocre fiction, and what I liked I mostly liked for characters and dialogue and setting (Roger Zelazny's Amber series was my favorite, just to illustrate the extent of the thing) more than the actual events of the story. That lasted up until circa, I dunno, age 16, when I read A Game of Thrones for the first (of many) time(s). It was like I'd never even encountered a real plot before, and suddenly I was being sandblasted by a piece of literature where the -events- actually interested me, not just the charming turns of phrase and enticing escapist worldbuilding that the author'd come up with.
Since I never really got into the New World campaign, my relationship to RPPR was pretty similar for a while. I liked it because it was fun and made me laugh more than because I really gave a fuck about what happened within the narrative. Andrew's Fortune really marked the turning point there for me (and I'd later feel the same way about New Arcadia and Know Evil). It was still impossibly hilarious ("With you throwing twenties around like that, you could eat at a...a Joe's Crab Shack, even!"), but at the same time featured events that seemed to check out on some sort of logical level set against a backdrop that felt like a real place and populated with characters who really felt like they had something at stake. For the first time in the slew of RPPRs I'd listened to I was just as interested in what was gonna happen next as I was in what as gonna make me grin next.
I'm embarrassingly earnest sometimes, huh? XD I could be senselessly callous instead, if it'd make people less uncomfortable.
Since I never really got into the New World campaign, my relationship to RPPR was pretty similar for a while. I liked it because it was fun and made me laugh more than because I really gave a fuck about what happened within the narrative. Andrew's Fortune really marked the turning point there for me (and I'd later feel the same way about New Arcadia and Know Evil). It was still impossibly hilarious ("With you throwing twenties around like that, you could eat at a...a Joe's Crab Shack, even!"), but at the same time featured events that seemed to check out on some sort of logical level set against a backdrop that felt like a real place and populated with characters who really felt like they had something at stake. For the first time in the slew of RPPRs I'd listened to I was just as interested in what was gonna happen next as I was in what as gonna make me grin next.
I'm embarrassingly earnest sometimes, huh? XD I could be senselessly callous instead, if it'd make people less uncomfortable.
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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: The Heroes of New Arcadia - RPPR Superheroes campaign - Wild Talents
« on: November 28, 2011, 08:21:52 PM »(Googling the Trail of Median: The Gazebo Incident)
god damn it. finally fullreadthroughing I made it to page seventeen without replying, but here I am. Caleb keeps doing this thing, making these spaces feel real. my fantivity is getting embarrassing.
can't believe there's ten months of already-completed New Arcadia to come.
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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Caleb is a mad genius (or Yet Another Fan Club Thread)
« on: November 28, 2011, 06:56:04 PM »
I just realized I never asked what it took me several listens even to notice--what was it that was fucked up about the yearbook picture of Andrew in Andrew's Fortune? I figure it must've been jockified or something so that it didn't actually resemble him in any way, which would explain why Carmodie (uh, spelling?) was just murderating every homeless man around, since I gather they were working from his yearbook photo. Was it more sinister than that?
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RPGs / Re: Eclipse Phase
« on: October 18, 2011, 12:34:53 PM »For Aaron: http://boingboing.net/2011/10/17/dance-your-ph-d-thesis-teaching-a-robot-to-appreciate-beats.html
from the page layout and the vimeo I thought for half a second that was a Kickstarter and then couldn't understand why it wasn't
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RPGs / Re: Eclipse Phase
« on: October 16, 2011, 03:54:41 AM »
my favorite Eclipse Phase character concept so far has been an AGI constructed on a brinker station as an experiment by space communists in rewriting history to improve human nature. by way of a dry run, they built a couple AGIs that were unshakeably certain that nonorganic life had been the first intelligence in the solar system ("back when the first bit state switches condensed out of silicon in the primordial soup-rings of Saturn...") and that they'd later manufactured carbon-based life. the Titans, this dude is convinced, rewrote history, mindhacking all of humanity into believing a twisted history where the organics were the ones to emerge on their own and create the machines. he makes it his mission to travel the solar system and preach the truth in a starry-eyed and earnest fashion, occasionally pursued by some of his AGI-sibs from the same project whose psychosurgical births didn't go as well as his and which are either computer-schizophrenic or conquest-fascists adherents to the idea that the machines are meant to rule.
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RPGs / Re: Eclipse Phase
« on: October 04, 2011, 09:56:48 PM »Craw--I wrote an essay in that Planetary book Cody put out, but other than that I don't publish anything. I teach full time, so I write more words per day on essays than a UK court stenographer pulling a double-shift after the riots. I manage to get the game outlines written every other week, but I don't have time for much else. I appreciate the compliment more than you know though. Writing was my dream before I got a big boy job, and your comments warmed me heart.
Keep thrilling me and I'll keep being noisily thrilled!
I think the kids over at Posthuman Studios owe Ross and Caleb a drink, cause the shiny Eclipse Phase hardcover in this blue-ass bag beside me wouldn't've been sold without the RPPR presentation of the setting. I was thinking about maybe doing some nightmarishly-long and well-chapterized recording of the setting portions of the text and kicking it over to Posthuman to see if they wanted to host it somewhere, the better to capture the attention deficit generation's attention (ie mine) who can't handle raw text ("read with eyes hard, want read with ears").
Have any of you ever read Charles Stross, btw? Large chunks of Eclipse Phase down to the very vocabulary were lifted straight from his work (or maybe it's all just transhumanist vocabulary? It's hard to track down origins in a meme-obsessed culture). Accelerando, in particular, -is- Eclipse Phase, minus the Fall, to the point that it's mutating my understanding of the tone of EP, probably in a way I should mentalhalt. When he starts talking about post-monetary reputation-based economies and resleeving by the name of -resleeving- and forking by the name of -forking- I have to sharply remind myself that this is a book conceived of a decade before EP and published five years before it.
Singularity Sky and its sequel Iron Sunrise clearly offered inspiration, too (as near as I can tell that's where the term cornucopia machine emerged to describe nanofabricators). Even his near-future pre-cyberpunk Halting State deals with themes relatable to transhumanity and machine integration, and has the advantage of having a lesbian Scottish police officer as one of its three second-person present-tense narrators, which is, yknow, something I always look for.