The most important skill for making terrain is having a good eye for finding stuff to use. But the most important part of your actual terran making is selecting a good base. The base is very important to the playability, but most importantly it is the main determiner of durability.
Without a good foundation the terrain project is not going to be durable for play, storage, and transport. On Metal or Resin terrain pieces you might get away with not having a base, but for everything else it is just about essential.
Here is a video which shows off some wood based terrain and the natural rocks and things it can support. In general (but not always, varies on type) wood is sturdy at thinner proportions than foam and gives support to heavier structures but it isn't as sculptable.
All good bases I've worked from have either been metal, wood, or foam. Avoid the temptation to use plasticard or cardboard. They're sturdy but they also warp too easily. Good metal bases are hard to come by unless you have friends in a metal shop as they can often get you scrap material that is perfect for it. If you're not a professional metalworker, stay away from making your own!
That leaves Wood and various types of foam. There are a lot of ups and downs to both and even more when the varieties of wood and foam are taken into account. My preference is for wood because I have more of the tools to work with wood and I like to avoid the toxic gasses that are produced when heating foam. This is really a preference thing and the majority of tabletop I know of is made from foam.
This plus some good air circulation is what you need for scupting foam properly:
Let me stress it again, don't work with heated foam in a closed off room. It isn't good for you or anyone else who has to breath vaporized foam.
Aside: Here is the second part in case you want the link
If you don't have the tools and the materials already for more advanced foam or wood work then you're mostly going to be buying flats. You can go to a home supply store (i.e. Home Depot) and buy large boards of foamboard (foam with plastic on the sides) or your local craft store (i.e. Michael's) is likely to have a good selection of wood flats (mostly Balsa wood, but also some others). A good hobby knife or box cutter is usually enough for these to get the correctly proportioned base you want and need.
As a general rule of thumb when putting things on your base start with the largest things first. Doesn't matter if you're building ruins, basing figures, or wilderness scenes. Full buildings and fortresses, then trees and boulders, then smaller plants and rubble, etc. It is easiest to work form largest detail to smallest.
P.S. Here is a series of 5 youtube videos on making a set of foam hills by Blue Table Painting.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
EA at it again
For those few of you who aren't here exclusively for articles about miniatures gaming here comes something else courtesy of Electronic Arts.
Sigh, EA can you ever do something to NOT make me hate your organization more? Can I stop boycotting you, so I can re-boycott you? You're always finding all kinds of ways to show you have no respect for your customers. Seriously, what is the point of a single player game if you have to be online to play it anyways? News flash, people buying single player games and not MMOs or online shooters are likely to want to play offline. Maybe on a laptop on an airplane?
Now the next thing that bothers me is this:
But given EA's media circus at E3, maybe it isn't homophobia they should worry about but maybe religious phobia's?
But they don't want my respect and I don't want to support their disreputable activities by buying their games.
Sigh, EA can you ever do something to NOT make me hate your organization more? Can I stop boycotting you, so I can re-boycott you? You're always finding all kinds of ways to show you have no respect for your customers. Seriously, what is the point of a single player game if you have to be online to play it anyways? News flash, people buying single player games and not MMOs or online shooters are likely to want to play offline. Maybe on a laptop on an airplane?
Now the next thing that bothers me is this:
Electronic Arts will play host to a panel on homophobia in videogame culture organized by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation this Saturday<...>Emphasis in bold is mine, I don't care about the rest. I'm of the opinion that most people playing games want some time away from the issues of the real world. Pick a political hot button issue and people want away from it. I really don't want my games trying to educate me about homo-anything. Most popular games are a variant of "kill things and take their stuff", where does sexuality have anything to do with it? We aren't talking obscure japanese hentai games here. In any guild I've been in leadership for this rule has always existed: We don't talk about politics, religion, or sexuality in guild chat. People have strong opinions about those subjects and talking about it in guild chat tends to break an otherwise fun guild based around roleplay, raiding, or PvP. In WoW I was particularly vicious about guild kicking and /ignoring anyone who used gay pejoratives and I would lurk around on alts to enforce it with new recruits. I'm not promoting the behavior, I just don't think anybody trying to have fun wants EA or anyone else to have a homesexuality debate shoved down their throat.Topics will include "how to provide safe spaces for LGBT people online, how to ensure the best policies are in place to prevent virtual attacks against LGBT people and how to educate the users of online communities about the effects of homophobia."
But given EA's media circus at E3, maybe it isn't homophobia they should worry about but maybe religious phobia's?
But they don't want my respect and I don't want to support their disreputable activities by buying their games.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Quality Terrain from Random Stuff
If you're going to build your own terrain then the first skill I recommend developing is a good eye. There are lots of things all around you that can be used to make great terrain projects. If you look in my boxes of standard terrain making materials you'll find a lot of things that I just picked up.
Sticks of the right proportion can be used to make great trees or tree stumps. Tiny gravel scales to become large rocks and small rocks can be used as boulders. Got Cotton? String it out and use it as fog on your battlefield. Collect some lichens and use them as alien plants. Terrainaholic on youtube has a lot of videos where he just uses stuff he has laying around or finds on car trips.
Why do those pieces of bark work so well as rocks? Shape and texture, that is what you're really looking for. If you're in the miniature wargaming hobby then you shouldn't be afraid of painting things and a lot of stuff that doesn't work initially works well after you put a coat of paint on it. Sometimes the gravel rocks you find might not be the right color for frozen tundra glacier rocks... so why not paint them? It might seem odd to paint rocks the color you want, but it can work really really well.
One of my favorite tricks that I use for basing figures and making terrain is gathering my own Talus. People can pay $10 for a little plastic store container of talus material that isn't as good as what you can find in your concrete driveway or parking lot. Where the concrete pavement has cracked you'll find small bits of sandy and rocky material that can be sorted for all kinds of diferent sizes of Talus. Water Glue it on, and if you don't like the color paint over it.
Sometimes a little bit of cutting or assembly will get something of the right size and texture to a good piece of terrain. Here is another video from Youtube channel "Wargamepainting" that makes excellent "dead trees".
Work on it and share with everyone what you've found that is easily available and works to make great terrain or figure conversions.
Sticks of the right proportion can be used to make great trees or tree stumps. Tiny gravel scales to become large rocks and small rocks can be used as boulders. Got Cotton? String it out and use it as fog on your battlefield. Collect some lichens and use them as alien plants. Terrainaholic on youtube has a lot of videos where he just uses stuff he has laying around or finds on car trips.
Why do those pieces of bark work so well as rocks? Shape and texture, that is what you're really looking for. If you're in the miniature wargaming hobby then you shouldn't be afraid of painting things and a lot of stuff that doesn't work initially works well after you put a coat of paint on it. Sometimes the gravel rocks you find might not be the right color for frozen tundra glacier rocks... so why not paint them? It might seem odd to paint rocks the color you want, but it can work really really well.
One of my favorite tricks that I use for basing figures and making terrain is gathering my own Talus. People can pay $10 for a little plastic store container of talus material that isn't as good as what you can find in your concrete driveway or parking lot. Where the concrete pavement has cracked you'll find small bits of sandy and rocky material that can be sorted for all kinds of diferent sizes of Talus. Water Glue it on, and if you don't like the color paint over it.
Sometimes a little bit of cutting or assembly will get something of the right size and texture to a good piece of terrain. Here is another video from Youtube channel "Wargamepainting" that makes excellent "dead trees".
Work on it and share with everyone what you've found that is easily available and works to make great terrain or figure conversions.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Terrain: Metal, Plastic, and Resin. Mostly Resin.
So when it comes to Resin, Plastic and Metal terrain... don't try making it at home.
Cutting, Welding, Molding, etc with metal is a dangerous procedure you need expensive proper equipment & training for. If you're not a professional don't even think about it. If you are a professional you don't need tips from my blog.
Plastic is less dangerous but a whole lot more difficult & expensive.
Resin is also expensive, but I can see some reasonable exceptions. Hirst Arts makes some rubber molds that are good for use with resin making kits. These are small parts that could also just be made with Plaster. Resin doesn't break as easily as plaster does when it is thinned out because it is more flexible. If you start casting plaster you can learn a little bit about it, but in general leave Resin casting to the professionals.
The Miniature Building Authority makes pre-painted Resin buildings that can be played with immediately. I've only recently found their store and haven't seen any of their product yet in person. Armorcast makes a variety of materials from Resin and Metal and I can strongly recommend their products that I've tried so far.
As you can see in the video though their resin and metal products almost always come unpainted. This is a plus or a minus depending on how you want to see it. A lot of quick parts like you might buy at a toy store are very poorly painted and you can do just as well even if you're half-blind painting your own. You also have the opportunity to paint them the way you want them to look.
So what would you do with them if you were to buy one from a place like Armorcast? Well you'd want to paint it so it isn't one solid color without detail.
(Optional Step) If you're going to paint it in high detail I recommend you clean it first. Small impurities and oils are attracted to resin and can easily be cleaned off with a little dish soap and an old toothbrush to get into those nooks and crannies. Let it dry for 24 hours. Now this is the critical part is to not handle it with your bare hands as you'll get those oils you just cleaned off back onto it. Handle it with plastic gloves and prime it and don't touch it with bare hands until you have a coat of paint on it. Skin oils will stick to a good paint primer as well so remember to only handle parts that have a coat of paint on it. For an ever better practice try not handle it at all until it has its finishing coat on it.
As a general rule of thumb I don't use my high pigment paints for miniatures on my terrain pieces. It is simply a waste of expensive paint for something that doesn't show the detail. If you're working on a large terrain piece with moderate detail then use some cheap craft store paints. My preferred brands for terrain are Americana and Folk Art because they have a good pigment count for the cost. When I'm doing high detail on exquisite terrain pieces like Armorcast I'll go ahead and hit it with my minis paints to make those fine details really noticable and crisp.
This is a good video showing of a painted Armorcast trench set.
Some of you are very daunted by anything that needs painting because you don't feel you can paint. But I've seen people legally blind who can paint well with a couple simple techniques. Any kid can learn how to put paint on a brush and stroke it across a surface. The only two techniques you need to make that look awesome are wet brushing and dry brushing. Wet brushing is simply using a clean, but extra wet brush with your paint to allow it run to or pool in recesses naturally. You can use a dry brush or carefully use a corner of paper towel to clean up excess moisture. Getting some good practice at just those two techniques is enough to make any painting project look awesome.
Same as with your miniatures resin (Not Foam!) painted Terrain is best protected with a finishing coat of Matte or Gloss. These can be sprayed or brushed on depending on your preference. If you're not a fan of a lot Object Source Lighting (OSL) or Non-Metal Metal (NMM) then you'll want to use a low glow Matte or High Gloss to get the proper amount of shine and reflectance on your terrain. High Gloss really gives crystal and some metals that proper gleam they should have. Just bear in mind that gloss does not photograph well at all. So the more gloss it has will make it photograph worse even if it looks that much more awesome on your tabletop. So do you want it to look better in photos or on the playing table?
Below is Armorcast's showcase of painted terrain pieces which may hopefully help to inspire you.
Cutting, Welding, Molding, etc with metal is a dangerous procedure you need expensive proper equipment & training for. If you're not a professional don't even think about it. If you are a professional you don't need tips from my blog.
Plastic is less dangerous but a whole lot more difficult & expensive.
Resin is also expensive, but I can see some reasonable exceptions. Hirst Arts makes some rubber molds that are good for use with resin making kits. These are small parts that could also just be made with Plaster. Resin doesn't break as easily as plaster does when it is thinned out because it is more flexible. If you start casting plaster you can learn a little bit about it, but in general leave Resin casting to the professionals.
The Miniature Building Authority makes pre-painted Resin buildings that can be played with immediately. I've only recently found their store and haven't seen any of their product yet in person. Armorcast makes a variety of materials from Resin and Metal and I can strongly recommend their products that I've tried so far.
As you can see in the video though their resin and metal products almost always come unpainted. This is a plus or a minus depending on how you want to see it. A lot of quick parts like you might buy at a toy store are very poorly painted and you can do just as well even if you're half-blind painting your own. You also have the opportunity to paint them the way you want them to look.
So what would you do with them if you were to buy one from a place like Armorcast? Well you'd want to paint it so it isn't one solid color without detail.
(Optional Step) If you're going to paint it in high detail I recommend you clean it first. Small impurities and oils are attracted to resin and can easily be cleaned off with a little dish soap and an old toothbrush to get into those nooks and crannies. Let it dry for 24 hours. Now this is the critical part is to not handle it with your bare hands as you'll get those oils you just cleaned off back onto it. Handle it with plastic gloves and prime it and don't touch it with bare hands until you have a coat of paint on it. Skin oils will stick to a good paint primer as well so remember to only handle parts that have a coat of paint on it. For an ever better practice try not handle it at all until it has its finishing coat on it.
As a general rule of thumb I don't use my high pigment paints for miniatures on my terrain pieces. It is simply a waste of expensive paint for something that doesn't show the detail. If you're working on a large terrain piece with moderate detail then use some cheap craft store paints. My preferred brands for terrain are Americana and Folk Art because they have a good pigment count for the cost. When I'm doing high detail on exquisite terrain pieces like Armorcast I'll go ahead and hit it with my minis paints to make those fine details really noticable and crisp.
This is a good video showing of a painted Armorcast trench set.
Some of you are very daunted by anything that needs painting because you don't feel you can paint. But I've seen people legally blind who can paint well with a couple simple techniques. Any kid can learn how to put paint on a brush and stroke it across a surface. The only two techniques you need to make that look awesome are wet brushing and dry brushing. Wet brushing is simply using a clean, but extra wet brush with your paint to allow it run to or pool in recesses naturally. You can use a dry brush or carefully use a corner of paper towel to clean up excess moisture. Getting some good practice at just those two techniques is enough to make any painting project look awesome.
Same as with your miniatures resin (Not Foam!) painted Terrain is best protected with a finishing coat of Matte or Gloss. These can be sprayed or brushed on depending on your preference. If you're not a fan of a lot Object Source Lighting (OSL) or Non-Metal Metal (NMM) then you'll want to use a low glow Matte or High Gloss to get the proper amount of shine and reflectance on your terrain. High Gloss really gives crystal and some metals that proper gleam they should have. Just bear in mind that gloss does not photograph well at all. So the more gloss it has will make it photograph worse even if it looks that much more awesome on your tabletop. So do you want it to look better in photos or on the playing table?
Below is Armorcast's showcase of painted terrain pieces which may hopefully help to inspire you.
Terrain basics
So you want to use something that fits the scene for tabletop games than books and random objects found around the house? Then it is time for some appropriately scaled terrain. Whether you're making it or buying it, how is the terrain made?
Well the very first question is: What is it made from?
This is what you will typically find it made from:
- Resin, Plastic and Metal (Advanced, don't think of making these at home)
- Wood (Good for basing large terrain pieces, I stay away from carving or woodburning)
- Foam (Gets good detail and cheap, but has its downsides)
- Plaster (Very customizable in detail, very modular and sturdy. Also has its downsides)
- Sculpting Materials (Lots of materials, various ups and downs to them)
- Any random stuff you find (Thisis a very essential skill to enhance anything you work on)
Enjoy and Game-On!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wargaming Terrain Intro
I've decided to start a series of blogs about creating wargaming terrain. For those of us who love the hobby and with the current economic depression this is easily one of the best times to do it. If you are laidoff you want to have fun but don't have the money to spend on your hobby. If you're employed it is a good time to strike some great deals on products you want. Also, it really helps turn the economy around the more we pass our dollars back and forth.
So to start if you do have the money I strongly recommend tabletop terrain products from the following companies:
- Hirst Arts - Hirst sells rubber molds that allow you to plaster cast blocks to build your own plaster terrain. Cast, Assemble, Paint and Play.
- Armorcast - Resin cast model terrain. Paint it and play with it.
- DwarvenForge - Modular terrain pieces that come pre-painted. Arrange on your table and play.
- Bluetablepainting - Made to order terrain. Arrange and play.
- Miniatures Unlimited - Ebay or Made to order terrain. Put it down and play.
- Miniature Building Authority - Resin cast buildings that are pre-painted. Put it down and play.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Mechwarrior relaunch confirmed
For Battletech's 25th anniversary Piranha Games and Smith & Tinker revealed that they are indeed working on a new relaunch of the popular Mechwarrior franchise as revealed on IGN. In addition it was announced that Mechwarrior 4 with all its expansion packs is being released for free at Battletech.com by Mektek studios.Now if only they could hurry up and save Shadowrun and relaunch it back to something more like third edition. A restored Shadowrun and a relaunched VOR would make me a very very happy gamer indeed.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Starcraft 2 Intro Cinematic
How in the world did I miss this last summer?
Hopefully Blizzard has more than a pushback announcement at this year's Blizzcon.
Hopefully Blizzard has more than a pushback announcement at this year's Blizzcon.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Watch Out
If you remember the 80s like I do. Everyone was working on a "Rubik Cube"... like, 'Way'.Well according to Times Online, Professor Rubik has now created a "Rubik Sphere" called the Rubik 360 and I expect it to be even more challening, addicting, and frustrating than the cube. I always had so much trouble getting the last face together correctly.
Now that I have kids though, it might be fun to throw the ball to them. I hope it could keep them occupied for years.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
MMO Post-Mortem
Speaking of MMOs I quit, here is one I never started because the launch was so awful: Vanguard
Brad McQuaid the designer of Vanguard and chief guy at Sigil Games now has a blog and is starting a series where he analyzes the mistakes they made.
Brad McQuaid the designer of Vanguard and chief guy at Sigil Games now has a blog and is starting a series where he analyzes the mistakes they made.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
I'm born with UNPARALLELED GAMING TALENT!
I read this craigslist ad courtesy of broken toys.
Starcraft lessons from authentic Korean
Hi, my name is ByunTae from South Korea. I have been playing Starcraft since 1998 and I was born and raised in Korea. I'm 100% full blooded Korean, meaning I have been gifted with unparalleled talent to master any video game, particularly, Starcraft: Brood War. I'm also experienced in Counter-Strike, I am able to perform bunny hops, my best score on a public 32 player game was 171-2 with 170 kill streak. I'm offering my expertise in Starcraft to be taught to non-Koreans that wishes to have the skill of a Korean player. I have advised and coached many professional gamers such as Lee Jae Dong, Park Myung Soo, Ma Jae Yoon, and more. Boxer and I were great friends until he started using my dropships to gain his fame. I started training other players to be on par with Boxer and eventually surpassing Boxer. He is no longer the best player thanks to my contribution to rest of the players. I did not compete in pro gaming because the KTF did not agree with my seven figure contract demand.The blizzard community never ceases to amaze me.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Summer Funemployed or Unemployed?
I know friends and family are having discussions about whether I'm playing away the summer or working away the summer. Some of both, though I'm mostly parenting away the summer.
3 Kids, looking for work, fighting off eviction on account of discrimination against families. Ugh.
So there has been a lot of discussion about the housing issue this week. Back and forth through a middle man. Initially the owner refused mediation, now that they're realizing it could mean a government lawsuit... they're throwing peanuts at us. Basically it comes down to this, he violated state law but it is technically in the contract that he can evict tenants for having kids (change in occupancy). But it would come down to a jury trial, so I'd have to hope there were some good government lawyers on our side... not something I really want to risk my family's future on. But I probably won't have a choice because the $850 they're offering us to move won't pay for it. That will pay for a deposit on a new apartment in Seattle if we're lucky and they don't ask for last month's rent in addition. My unemployment covers our bills with $0 left over for discretionary spending so anything that comes up forces us to find creative solutions or go begging for help. Few places are even willing to take people on unemployment unless they cough up a bigger deposit up front.
Hopefully a new job position goes my way soon and all this will become trivial but I've not been able to overcome the odds in the last 4 months so far.
So what have I been playing? I've not been doing the two betas as much and I'm not playing any MMOs at the moment. Hopefully that will change soon as the betas for both games are changing phases. I plan on applying for another beta tomorrow (paid) for another table top board game in development locally.
Speaking of games in development for all you VOR fans. I can assure you that Skuzz is hard at work and trying to get something exciting out before Gencon. No details because things can always fall apart but I think the potential hype factor is rather nice on this one. In my opinion at least as good as Skuzz coming out of hiding and announcing development on Vor 2.0
Might make up for the slow summer release of PC games. Not a bad thing considering I couldn't buy any anyways. Nintendo on the other hand
any idea how long I've been waiting for a real sword fighting emulator? Ever since my last day of fencing class senior year in college.
Someone hire me already so I can do my part for the economy!
3 Kids, looking for work, fighting off eviction on account of discrimination against families. Ugh.
So there has been a lot of discussion about the housing issue this week. Back and forth through a middle man. Initially the owner refused mediation, now that they're realizing it could mean a government lawsuit... they're throwing peanuts at us. Basically it comes down to this, he violated state law but it is technically in the contract that he can evict tenants for having kids (change in occupancy). But it would come down to a jury trial, so I'd have to hope there were some good government lawyers on our side... not something I really want to risk my family's future on. But I probably won't have a choice because the $850 they're offering us to move won't pay for it. That will pay for a deposit on a new apartment in Seattle if we're lucky and they don't ask for last month's rent in addition. My unemployment covers our bills with $0 left over for discretionary spending so anything that comes up forces us to find creative solutions or go begging for help. Few places are even willing to take people on unemployment unless they cough up a bigger deposit up front.
Hopefully a new job position goes my way soon and all this will become trivial but I've not been able to overcome the odds in the last 4 months so far.
So what have I been playing? I've not been doing the two betas as much and I'm not playing any MMOs at the moment. Hopefully that will change soon as the betas for both games are changing phases. I plan on applying for another beta tomorrow (paid) for another table top board game in development locally.
Speaking of games in development for all you VOR fans. I can assure you that Skuzz is hard at work and trying to get something exciting out before Gencon. No details because things can always fall apart but I think the potential hype factor is rather nice on this one. In my opinion at least as good as Skuzz coming out of hiding and announcing development on Vor 2.0
Might make up for the slow summer release of PC games. Not a bad thing considering I couldn't buy any anyways. Nintendo on the other hand
any idea how long I've been waiting for a real sword fighting emulator? Ever since my last day of fencing class senior year in college.
Someone hire me already so I can do my part for the economy!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Game Industry: Liberal or Conservative?
A couple of articles sparked political outrage over at Game Politics recently. I found it amusing that in each one a group of primarily liberal posters then a group of primarily conservative posters were upset that the "other group" was attacking their first amendment rights.
So which is it, are first amendment game publishing and consumer rights a liberal issue or a conservative issue?
In any case, on this 4th of July I hope that anyone reading this blog will do what they can to stand up for their rights and for American liberty, even if you don't live in the U.S. If it wasn't for the example the founding fathers of the United States set, then a lot more of the world would look like Iran or North Korea right now. People can argue about Honduran democracy because the United States set an example in making democracies. People in Iran can call out for their rights because the U.S. set an example in saying we have rights not because of the government but that the government has them because of the people. That our rights are G-d given by our creator and not because people in power are amused to give them to us. Fireworks can be fun sometimes, but enjoy the liberty you have to look at fireworks, read the news, and read my blog without government censorship that exists in many countries.
So which is it, are first amendment game publishing and consumer rights a liberal issue or a conservative issue?
In any case, on this 4th of July I hope that anyone reading this blog will do what they can to stand up for their rights and for American liberty, even if you don't live in the U.S. If it wasn't for the example the founding fathers of the United States set, then a lot more of the world would look like Iran or North Korea right now. People can argue about Honduran democracy because the United States set an example in making democracies. People in Iran can call out for their rights because the U.S. set an example in saying we have rights not because of the government but that the government has them because of the people. That our rights are G-d given by our creator and not because people in power are amused to give them to us. Fireworks can be fun sometimes, but enjoy the liberty you have to look at fireworks, read the news, and read my blog without government censorship that exists in many countries.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Playing Games again with the 1st Amendment
So there have been a lot of attacks in the Mainstream U.S. Media lately about the "filth" in video games and how we need to crack down on it. Very dangerous stuff that continues to erode our 1st amendment rights.
Articles about people being arrested for pornographic drawings disturb me, especially as the prosecutors and proponents of it look at it as a case for cracking down on video games and other forms of media. So let me start with the unfortunately necessary disclaimer. I am not a proponent of rape simulators, excessive violence, or for that matter even pornography. In fact I would personally advocate against pornography and gratuitous graphic violence of any sort. At the same time I recognize that violence and even deviant sexuality have to be protected forms of free speech. To quote what is attributed to Voltaire:
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
The why is simply that I don't wish to see a repeat of history. Don't tell me while they're arguing about public burqa wearing in France that our pornography laws can't go that extreme.
There have already been a bunch of excellent arguments against this censorship. Game Politics and Neil Gaiman in particular are two excellent defenders of Video Game free speech. So I'll try to keep it short and simple:
I'm also against "thought crime" of any sort. There is no picture it should be illegal to download over the internet. NOTHING. People should be free to get disgusted by filth and depravity on the internet. Not to encourage it, but to discourage it.
The ones you go after are the uploaders, and they're protected because anyone who downloads "illegal content" is afraid to report it for fear of being a criminal. Turn the whole world into deputized cops where you're it is okay to download evidence of crimes (whether terrorist chat rooms, illegal pornographers, etc) and anybody can report you to authorities who will stop you.
You shouldn't need to pay for a certification to wear a white hat and be a good guy. Expect it of all our people and enable everyone to be a force for goodness. Because as we're seeing in Iran simply hoping that those empowered by the government are not too corrupt is a bad gamble.
Articles about people being arrested for pornographic drawings disturb me, especially as the prosecutors and proponents of it look at it as a case for cracking down on video games and other forms of media. So let me start with the unfortunately necessary disclaimer. I am not a proponent of rape simulators, excessive violence, or for that matter even pornography. In fact I would personally advocate against pornography and gratuitous graphic violence of any sort. At the same time I recognize that violence and even deviant sexuality have to be protected forms of free speech. To quote what is attributed to Voltaire:
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
The why is simply that I don't wish to see a repeat of history. Don't tell me while they're arguing about public burqa wearing in France that our pornography laws can't go that extreme.
There have already been a bunch of excellent arguments against this censorship. Game Politics and Neil Gaiman in particular are two excellent defenders of Video Game free speech. So I'll try to keep it short and simple:
- Banning rape in free speech is as likely to ban "The Crow" as "Rapelay", more so in fact as Rapelay is a Japanese game not an American one.
- The extreme majority of males (let alone female) is likely to be sickened or outraged by content in games like Rapelay than turned on. I trust the general U.S. public on this one, and I expect it wouldn't be socially acceptable.
- If there was a market for it, then the game would likely be marketed in the U.S. ... the company which produced has not seen a market for the game in the U.S. nor can anyone find examples of games that are.
- It is hard to argue that sexual violence is worse than the dismemberment and other gory horrific violence which is more prevalent in our speech n the U.S.
- It does not prevent violent or sexual crimes. Japan has prevalent pornographic and violent media, yet the rates of violent crime are far, far, far less than places like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc where the censorship of these materials are covered under the countries death penalties.
- The prevalence of pornography in modern culture has not coincidentally coinsided with the decline of legalized prostiitution and red light districts.
- Drawings and cartoons do not suffer, there is no 'victim' in a drawing, cartoon, or simulation game. Save the outrage for where it matters.
- Fictional depicitions of sex are preferable to actual pornography trade where Adultery and Fornication are rampant parts of the industry from my standpoint.
I'm also against "thought crime" of any sort. There is no picture it should be illegal to download over the internet. NOTHING. People should be free to get disgusted by filth and depravity on the internet. Not to encourage it, but to discourage it.
The ones you go after are the uploaders, and they're protected because anyone who downloads "illegal content" is afraid to report it for fear of being a criminal. Turn the whole world into deputized cops where you're it is okay to download evidence of crimes (whether terrorist chat rooms, illegal pornographers, etc) and anybody can report you to authorities who will stop you.
You shouldn't need to pay for a certification to wear a white hat and be a good guy. Expect it of all our people and enable everyone to be a force for goodness. Because as we're seeing in Iran simply hoping that those empowered by the government are not too corrupt is a bad gamble.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Game Editions
I play Vor 1st edition and am greatly, greatly looking forward to playing the 2.0 rules.
I play Shadowrun 3rd edition, but won't touch 4th edition.
I enjoy playing the new World of Darkness setting Changeling but you could hardly convince me to play any of their older games. You couldn't hardly convince to play one of their other current games unless I could play a changeling in it.
What is it about some editions where we have preferences as gamers? What should companies be learning? Should companies always push for a new edition every few years to boost sales? Should they sometimes admit a new edition is a bad idea when older editions sold better?
The Shadowrun universe fansite has Dumpshock has banned discussions on comparing 3rd and 4th edition. Is it really because people frequently argue there or because they enjoy close relations with the developers of 4th edition? Seems like the site should be honest and just call themselves a website for Shadowrun 4th edition only but I believe they want to be a perpetual crusade to convert players of older editions. They administrators have had a subtle agenda to downplay 3rd edition and push 4th edition. The change in editions here has been followed with a sea change of faces. The old developers and the old publishing companies are long gone. Many of them were more pushed out, while others just moved on from a setting that was leaving them behind. People who play 4th edition, mostly never played 3rd edition. I can find 3rd edition play groups in every town I play in because the game is very popular and had a large following. 4th edition does not have the coverage in game stores that 3rd edition did and you don't find it in as many places. 3rd edition at release was a top selling game that outsold D&D at the time. 4th edition is an almost obscure RPG that has a profitable following, but not a big one. The few groups I've seen playing it in game stores are largely unfamiliar with any previous edition of the game. Frankly when the changes are as drastic as they are in 4th edition from previous Shadowrun editions the game shouldn't even have the same name. It isn't a game of cyberpunk and high fantasy any more, 4th edition Shadowrun is about high-tech and Guns & Sorcery. It is like comparing a William Gibson novel and a Star Trek novel because they both deal with a future. In both cases it is about the setting, the feelings it evokes, the essence of "flavor" that is being dealt with in the stories. They're night and day despite the futurism. The current producers of Shadowrun 4th edition won't go back to 3rd edition, it isn't what they started with and they have the license to do what they want and they're making a living off of it.
I wonder though, does Topps feel the same way or are they looking at the what the customers want and how much MORE PROFITABLE 3rd edition was? Ever since the demise of Wizkids, Topps has never announced their intentions for Shadowrun and Battletech and I suspect, hope even that they've got bigger plans to make the franchises more popular like they once were.
White Wolf killed off the entire storyline when they changed editions. Which is in my opinion a better way of "rebooting" the entire setting than what was done to Shadowrun. I was the opposite of a fan of the old setting, and most of the new setting as well so I won't comment a lot. Some of their edition changes have been a huge success (i.e. New Changeling versus Old Changeling) and some a huge flop (New Werewolf versus Old Werewolf). I would say their edition changes were successful, but they still have a bit to learn about what exactly makes a game good.
VOR the Maelstrom. In the planning stages for a 2nd edition after being out of print for what is going on 8 years now. It is hard to make too many stereotypes about the community as it has seen a lot of face changes in the last year. Currently there are a number of discussions about changes in the 1.0 forums and requests for additions to 1.0 content till 2.0 comes out. Why would you talk about or ask for editions to a dead game that is out of print and never coming back? FASA is out of the game business forever. What is the point of asking for tiny bits of that? If people love VOR then they need to support 2.0 and not try to tear the game apart or make it become a completely different game. The setting and game rules are not going to be "rebooted" like World of Darkness or Shadowrun were and that has been explicitly stated on more than one occasion. If you really like VOR why would you want it to be?
VOR will be a good edition change like Shadowrun 1st to 2nd to 3rd was. Fix holes in the game mechanics, add some new content, and advance the story. Editions should not be about making an entirely different game. That is the point of the word Edition: A new iteration of what already exists.
I play Shadowrun 3rd edition, but won't touch 4th edition.
I enjoy playing the new World of Darkness setting Changeling but you could hardly convince me to play any of their older games. You couldn't hardly convince to play one of their other current games unless I could play a changeling in it.
What is it about some editions where we have preferences as gamers? What should companies be learning? Should companies always push for a new edition every few years to boost sales? Should they sometimes admit a new edition is a bad idea when older editions sold better?
The Shadowrun universe fansite has Dumpshock has banned discussions on comparing 3rd and 4th edition. Is it really because people frequently argue there or because they enjoy close relations with the developers of 4th edition? Seems like the site should be honest and just call themselves a website for Shadowrun 4th edition only but I believe they want to be a perpetual crusade to convert players of older editions. They administrators have had a subtle agenda to downplay 3rd edition and push 4th edition. The change in editions here has been followed with a sea change of faces. The old developers and the old publishing companies are long gone. Many of them were more pushed out, while others just moved on from a setting that was leaving them behind. People who play 4th edition, mostly never played 3rd edition. I can find 3rd edition play groups in every town I play in because the game is very popular and had a large following. 4th edition does not have the coverage in game stores that 3rd edition did and you don't find it in as many places. 3rd edition at release was a top selling game that outsold D&D at the time. 4th edition is an almost obscure RPG that has a profitable following, but not a big one. The few groups I've seen playing it in game stores are largely unfamiliar with any previous edition of the game. Frankly when the changes are as drastic as they are in 4th edition from previous Shadowrun editions the game shouldn't even have the same name. It isn't a game of cyberpunk and high fantasy any more, 4th edition Shadowrun is about high-tech and Guns & Sorcery. It is like comparing a William Gibson novel and a Star Trek novel because they both deal with a future. In both cases it is about the setting, the feelings it evokes, the essence of "flavor" that is being dealt with in the stories. They're night and day despite the futurism. The current producers of Shadowrun 4th edition won't go back to 3rd edition, it isn't what they started with and they have the license to do what they want and they're making a living off of it.
I wonder though, does Topps feel the same way or are they looking at the what the customers want and how much MORE PROFITABLE 3rd edition was? Ever since the demise of Wizkids, Topps has never announced their intentions for Shadowrun and Battletech and I suspect, hope even that they've got bigger plans to make the franchises more popular like they once were.
White Wolf killed off the entire storyline when they changed editions. Which is in my opinion a better way of "rebooting" the entire setting than what was done to Shadowrun. I was the opposite of a fan of the old setting, and most of the new setting as well so I won't comment a lot. Some of their edition changes have been a huge success (i.e. New Changeling versus Old Changeling) and some a huge flop (New Werewolf versus Old Werewolf). I would say their edition changes were successful, but they still have a bit to learn about what exactly makes a game good.
VOR the Maelstrom. In the planning stages for a 2nd edition after being out of print for what is going on 8 years now. It is hard to make too many stereotypes about the community as it has seen a lot of face changes in the last year. Currently there are a number of discussions about changes in the 1.0 forums and requests for additions to 1.0 content till 2.0 comes out. Why would you talk about or ask for editions to a dead game that is out of print and never coming back? FASA is out of the game business forever. What is the point of asking for tiny bits of that? If people love VOR then they need to support 2.0 and not try to tear the game apart or make it become a completely different game. The setting and game rules are not going to be "rebooted" like World of Darkness or Shadowrun were and that has been explicitly stated on more than one occasion. If you really like VOR why would you want it to be?
VOR will be a good edition change like Shadowrun 1st to 2nd to 3rd was. Fix holes in the game mechanics, add some new content, and advance the story. Editions should not be about making an entirely different game. That is the point of the word Edition: A new iteration of what already exists.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)