Terry Pratchett's JK Rowling Rant

Terry Prachett went on a bit of a rant. This is being reported as an anti JK Rowling story, but it's really just perfectly reasonable frustration with the media.

Mind you, he then immediately turns on Rowling for not knowing she was writing a fantasy. You've got to be careful about getting all defensive, it takes the teeth out of your self righteousness.

Why does the media fawn on JK whilst ignoring some of the really great stuff going on out there? Because to write about Nancy Farmer and Garth Nix (and Terry Prachett), you'd have to actually spend some time learning about your subject.

It's that whole hero worship thing again. The publishing companies like to push their superheroes and there always seem to be plenty of reporters willing to go along for the (free) ride.

Dogs in the Vineyard

It its not as fun and engaging as your favorite TV shows, I haven't done my job.

I just finished reading D. Vincent Baker's Dogs in the Vineyard role-playing game. DITV's got heaps of great things going for it, but what really makes this book awesome is the best description of what a role-playing game is and how to play it that's ever been written. Yeah, I just want to sit and read D. Vincent Baker tell me how to play RPGs all day long.

You and your friends sit around a table or the living room, talking. You're collaborating on a story about these characters, these Watchdogs of God, their adventures, and the challenges they face.

DITV doesn't assume that your know how to play an RPG, and it doesn't assume that you'll somehow magically know what to do when you try. It's also got some sage advice and, occasionally, pointed commentary for experienced GMs. This is from the section on conflict resolution where Baker explains why GMs don't have to pull punches in Dogs:

You've GMed a bunch of RPGs before, right? Think about what I just said for a minute. You know how you usually pull your punches?

Yep, Dogs isn't afraid to air and address the dirty little secrets of RPGs, like how GMs pull their punches. The "How to GM" section is a must read for every GM.

Five Hundred Italo Calvinos

You're a writer with some words in his head, a game designer with a passion, a developer with an idea. You want it in the world.

A publisher comes along. They've got this idea that you could be one of the JK Rowlings.

That's the deal: you surrender your words, your passion, your idea. In return you get the chance to be one of the Rowlings.

But the publisher has thousands of works in the pipe, and there's only room for a few Rowlings.

Your work appears. It gets a flash of publicity. It sinks beneath the waves. If your lucky, you make enough to buy another ticket.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Italo Calvino is one of my favorite writers. I have no idea how well his books have done, but I'm using him as my icon of the writer who makes a decent living, puts their words in the world, and reaps some rewards; maybe some recognition, maybe some good conversation.

We don't need five JK Rowlings. What we need is 500 Italo Calvinos (how about 5000? How about 50,000?)

Lets get some Italo Calvinos together. Who's interested?

Apologies to JK Rowling, who IMHO certainly deserves every bit of recognition and reward she has received.

Ultimate Job du jour

Wired Magazine is looking for the most talented information graphics designer out there. The ideal candidate will be able to conceptualize infographics from scratch, translate raw data into high-impact spreads, and work hand-in-hand with researchers, designers and illustrators. If you are the next Edward Tufte and would like to know more about this job please send an email to federico@wiredmag.com Subject line: infographics.

Gleaned from the incomparable inf.

Advice for Indie Game Designers

Seth Godin has some advice for would-be published authors on his blog.

Here's the Cliff's notes: being a writer sucks. The pay is lousy, the business is problematic, and the work is hard. If I could add something, it'd be this: the whole business is an overhaul waiting to happen.

The indie game publishing business has some similar problems, and they're trying to solve them. In Indie game publisher land, innovation has been the rule for years now. Many of the most best games available today are purchased by pdf. Gamers also pioneered the held for ransom method. Where the business lags, I beleive, is in having a clue about marketing.

To review som Godin highlights and apply them to our biz:

1. Please understand that book publishing is an organized hobby, not a business.
The Indie gamer advantage: we already know this, and most other writers don't.

2. The timeframe for the launch of books has gone from silly to unrealistic. So start your own company and publish electronically. Or write a great supplement for your favorite Indie game and send the author an email about publishing it together.

3. There is no such thing as effective book promotion by a book publisher. Lesson: talk about your game on your blog. Talk to people at conventions about your game. Talk to people about your game. Talk about your game. Blog it like crazy. Your own efforts are probably more effective PR than you're going to find anywhere else.

4. Books cost money and require the user to read them for the idea to spread. Here's another advantage to the game maker: every time a new group of people play your game, your idea spreads to five new people.

5. Publishing is like venture capital, not like printing. The rub. Nobody. That is NOBODY is going to come shopping around for your Indie game idea and pay you money for it.

The Indie game business has more power and potential than it knows. Right now it's a crucible of high quality conversation and insightful criticism.

Indie gamers are thinking better, talking more, and working harder at making their industry viable than any group I know. But the mainstream breakthrough has not happened. There are a bunch of reasons why this is the case, and I'm not going to speculate on them now.

So if you're a marketer and you got this far, watch out for the Indie gamers coming up behind you. If you are or want to be an Indie game publisher, start reading Seth Godin, because marketing does matter.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Spoilers Ahead!

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!


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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: it's been back at the library for days now, but I keep thinking about it. The Harry Potter books have a disturbing way of paralleling real life for me, like after Philosophers (Sorceror's) Stone: mobs of pre-teens begging JK to tell them that the that it's true, for crying out loud, it's true.

I thought I got over that after I though Crime and Punishment was about me, but enough about College.

You know what I love about HP? It says "yeah, there's evil in the world, but there's a reason for it. Evil has a cause and can be resisted."

A lot of my heroes have died in the last few years: John Paul II, Hunter S. Thompson, my brother-in-law Bart, and my dad.

I read about Dumbledore on the bus. I had to put the book down just after the terrible Avada Kedavra. I felt a little irked. I toyed in my head with the various ways that JK might go about showing us that he wasn't really dead. By the end of the day I'd come to the conclusion that there was no elegant out. It had to be true, else JK be a fraud. She didn't disappoint me, to my disappointment.

Huh. This was going to be some kind of insightful post about Harry Potter and the dilemma of living in a darkening world. Guess it isn't so much. Gutsy, JK, gutsy!

Trollbabes, Magicians, and Victorian Hijinx

John has me reading Trollbabe to prep for his new project, Stranger Things and also to get some ideas for my own current project, Magicians of England.

While Trollbabe doesn't nail every design goal I have for Magicians, it's got some innovations that really knock my brain around (in a good way). The way that Trollbabe entangles the characters' fates with those of others through relationships is light years beyond anything else I've seen. A big part of the thrill of discovering Trollbabe is seeing that some of the unorthodox things I'm contemplating for Magicians really are viable (such as not having all the PCs in every scene, or having PCs be in wildly different locales).

I'm starting to believe that role-playing games really *can* bring the kind of narratives I've longed for my whole gaming career.

Save Greedo!

Stranger Things

John just announced Stranger Things, the Trollbabe supplement he's making (Trollbabe is a brilliant indie rpg designed by Ron Edwards, which I have not yet read). John's having me do the map graphics for Stranger Things. Hopefuly John won't mind if I tease just a little bit...

Galatea's Band

Welcome to Google Moon

After Google came out with "Google Earth," I said that "Google Mars" would not be far behind. Lo and behold, this morning Tony discovered "Google Moon". We're on our way!

Keep hitting that zoom button. The ultimate result: laughter.

Emily Dickinson and Elvis Presley in Heaven

Emily Dickinson and Elvis Presley in Heaven,
copyright 2000 by Hans Ostrom

They call each other E. Elvis picks
wildflowers near the river and brings
them to Emily. She explains half-rhymes to him.
In heaven Emily wears her hair long, sports
Levis and western blouses with rhinestones.
Elvis is lean again, wears baggy trousers
and T-shirts, a letterman's jacket from Tupelo High.
They take long walks and often hold hands.
She prefers they remain just friends. Forever.
Emily's poems now contain naugahyde, Cadillacs,
Electricity, jets, TV, Little Richard and Richard Nixon. The
rock-a-billy rhythm makes her smile.
Elvis likes himself with style. This afternoon
he will play guitar and sing "I Taste a Liquor
Never Brewed" to the tune of "Love Me Tender."
Emily will clap and harmonize. Alone
in their cabins later, they'll listen to the river
and nap. They will not think of Amherst
or Las Vegas. They know why God made them
roommates. It's because America
was their hometown. It's because
God is a thing without
feathers. It's because
God wears blue suede shoes.

Yoda's Lines Revealed

If it used to drive you crazy that you couldn't figure out all of Yoda's first lines in "The Star Wars Gangsta Rap," let me be among the first to offer you a link to relative sanity:

"I'm Yoda, I'm a soldja.
I mold ya then fold ya, I thought I told ya.
Don't be unwise, judge me not by my size.
You won't believe your eyes once the X-Wing rise."

There's also a link to an animated Star Wars Christmas Special, hosted by Han Solo. I don't have sound on this particular computer, so I'm going to wait until later to view the little movie. There's nothing stopping you, though, is there?

A Question or Ten

I was tired of receiving e-mail questionaires that were supposed to reveal the "real me" to my friends, but had entries along the lines of "Coffee or tea?" and "What's your favorite color?" In response, I have composed my own questionaire. Try it out. I'll post my answers at a later time, after a few of you have responded with your answers. This is not a trick. I simply don't like to be the one to go first, only to find out that I'm the only one who planned to step up to the plate.

Hey everybody. It's me. Although I publicly disdain online surveys, lists, and questionaires, like every blogger I am irresistably drawn to them. Since Alkelda is asleep, I've decided to hijack this post and put my own answers in for these questions. Don't tell!--Tony

Aha! I shall counter-hijack this post. Or rather, simply add my own fancy blockquotes.--Alkelda

A Question or Ten

1) At this moment, what is your theme song? (Quote a lyric, please.)

"Workin' in a coal mine"--Devo

"Missionary Man"--Eurythmics: "I was born an original sinner/ I was born from Original Sin/ And if I'd had a dollar bill for all the things that I've done/ There'd be a mountain of money piled up to my chin."

2) What edgy, hip thing do you wish would come to mind when people think of you?

That I'm a rockin' indy game designer

"Protector of the Small"

3) What is your favorite bad movie? Why is it so bad?

"Joe vs. the Volcano." Meg Ryan's acting.

"Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle." It's got a great ensemble cast,is well-researched, and it was what really introduced me to Dorothy Parker. As a narrative, it's awful. You have to go read an extensive Dorothy Parker biography, then go back and watch the film to get all of the passing references.

4) Guilty pleasures:

(a) I put ice chips in my scotch

(b) Class D&D modules

(c) Sketching cartoons of the other people when I'm in a meeting

(a) Putting Coca-Cola in perfectly good bourbon.

(b) Sean Bean

(c) Grooming

5) Take back these words:

Tragedy, moderate, genius

"I don't think I'm quite ready to date."

6) What should you have said?

That answer isn't good enough.

It doesn't matter, because Tony wouldn't let me break up with him (2 days after we got together.)

7) A recurring motif in a dream:

Franz Kafka

a house with a hidden wing

8) If you were a character in a film, which one would you want to be?

Luke Skywalker

Eowyn

9) Which character do you think you actually would be?

R2D2

Donnie Darko

10) Give your band a new name:

The Pulp

Maisy Drives the Bus

intro

The art of Web phantasmagorica is a sadly neglected art, despite the fact that so many of its possibilities were already there to be plumbed in 1996 with the Inward Vessles of the Spleen (I think of that every time I visit Feng's sideways home page). So now you must check out this little game. It's a feast of fun and beautiful pointlessness.

Seattle Bus Monster

Seattle Bus Monster hacks together Google Maps and Seattle metro information. It includes traffic conditions and webcams, flags accidents and sports events that effect traffic and also shows bus routes with stops and the current location of the bus.

What we've got here is synergy. The resultant is far superior to Metro's own web-based transportation tools (which are, to be fair, pretty good), and it also way enhances Google Maps (yeah, I said way enhances).

I'm getting ready to abandon my long skepticism about technology and admit that yeah, we're starting to get it right.

All systems normal

The blog seems to be under control now. Brad the Gorilla is now back in the basement where he usually hangs out when he's not getting into mischief.

--A the G (previously known as Orkgrrrl & Lunardymphna before she got her own blog)

Work in Progress

A number of people have asked me if I'm going to bring back the changing banners on my blog, where every time you refresh the page, you get a new photo to look at. I'm working on it. Brad the Gorilla took to the idea quite rapidly, and proposed some new design ideas. I'm not sure if our artistic visions are compatible, though. I must give credit to Brad the Gorilla in that he really is trying to make amends for losing all my links when he overhauled my blog. I suppose I should be suspicious that Brad's up to something, but really, what more can one gorilla do...?

Uh oh. Gotta run. Damage control.

Caught in the Act

As it turned out, pirates did not invade my blog. There was just one creature who partook in such mischief, and that creature was none other than Brad the Gorilla. Brad the Gorilla denied the accusations with much vehemence, but unbeknownst to Brad, my wife took a picture of this sneaky simian tinkering with the code in my template.

Brad's penance is to redesign my blog in such a way that it is respectable and presentable again. One can only hope that this is possible.

Pirates Have Seized This Blog

Help! Pirates have seized this blog. As soon as I escape, I will endevor to rebuild my flotilla of links. In the meantime, you might like to read A Brief History of the British Empire, improved with new, informative links.

Giant Geoglyphs in Mongolia?

Google Map Mysteries (and Google World Weirdness?). Check out this form at World Wind where the community is trying to figure out what some strange lines in Mongolia could be: Giant Geoglyphs?

Note: the lattitude and logitude are: 47.731, 117.286

Altercounterculture

Alkelda just made a response on a post at One Seven that I think is worth reproducing here:

Welcome to Alter-Counter-Culture. Basic tenents:

1)The coolness of one thing is not relative to the coolness (or lack thereof) of another.

2)Just because something's popular doesn't mean it's uncool.

3)Just because something's unpopular doesn't mean it's cool.

4)You can read more than one book, watch more than one movie listen to more than one album, play more than one game, drink more than one kind of liquor... you get the idea. One good thing doesn't exclude another good thing.

*
As my 4th grade art teacher said, "These are the laws. Anyone who breaks the law gets bored!"

Trackbacks

For reasons I cannot fathom, Blogger does not support trackbacks. I've come to beleive that trackbacks are an essential part of blog-based community building. I'm adding trackbacks to this blog, and also to Attacks of Opportunity.

Photo from Underground on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Escaping the Londing undergournd form Flikr

PostSecret

PostSecret