Post-Traumatic Tech Disorder

My wife sent me a link to this game after a conversation I started when we were planning out landscaping for our yard (I wanted a defensive perimeter capable of holding back the hordes of the zombiepocalypse).  I though about buying this game after playing the free trial, but it has mucho "lost time" potential ("It can’t be 7am… I haven’t gone to bed yet.").  Not always the best thing for a writer (but the hour I played of it was fun).

I was reminded of this video when I saw Star Trek last weekend at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin.  The Drafthouse doesn’t run your standard movie theater advertising/promos before showings… they run a lot of video clips with some connection to the movie in some way.  Star Trek had old sci-fi movie trailers, original Star Trek episodes (edited down for comedic effect), and other stuff like this piece I’d encountered (read: rolled an 01 on the random encounter chart) in younger days:

The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

Entertaining and horrifying at the same time… welcome to a frighteningly fun Friday here.

Recently, Brat-halla was listed as a roleplaying resource at the Game Examiner website.  As a gamer, this was probably one of the best things I could find out there–that a comic I work on is considered a source of inspiration for gamers.  Some of my knowledge of mythology comes from early research for campaigns I ran… looking for ideas and inspiration. 

And even though I rarely play these days (time and my former gaming groups separated by vast distances and conflicting schedules), I still have fond memories of the games I enjoyed in my day… D&D (from Basic to early 3rd Edition), Shadowrun, Robotech, Rifts, Gamma World, Twilight 2000, TMNT, After the Bomb, Marvel Super Heroes, Heroes Unlimited, GURPS, MERPS, Star Wars, Rolemaster, Alternity, The Arcanum, my friend Mike’s modified version of D&D, and a gaming system that I developed (but never published).

I’ve also played my share of computer RPGs, but I’ve always enjoyed gaming in-person.  When you have good players and a crafty DM, the scope of your adventures is unlimited and boundaries are nowhere to be found. If the characters want to burn down the inn where all the villain NPCs happen to be staying, you can adapt and move on.  If a character wants to make a wish that sends the entire party to an alien world/realm, you can move your dungeon and change up the monsters/encounters/treasure. 

The only limit was our creativity and imagination and in the groups I played with, those traits were very much in abundance.  And it forced my creativity to grow… some of the comics you’re reading here at Brat-halla are due to my early "training" with my friends and our RPGs (Arazel and Xarenia were actual characters in our games). 

So, I’d like to do a shout-out here.  Gaming comrades of my past, it was an honor to have gamed with you:

Chris, Sean, Gordon, Earl, Robert, Kyle, Dave, Russell, Travis, Sean, the dayroom gamers at Fairchild AFB, Craig, Brian, Mike, Bob, Terry, Carlos, (another) Chris, Shannon, Mark, Darren, Carla, Chuck, Bop, Larry, Marty, James, Susan, Brock, Donnie, Tim, (another) Carlos, my wife Rayna (yes, I married a gamer), and many others who stopped in for short visits to our games.