Last Friday I shared the new cover for the Firefly RPG. On Monday, we made an announcement that the Firefly RPG Corebook would go live today. And it has! You can grab a copy on DriveThruRPG.com and start flyin’!
It’s been an amazing journey so far, and there’s more to come. Thanks to Margaret Weis, my team, and all the fans for being so great and supportive. Shiny!
Today, I am thrilled to announce that the Firefly RPG corebook will be released in digital on Wednesday, April 2nd. You can get a copy of this 366 page full-color PDF on DriveThruRPG.com. Shiny!
We have more news, too, for pre-order customers and those who prefer a physical copy. Hop on over to www.margaretweis.com to read: Creative Directions…with Monica!
I hope you enjoy this game. I am very, very excited about this release and can’t wait to hear how you’re playin’ in the ‘Verse!
Keep flyin’!
The Atlantic posted an article this morning about Final Fantasy dubbed: “Casting ‘Revive’ on Final Fantasy.” My cactaur has demanded that I speak on the subject, if only because I still need to think about the post I was going to write. 10,000 needles really sting.
Final Fantasy X. Major hit, right? Romance, tragedy, action, camp, questing. A very traditional RPG-style game and a step up from VIII and IX. There was still a dungeon crawl aspect to the game, but the story, easter eggs, and visuals were good — so who cares? Then came X-2 which continued the story and followed three female characters. This was the Charlie’s Angels of the Final Fantasy franchise. It attempted to emulate what was cool about X, but erred on the side of camp.
XII was a miss for me. I played through it twice, but I didn’t “get” the story at all. It felt distant and while there was more free-range than X? It had more of an epic fantasy feel a la IX than a science fantasy feel. I just didn’t care.
Then XIII came out. I was happy to see moogles returned to their former glory. I did not like the romantic storyline between Snow and Serah. Sazh… Oh, what can I say about THAT stereotype… Lightning kicked ass, but her character was pretty flat. I AM A PROUD SOLDIER WHO WILL ALWAYS DO HER DUTY. And I didn’t like Vanille. The sound effects when she moved killed me. In fact… one might say XIII was predictable. Two-dimensional even. I mean, I remember the ending from X, from IX. I remember being surprised. Shocked. Not “meh.”
Again, XIII was a fairly linear game experience with a time-sensitivity element to it. There were some X-ish overtones, like going back to certain points and fighting specific classes of monsters. The combat in this game was a-mazing. LOVE! And though I say the game was 2D, oh my moogle… There was depth and the time sensitivity of the l’cie versus the c’ieth was brilliantly done. That tied the characters together on their quest, but it was a “forced” tie — they had no choice. So, unlike X, the tension was as a group rather than on an individual basis.
On the ending, I had the same problem with XII; I didn’t understand Orphan at all. (Possibly because I couldn’t hear what he was saying.) So my emotional impact was more focused on beating Orphan than caring about him. Meh. Orphan boss battle requires a specific configuration as well, and my latest play-through I broke the game and got stuck. I wanted to get a lot of CP (because I was doing the sidequests on the Plains) so to do that I’m on the last board. Only… You can’t go back and the only way forward is to fight Orphan — which is a ridiculously long bloated Bartholomew hot mess on moldy toast. Stringing multiple boss battles together without saving in between is cause for migraines. FUN TIMES!
XIII-2? Total game-changer. This was a non-linear game. A time travel — LET ME REPEAT THAT — A TIME TRAVEL GAME. Still, you had beats of a story that were strung together, but this had more of a character emphasis than a “Here’s a troupe traveling around!” feel to it. Plus, you picked and chose what modules to play through while unlocking other branches of the story. I liked XIII-2 better than XIII by quite a bit, and I feel that it would have been on the level of X for me with the exception of ONE thing. The ending. I threw the controller. I did. It was, by far, the worst ending possible for any game I have ever played. How bad was it? It was so bad, my neighbors showed up at my door to ask me if anything was wrong.
THAT BAD.
Enter Skyrim. (Yep, I still haven’t played through Skryim yet and I doubt I ever will finish this.) This is now the gold standard of gaming. I feel that this game, when combined with MMOs, has a profound impact on what gamers expect of Final Fantasy. The ability to submerse yourself in a FF world and not be constrained by maps or linear play — I mean this is partly why Dragon Age has a mission/sub-mission system where you can play the sub-plots in multiple orders but still get the main plot. There’s the illusion of freedom to avoid drag.
Here’s what I want out of a Final Fantasy game:
And that’s pretty much about it. Love the soundtracks; love the franchise. I’m not sure if I need a Skyrim-based FF game would work, but I do know one thing — in an RPG-style video game? Story does matter.
Before I get started with my 2013 in review, a complementary message from the writer who made chocolate-hazelnut crepes and mimosas this morning. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Also: GREMLINS is my new/old favorite Christmas movie. I can’t believe how wondering Spielberg’s movies are; they really stand up to the test of time.
On to the recap!
2013 was the year of getting rid of baggage. In ye times of olde, there was a god and goddess for pretty much everything. Take the Greek goddess, Eris, who symbolizes discord, strife, and chaos. I’d say 2013 was definitely “her” year, because there were a lot of changes–which turned out to be very positive–that began with discord and ended in amazing.
In January 2013, I wasn’t sure if I made the right decision to go the entrepreneurial route. I opted out of a move to the lovely city of Austin, Texas in 2012 and decided that, what was truly in my heart, was to pursue a career based on what I could provide creatively. Oh, I’m not overlooking my business background, because that’s what helps me flesh out what jobs I can get. That being said, I know what I want deep down and I just have to find a way to make it work. The bills come every month. Those don’t stop, regardless of how and when I get paid, and that’s something I’m very aware of. As it turns out, 2013 was the year where I focused on filling out my hobby games repertoire. I wanted to be part of a visible property because I’d been in the industry so long as a freelancer and, then, on the business side working with Steve Jackson Games and John Kovalic. On the writing side alone, I’ve worked with over a dozen game companies on well over thirty products that saw various states of production. I also kept my consulting skills sharp when I took on a role with Onyx Path Publishing behind-the-scenes.
February was a month of serendipity and a ramp up to the rest of a wild and crazy year. I started with penning the April Fool’s joke Scion: Extras (Supplemental Yet Can Be Somewhat Useful On Occasion Scions). Oh, how I love to write satire. And oh, how very, very challenging it is to pull off for the fans. I was hoping for a range of reviews that tapped into different aspects I built into the product. That’s exactly what we got and I couldn’t be happier about that. Then, I was asked to fill the shoes of brand manager and lead writer for the Firefly RPG. Taking direction from Margaret Weis, we opted to leverage years of Cortex Plus experience and launch the line in 2013. Getting a new line off the ground comes with its own set of challenges; overall this has been an extremely rewarding journey and Fox has been great to work with. Margaret and the folks on my team are all dedicated to making this game shiny. (See what I did there? HAH.) For me, to put together this game was a dream come true — and a setting I love dearly.
With that announcement, it was head down for four months until the release of Gaming in the ‘Verse: GenCon 2013 Exclusive for the Firefly RPG in August. In addition to speaking on the Writer’s Symposium at GenCon, we also launched a preview of the game. That effort allowed fans to get their hands on game material early, but also gave me the chance to test the approach to gauge reactions. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Of the negative reactions we did get, I understood where the criticisms were coming from, in part because Cortex Plus is a different system than Cortex Classic. That’s why we released a supplement called Wedding Planners Classic with an adventure by Margaret so fans could dive into the old system and learn something new. The lesson I learned, though, is that it doesn’t matter what we tell fans about licensing constraints, business decisions, or what we can/can’t do. Fandom is about feelings and emotional attachments. I cannot make everybody happy — no matter how hard I try.
Once Fall hit, we started rocking the releases with the launch of the Echoes of War line, which is a digital series of stand-alone Episodes. These adventures are structured like quickstarts. To play, you need a character that’s found in the Serenity Crew, GenCon Exclusive, or Firefly RPG corebook. Then, pick a story! We’ve got four out so far, two of which were featured in the Exclusive. Wedding Planners Plus, Shooting Fish, Friends in Low Places, and Freedom Flyer. All of the digital Firefly RPG releases are available through DriveThruRPG.com.
In non-Firefly news, ROFL! hit the shelves and I participated in a short story workshop led by Cat Rambo. It’s a game I had a hand in bringing to life and I’m very proud of the work John did on this one. Huge milestone! I also designed the Onyx Path brochure and had a hand in several Kickstarters, too.
October marked the culmination of two other dreams of mine. After five years of searching for opportunities and learning about the business, my first comic was published. It’s called Last Man Zombie Standing and I had a TON of fun with this one. I’m pitching another standalone comic as a result and have a graphic novel script in the works. Second dream? To fly overseas. I went to World Fantasy in Brighton and spent some time in London afterward. Loved, loved, loved this trip. Got the chance to make new friends, assess the publishing landscape, and schedule a few meetings. To round out the year, I spent some time in northern California. (It’s like its own country. WOW. What an amazing place!) And, I continued my annual tradition of sending out three random gifts to women I know. I had a lovely holiday season and I feel incredibly fortunate for the experience.
Now, what this recap doesn’t tell you of the failures and emotional upheavals I went through. Too many to count or dive into, really. The projects I busted my ass for that won’t be coming out until next year or the following. The huge shift that occurred because I wasn’t traveling as much as I did in 2012. My inability to get back on the fitness horse. The change in friendships caused by moves and shutdowns. The insecurity and anxiety that comes with not knowing whether a new release will succeed or fail. Etc. Etc. Etc. That’s the other side of 2013, the emotionally turbulent ride, that brings me through to today. You could even say that I’ve finally put some demons to rest, ghosts I didn’t even know were haunting me, freeing me to move forward.
In closing, I have this to say to all you creative peoples out there: DREAM. It’s important! Dream about what you want. Get that vision clear in your mind — and don’t give up. No matter how long it takes you, just don’t. Not when you feel you’ve taken three steps forward and five more back. Not when you think everybody else is against you. Not when you’ve got a hangup or get distracted. Not when you feel you won’t get accepted because you’re [insert word-of-choice here]. There is no power greater than a dream that won’t die. For many, many reasons, I believe that with all my heart. For the first time in my life, not only do I feel that my dreams can come true, I feel that I actually deserve them.
Cheers to a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2014 for all of you. Thank you for reading and supporting my work. Thank you for the shoulders you’ve lent and the chances you took on me. I cannot stress how awesome it feels when you reach out and offer words of encouragement. More of THAT, less of “fake geek girls” and tribalism and trolls and click bait and… There are a million reasons to be angry and upset. There should be just as many to be happy — let’s try and focus on those!
Thanks to Amazon’s lightning deals on Black Friday, I was able to pick up the legendary edition of Skyrim for $30. I hadn’t played the game yet for a few reasons. One, buying games when they debut is pretty costly. And two? Time, really. But, with it being so cold outside, I figured an hour or two would be a good mental break.
My fear with this game, is that I’d get immersed in the world of Skryim and then never leave. I’m not going to have that problem, though, not with this epic sweeping game. After playing for two hours last night in first person, I realized that a) I really don’t like playing first person in general and b) even with switching to third, the non-linear form of storytelling offers a more well-rounded game experience. This game is impressive on many levels. Graphics, the depth and breadth of character options, an expansive bestiary — the only problem I had was readability and the way the fonts appeared on my screen.
Non-linear, non-sequential storytelling is extremely complex to put together. Many games use sidequests or miniquests to flesh out the primary storyline. Of course, it depends upon the scope of the game. In general, there’s often a stricter limit on how far you can go off the beaten path and, more importantly when. Skyrim doesn’t have that problem, because its construction gives me the illusion that it doesn’t matter what choices I make and when, the story will proceed the way “I” want it to. I’m in deep appreciation of how far off the beaten path I can go. There is no pathing issues in this game, either, where I can’t go up a ridge because that’s not the gameplay area I’m supposed to be in.
In short, Skyrim is an extraordinarily detailed, fully submersible gameplay experience down to the last tankard. I have had experience with non-linear games in the past, like Final Fantasy XIII-2 and its time-travel storyline (props to Square Enix!) before, but this is a whole new level of insanity and awesome. I can only imagine the months spent slaving away…
It’ll take me forever and a day to get through everything and even then I know I’m likely going to miss something. If you haven’t played and want to pick up a copy, I would say that “YES! It is new gamer-friendly.” This game is more about strategy than up up down down left right A A B B Select Start. Highly recommend the guidebook, though, for if you go too fast in the beginning you’ll gloss over some of the training or, if you’re like me, get worried that you missed something.
Cabbages and carrots FTW.