Musings from a Mad Thinker

Blog Posts

200 Word RPG 2019 - Out of Time

2010-10-11

The 200 Word RPG has opened again for 2019, and though I had less time than usual, I threw my hat in the ring. I have a few more hours to polish it to hopefully publish it for the 24 hour RPG contest on RPG Geek also! At 199 words, I tried to use each word as efficiently as possible, and also maintain a theme. I wanted to do a solo game this year, and thought about time travel as a theme- the character is told by his future self that he's being wiped out of existence by an enemy than he doesn't even know! He's given minimal clues in a diary, but parts of it are missing. He has to intervene at critical moments in time to keep the enemy from succeeding.

Game Chef 2018

2018-08-25

After missing 2017 (I actually started, but didn't get it finished in time), I wasn't going to miss it again. This year, the theme was Lost Stories, and the ingredients were Speedwalking, Blunt, Sheepskin, and Weigh. As usual, panic set in at the disparity of the ingredients.

200 Word RPG 2018 - Stick it to the Man!

2018-05-28

The 200 Word RPG has opened again for 2018, and I'm entering again. It's a pretty good goal at 200 words, but it's harder than it appears. I couldn't get anyone to chime in on it until the last minute, so it's been pretty much a solo effort. I did get my wife and daughter to read it; they're not gamers so I received a unique perspective that pretty much echoed /u/wthit56 on Reddit who chimed in at the last minute. The help was really appreciated, as the feedback refined a lot, and hopefully made it easier to understand. I'm still not totally satisfied, but the bell tolls, and I don't want to wait until the absolute last minute. It's exactly 200 words, entitled Stick it to the Man!

Get Mad, but don't Get Even

2018-04-27

I just saw this statement in a review of Infinity War (2018)

Apparently, treatments of PoC were less than stellar. And in one review by Steven Barnes, he goes into all of this. And then he says what I've been feeling and what many don't seem to want to see. I'll give it to you in an excerpt from his great review.

Creating a Game

2018-03-25

I've been playing role-playing games for the longest time, and writing for just a bit longer. I've written for three role-playing game products that were published, or will be published. And I liked the feeling of writing for a role-playing game, no matter the extent. I've written for NaGaDeMon and Game Chef and 200 word RPG, and I don't think that what I've written has been totally terrible.

200 Word RPG 2017 - Fire of the Gods

2017-04-05

Given the fact that I completed my first entry for the 200 Word RPG before the submission date, and it rekindled something in me in regards to writing, I decided to do another entry. It's not as polished, and I didn't get editing help, but it is a good exercise in taking what I was given, and trying to use it for something else.

200 Word RPG 2017 - Detachment 626

2017-04-02

I haven't been doing too well at updating this blog, but at least I do it when I enter something. Enter the 200 Word RPG for 2017. After many drafts, and much help from others, I've come up with this entry, that weighs in (by the Google Docs word count) at 197 words. The entry has been postedon the 200 Word RPG Site, so I've officially entered!

Game Chef 2016

2016-06-02

Game Chef has rolled around again, and I've thrown my hat into the ring. The theme, technology, jumped out at me. But in a more contrary manner- to concentrate on the lack of technology, or technology gone awry. But the ingredients... alarm, dance, sketch, and sunlight. I started in despair, trying to figure out how to apply them.

Jumping into the Deep End

2015-11-01

Earlier this year, I did my first game with the prompting of Game Chef. After that, I submitted for a couple of different anthologies and sci-fi opportunities. It showed me that even at this point, I can be a viable writer. And maybe, just maybe, support myself at it. But it's not going to be easy.