Whistle

Time has run out to get a substantive post up today, so I shall have to settle for a brief blowing of the whistle and a short foray into what may be coming up over the next few weeks.

• As I get back into work, there are numerous matters to resolve. I will be heavily focussed on getting Play with Fire back on track, which means getting to a Beta version as soon as is humanly possible. I expect there will be some coverage of this final push in the blog.
• And in other news, it seems that Reluctant Hero may yet live! It's being taken to publishers at Game Connection in Leipzig, which affords me the option to completely revise its mechanics - I have a particular enjoyment of developing and redeveloping RPG systems, and am likely to discuss some pertinent issues here.
• On a related note, has anyone written on the choice between exponential progression and Fibonacci sequences in cRPG development mechanics? I think the latter may be inherently superior but, as ever, there's room for debate.

And on the philosophical side of the coin:

• On philosophy of religion, I still have to complete my post on Einstein's view on a personal God. Expect this one tomorrow, all things being equal. I may follow it later with a list of suggested athiest religions for those who have chosen to walk in that particular direction and are still wondering why they might do so.
• On philosophy of science, I may have to write about the Ganzfeld experiment to explain why I consider this to be so important - and believe it or not, the reason has nothing whatsoever to do with telepathy.
• And between the two, I may well ramble on the topic of teleological games - something certain scientists attack when they see it coming from a religious belief, but then commit the self same mistakes in their own thinking! Good fun for all.

Hope there's still a few people out there sufficiently amused by my idiosyncratic peregrinations to hop onboard and come along for the ride!

Comments

[Jack Monahan]

Always on board, Chris. Glad to have the ship running again. I'm particularly piqued by the idea of Fibonacci sequences for RPG progression, as well as hearing more about the possibility of Reluctant Hero coming back. CRPG games certainly have some of the greatest potential of any genre, yet are almost always in need of refinement and elucidation.

[Peter Crowther]

What, miss my regular fix of mind-expansion? Not a chance :-). Hope getting back into work is a positive experience overall.

[Chris]

Jack: I'm not sure how interesting the Fibonacci versus exponential issue is, except to game mechanics obsessives such as myself. :) It would fill a couple of paragraphs, I suppose, but it's dull maths stuff, really. What I'd really like to know is if anyone else has dug into this already - i.e a study of the quantisation of experience (T-values, as peterb has it) with levels across different games. I've never looked at it before because I abandoned class and level systems as "bad systems" - only to later realise where their benefits lie. They make much more sense in cRPGs than in tabletop!

Peter: actually, getting back to work has been gruelling and disorienting. I reckon the first week is always the worst, though. :)

[Duncan]

Looking forward to all kinds of post from you. I know that I want to hear about everything, from Play with Fire, to cRPG design (even the boring math), to the wacky philosophy stuff that makes my brain hurt.

Bring it on.

[Chris]

Thanks Duncan! I appreciate it! Hope your brain only hurts in that way one aches after some good exercise. :)