T w e n t y S i d e d
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On yet another exciting episode of Spoiler Warning: Chris forgets that Walther’s forgot, I talk about Jensen’s character some more, Rutskarn ruins everything, and Shamus forgets to post this episode!
Self Publishing
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Because many people have been asking me, here is a meandering overview of the process and reasoning behind self-publishing.
Note that a lot of what I have to say here is based on my own observations, and on views expressed by author Joe Konrath. This is not an authoritative article. Heck, it’s not even particularly well-informed. I’m one of a growing number of people who have returned from the vast, uncharted lands of internet self-publishing, and I’ve drawn a crude little map of what I saw along the way. As more of us take this trip, the picture will become clearer. Until that happens, we’re obliged to rely on scraps and guesses. If you’re really serious about this subject, I think Konrath is your go-to guy. Check out his blog, and good luck to you.
But for the curious, here is what I learned in the process of self-publishing The Witch Watch:
So, you’ve written a book. You’ve got a big ol’ pile of words in your word processor of choice, and now you want people to read it in return for money. For the sake of argument, let’s just assume the book is good.
In traditional publishing, you would begin by spamming the publishing world with your manuscript. Like a desperate job applicant sending out resumes, you send it to everyone who might possibly have an interest in it. Then you wait. Some will reject you. Eventually. Most will ignore you. If you’re very, very lucky, one of them might express an interest in publishing your work.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Self Publishing”
Deus Ex Human Revolution EP31:
Time to Take Your Medicine
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I do like when games let you explore philosophical ideas like free will, personal liberty, euthanasia, justice, idealism vs. pragmatism, the nature of intelligence, and so on. I like it even better when the game doesn’t beat you over the head with a right or wrong answer, but simply presents a situation and allows you to come to your own conclusions.
I liked this sequence, but I think there’s something off with this Brent Radford conversation. I think the problem is that you’re not allowed to make the most reasonable choices. You can’t call him an ambulance, but must instead kill him or leave him to die slowly. You’re not allowed to leave him with the drug and let him self-administer the lethal dose, but must again choose between direct action or callous abandonment. You ARE allowed to deny him morphine, but it’s not clear WHY Jensen is doing it. Is it because Jensen wants the info, and doesn’t want Radford to nod off? Or is Jensen just really against drugs? Or is he just being a griefing jackass?
Having said that, this is a really interesting setup and I’ve spent a long time pondering it. Radford wants to die. He’s in fantastic pain. He’s suffering and begging for release. On the other hand, he might feel differently after some medical treatment. If he woke up tomorrow in the hospital, he might find himself with a newfound desire to live. It’s one thing to allow a person to kill themselves. It’s another to let them do it while they’re in terrible (but temporary) pain and flying high on drugs. That you gave them. On the other hand, if he wakes up in the hospital tomorrow and DOES still want to die, it’s going to be a lot harder for him to pull off. Maybe he really does place no value on life as a (in his words) cripple. Maybe it’s wrong to force him to live that life. On the other, OTHER hand, maybe he would discover life isn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be. Maybe he would come to new conclusions regarding augmentation. Then again, he’s pretty old, so it’s not likely he’s got the vigor to snap back from this and find a new way to live life. Then again…
And so on. Aside from the missing choices, this is a really interesting setup. I’m impressed. It’s not often a AAA game really lets you explore stuff like this without it devolving into sanctimony or melodrama.
I’ll even go so far as to say this: Eidos Montreal is scratching an itch that, at one time, only BioWare could reach. BioWare has lost interest in this sort of thing over the last couple of years, and so this game is really a breath of fresh air for me. I’d even go so far as to say that this is the best dialog* I’ve ever seen in a game.
* Best voiced dialog. I think the old-school text games were probably a little lot deeper, but we’re fooling ourselves if we think more text-based AAA games are in our future.
The Witch Watch: Gilbert Is Dead
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Gilbert felt suddenly compelled to wake up. At the same time, he felt that waking up would be wrong, perhaps even rude and offensive. He didn't particularly want to wake up. Quite aside from the proddings of his conscience, he just wanted to keep doing what was already working for him, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to resist. In the military he'd learned that when you're called, you're expected to get out of bed first and then wake up. This habit was deeply ingrained.
The room faded into view around him. Overhead were solemn stone walls, illuminated by a flickering light somewhere off to one side. The walls had alcoves with coffins in them. He was in a crypt, like the kind used by the wealthy to bury their beloved, deceased, and exceedingly well-off relations. It was clean and well-kept, and the only thing remarkable about the crypt was that he was in it.
Gilbert sat up, and he heard someone gasp. His limbs felt numb and heavy. His mind was in much the same condition.
“M-master! Welcome back. Everything has been done according to your wishes,” the voice said nervously.
Gilbert turned and saw a young man kneeling on the cold marble floor. His spectacles glinted in the darkness, reflecting the light of the lantern held in his trembling hand. There was a thin mist on the floor around him.
Gilbert waited for things to settle down inside his head. When he was younger, he'd had a few episodes where he had gone drinking with his fellows and awoken later to find he'd misplaced himself. He found that sitting for a few minutes would do wonders in these cases, and eventually the details would come to him. Usually he just needed one memory to get the process started. Maybe he'd recall what he'd had to drink, or the girls he'd met and what he'd said to them. Or perhaps memories of a fight would surface and explain fresh bruises. Once a piece of the previous evening was in hand, the rest would fall into place and he would be able to remember where he was and how he'd gotten there.
Except, this wasn't happening. His memory was obstinately blank.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “The Witch Watch: Gilbert Is Dead”
Experienced Points: Marketing Effect 3
I really have fond memories of the original Mass Effect. Sure, it had its silly moments. (“This evidence is irrefutable!”) But it still felt like a season of a really good sci-fi show. Each planet was an interesting place to discover. Like an episode of Trek, you visited a new place, got to know it, and solved some problems. And in each episode, you moved the overarching plot forward a step, building up to a season finale.
And yes, we really did savage Mass Effect 2. Over time, my opinion of the game has grown worse: It was weak in exactly the way it needed to be strong. The gunplay changes made sense to me from a marketing perspective – popup shooters really are king of the world right now – but there was no reason to turn the story into hash the way they did.
But even after unloading all this hate onto Mass Effect 2, EA, and BioWare, I still feel a certain connection with the game. I still love the original, and I still hold out hope that Mass Effect 3 could give me what I was hoping to get from Mass Effect 2. And so I find myself defending the game from its own publisher. (Protip: This link leads to the actual article.)
The Mass Effect 3 campaign and DLC circus is just really sleazy. I understand that EA doesn’t value their products as anything other than a source of revenue, and doesn’t regard them as artistic endeavors at all. I get that. But aren’t they supposed to pretend their stuff has some sort of merit?
A lot of this goes back to the Extra Credits Open Letter to EA Marketing. It’s not that these people are shallow and money-grubbing. I can understand the grubbing of money. But their own marketing seems almost infused with this raw contempt not just for the medium, but for the audience itself.
Deus Ex Human Revolution EP30:LAN Party
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My first time through the game, I didn’t bother talking to Taggert. I just snuck into his room, zapped his guards, and swiped the info off of his computer. The second time, I confronted him. I was so shocked when I saw the “crowd”. Let’s have a look at Taggert’s audience here:
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Eleven people. Taggert’s personal guard is probably double that. I realize that console can’t handle an auditorium of people. (Heck, it would take a good bit of work to get looking right with a decent framerate on the PC.) But this is just sad. I’m sure there was a better way to do this.
What I would have done:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Deus Ex Human Revolution EP30:LAN Party”
The Witch Watch in Print:
Buy This Dang Thing Already
The book has only been available for a week or so, and I am already sick to death of this marketing stuff. I wrote the book. Proofed the book. Edited the book. Got the book up for sale. At this point in the process, the creative part is over and my heart has already moved on to another project where I can be creative. But instead I-
Oh? I didn’t give you a link to buy the paperback version, did I? Sorry. You can get The Witch Watch in paperback here. Where was I? Oh right, angst…
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “The Witch Watch in Print:
Buy This Dang Thing Already”
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