X & Violence Part 2: Peen There, Done That

Okay, so I guess that introductory post to this particular series got a little negative towards the end. And even though I guessed correctly I didn't get a prize. What sort of fucking game is this anyway?

So, this time I thought I'd try and raise the tone a little and talk about something the xbox does better than the wii. No, I'm still not talking about graphics and I NEVER WILL BE. Today I want to talk a little about achievements.

Onomatopoeic Expression Of Delight At Soft Furnishings.

I suppose in some ways it was kind of reassuring that, back when Dr Who finally returned to out screens, the first proper new monster was a bit a rubbish. The Autons were a classic we were all familiar with. The Geth were just ghosts and/or zombies. And Whilst the various weirdoes from The End Of The World were at least aliens they were more bystanders than proper, full on MONSTERS.

No, the first proper shot we got was with the Slitheen. They were big and real and actual villainous bad guys. With a 2 part story to roam around in and everything. And whilst perhaps that particular couplet was the highest point of the revival, it really wasn't all that far down the list either. I mean, I'll take a tired and overplayed fart gag over a bloody love ship any day.

One of the things I think they really got right in that story was the design of the aliens. They're distinctive and original and actually a bit creepy. I've always liked them from a purely aesthetic standpoint if nothing else. And luckily for me the world of Doctor Who miniatures is a strange morass of murky trademark infringement and minor but legally binding differences.

X & Violence Part 1: All A Bored

As you may be aware, a little while ago I finally bought myself an xbox. Why? Well, partly because I'd actually been given opportunity to play a few games on a friends one and quite enjoyed it. Partly because I was getting back into Star Wars in a big way and wanted to get The Force Unleashed. But if I'm honest it's mostly because I was sulking. Various issues had ruined my plans for the weekend and set me in a rather bad mood. And nothing brightens ones mood quite like wasting three hundred quid or so.

As a consequence of this of course my available free time has become rather occupied, and I haven't been doing quite as much of other things as maybe I should. Some might call it video game addiction. Personally I'd say it's more to do with having a compulsive personality and shitty life. Anyway point is since I've been playing a lot of video games it means I've been THINKING a lot about video games. So why not turn this to my advantage and squeeze out a few posts on the subject?

So, let's start with some general faff and see where the thought train leads us.

Comic Sans Part 3: We Are The World

So, I've already been over the (admittedly loose) mechanics and character building used in my Overpower game. And I said I'd talk a little about setting in this instalment.  So let me see if I can remember enough about how the worlds worked to actually describe them.

Comic Sans Part 2: We Are Here, Where Are You From?

So, last time I talked a little about the basic mechanics of the Overpower system that I came up with some years ago for doing super hero games. It's fairly rules light, but still has a few. And this of course means that we'll need some way of recording the relevant details. So today I'm going to go through the character sheet and character generation.

Comic Sans Part 1: Maths And Stuff.

It is a given fact that, when running a game, I tend to favour the rules light approach. Often to the exclusion of actually having any rules whatsoever. Now, partly of course this allows me to concentrate on story, character and drama without having to worry about the fact that only one person at the table is capable of rolling above 10 on a D20.

Every time. Every. Damn. Time.

But equally I suppose it's simply that I can't be bothered to do all the maths and have to stat out every little thing just in case. Obviously there are both advantages and disadvantages to any way of running a game, and one is not necessarily better than the other. It all depends on the type of game you're aiming for and the people involved.

But anyway, at least one time I DID write up a system with actual rules. Not many, I admit. But some. And since some of my players have expressed an interest in maybe digging the game out for another go at some point I figured this was a good opportunity to dig out my notes and write it up.

So, ladies and gentleman, let me introduce you to the Overpower system.

Not The Sort Of Wars You Were Expecting

I'd like to take a moment, if I may, to talk about about racism. Specifically racism in Star Wars.

Request Spot

The good news, you will no doubt be thrilled to hear, is that I have apparently started doing requests. The bad news is that the request wasn't to stop. Sit down while I tell you a tale...

See, it appears that I know a guy. This in itself is not particularly strange, even for me. However this guy apparently knows some other guy. Again, I understand this is fairly common. But the guy in question is apparently in the process of manufacturing a miniatures game of some description. And so it was that the first guy (that is the one I actually know) presented me with a handful of tiny metal objects, purloined through nefarious and no doubt drunken means from the second guy, and asked me if I could try painting them.

Now, the thing is that whilst I was given a handful of the miniatures to play with, I wasn't given much else. such as what the hell any of these things are actually supposed to BE. Or which ones go with which other ones. Or even the name of the goddamn system so I could at least google it.

But what the hell, I like a challenge. I'd prefer a blowjob, but sadly no one was offering one of those. I guess I'll just have to do the challenge part instead.

If You Go Down To The Woods Today

Wow, so it's been nearly a month and I haven't put anything up here? I must be slacking off.  But dear reader (and I do mean that in the singular) fear not! For it's not like I've spent ALL my time slavishly pressing buttons and swearing at the screen of the new xbox. I mean yes, MOSTLY it's been like that. But totally. In between these Tourettes laced bouts of action I've actually managed to get a little bit of painting done.

Can you guess what it is I've been working on?