Making Headway on the Sci-Fi RPG

I've been working on a table-top roleplaying game with a friend of mine. Since we haven't exactly put our noses to the grindstones, it has been in production for about 3 years. I'm disappointed that it has taken this long. I figured a year, max. And it should have taken that. I guess lazy costs time.

I believe it is nearing completion. Unfortunately, I don't want to say too much about it, other than it will be a sci-fi game with a unique system. The plan is to offer it as a website. We also want to have forums so that players could add to/modify the current rule set and setting. That way, we can have house rules and official rules online for all to see. Pick and choose the way you want to play it. House rules that we really like may even make it to official standing, with the authors receiving credit.

I would like to offer the basic game for free. If we follow this plan, the only charges would be if there are any supplements. And then, a minimal fee (about $1-$2) would probably be enough. It would be nice to pull in enough to keep the site up.

Score: 8.3

Okay, not really a score. It's my handicap in the pool league. I subbed a couple of weeks ago. I had to pick up 4 past games and play 8 games that night. Winning 8 out of 12 isn't bad, though I really should have won 11. And I would have, had I not continued to flake on the 8 ball. I need to work on consistency. That probably means I need to go back to setting up practice shots rather than playing complete games. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

Amazing Storytelling Through Art

There are very few theologians I can say I like.  Peter Rollins is among them.  On his blog, he has this amazing video.  Kseniya Simonova uses sand on a lightbox to tell the story of Russia's resistance of Nazi invasion.  As I watched, I sat stunned.  

Influencer is Good

It has been a while since I've read a good leadership book. Last Wednesday I picked up Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. It has surprised me. As you can imagine, it's all about how people are motivated to go in a different direction. I'm about a third of the way through it, and can't escape it. It is very pragmatic in its approach. While its understanding is relatively simple, it shows how difficult it can be to actually implement a plan to bring about significant change. I can't wait to finish it. Yet, to reach the end so soon would bring vacuous despair.

Still Awake

So, what does one do when still awake at 3am?  Start blogging.

Better yet, I think I'll eat, then crawl into bed and watch Dr. Who Season 2.  I've been impressed by this remake.  The Doctors have been surprisingly good.  The storylines often remind me that there's supposed to be a horror element to them.  And the writers do an excellent job of making sure you're watching Dr. Who, and not some spinoff.  

New Q&A Site for ECF-Net

My internet side project is the Evolving Christian Faith Network (or ECF-Net), which is meant to be a voice for a revisionist alternative for Christians. My friend Gnarf just put together a StackExchange Q&A site for WoW called EpicAdvice. It's very cool. Since the StackExchange platform is in beta and free, I decided to put one together for ECF-Net.

The Evolving Christian Faith Network Q&A page.


The StackExchange platforms is very community driven. I've snagged a TED vid for the ECF-Net blog entitled "Clay Shirkey on Institutions vs. Collaboration" that may help if the idea is difficult to grasp. Basically, it is for the community, by the community. As people gain standing in the community, they are able to do more things (such as edit posts). The more the community trusts someone (based on the quality of their interaction), the more power the community gives them.

This is an experiment. Its longevity may be determined by whether I can afford to keep it up once the beta ends and StackExchange starts charging. Hopefully, it takes a while before that begins, and I am able to gather enough people for the site to become self-sustaining.

X-posted: ECF-Net.

Behold, My Mighty Shaft of Power!

I've been playing pool for 3 1/2 months now. I figured out that I like the lighter sticks. I wanted blue (I call it my lightsaber). I wanted something between $50 and $150. Anything more than that and I would not be able to appreciate it.

I finally found my stick of choice: The Viking G02, Blue.

I love this stick. I've only used it a couple of times, but already I can feel the importance of having something decent to shoot with. A good investment.

And, yes, I supported the place that I play, Rockford Billiard Cafe.

Akira, Evolutionary Energy, and Theology

My friend (LithiumInduced) and I are working on a tabletop RPG together. Recently, we've discussed how we want to create the religious system. That's when the old, old anime Akira came up. One of the main characters, Tetsuo, became a conduit for Evolutionary Energy, which made him a total bad-ass. So, we started to talk about the energy of "potentiality."

That was last Tuesday. Just today while reading Werner Heisenberg's Physics and Philosophy I realized how close our product came to Process Theology. I like process theology, for the most part. I think it has issues, which are primarily connected to its metaphysics (mainly meaning that I'm leery of any metaphysic). I'm more of a deconstructionist. But I need to explore this more as I continue to work out my own perspective.