2011 Retrospective
So I'm pretty terrible at the 'things I did last year'. Instead, I'll poke at three different areas that I've had a lot of fun with-
New Entertaining Places
Spooky World
Have you ever wanted to go in first into an abandoned mineshaft with a dying glowstick? Courtesy of conspiratrix logistical might and trolled by taranhero, it was a great time. If you like neat costuming and occasionally screaming like a little girl. Not that I ever did that. Ever.
Roller Derby
If you asked me what Roller Derby was before last fall, it would be an incoherent image of dangerous women in rollerblades. Women who could take me apart. It's still true. Roller Derby has the visceral joy of athletes smashing into each other with some very clever tactics. Add in B-movie themes and a great sense of fun. Thanks to russiandude and erisinthesky for introducing me to the sport.
Sin-O-Matic
Gussying up is half the fun (thank you vogon999). And Sin-O-Matic has a great space for goth clubbing with people who obviously love their costuming. Definitely recommend coming past 10PM+ when they have the good DJ come on.
New Things at LARPs
Endgame
Is entering the final year and a half. There has been some attrition of players and staff who will be missed. However, I've really enjoyed the Mind Dives and Entity plots I've been running. I'm really looking forward to where the different threads will go... and explode.
7V
The Scarthan vote was Epic. It's been the best political challenge goal with open-ended ways of approaching each voting member. I hope the 7V staff keep all of those write-ups. It would be awesome for 7V to run again in the future or somewhere else with a bookshelf of adventures, intrigue, romance, and shenanigans ready to go.
Aralis
Caulder's 'redemption' arc of joining the Garandi has been a blast. It's neat having had a different character, or two, (or three) in your first boffer LARP. Aralis has always been 'a different game'. My personal LARP tastes err towards games with strict boundary/limitations/consequences that Aralis slots into. Don't know if anyone else feels the same way, but it's nice realizing what you like.
New 'Free' Video Games of Yesteryear
The Parable of Stanley
erisinthesky described it as a game about a man named Stanley and the narrator who tells you what to do. A narrator that you will grow to hate. So much. And then you begin seeing ways to break the game... Stanley has it's own 40ish tropes on TVtropes that I recommend after you play the game a few times. Or more.
don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story
This is what happens when you mix anime, a video game, and twitter together. The basic premise is is that you are a High School teacher in the near future who gets the twitter and facebook posts of your students. Basically a backdoor to understanding their motivations, feelings, and what they actually care about. While you are teaching. I recommend this for anyone who likes school animes and/or relationship dramas.
League of Legends
The basic premise pits teams of player heroes against each other in a growing sub-genre called 'DOTA'. If you like competitive games with close to endless variability, it's a great deal of fun (especially with friends). But be warned, unlike 1v1 games, you have a 5-9x chance of the encountering the jerks of the internet.
New Entertaining Places
Spooky World
Have you ever wanted to go in first into an abandoned mineshaft with a dying glowstick? Courtesy of conspiratrix logistical might and trolled by taranhero, it was a great time. If you like neat costuming and occasionally screaming like a little girl. Not that I ever did that. Ever.
Roller Derby
If you asked me what Roller Derby was before last fall, it would be an incoherent image of dangerous women in rollerblades. Women who could take me apart. It's still true. Roller Derby has the visceral joy of athletes smashing into each other with some very clever tactics. Add in B-movie themes and a great sense of fun. Thanks to russiandude and erisinthesky for introducing me to the sport.
Sin-O-Matic
Gussying up is half the fun (thank you vogon999). And Sin-O-Matic has a great space for goth clubbing with people who obviously love their costuming. Definitely recommend coming past 10PM+ when they have the good DJ come on.
New Things at LARPs
Endgame
Is entering the final year and a half. There has been some attrition of players and staff who will be missed. However, I've really enjoyed the Mind Dives and Entity plots I've been running. I'm really looking forward to where the different threads will go... and explode.
7V
The Scarthan vote was Epic. It's been the best political challenge goal with open-ended ways of approaching each voting member. I hope the 7V staff keep all of those write-ups. It would be awesome for 7V to run again in the future or somewhere else with a bookshelf of adventures, intrigue, romance, and shenanigans ready to go.
Aralis
Caulder's 'redemption' arc of joining the Garandi has been a blast. It's neat having had a different character, or two, (or three) in your first boffer LARP. Aralis has always been 'a different game'. My personal LARP tastes err towards games with strict boundary/limitations/consequences that Aralis slots into. Don't know if anyone else feels the same way, but it's nice realizing what you like.
New 'Free' Video Games of Yesteryear
The Parable of Stanley
erisinthesky described it as a game about a man named Stanley and the narrator who tells you what to do. A narrator that you will grow to hate. So much. And then you begin seeing ways to break the game... Stanley has it's own 40ish tropes on TVtropes that I recommend after you play the game a few times. Or more.
don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story
This is what happens when you mix anime, a video game, and twitter together. The basic premise is is that you are a High School teacher in the near future who gets the twitter and facebook posts of your students. Basically a backdoor to understanding their motivations, feelings, and what they actually care about. While you are teaching. I recommend this for anyone who likes school animes and/or relationship dramas.
League of Legends
The basic premise pits teams of player heroes against each other in a growing sub-genre called 'DOTA'. If you like competitive games with close to endless variability, it's a great deal of fun (especially with friends). But be warned, unlike 1v1 games, you have a 5-9x chance of the encountering the jerks of the internet.