| Hey hey, all! Time creeps. I speak not of evil time-traveling stalker guys, but of the tendency of one’s temporal existence to pass slowly in the moment, but quickly in retrospect. During a conversation with my wife yesterday, I realized that I’ve resided in my current home longer than any other place in my life. Somehow, my stints in a various childhood homes seem longer, likely because I’d experienced less time as a kid. The passage of days, months, and years feels a lot more compressed now. And that very much applies to my Players of the Game series. I’ve been working at versions of this since the mid-90s. One iteration was an adaptation of a couple of campaigns from a little known RPG called Rifts. Another was my first stab at a story world with the boring-sounding title: Gifts and Curses. Then I realized the story didn’t work with what I wanted to do with Repenter, and I made the tough call to scuttle elements of the book and put them in The New Players, The Breakers, and The Game War. That scuttling undid years of effort. Let us just say that it took me a little to come to terms with that decision. But I think my saga was better served by it with the current version. Time did indeed creep up on me, but as a certain villain likes to say, “The Game progresses.” I’m about halfway through writing the vast thing, and I love how it’s unfolding. Hopefully, you do as well. I can’t wait to share the newer books with you. |
| Players of the Game Works in Progress |
| I revised and rewrote 13 chapters this month in The Game War. Not quite as good as last month’s 15 chapters. I caught a cold for about a week, so that hampered my productivity. I shall keep at it with both the second draft of the latest WIP and get the last tweaks in place for The Breakers for its release later this year. The fight shall be powered. Players of the Game Out of Context Quote of the Month: Xax: “Gimme a sec. It’s wiggly.” I promise the context for Xax’s statement is far less icky, and much more weird than whatever you’re thinking. |
| Recommendation Corner |
| Dune Part 2 I recall a similar feeling in watching Dune Part 2 that I felt watching The Two Towers more than twenty years ago. It’s a great movie that returns to the story after the prior one ended, with the protagonists walking toward a scenic vista. And I miss the feeling of “newness” from the first movie, but love where the familiarity takes me. I liked all the changes from the book. Chani is far less of a cipher, and has the important altered POV of, “Uh, maybe using my desert Spartan people for a space jihad is not a great idea.” I also loved the visuals. Especially, the color-drained sequences on Giedi Prime with its black star. Black fireworks are a special effect I never thought I needed to see. But I needed to see them. My biggest criticism is incredibly nerdy. There was not a clear explanation of why some non-drilling distance attacks could bypass shields and others couldn’t. There were also laser attacks on vehicles which could possibly have shields, which risk a nuclear reaction in the book’s lore. Yes. Nerdy criticism. I know. Picking of nits aside. This movie ruled. Paul is simultaneously triumphant and tragic. Jessica’s plotting with her hidden confidant was the best kind of creepy. The sound effects and score were epic, especially on a certain wrangling scene. I want to see this flick multiple times. Get out there and enjoy it with a sand worm popcorn bucket. Or not. Pathway on Steam I played the heck out of this Indiana Jones meets Shining Force and XCOM tactics game while I had the minor cold. It was mental chicken soup for me. You guide a group of adventurers in the 1930s in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East while you try to beat Nazis, cultists, and zombies to a wide array of ancient artifacts. All while riding a Jeep to each location. Its pixel graphics have Chrono Trigger vibes. They have a few ridiculous characters, like a scientist with a sci-fi disintegrator ray gun and a sniper priest. Naturally, I employed both of them on more than one adventure. Sometimes, you just gotta lean into all things silly. And awesome. Like this game. |
| That’s all for this time. Stay smart. Stay safe. Jim |
