R&D

One of the most important parts of any project is research. This is why I always include those "Please read this thoroughly before changing anything" messages at the front of all the RPG stuff: I spend hours - days, weeks, even months! - researching whatever project I put my efforts toward and I don't want some know-it-all dipshit coming along and changing things will-nilly because he thinks he can.

My take on those people remains the same as it was in highschool: if those guys know so damn much, why don't they know to take a shower at a con? Or wipe off the streaks of caked make-up after wearing it for three days straight? Or get their hair cut decently? Or dress nicer? Or get along with people in general? Yeah, that's my take on those people.

Anyway, I'm deep into researching new aspects of the Dark Conspiracy game and materials. In particular, I'm reading Shadowrun.

I never liked Shadowrun. The game was so obviously a gimme: FASA was cashing-in on D&D's timeless popularity and Cyberpunk's passing fad. However, the two times I played it, I had a really good time (even though the system, as I recall it, really sucks). You don't hear much about Shadowrun these days because it was so obviously cashing-in on that fad; I guess it went the way of the Dodo bird in short order, as fads are wont to do. Still, it covers certain aspects the Dark Conspiracy canon doesn't, but includes in the game, so I'm literally learning it to see what it brings to the other games I cover.

I'll have plenty to bring you tomorrow and the rest of the week. I'll just set aside several hours to do exactly that and schedule it all to run throughout the day. I'll also have a lot to discuss by way of Shadowrun and some other stuff as I read through it.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009