20-Sided Tardis

...and the Music of Doom!

2011-03-23T17:03:00.003-04:00

So, after almost a YEAR break (been busy with being senior staff at a convention will do that to you), 20-Sided Tardis is back! And good news, dear companions, the good Doctor himself is climbing back behind the screen and getting ready to run a D&D Campaign!

So, in the spirit of getting back into the swing of things with this blog, I'm going to start chronicling my rules musings, my world building techniques, my campaign world's history and recaps of my groups misadventures. I'm already getting excited about this.

So, after watching various anime and movies, playing some video games and generally trying to remember what creating a campaign is like, I decided I wanted to try some house rules to FURTHER add to the sense of Heroism that D&D already gives, I proposed this to my very confused friend:

D&D Battle Music Roulette.

I'm a fan of adding background music to role playing games. It helps set the mood and atmosphere of a scene, can get the players fired up at the right time, or help with a particular plot twist. However, music can be a crutch or a distraction, so I recommend it's use only if you're prepared to deal with it.

Now, since players all like their characters (why wouldn't they?), I added an extra step to character creation for my campaign: Pick out your character's personal battle theme. This will hopefully help the players figure out their character a bit more, as they try to figure out what music really sums up Grothgar the Barbarian's melancholy fueled rage.

I'll add the tracks to the music I compiled for D&D, and when we enter battle, I hit play on the battle music playlist. Here's where the roulette part comes in.

If your character's theme hits, it's clearly time for them to kick ass and take names , so for the duration of the encounter, you gain +1 to Attack, Damage, All Defenses and Saves (per tier), an action point, and the ability to spend an additional action point this encounter.

Wow, that's ridiculous, right? Well, it gets better! As a reward for good role playing, the DM I currently plays with hands out little tokens that can be redeemed for an +d6 on a d20 roll. I figured I'd do something similar, only the token can also be used to have your theme music start playing.

What do you think? Does this add an element of extra drama to the D&D table, or has Dr. Cid lost his damn mind? Let me know in the comment section and I'll see you in the future, dear companions.

Love is a Battlefield: Romance in D&D

2010-05-18T13:03:00.004-04:00

Welcome, dear Companions, to 20-Sided Tardis, where our opinions are bigger on the Inside!

First off, we're back! And talking about all things geeky that strike our fancy. From Sci-Fi, to Comic Books. Video Games to Tabletop RPGs and beyond. It's an adventure in blog form. So very exciting.

And today's topic: PC Romance in D&D.

Now, I wanna get this out of the way: I am a hopeless, die hard romantic. I'm one of those True Love kinda suckers that tear up at weddings and thinks that "The Princess Bride" is the greatest story ever told.

Now, the concept of romance is a cornerstone of the fantasy genre that D&D places itself into. Whether its of the "Come with me if you wanna live" variety of rescuing a damsel in distress or more of a "Ah, but you see. You don't just protect me, we protect each other." flavor of comrades in arms. Love goes hand in hand in fantasy stories.

And it can be awesome.

And sometimes, it can be annoying.

You know what I'm talking about. The two PCs (usually the Actors of the party) will have their characters hook up in game. It makes sense, they're the only two characters of same race, or they share a deity, or they're at least compatible enough that it'd be easy to ship the couple. And before you even realize it, the whole quest to the defeat the evil dark lord Kiva from using the 10 Haesae Keys to summon the dread demon Dekaedo has taken a backseat to lovers quarrels and mushy romance.

How do you stop these things, while still enjoying the benefits to the narrative that the romance provides? Well, we at the Tardis are here to help:

1) Make sure that the romance doesn't dominate the plot. This should be an almost no brainer, but when there's 6 players at the table, no matter how invested everyone is in each others characters, having 2 players hogging the spotlight sucks. Make sure that everyone gets an equal share, and keep the plot running. Kiva is not going to wait for the heroes to get through their first couple fight before unleashing his darkness over the land.

2) Make sure that the romance isn't going to split the party uncomfortably. I'm currently neck-deep in PC on PC romance in a D&D Campaign and due to the way that all the characters are, we have the potential to split the party right down the middle. My character, his romantic partner and brother in arms vs. the party's wizard (and resident jerkass), the party's fractured sorcerer , and the centaur who is constantly searching for approval. The fact that my character's love interest is the party's de facto leader doesn't help matters. There may be a split coming, and part of it may stem from the disparate party make-up and the fact that they can't seem to get along. Either way, party cohesion is a big challenge facing DMs, and romance is something that can complicate that if not handled properly.

3) Challenging the Romance is Okay. Occasionally. Throwing in NPCs to act as love interests to a couple in their proto-phase is okay. Having bad guys capturing one of the two halves of a couple is awesome (especially for the resulting rescue). Introducing a dilemma that you KNOW the couple is divided on is stupidly cool as it gives the players a chance to role-play their characters as individuals instead of them becoming defined as "one half of the Paladin/Cleric combo."

However, if you do nothing but continually challenge you fall into the trap of making the relationship become more important to the plot, and you end up frustrating the two players. Moderation is a good thing.

4)Make sure everyone is okay with the idea of a romance sub-plot. Now, while the Actors of the party are going to be cool with it (and depending on the gaming group's make-up may end up with people pairing off), make sure that everyone is okay with it. After all, some people play D&D for monster fighting and kingdom saving. Watching the Fighter and the Ranger make googly eyes at each other between combat encounters might not be their idea of a good time. Plus, it's always a good thing to check with your players for feedback from time to time.

In closing, romance is awesome, and adds alot to a D&D campaign. However, it has some dangerous pit-falls too. The key to avoiding them is communicating with your players. We'll see you back here in 7 for more D&D related thoughts.

Game Thesis Step 1: Theme, Tone and Setting

2010-05-12T00:10:00.004-04:00

Welcome dear companions back to Game Thesis, where we're gonna try to develop a Co-operative Super-Hero Adventure Board Game.

I suppose that we need to look at Super-Heroes themselves before we start this bad-boy. What follows is blatantly jacked from Wikipedia's article on the subject:

"A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes—ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas—have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1917.[1] A female superhero is sometimes called a superheroine (also rendered super-heroine or super heroine). "Super-heroes" is a trademark co-owned by DC Comics and Marvel Comics.[2] Superheroes are authentically American, spawning from The Great Depression era.

By most definitions, characters do not strictly require actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes,[3] although terms such as costumed crime fighters are sometimes used to refer to those such as Batman and Green Arrow without such powers who share other common superhero traits. Such characters were generally referred to as "mystery men" in the so-called Golden Age of Comic Books to distinguish them from characters with super-powers.

Normally, superheroes use their powers to police day-to-day crime while also combating threats against humanity by supervillains, who as their name implies are criminals of "unprecedented powers" in the same way that superheroes are crime fighters with "unprecedented powers," though just as with superheroes they do not necessarily need genuine superpowers. Generally, at least one of these supervillains will be the superhero's archenemy, though several popular and long-running series, such as Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man, each have a rogues gallery of archenemies. Superheroes sometimes will combat irregular threats that also match their powers, such as aliens, magical entities, godlike or demonlike creatures, and so forth."

Okay, so we know what super-heroes are, and we plan to try to utilize a variety of aspects in the game to make it feel like a super-hero game.

One of the discussions we've had here in the Tardis is one of tone. There's a variety of tones that the game could take (and some of them may be future expansions): Silver Age, Golden Age, Street Level Heroes, IN SPAAAAAAAACE, The 90s, Teen Heroes, Team Super-heroes, etc.

And what we've settled on is an attempt to make the system open-ended enough to accomodate a variety of styles. In the base set, I'm going to focus primarily on the Teen Super-Heroes from the shared comic book universe I and some of my college buddies were working on (a remnant of my CCG). Even within this frame work, adding a few characters from the other styles adds some diversity and gives a hint that this'll be covered at a later date.

The first player characters bring some themes (both in game tone and what kind of character they are)with them:

Alex "Shifter" Kinkaid/Justice: Street Level Hero, Teen Hero, Detective Work, Gadgets

Chloe Franklin/Ultra Girl: College Age, High Powered, Team

Courtney Taylor/Tiger Knight: Alien, Teen Hero, Romance, Coming of Age, Legacy, Team

Gwen MacDermont/Firefly: Teen Hero, Party Girl, Ranged Combat, Team

Jordan Jones/Knock: College Age, Street Level Hero, Gadgets, Romance, Team

Karmala (No Secret Identity): Fish Out of Water, Adult, Warrior Woman, High Powered, Mystic

Matthew Cole/Photon: Loner, Ranged Combat, Detective Work, Always on the Move, Hunted

Natalie Hart/Saffire: Teen Hero, Legacy, Ranged Combat, Mystic

Tom Turner/Claymore: Teen Hero, Team, Leader, Legacy

Z'Tryn Nar/Star Knight: Alien, High Powered, Space Cop, Ranged Combat, Fish out of Water

Now, overall the tone of the game will be four color heroics, but not skewed in the heroes favor. The villain will be played by a seperate player, and they need as much a chance to win as the team of heroes.

Looking at this, since the majority of the characters are from a teenaged team of heroes calling themselves the Peacemakers, some of the major themes of the base game will be of Teamwork, Legacy, and the Trials of Being a Teen-aged Superhero.

Join me in seven days as we go into how the game will work, and a discussion on the villains.

Apology

2010-03-15T11:30:00.002-04:00

Hey Gang, Dr. Cid here. I just wanted to apologize for the complete lack of updates on this blog. School got kinda hectic, combined with finally getting back into my house from Snow-mageddon...it's just been a rough month.

Also, I'm trying to figure out exactly what this blog is actually about. I mean, at the moment, we're a little all over the place, and I seriously think that we at 20 Sided Tardis need to sit down and figure out what we're about and what we're doing.

So, until we do, we're gonna be out for a bit. But don't worry, to paraphrase my favorite actor-turned-politician:

"We'll be back."

Game Thesis: Swordsman

2010-02-19T12:20:00.002-05:00

So, thanks to Snowmaggedon, I'm trapped at my In-Laws house, meaning that one of the few things of mine I have access to is my gaming books. So,if you're getting sick of these Game Thesis posts, well...to quote Delita Hyrial, "Blame yourself or blame God."

So, I'm an unabashed D&D player, and I'm totally one of those "4th Edition got more things right than it got wrong" players. And really most of my gaming problems I've had at the table the last few months have been incompatible play-styles and me trying to fit in with a group mid-adventure. Which sucks. Anyways, back to the topic, I like 4th Edition. But, one of the problems I'm having with 4th Edition is the lack of the lightly armored, agile swordsman.

I know what you're thinking even before you type in the comments section, "but Doctor, there's Ranger and Rogue and Swordmage, and..."

And you're absolutely right. But what if I want to play a lightly armored agile defender with a single sword between him and defeat? Someone who stands for his allies as a protector? And ISN'T arcanely powered? Someone who's as good as he is from talent and training and and not because he talks to spirits or can alter the fabric of reality. What class do I play then? Hmm? Anyone?

That's what I thought. And the fact is, this is a fantasy archtype that I can't believe isn't yet represented in 4th edition. I mean, look at the Lord of the Rings movies, which for this generation of gamers is some of the most inspiring images of fantasy.

What class is Aragorn? He doesn't rely heavily on his bow, nor does he have a pet or fight with two weapons. I guess Ranger is out. His armor (or lack thereof) limits he choices of what class he could be. And as for how he fights, he's probably a defender or leader. So, as far as I can tell from the movies and what classes are available...Aragorn, son of Arathorn, Ranger of the North and High King of the Reunited Kingdom of Men...is a Bard.

Oy. Or how about Richard Cipher from Legend of the Seeker? (*Author Note: I haven't read the Sword of Truth books, nor have I seen the second season of the show. I am basing my observations on the first season of the TV show. I'm aware that this might not paint the most accurate picture of Richard. And for that I apologize.)

So, in the show, despite Richard's magic sword, he's a skilled warrior and wears no armor (maybe Leather if the DM let's him call it that), using his sword for his defense. He also protects the other people he battles with and is clearly a defender.

So, what is this all building to, you ask? Well, I'm going to ask you, the loyal readers of this blog to help me on this one.

Should I begin to build a dedicated class to represent these mobile defenders, or perhaps build this as an alternate class feature for the supremely awesome Fighter class?

Let me know and we'll do this.

Books You Should be Reading

2010-02-11T14:15:00.007-05:00

I guess being late is my theme at this point, huh?

Let me just say that I hate snow. Being in the Greater Pittsburgh area Ive been seriously snowed in these past few days and I spent most of yesterday digging out and getting sured up in case another round of snow made its way in.

Anyway, on to the actual article. In my very first (god awful) post I made a list of my favorite Trade Paperbacks, and in that spirit of thinking you care what my opinions are I give you the first of a series of recommendations: Books You Should be Reading.

Today's offering: Incredible Hercules.As if you couldn't tell by the name this title spun out of Incredible Hulk in the aftermath (Aftersmash? Really Marvel?) of the crossover World War Hulk. In fact Herc even took over the numbering of the Green Goliaths series after Hulks failed invasion.

What happened with the Hulk? The less said of that the better (until next week *winkwinknudgenudge*).

The news series follows Hercules and new Character Amadeus Cho: The 7th Smartest Person in the World, a fact he is none too humble about.

The stories are classic superhero fare, and that's a good thing. So many comics, comic creators and indeed fans are desperate to separate themselves from superheroes as too juvenile or simplistic, but author Greg Pak embraces that simplicity and uses it to tell an amazing set of stories.

Drawing heavily on mythology, the Marvel version of it at least, our duo dynamic face a plethora mythic foes from Ares (HOT DAMN I'M EVIL!) to the Dark Elves or Norse myth. They even take a nice little swipe at the legendarily bad Amazons Attack with a much better Amazon war of there own.

The greatest achievement of this book, though, is when its looked at as a greater whole. The seemingly scattered story lines are all working together into an amazing tale about the growth of our two radically different heroes and the nature of heroism in a new age of myths. Comic heroes as myths of the modern age is nothing new, and Herc doesn't break any real new ground with it, but it uses this theory as a way to tie all its tales together give its readers an amazing read.

On top of that, its funny. Perhaps it has something to do with embracing classic Superheroing as much as it does, but Incredible Hercules never takes itself too seriously. The lead pair contrast each other, brains v brawn, in such amusing ways throughout the book that the only things funnier than their interactions are the fights scenes.

Incredible Hercules has been collected in four Trades so far: Against the World, Sacred Invasion (Featuring its 2nd and 3rd story lines), Dark Reign and Incredible Thorcules (:P).

With the current Assault on New Olympus storyline bringing everything to a head this is as good a time as any to pick up the book be it in the form of trades or back issues. Whether its because of its wonderful characters, great action or sense of humor, Incredible Hercules is one of the best books for anyone who loves comics or wants to love comics.(Of course even in Hercs big story Wolverine MUST be up front)

Game Thesis Interlude: Kamen Rider

2010-02-08T13:18:00.007-05:00

Welcome to the 20 Sided Tardis, where our opinions are bigger on the inside. Dr.Cid here and while its time for another Game Thesis segment, I'm going to take a break in order to post my thoughts and design ideas for a Kamen Rider RPG. Sorry,but this is going to be a long post. Hopefully the smattering of images and videos will help.

First, a little background on Kamen Rider. What follows is BLANTANTLY jacked from TvTropes.org 's entry on Kamen Rider:

A franchise of tokusatsu series created by Shotaro Ishinomori (who also created Cyborg 009) and produced by the Toei Company. A sister show to Super Sentai. Typically has a smaller main cast than Sentai (the title of each series refers to a single main Rider instead of Super Sentai's Five Man Band), but not always. Some series feature huge numbers of Riders, with the most extreme example being Kamen Rider Ryuki and its 15 Riders (although Kamen Rider Hibiki has a lot more if you count all the Riders seen briefly, or even just briefly mentioned).

Often involves insect-themed armour (concept largely ditched for the Heisei Riders, in which only a minority is insect-themed). And motorcycles. Tragically short on Combining Mecha. (although Kamen Rider Faiz did feature some nice, if non-humongous, mecha, and Kamen Rider Den-O had train cars...)

More recently, the first 10 or so riders have been revived in a manga series: Kamen Rider SPIRITS. As Bad Ass as they originally were, they become even more so.

The Kamen Rider franchise is generally divided into two distinct "eras" by fans, using the Japanese names for the time period in which they were made. The Showa Era consists of:

* Kamen Rider (1971-1973)
* Kamen Rider V3 (1973-1974)
* Kamen Rider X (1974)
* Kamen Rider Amazon (1974-75)
* Kamen Rider Stronger (1975)
* Kamen Rider Skyrider (1979-80; AKA New Kamen Rider; originally called simply Kamen Rider, it was intended as a Continuity Reboot, but the idea was abandoned)
* Kamen Rider Super-1 (1980-1981)
* Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! (1984 TV special; Starring Kamen Rider ZX)
* Kamen Rider Black (1987-1988)
* Kamen Rider Black RX (1988-1989)

In the 1990s, a trio of movies was made; though produced after the end of the Showa period (1989), American fans typically place them with the Showa series because of Ishinomori's involvement:

* Shin: Kamen Rider Prologue (1992 direct-to-video movie)
* Kamen Rider ZO (1993)
* Kamen Rider J (1994)

Every series created after the death of creator Shotaro Ishinomori is referred to as the Heisei Era:

* Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000-2001)
* Kamen Rider Agito (2001-2002)
* Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002-2003)
* Kamen Rider Faiz (555) (2003-2004)
* Kamen Rider Blade (2004-2005)
* Kamen Rider Hibiki (2005-2006)
* Kamen Rider Kabuto (2006-2007)
* Kamen Rider Den-O (2007-2008)
* Kamen Rider Kiva (2008-2009)
* Kamen Rider Decade (DCD) (2009)
* Kamen Rider Double (W) (2009-)

The first two series were retooled for a Darker And Edgier movie reboot franchise, currently consisting of two films: Kamen Rider The First (2005) and Kamen Rider The Next (2007). The first movie was an action-romance and was received relatively well. The second movie, which traded the romance for horror, was not so well received.

2009 also had Kamen Rider G, a TV special that was an Affectionate Parody of all things Kamen Rider, starring veterans from the show and members of the idol group SMAP. G also served as a teaser for Decade, with Tsukasa and the other nine Heisei Riders showing up to give G a pep talk during the final battle.

One series (Black RX) was brought over to the US, Power Rangers-style, as Masked Rider (1995-1996).

It tanked. Another series (Ryuki) has been similarly adapted as Kamen Rider Dragon Knight (2009). While the new adaptation was much closer to the spirit of the original, it didn't fare much better in the ratings.

There's a PS2 game called Kamen Rider Climax Heroes, which is basically a fighting game featuring all of the Heisei-era Protagonists, and Kamen Rider Climax Heroes W, which is pretty much the same as the original Climax Heroes, except it features Double and it's on the Wii instead of the PS2. In the West, the Climax Heroes W engine was Remade For The Export as a Dragon Knight game.

There also exist an arcade game, Kamen Rider Ganbaride, that work by collecting cards and scanning them into the machine.

So, being the giant Tokusatsu fans and RPG nerds that we are, some friends are working on a Kamen Rider RPG, and now I'm adding my thoughts (since I know at least one of them follows this blog).

Do, first off, the game NEEDS to be point-buy. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoy the seemingly endless amounts of customization that Point-Buy systems provide (despite my favorite gaming system [Star Wars Saga Edition] not using it).

Secondly, since both the Rider and the Rider System (hereafter referred to as the character and the Henshin Driver) are two seperate entities that can easily be parted and the Henshin Driver can be used by anyone in some cases (see Kamen Rider Kiva video below), then they need to have seperate point pools and need to almost be built as two seperate characters.

Now, since examples are the easiest way to put forth some of this information, I'll do a theoretical build of Kamen Rider Gale (wind based powers). So, lets say that I've statted up Tobyashi Hiro already, so I only need to focus on Gale.

First thing I want to purchase is 3 alternate forms, knowing that I'll pick up the 4 form later in the campaign. Ideally these alternate forms can then be tweaked as needed.

Gale's alternate forms are F2, F3, and F4 (classification of Tornados on the Fujita Scale), and F2 is faster than his F1 form, but lacks some of the punch, F2 is more defense heavy, and finally F4 is the full on slow but powerful form. Ideally when I get the points later on to pick up F5, he'll be powerful at everything (as Kamen Riders typically get a Final Form that's better all around).

So, each form has to draw from it's own pool to tweak things here and there. So, we need the Henshin Driver to be able to have enough points at the Start to be able to purchase an alternate form (since even the weapon forms can come later than the start of the show).

Also needed is the iconic ability of all Kamen Riders, the Rider Kick (yes,there's a handful of Riders who don't have a Rider Kick, but they're the minority). Now, we need a mechanic so that you can't just spam the Rider Kick every round until your opponent blows up.

Thankfully, D&D has something that we can borrow for just such an occasion.

For those of you who don't know, in D&D 4th Edition,there's a mechanic called "bloodied" which really just means "this d00d is at half their HP!" Now, having a restriction on performing the Rider Kick on a bloodied opponent is a good way to keep the cinematic "Kick,BOOM!" element of the show.

Of course, given that there're exceptions,I don't know if that's necessarily the best option...hmm. I'll come back to that.

Stats should be easy to do. Let's try to limit it to 6 stats, because its a nice round number and been the industry standard for about 30 years. Clearly it's a concept that's working.

So, we should have: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Perception and Willpower. Yeah, I know that these aren't ground breaking Stats, so let's just move on.

So, given that in universe you can only remained transformed for a certain period of time, and that a strong enough hit can knock you out of your transformed state, here's how to settle that.

You have an affinity rating with your Henshin Driver. As you increase your abilities, your affinity with the Driver will increase. Each round, you roll percentile dice. If you roll more than your Affinity rating, you slide down a step on the Henshin Timer. The Affinity can never get higher than 90%, and you probably should have an affinity for each alternate form you have. That way you can get knocked out of F4,but only revert to your base form for example.

In addition, there should be a Damage Threshold. Let's say it's your Str+Con Scores times 2. (i.e. Str 4+Con 6 x2= 20) and if a single attack deals more damage than that it slides you down the Henshin Timer. And should a single attack deal more damage than TWICE your Threshold,it knocks you out of your transformed state entirely.

Actually, going back to the Rider Kick, you can use the Henshin Timer as a limiting Mechanic. Each time you use said Kick, you slide down the Henshin Timer. I may be on to something here.

Combat needs to be fast, and the game needs to focus on story and character development, because while yeah, there's guys in bug armor kicking guys in rubber suits until they explode, the story is what really keeps bringing people back to Kamen Rider.

Wow, sorry this was so long. See you next Monday, Dear Companions. In the meantime...HENSHIN!

Confronting the refrigerator pt. 2

2010-02-04T11:51:00.009-05:00

(Warning: There may be some spoilers in this post. If you care, don't say I didn't warn you)

Well my first attempt at keeping a schedule here was a huge failure. I meant to have this up yesterday but work conspired against me once again. Oh well, best to move on.

Last week we dealt with the double standard of the Women in Refrigerators Syndrome. Today we take a look at the second, and in my not so humble opinion, the major problem with WiR as an argument; the literary aspect.

First lets take a look at a sample of Simones list, the As just to keep it simple:
All of Savage Dragon's girlfriends (dead)
Alysande Stuart (dead)
Amethyst (blinded, merged with Gemworld, destroyed in LSH; became a power-hungry witch in Book of Fate)
Apparition (one of her three bodies dead, soul bound to boyfriend)
Aquagirl (dead)
Arisia (dead)
Aurora (Multiple Personality Disorder, depowered)

These characters have one major thing in common, other than gender. They are all supporting characters.

(It may get a little gray when it comes to Amethyst, being on the Legion of Super Heroes and thus theoretically an equal member of the team, but anyone who reads a team book, especially one with a roster the size of LSH knows that eventually main characters float to the top depending on the writer; in the case of the Legion its their founding three and Brainiac Five in most cases though multiple reboots kinda muddy that water.)

A supporting character has one major role in literature; to enhance and expand the main characters story, to support them. They do grow, they have their own lives and their own plots, but in the end they exist to facilitate the main characters story.

Sometimes that means a character has to die.

Whether its Borimir getting filled with holes trying to save the Hobbits while showing that the story was getting into its darker phase, or Kamina making his Big Damn Heroes Sacrifice to eventually push Simon into acting like a MAN OF DESTINY!!! or Aeris getting sworded to move FFVIIs plot into high gear; characters die to serve the story.

Hell, X-Statix killed off pretty much its entire team in the first issue to set its tone (and throw the reader for a loop).

Simone herself knows this. In Wonder Woman she had supporting character Etta Candy tortured into a coma while in Secret Six she had Artemis of the Amazons beaten tortured threatened with rape and nearly killed (to the point that Wonder Woman showed up and thought she was dead).

This can get muddied in comics more so then in many other forms of literature though. As mentioned above we have the problem of the team book, but we also have the issue of characters that continue to be written for years if not decades, often under different hands. A supporting character that lasts long enough may grow popular enough for their own book. Problems arise then when they are in their original, home, series. In a batman book, Tim Drake is still a supporting character, but in Red Robin hes the hero (and he makes a damn fine cheese burger!).

In the end though, a supporting character (popular or not) must serve the main characters story, be it through their actions in life or their death.

That's not to say I don't see a problem here, because there is one. The problem isn't who gets killed, its who pulls the trigger. Not the villains, the writers.

Character death is cheap in comics. Part of it is the revolving door on the after life (its been barely 2 years since Steve Rogers died and hes back in the stars and stripes, Bruce Wayne barely went a year in the dirt before DC announced his come back). But a lot of it is the residual effect from the 90´s dark age of comics.

Characters died before, always have always will. But one of the good things about the ¨lighter and happier¨ times of of the Silver Age was that if a character died they usually went out like a hero.

Look at the original Supergirl. She single handedly beat down the biggest, baddest mutha fucka in existence, the Anti Monitor. She would have taken him down but for a lucky shot from Monty, but she still saved the day, she went out like a hero.

Yes, not everyone can go out fighting the living embodiment of destruction because that would cheapen heroic sacrifices. But comics have come to treat death and horror in pretty much all shapes something cheap to be thrown in to a story.

Need to start an event book, kill a Teen Titan or two. Need to make a character deep, kill their loved ones. Yes it adds drama and depth when done well, but when its plastered over every book it becomes tawdry and pointless, existing only for shock value.

Supergirls death was epic and awe inspiring. Captain America and Superman's deaths were heart breaking and tragic. Marvin and Wendy got eaten by a demonic Wonder Dog. I expect that shit from a teenager writing a fan fic, not professional authors.

What I'm trying to say is that the problem isn't that terrible things happen to female characters. The problem is that terrible (and terribly written) things happen to characters too often and for too little purpose.

For fucks sake writers, find a better way to use your characters, or at least a better way to finish using them.

Dr. Cid vs. Final Fantasy X Part 4

2010-01-31T17:37:00.007-05:00

Welcome to 20 Sided Tardis, where our opinions are bigger on the inside.

Dr. Cid here, I'm gonna post this today, instead of my usual Monday update because I have an exam I have to study for. Anyways, it's time to dive right back into Final Fantasy X.

So, after Wakka rescues Aquaman from the big bad ocean, they fight another smaller boss monster and head to Kilika. Turns out the peaceful village of Kilika was wiped out by Sin, and now they're asking Yuna (in her role as Summoner) to send the spirits of the dead to the Farplane, so they won't become fiends.

So, the monsters that I've been beating up are...people? Okay, that's a new twist, and I kinda like it. I also, like Yuna acting as a priest, something that most adventuring White Mages and Clerics don't have to deal with a lot. And my own feelings toward organized religion aside, I like seeing these kinds of things. DMs, GMs and Storytellers take note: Sometimes being a Cleric means more than casting Cure Light Wounds and using Healing Word.

So, we get treated to what I feel is the MONEY SHOT FMV of the game. Yeah, there's some cool ones involving a Wedding and some underwater make-outs later, but this one is probably my favorite one of the game, and easily the most iconic of the universe they're setting up. The sending. You know what, I'm gonna let the cutscene speak for itself on this.

Now that you all know my pain on the voice acting in this thing...

Afterward, the crew heads up to the Kilika temple, and go through the Cloister of Trials to get Yuna her next Aeon, and we fight a Sin Spawn. Apparently, Sin (ever the fun guy), leaves bits of itself behind and if people don't kill them fast enough, he comes back and causes damage AGAIN! What a great world these people live in.

So, the village safe again, we head back to the boat (cue T-pain) and head off to Luca, where Yuna is certain someone'll recognize the time-lost Tidus.

You know, I cannot begin to describe how stupid this plan is.

"So, yeah, I'm from Troy."

"Like Troy, went to war with Greece over Helen, Troy?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"And you played Football there?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so despite Troy being wiped off the map a thousand years ago, we're gonna take you to the Superbowl to see if anyone knows who you are."

Riiiight, this plan is right up there with "Get her!" This is why Ray doesn't make the plans, guys. So, Tidus begins going through his head what an amazing Blitzer his dad was, and Yuna keeps making googley eyes at Tidus, wanting him to be one of her bajillion guardians. Apparently, Jecht and Auron were her Dad's guardians, so I guess she's hoping bad ass runs in the family. No such luck here, sister.

So, Tidus battles some of his demons and unlocks the secrets of the Jecht Shot (a blitzball technique that's apparently bad ass).

The Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III. So Badassed, you're sexually aroused just seeing it.

Go him. Also, there's some stuff going on between Lulu and Wakka, most of it involving Wakka's brother Chappu.

God, who came up with these names?

So, we get to Luca and proceed to get the usual scenes of various dignitaries arriving at the festivities. Including...Seymour Guado.

Let me start off by saying this. Wakka, I'm sorry. When I called you "the most ridiculous looking character in all of Final Fantasy". Honestly, where do I begin with Seymour...

First off, that hair alone is not only the stuff of nightmares, but also the reason that 90% of Final Fantasy Cosplayers get made fun of on the internet. Somedays I'm convinced that Nomura is sitting at his drawing table, laughing at stupid cosplayers while adding more physics defying clothes and stupid hair.

Know what, the character designs in this game are just stupid in general. Let's just move on.

So, Tidus picks a fight with the local champion Blitzball team, the Luca Goers (no, seriously, who comes up with these names?!), and ends up on the Spira equivalent to the TV. Wakka gets Tidus under control and in the locker room, we go over the Blitzball Tutorials. Which are painful. Luckily Yuna arrives to save me (wow, those were words I never thought I'd type) telling me Auron is somewhere in Luca. Fuck yes! To hell with Wakka and his blitz game, I'm gonna find Auron and we're gonna go on badass adventures. Like so:

Yuna and Tidus have a scene that I'm sure'll come up later, hence me bringing it up. Afriad of getting separated, Tidus tries teaching Yuna to whistle, (apparently Whistling is also derived from Blitzball, did you know that?!), and explains that if they get separated, all she has to do is whistle and he'll come running.

Well, we get to the bar where someone saw Yuna and some Ronzo start picking a fight with Kimahri. I totally forgot he was even there. Well, Kimahri responds by punching a Ronso in the face so hard it knocks him out in one shot! Hell yeah, he may not talk much, but don't fuck with the furry, cause he will KICK YOUR ASS!!!

Well, while we're distracted with Kimahri finally doing something cool, Yuna was kidnapped by the Al-Bhed, who want the Aurochs to throw the Blitzball tournament, or they'll hurt Yuna. Since Wakka is busy playing, looks like it's up to Tidus, Scooby and Lulu to save the white mage.

So the three of us battle some machine robot things (which Lulu tells me are weak to lightning...as if I didn't know that already), and we proceed to the boat that the Al-Bhed hold our captive Summoner...who apparently freed herself and was in the process of escaping when we go there.

And at this point, I think I may be in love with Yuna. She's kind, she's sweet, cares for others...and when she gets captured, she'll crack skulls instead of waiting for me to do all the damn work. Sorry, Zelda, your knights in another castle.

Tidus inspects the ship, hoping that maybe these Al-Bhed are the ones who rescued him earlier in the game, but they're not. He also finds out that Yuna is Al-Bhed on her mother's side and is told not to tell Wakka.

So, The Aurochs win the first round of the Tournament, and Wakka seems beat. See, this whole rescue was inter cut with scenes of the match, and includes a bit of dialogue between Lulu and Tidus that is HILARIOUS out of context.

Tidus: Hey, Wakka's still in there!
Lulu: Chappu would still be standing after all that.
Tidus: Ouch.

So, the gang rejoin and Tidus goes in to the Blitzball match, and I have to say...I HATE this mini-game. Like I hate it more than I hate just about anything else.

See, I grew up with a brother, which means I've got plenty of Sports Video Games under my belt. So, the fact that the players move themselves, you don't control ANYTHING on Defense, and you can only pass and/or shoot whenever the game decides you can is RIDICULOUS. I've played FFX three times. And each time, I've had a different experience with this tournament. The first time was a close match, with me losing 2-3. The second time was a ridiculous affair where I won like 8-0, and this time through, I got into a place where I could shoot the ball twice. Neither went in.

Honestly, this is probably one of the biggest failings of FFX. The players move on a 2D field, when 3D would've been cooler and still within the systems limitations. I'm sorry, but when the Harry Potter Quidditch game on the GAMECUBE is more fun and a better made sports game than this, there's problems.

Seriously, this shouldn't be better than THIS:

And I know, it's a MINI-game. It's supposed to be a side-thing. I get that. But at the same time, clearly it's the defining event in this world. Yuna even all but says that Blitzball is the only sport/hobby/recreational event in all of Spira (which is really fucking weird, but whatever). You'd think it be a better crafted min-game for clearly being that important to the game world.

God I hate this game. Thankfully, it asks me if I want to save, and I take this moment to end my misery, if only for a while.

Confronting the refrigerator

2010-01-27T11:23:00.012-05:00

Long time no see. Sorry this second post took so long, I got hit pretty hard by work as well as a bad case of the fuckits, but I'm back with another overly opinionated post for your reading pleasure.

As the good Dr already mentioned this little rant is about one of the more controversial topics in comic book fandom, the so called Women in Refrigerators Syndrome.

Coined by Author Gail Simone on her site of the same name the syndrome refers to the negative treatment of female characters in super hero comic books ranging from abuse to rape to murder; and is named after what its sadly still one of the defining moments of Kyle Rayner the fifth Green Lantern ; the gruesome murder of his girlfriend Alex by government psycho for hire Major Force.

Naturally once the site gained notoriety among fans and authors the treatment of women in comics became a hot button issue. How were comics supposed to grow their reader base if female readers saw female characters treated in such a way.

Of course its not like it really changed much, the original letter by Simone that lead to the site is now over a decade old and thus predates the horror that is Identity Crisis.

There are, however, two major problems with the idea of the Women in Refrigerators Syndrome that make it somewhat weaker as a rallying cry to change the industry.

The first is the double standard intrinsic in its very nature. Yes, terrible things happen to female characters in comic books and its often done for shock value. But it happens just as frequently to males, if not more frequently considering the higher percentage of male characters.

Take for example Jason Todd, the second Robin and one of the most famous deaths in comics. Lured to a foreign country by the mother that abandoned him, beaten to near to death by a cackling Joker and then exploded the rest of the way all to get at Batman.

Another example is Terry Berg, another character from Kyle Rayner's time as the only Green Lantern. Terry was Kyles assistant, he was also gay. One night some homophobes found Terry coming out of a club and beat him so brutally that it drove Kyle to leave the planet in disgust at humanity.

Or perhaps we should look at Kyle himself, since this all started with him. In the past few years alone Kyle has been relegated to a supporting role (one of the things that can land someone on Simone's list) in favor of Hal ¨Captain Cardboard¨ Jordan, possessed by the same entity that (retroactively) possessed Jordan to make Hal look better by comparison, and then killed. He got better from the last part, but so do most comic book deaths so it still counts.

But, some may say, these events are terrible to be sure, but at least the male characters don't have to deal with the worst bit of thing to come out of modern comics; rape as character development. And to that I say, WROOONG!

Just look at the Bat Family once again. In the past few years both Dick Grayson, the first Robin/Nightwing/now Batman, and Bruce ¨The God Damn Batman¨ Wayne himself were drugged and raped by female villains and Bruces rape even produced a child (they retconned that during the night Bruce spent with Talia Al´Ghul she drugged him before the hit the sack together).

Terrible things happen to comic book characters, male or female, but there is no out cry when it happens to the men. Oh sure fans of the character may bitch or call ¨shitty retcon¨ but there is no website for it, no one is accused of sexism for it. Hell, Judd Winick, the creator of Terry Berg, won awards for having a gay guy beaten to a pulp in his comic! Yeah it was from GLAAD for his treatment of the subject... but the point still stands.

Alright this post is getting long enough as it is, so I think it´s time to end it. I´ll be back to confront the second major problem with Women in Refrigerators next week, Same Dork Time, Same Dork Channel.

Green Lantern Part 1

2010-01-25T10:49:00.011-05:00

Welcome to 20 Sided Tardis, where are opinions are bigger on the Inside.

Okay, so we all know that the staff here at the Tardis are a bunch of unrepentant comic book nerds. Between the comic book and comic book inspired card game I'm creating, and The Ed's GIANT WALL OF TEXT telling you what trades you should be reading, you can guess that we're at least somewhat up on our comic book lore.

So, The Ed and I discussed a few ideas for upcoming blogs, and he and I decided we were going to express our views on something that is near and dear to our hearts. Women in Refrigerators.

So, I thought I would do The Ed a favor and bring you guys up to speed on Green Lantern (as a set-up to The Ed's article).

Green Lantern was created WAAAAAAAAAAAYY back in the day by Bill Finger and Martin Nodell during the Golden Age of Comics. The first man to bear the title of the Green Lantern was Alan Scott. Alan was an engineer who found a magic ring that could create anything he imagined, but had a weakness to wood. (I don't know, it's a thing). Now, Alan's a cool old dude these days, serving as the Obi-Wan to the youngsters in the JSA. But, since he's not the familiar Green Lantern, I'm gonna jump ahead to them.

In the late 50's, early 60's, DC Comics began revamping their older heroes with a more Science Fiction tone. The Flash was the first character to recieve such a revamp. Flash's success lead editor Julius Schwartz (ARCHITECH OF THE SILVER AGE!) to commission other revamps. One of them was Green Lantern.

Gone was engineer Alan Scott and his magic ring, replaced by Test Pilot Hal Jordan and his alien tech ring. Jordan was but one member of the galaxy spanning Green Lantern Corps, a group of intergalactic policemen. His ring could create constructs, same as Scott's, but Hal's ring had a weakness over the color yellow (I cannot make this up).

And things progressed like this for around 30 years. Yeah, sales would drop on Green Lantern, and they'd shake things up by removing him for a bit (leading to two of my favorite Green Lanterns, Guy Gardner and John Stewart...the one from Justice League, not the one from the Daily Show), but for the most part, Hal stuck around. Hal Jordan WAS Green Lantern, just like Bruce Wayne was Batman and Clark Kent was Superman.

Anyways, back in the mid-90s, sales on Green Lantern were crap. We're talking lowest point ever kinda crap. Hal Jordan was...eh fuck it, IS a boring character. (When the guy responsible for "returning you to glory" can only define you by being fearless, you're boring. Being completely without fear is dumb. Fear is one of those emotions that ties everyone together. We're all afraid of something. Get some real characterization, Jordan!)

Anyways, so, Hal's boring, the Dark Age of Comics are in full swing, and since the major shake-ups at Superman and Batman worked SO STUPIDLY WELL, DC Comics decided that they were gonna do the same thing for Hal.

Kinda. I guess they got bit by the "THIS ISSUE EVERYTHING CHANGES!!" bug, but they instead, had Hal Jordan, grief stricken over his failure to protect his hometown from being destroyed (which happened in a damn SUPERMAN book!)tried to use his ring to resurrect Coast City.

The Guardians (the dudes in charge of the Corps) told Jordan to report to Oa (GL HQ) for disciplinary action. Jordan snapped. He went on a killing spree, determined to get all the Green Lantern power and make himself a god. And...he actually succeeded. He killed the Green Lantern Corps, his arch-nemesis, all but one of the Guardians, and absorbed the Central Power Battery. All in all, not Hal's most heroic day, but if you have to kick off your career as a villain, WOW! What a note to start on!

The last surviving Guardian, creates a new ring and passes it on (without instructions) to Kyle Rayner, struggling Freelance Graphic Artist.

Now, I was 11 when I started reading Green Lantern, and I had started right as Hal had gone off the deep end. When I say that everything I learned from Green Lantern, I learned as Kyle Rayner did, I mean it. Kyle is and always shall be my Green Lantern. I don't care what DC Comics says and/or does.

This became one of the most controversial decisions in comics at the time. And this is when LIEFELD was popular! So, that should say something about the fan outcry.

So, Kyle is the ONLY Green Lantern, and pretty much has to learn by doing. Luckily, his down to earth girlfriend, Alex DeWitt is there to help him figure this stuff out. He gets a team-up with Mullet! Superman within like 2 issues of his debut, and then boom! Alex is killed by Z-List Villain Major Force and stuffed into a Refrigerator.

Now, imagine being 12 years old when this happens. This messed me up for a good long while. And apparently, as The Ed will go into, I wasn't the only one. What kills me is that reading Major Force's Wikipedia Entry, THIS is his big claim to fame. He's the guy who killed Green Lantern's girlfriend and stuffed her into the fridge. THAT'S IT. And really, that's sad.

So, Kyle moves to New York, joins the Titans, dates Donna Troy (who as far as I'm concerned is the only woman for Kyle), and starts growing into his role as a hero, even going so far as to join the Justice League.

So, Kyle's a great guy, and he's coming into his own as a character and developing a fan base. Problem is...what Hal's been up to all this time...and for Hal Jordan fans it wasn't pretty...

But at least his costume is badass...

Game Thesis Part 3: Villains

2010-01-18T10:55:00.003-05:00

Welcome to 20-Sided Tardis, where our opinions are bigger on the Inside. Dr. Cid here, and its time once again for Game Thesis!

Okay, so, we have the 8 Heroes that the players can choose from (although, I may add more, just for additional variety). Now, though, we’re gonna talk about what makes every Hero great. The Villains!

Originally in the game, we had 4 Villain characters, and the Villains operated just like their Heroic counterparts. For turning this into an adventure game, I’m thinking that going back to the drawing board is the best option.

Now, I’ll admit that my board gaming experience as of late has been completely influenced by the after D&D board game sessions we rock. So, if it sounds like I’m using other games as an inspiration…well, I am a bit. The trick’ll be doing it differently enough that it feels fresh.

So, I have four villains, one of whom is more of an Anti-Hero than full villain. So, he’s out. Maybe I’ll add him if I increase the hero count. But in the rewrite of Tiger Knight I’m adding Villain/Love Interest Dr. Dynamo, so that puts me back up at 4. I’ll make up some bad guys, maybe a loving homage to Jack Kirby creation and legendary Villain Darkseid…

So, after some time at a sketchbook, here’s the Villain Cast:

Quinlann Sebboh, Solnari Warlord
Gravitation, Architect of the Revolution
Igneous, Genetically Altered CEO
Dr. Dynamo, Legacy of a Mad Scientist
Hellhawk, Embodiment of the Dark Age
Omega, Omnicidal Maniac
Tyrannor, Alien Conqueror
G.O.D.L.E.S.S., Guild of Destruction, Larceny, Evil, Spite and Savagery.

I’m not necessarily happy with the last one, but I wanted an Injustice Gang/Legion of Doom kinda thing, and most of the good names are taken.

So, now that we have some villains, how do they work? Here’s how, at least here’s what I’m thinking.

The Villain cards are over-sized Dual Sided Cards. (I love using both sides of a card!) One Side is the Planning Phase, the other is the Active Phase.

During the Villain’s Planning Phase, the Villain’s not technically in Play. They’re moving pieces around the chessboard, setting up things, and generally being a vague nuisance to the Heroes. The Planning Stage indicates when the Villain goes into the Active Phase. There are going to be two ways to do this usually, the Heroes are being Awesome, or the Heroes are not being awesome.

During the Active Phase, the Villain finally enters play, and has the powers listed on this side of the card. Also listed will be the way to defeat said Villain. Most of the villains will most likely be defeated through combat, but I can foresee some of them having alternate win conditions.

Now, the big question is: Do we have a player control the villain, and all the minions and things, making it one player vs. the rest (which a few games do), have no one control the bad guys, so they need rules on how they move, who they attack, etc. on them (like Arkham Horror), or have it rotate every turn, so that each player takes turns being the bad guys? I wanna hear your input on this, so comment away!

Next on the Agenda: Civilians, Plot Points, and how they relate to each other!

...grows the beard.

2010-01-11T13:49:00.007-05:00

Welcome to 20-Sided Tardis, where our opinions are bigger on the Inside. Dr. Cid here, and I have to announce that we're making some changes here in the blog. First off, new logo. Now we look all swanky. Next, the subjects are going away from the "...does the thing" format and to something that'll make it easier to find an old post later. Also, I'm going to adopt an update schedule. I,personally will be updating every Monday. I dunno when my fellow bloggers here are going to be updating,but Mondays are mine! So, hang on tight, dear companions, its time once again for Game Thesis!

Last time, I went into my own personal history, as well as the primary goal of these segments. We’re gonna convert my still-in-development CCG into an Adventure Board Game. Now, I suppose that we need to start at the very beginning of it all, the characters that the Players will be playing as.

In the CCG, there were 8 Playable Main Characters, 4 Heroic and 4 Villainous. As a board game, I prefer the more co-operative antics of Arkham Horror over the dicking each other over-ness of the Order of the Stick Adventure Game. So, first thing we need to do is remove the Villains for now.(Don’t worry, we’ll come back to them in a later entry.)

So, that leaves Max Taylor (our eponymous Hero), Kate McCoy (His Best Friend/Love Interest), Shifter Kinkaid (His Rival for Kate’s affections, and another Major Hero in Castlefalls), and Natalie Hart (a 3rd Generation Super-Hero/High School Queen Bee).

Now, since the last iteration of the CCG, the characters of Max and Kate got replaced by Courtney Taylor, who takes over Main Character status of the book. So, we’re down to 3 Heroes. This isn’t looking to be as easy as I thought.

Luckily enough, a couple of buddies of mine were also writing comics that take place in this same universe. A couple of quick text messages later, and I can bump up the character count to 8 Heroes. Badass.

So, our cast now looks like:

Courtney Taylor/Tiger Knight
Shifter Kinkaid/Justice
Natalie Hart/Saffire
Tom Turner/Claymore
Gwen McDermont/Firefly
Chloe Franklin/Ultra Girl
Jordan Jones/Knock
Matthew Cole/Photon

Okay, so that’s the cast. A bunch of meaning less names at the moment. I would give you context, but the names aren’t really important at the moment (and we’ll get into each of them at a later point anyway).

Originally in the card game, your Main Character was identified by a Persona card, and Dual-Sided Character cards leveled 1-3. The Persona card represented the core of the character and it’s game text was active on all versions of that character in addition to whatever game text was on the character cards.

The dual sided character cards had the Hero Identity on One Side and the Civilian on the other, and at the start of the turn, you chose what identity was active (there were cards to allow you to switch your decision mid-turn).

So, far, I don’t see a reason to change these mechanics. Make the Persona card bigger (like those Over-sized Hero Cards that WoW TCG gives out), and add a Health tracker to it.

Health in the CCG was done with damage counters on each card, and I was never a big fan of it. It got cumbersome, especially if you had any additional counters. So, health tracker on your Persona card.

Now, the characters were Level 1-3, so that they could grow and change over the course of the game, developing new powers and whatnot. I’d like to keep this, but that’ll be determined on if I have an experience generating mechanic I like.

Okay, so we have our core characters, we know that they’ve got a Persona card that has game text on it, and a character card that is dual sided. Next time, dear companions, we’ll start working on the villains.

...goes to the drawing board.

2010-01-08T12:47:00.010-05:00

Welcome to 20-Sided Tardis, where are Opinions are bigger on the inside. Sorry about the rash of time between updates, but between the New Year Holiday and the snowstorm making me want to spend all my time in bed, I haven't felt like updating.

Again, I apologize. Also, I'd like to be the first to wish our readers a Happy New Year! Now, onto the meat of today's post.

I'm introducing a new segment today, which I am hereby titling "Game Thesis". So, break out those card sleeves and warm up those 20 siders, and let's jump right into Game Thesis!

Now, I have to do some obligatory background exposition, and for that I'm sorry.

I love CCGs (collectable card games for those of you who aren't card chuckers...or customizable card games if you're a Decipher nut like I am), and have been playing them since Magic came out. In fact, I've played MOST CCGs that have been out, (minusing some of the ridiculous licenses like Austin Powers). But the one I fell most ass over shoulders in love with was Decipher's Star Wars CCG.

Now, this comes as no surprise to some of you that I am a huge Star Wars nerd, so this CCG was like that magical combination of chocolate and peanut butter to me. The game was in depth, required strategy, had many, many different ways to play, and was an artistically great interpetation of the Star Wars universe in Card Game form, and the templates these cards are on has set the bar for me (artistically) on what a card could look like. (Although Honorable Mention goes to the Star Trek CCG's Second Edition)

That's not to say that the game didn't have problems, because it did. In the rules, they stated that the average game lasts 45 minutes, but I have YET to play a game that fast. Usually games would last 2-3 hours and then my brother and I would declare "Final Battle!!!" move all our characters to the same location and have one last winner take all fight.

Ah. good times.

Also the with the strategy being as complex as it was, that lead to one of the most confusing games to explain to new comers. Decipher ended up releasing TWO more Star Wars themed games (both with lower complexity) in order to try to lower what I like to refer to as the "New Player Threshold."

The New Player Threshold is the point as which the new player goes "Oh, okay, so if I do this, this and this, that happens." Basically when you have to stop explaining everything to them. Magic, despite having 9,000,000 keywords (words that have rules attached to them used to save space), has a fairly low "NPT." Star Wars didn't.

The game lasted until Episode II came out. Then Lucasfilm went with powerhouse Wizards of the Coast, who made a mediocre Card Game. During that time, I played the excellent if undermarketed Buffy CCG, the Wonderful Lord of the Rings CCG, and Magi-Nation, the best game that nobody played.

And during this dark age of CCGs for me, I discovered that something was missing. And I couldn't put my finger on it. And then, my Dad, smart guy that he is, told me "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

Okay, Dad might not have been talking about my specific situation, but like an episode of House, a light went on and I started designing my own CCG.

And behold I did. And it was...okay.

It was based on the fictionalized exploits of me and my brother and our fighting. It was the CCG equivalent of a the first Fanfic someone writes. Full of self-insert Mary Sues. But mechanically it was sound. It got through a few playtest games before I decided to merge it with my comic book. Try to create something a little more marketable and solid.

What a difference Art School and a few years make on the design and art of the game, huh?

And that concludes the the history section, onto the mission and what you can look forward to in future Game Thesis segments.

The CCG market isn't what it used to be. At all. The games are drying up, and if a game doesn't have a built in marketable license, or is Magic, it's dying a quick painless death.

But "adventure games" (board games with more rules, cards and usually played in about 3 hours) are popular enough, and can provide enough story elements to satisfy my need to have my game be about more than just punching the other guy. So, tune in next time, dear companions as we set about converting a CCG with almost of decade of work behind it into an Adventure Game!

...takes on the World. Part 3

2009-12-31T13:24:00.009-05:00

Welcome to 20-Sided Tardis, where our opinions are bigger on the inside.

I hate this game. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. "Oh, it's a Final Fantasy, it can't be bad, right? I mean, Final Fantasy IX is an AMAZING game. This can't keep pissing me off, can it?"

I was wrong. And since Schadenfreude makes the world laugh, dear companions, I dive back into the crap fest that is Final Fantasy X.

Yes, I realize that is a bad pun. There is a Pun Hell, and I am going to it. I may be driving the bus.

So, we last left Tidus being told to go to the temple and introduce himself to the Summoner. But first, Wakka checks to make sure he knows the prayer to Yevon. As it turns out, it (much like everything in the damn game) goes back to Blitzball and was a sign for Victory in the sport back in Tidus's time.

Now armed with the rudimentary knowledge to not get himself lynched, Tidus goes to the temple, we sit through some cutscenes where Tidus gets some exposition dropped on him, makes excuses about getting too close to Sin, and then makes a reference to how pathetic it is that he's making the same excuse over and over again.

Really game...thank you for doing my job for me. I thought Final Fantasy XII was the only game that did that.

At the break of dawn, Wakka is summoned by the Old Dude from the Temple (I guess he's the Summoner? See, Pun Hell) and rushes off. Tidus wakes up and goes to see what the commotion is.

Turns out the apprentice Summoner has been inside the Cloister of Trials too long and people are getting worried. Wakka says that she has her Guardians, so she'd be fine, but Tidus decides that if someone's in trouble, he's off to save them, rules be damned.

And I'll admit, here's where I start to like the douchebag. Yeah, he's got a girly haircut, an outfit only a Squeenix character could love and whines waaaay too much, but he's always ready to stupidly jump into action for a hot chick.

I can respect that.

So, they go in and we meet the rest of the party, Lulu and Kimahri.

Lulu would probably be told that after a certain age women can't pull off the Loli look, but she's a Black Mage and a snarky bitch at that, which means I love her to death.

And Kimahri...speaks in "Fuck You" glances.

Neither of them are pleased by Tidus's appearance. But it's all made better when the apprentice summoner comes out of the Chamber of the Fayth and...

Wait. Hold on, just a second there.

Fayth? Fayth? Someone decided that Faith had to be spelled with a Y? What were you afraid of what people might say if your fantasy games series, one where a headmaster gave a bunch of his students a magic lamp that contained the fucking devil I might add, had something resembling a religious overtone? Seriously, the whole plot of the game is a holy pilgrimage to the various temples of Spira so that Yuna can ask more Gods for help kicking Cthulu's ass!

...which sounds kinda awesome, but still...Fuck you and your Poor Literacy Square! You and Midway can suck my dictionary!

Rant aside, Yuna emerges and claims that she's a summoner now. And since I've commented on every one else's character designs, I guess Yuna's up next.

Actually, I like this design. It's a little "traditional Japanese" for my fantasy setting tastes, but Yuna is a White Mage and you can tell. Hello hot priest lady.

So, there's some more cutscenes and Yuna summons a big wind bird thing. Tidus makes eyes at Yuna, and Wakka informs blondey that she's WAY out of his league. Yuna then talks to Tidus, hits on him in a shy, white magey way and we call it an evening.

/Sarcasm Gee, is the Shy, Sheltered White Mage and the hot-tempered brash hero with the sword gonna make out later? "I never would've seen this coming. What an amazing development." /end Sarcasm.

So, after a dream where Jecht makes fun of your inability to land a woman (is the game trying for meta humor there?), the gang departs, Tidus is going with the group, because they're all eventually going to Luca, where a giant Blitzball tournament is held.

Great, more Blitzball. Okay, I get that Final Fantasy VII broke the mold and became mainstream, and that the other Final Fantasy games had to follow suit. I get that. I really do. I have a memory of the distinct moment I realized that had happened.

But c'mon, shoehorning in a SPORTS mini-game? And making it part of the plot, and setting to the point where everyone's okay taking time off from hunting the eldritch abomination to play and/or watch the game?!

We do not need the frat boy douchebag demographic that bad. We're RPG Gamers, not those Halo Fuckers. (Author's Edit: This was said in a moment of rage and I was in the moment. I have nothing against Halo, or those that play it. I just hate some of those stereotypical players that ruin it for everybody else. You know who they are.)

So, on the long walk back to the beach to catch our boat, it seems that every random encounter is actually a tutorial on how to use the abilities of the party. Remember when games didn't give you tutorials? When if you bought the game used without the manual (from the Video Game Exchange), then you had hours of experimentation while you played the game. No more my friends, now the games have so many controls and so many buttons that you can expect the first 20% of the game (which for an RPG is like the first 2-3 hours) sprinkled with Tutorials and Exposition.

Not only that but I can sum the tutorials as follows: If it's a dog, Tidus smacks it. If it's a bird, Wakka hits it, and if it's a blob, have Lulu magic it. Summons are for big things, and Kimahri doesn't like you.

Thank you for telling me the obvious. Now, there's also a party member switching mechanic, and you're encouraged to swap people in and out so everyone gains EXP, but really every fight after the tutorial parts up to the Bliztball Tournament is basically: Dog, Flyer, Blob.

Awesome. I hate this game.

So, we get down to the beach, get on a boat and a Map shows where we're going all Indiana Jones style. We then do the typical RPG we're on a boat sequence, which is nothing like this.

Actually...I guess it's kinda like that, minus T-Pain...And after a bit, a boss fight breaks out with Sin! Awesome.

So, after beating the whale-fin...thing, Tidus is knocked overboard and Wakka goes in to save him.

What is it with this guy and being unconscious underwater? Wait...Blonde Hair, Breathes Underwater, has a water based weapon and no one takes him seriously...I know Tidus's great secret...

HE"S AQUAMAN!!!

Holy shit. I think I need a drink.

...builds a wall [of text]

2009-12-30T12:39:00.017-05:00

Welcome to 20-Sided Tardis where our opinions are bigger on the inside. I am The Ed - Thou Shalt Have No Strange Eds Before Me - yet another geek who thinks you care what I have to say.

While the Good Doctor continues his rant on FFX (seriously man, that thing will be ludicrously long if you´re gonna recap the entire game) I'm going to move on to a different Geek subject: Comic Books.

One note first: This is a list of Trades, or Trade Paperbacks as they are sometimes called; collections of complete story arcs or connected/related stories from the same book, character or creator. They are NOT Graphic Novels. There are no such things as Graphic Novels; that is just a term for Comic Books used by people to cowardly or embarrassed to admit that they read Comic Books. This is a list of Comic Books, plain and simple

With that little rant out of the way, lets get to the meat of this post.

The Ed´s Top 10 Comic Book Trades in no particular order

10. Grendel: Black White and Red/Grendel: Red White and Black by Matt Wagner. Grendel is by far one of my favorite characters in all of comics and Matt Wagner is one of the best and most under appreciated writers out there. These collections are made up of several short stories about Hunter Rose, the first character to take the persona of Grendel and the one who started a legacy that lasted over five centuries. Each story is drawn by a different artist hand picked by Wagner to fit the short story. Each artist fits the story pretty well, but the best part of the art, and where the name comes from, is the colors. Every single story is in black and white with the only other color being red, and that is reserved for dramatic moments and or splashes of blood. This style really lends itself to the noir-ish aspect of the character of Hunter Rose all the way from his first assassination to his control of the all crime on the East Coast to the centuries long legacy he inspired. If you´re interested in picking up this intelligent and interesting opus, these two books are a fine place to start.

9. Mage: The Hero Discovered/Mage the Hero Defined by Matt Wagner. Like I said, Wagner is one of my favorite authors out there and this list really shows it. While Grendel was Wagner's take on the Anti-Hero/Villain Protagonist and the concept of aggression, Mage was/is his take on the classic Hero´s Journey. Our main character is Kevin Matchstick, a character loosely based on the author, as he faces challenges out of classical mythology and comes to grips with the fact that he both has an effect on his life and the world in the first book, and his responsibilities to that world and his friends in the second. The characters in these books are, of course, their greatest strength. Matchstick himself is an interesting look at the Authors own view of himself and the world and how he has come to grips with his place in it. Every character has their own voice and personality that will have you rooting for all of them by the end. The character of Myrth, our titular Mage, takes the role of The Obi Wan/The Trickster Mentor and plays it perfectly, letting the reader feel all the frustration and humor in the half truths and riddles he uses to guide our hero. The second book gives us Kirby Hero: The Olympian, a wonderful examination of the Friendly Rival archetype with his relationship with Matchstick as well his interaction with the ongoing plot. The only major problem with these stories is the art. Wagner is the artist as well as the writer and while his art get progressively better once we reach the second book the first books art is lacking and can distract from the story, but at least the trade paper back got rid of the original air brushed coloring, which REALLY improves it. Side note, these are the first 2 parts of a 3 part story which has yet to be finished, but they stand strong by themselves.

8. Batman and the Monster Men/Batman and the Mad Monk by (you guessed it) Matt Wagner. I promise this is the last book by Wagner on the list. While it´s easy to say that Batman: Year One is the greatest Batman book ever, my vote goes to these two books. Set after the Year One story, Wagner's stories are actually retelling of old Golden Age stories, and I think this really shows Wagner's true strength in that he is able to take stories from the GOOFIEST time in comics and make the readers take them seriously. In them Bruce Wayne is still somewhat idealistic in his view of Batman's War on Crime tm, actually thinking that his efforts will lead to the redemption of Gotham City. This characterization is a really interesting take on the start of the Dark Knights career. My personal favorite aspect of the book is the fact that Wagner's art here has really started to shine. His work is still not Alex Ross level, but its crisp simplicity really lends itself to the story and helps pull off some of the horror aspects of the stories. Two really strong Batman stories by an under appreciated author that any Dark Knight fans should really go pick up.

7. Superman: Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek. Superman is a very hard character to write well. He´s massively powerful making it hard to create threats for him to overcome, he´s been around forever and a day thus saddling his writers with decades of baggage and his strict morality can get under a lot of peoples skin. So how does Busiek get around these problems? He sets his story on our Earth. The story centers around a young boy in the Mid West of America whose parents have the HORRIBLE taste to actually name him Clark Kent. Seriously, anyone who does that to their kid should be strongly considered for psychiatric evaluation. As luck would have it Clark develops super powers, in fact he gets the exact same power set as the the comic book character whose legacy haunts his high school life. What I really like about this book is that while it does place Superman in a lot of real life situation it doesn´t try to be like Watchmen and take a look at the effect of Superman on the world (at least not as a major aspect), nor does it deconstruct the character into a lump of psychosis. At its heart this is still a Superman story, just without the baggage that comes with The Big Blue Boy Scout. Busiek, an amazing author in his own right, really shines in this story as he shows us ways to utilize the Superman character that I can admit I never would have thought of myself. His relationship with Lois (not Lane) and their children, interactions with government agencies and the effects aging has on his powers are all gripping and beautifully done. The art is also fantastic, fitting the somewhat more realistic tone of the story. Really, the only bad part of this story is that it throws Superboy Primes (lack of)character into sharp relief. But really, that´s not that hard to do.

6. Watchmen. Seriously, if you don´t know why this comic book is on the list, go buy it now. Seriosly, right now. Go! I´ll wait... ... ... that´s better.

5. Rising Stars by J. Micheal Strasinsky. The first foray into super hero comics by the legendary writer of Babylon Five, Rising Stars is - much like Watchmen - an interesting look at the effect of super heroes on the world around them. Centering on a few of the 100+ super powered children born in Pederson, Illinois after a mysterious flash over the town, the story starts off with a murder mystery that turns normal super hero roles on their heads, the story eventually progresses to the Specials, as the Pederson kids (now adults of course) are known, facing off against those who wish to maintain the status quo of a broken and corrupt world. The art here is both a blessing and a curse. The story was horribly delayed at first because of legal issues between JMS and his publisher, Top Cow and during the delays the artist changed many times with the art swinging wildly from classic four colors super hero fare to dark realistic looking characters and while the artists are all top notch the lack of a consistent style hurts the narrative over all. Still the character designs, especially early in the story when things lean more to the classic super hero side, are really amazing. The two characters that stand out the most are Randy Fisk aka ¨Ravenshadow¨ an artist and the books requisite ¨darker and edgier¨ character and Jason Miller aka Patriot. Ravenshadow is literally The 90´s incarnate with a Jason Vorhese style mask, clawed gloves, a tattered cape and belts/straps everywhere... and it WORKS! The character may look like he´s meant to be fighting Spawn but the costume really serves to help emphasise how dark the character isn´t, he´s just an artistic guy with an odd aesthetic. Patriot, one of our books Flying Brick s, is instead a somewhat modern take on a classic design, draped in the American flag and smiling for all the world to see. Like any good book, the characters take the cake here. Even though the story is all a flash back and the reader knows the fate of all but one of the characters, JMS makes us care about all of the characters and their hopes and dreams as if they were real people. Twists, turns, an awesome story and amazing characters make this a must buy for any comic fan.

4. Ultimates/Ultimates 2 by Mark Millar. This a book people either love or hate, and I love it. The modern takes on the Avengers seem to split the fans right down the middle. Some think that Millar gave old characters solid and realistic new voices and personalities, while others feel that the loud and harsh characters where too over the top and thus insulting to the originals. That aside, this is my list and I love these books. Each character is interesting and three dimensional, especially Captain America; Millar really focuses on the idea that Cap is a man out of time, an idealised American Hero thrust into a grimy version of the present and being forced to deal with the fact that his ideals are entirely out of date and disrespected, but who refuses to give up the good fight. The plot is masterfully crafted (though it does feel a little off to have a Scotsman commenting so heavily on American culture/politics) with twists and turns that will keep your head on a swivel the entire time you´re reading it; the mysteries and reveals around Thor alone still rank as one of my favorite plots ever. The art it also fantastic; artist Bryan Hitch puts a level of detail into his art in this book that, in my opinion, has yet to be matched in modern comics. The only problem I ever had with this book were the delays. You´re average comic comes out monthly, and Ultimates was no exception. Its 25 isues should have taken just over two years to finish, but instead took five whole years, more than double what it should have been. The time between issues 9 and 10 of the second volume was enough to break a lesser fan. Thankfully this is a list of Trades so that´s not an issue. Oh, and if anyone tells you there was an Ultimates 3, they are telling you lies. Hateful, hateful lies.

3. The Sinestro Corps War by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons. Green Lantern has got to be seriously considered for break out hit of this past decade. In my lifetime the series has been revamped multiple times and canceled at least once. Until Geoff Johns relaunched the book at the start of the decade it looked like a dead franchise whose only legacy was a spot reserved on the Justice League. While the series got off to a mediocre start, this is the point where everyone knew that the new Green Lantern was one of the strongest horses in the comic book race. Along with Dave Gibbons, writer of the sister series Green Lantern Corps, Johns crafted an epic Space Opera about the war between the Green Lanterns and Sinestro´s new army of fear. This book is the perfect example of how to do big Event Comics right. Fairly self contained, with only one direct tie-in in the form of a single issue of Blue Beetle (which itself served more to advance BB´s story) and a few supplemental materials that weren´t required reading SCW didn´t spread itself to thin by trying to make the readers by a ton and a half of extra books. If you bought the two Green Lantern books, you had pretty much all you needed. The plotting and pace of the story was spot on, switching between the different fronts of the war at just the right time to give us answers while keeping up the suspense. The art is a little odd. In the main Green Lantern book Ivan Reis gives us a tour de force of sequential art, while the work of Patrik Gleeson in GLC is often muddy and just doesnt live up to the art in its big brother. The only issue I have with this book is its main character, Hal Jordan the Green Lantern of the Silver Age. Returned to life by Johns Hal retains the same problem that lead to the decission to remove him from the title in the first place, he is dull. Dull as dishwater. This story and Green lantern in general succeed not because of Hal, but in spite of him. And that is the best compliment I can give this book and Geoff Johns; this is a story about a character I have no interest in, but every time I pick it up I just can´ put it down.

2. The Immortal Iron Fist: The Last Iron Fist Story/The 7 Cities of Heaven by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. I can sell you Iron Fist in three words: KUNG FU BILLIONAIRE. Fraction and Brubaker take an old B-List hero and completely revitalize him. Danny Rand, the titular Iron Fist, goes from late 70´s joke to one of the most well written and well rounded characters in modern comics. His adventures as he discovers more and more about his legacy as an immortal warrior breath new life into him and his world. Another amazing facet of this story, sadly contained only in the first book is Orson Randall, the Iron Fist that came before Danny. This broken Old Soldier comes out of no where but fits solidly into the over all mythos of the book that, combined with his awesome personality and amazing sense of style (¨Like fire from heaven!¨), I would gladly pay full price for a book just about him. While we don´t get nearly enough of Orson we are treated to Danny´s fellow Immortal Weapons in the second arc (another new addition to the mythos) that all bound onto the scene with wonderful personalities and eccentricities. My personal favorite is the massive sumo Fat Cobra, a deceptively quick and quite jovial brawler with a gaggle of wenches for every occasion. The art in the book is solid, but nothing really to write home about. Like any good comic, its the writing that takes the cake here, and its hard to find better writing then Immortal Iron Fist.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier/Red Scare/The Death of Captain America (OMG SPOILERS) by Ed Brubaker. Our only other repeat winner on this list, Ed Brubaker is back with his (still ongoing at the time of writing) fantastic run on Captain America. There´s nothing I don´t love about this book. From putting new life into one of the oldest characters in comics, to the amazing art of Steve Epting to the way it handled resurrecting a long dead character (something most books do as ham-fistedly as possible; I´m looking at you, Jason Todd!) this book does everything right. Few other writers could have done everything Brubaker did in this book and do it as well as he did. And the best part, he´s still doing it! This list may be in no particular order, but Id be hard pressed not to say that this book isn´t the best on the list.

Well that´s my list. I hope you enjoyed it and I´m sorry if I strained your eyes with all the text, I tend to ramble.

This is The Ed, signing off.

...takes on the World. Part 2

2009-12-29T16:32:00.004-05:00

So, back to Final Fantasy X...

Tidus wakes up submerged in water (get used to that, Tidus spends more time in Water than most amphibians), and sets out to explore this crazy place he's stumbled into. It's here while exploring that I find an Al-bhed primer, so it's a safe place to segue into the whole Al-bhed language thing.

I understand what they were going for with this. I really do. It's interesting and makes the Al-Bhed seem all the more strange and alien when we first encounter them. Plus, it gives completionists another mind-boggling side quest to complete. Luckily when you start a new game, you can chose to compile all the Al-Bhed primers you've found in previous games, those making it easier to understand them. And I had already finished save on the memory card, so I'm bound to have a good chunk of Al-Bhed, right?

Nope, seems I have like B, H, Y, and I think J. Wow. Even with a save game where I won I can't speak this damn language. Awesome.

Anyways, Tidus fights some fish and then runs off into a cave after the immortal wisdom of Qui-Gon Jinn comes to haunt him. Yep, a bigger fish. And this one has like a crzay skeletal rib cage thing going on.

So, now Tidus is in some ruins where he builds a fire with the most colorful pieces of flint I have ever seen, and reflects on how much his dad sucks for making fun of him. I don't blame Jecht, cause between us, Tidus is a bit of a pussy so far.

But Tidus's idle musings are cut short by a giant lizard, and just as it attacks, one of the walls explodes inward and a group wielding guns and wearing the most colorful latex fetish suits known to man burst in. The female (armed only with a dagger/claw thing it seems) walks up and joins Tidus, while the guys with the guns, STAND THERE AND WATCH!! Hey, jerk-faces, I know that English isn't your first language, so Fro tuh'd oui kad uvv ouin yccac yht cruud drec mewynt, lulgmotodac!

Anyways, turns out the hot chick has some grenades on her, and the Steal Command. Cool, Thief was always one of my favorite FF classes. The two beat the lizard and then the BDSM club argue about Tidus. The girl seems to stop the arguement and then knocks Tidus out in one punch!

Okay, Tidus, you suck. No, Seriously. If this can knock you out in a single punch to the gut, then you need to do some serious leveling in badass before I can take you seriously.

So Tidus wakes up on a strange boat and the Al-Bhed tell him to make himself useful, thanks to Goggle Girl's sudden ability to speak English. They want him to help with their underwater salvage operation. That's right, more water! I've been playing for about an hour now, and not counting the 15 minute cutscene of Sin destroying Zanarkand, I've been in or under water for about 30 minutes. I'm amazed that Square didn't release Final Fantasy Swimwear with this thing, given how much the characters are in the water.

Al-Bhed Chick gives you a run through on this games leveling system the Sphere Grid and then down we go! Another pointless fish fight and Tidus bangs on some screens and powers up an underwater base, revealing well, it looks like a failed pottery project, but the Al-Bhed swear it's an airship. And I know this because it's the only damn word they say that I can understand.

Tidus tells Rikku (who FINALLY introduces herself, not the Tidus tells her his name), his backstory and she concludes that since Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago, he must have been mentally effected by being close to Sin.

So, it's an unspeakable immortal horror with Non-Euclidean geometry that teleported me into the future AND causes SAN loss? When did I start playing Call of Cthulu?

Well, speak of the devil and all, Sin arrives and knocks the boat around, sending Tidus overboard. God, this guy falls off things more easily than Lois Lane. The game again asks if I want to save. Okay game, I get that you just want to make sure I don't get killed and lose an hour of play, but you're also giving me a chance to put sown the controller and do something more productive. God, I hate this game.

Tidus comes to, submerged in water (I'm guessing this is a theme with him) and here we are introduced to the most rediculous looking character in all of Final Fantasy, Wakka. Wakka is the Captain and Coach of the Besaid Aurochs (and with his accent I keep hearing Bayside and waiting for Zach and Screech to show up) and well, I think the Nomura art speaks for itself on this:

What the hell is up with his hair? And with that weird cup thing on his shoulder wouldn't it be hard to swim? And seriously, your weapon is a Blitzball? Okay, there are a handful of people that can get away with ordinary objects as weapons. Mostly because they're masters of Prop Fu, but Wakka...

And if you're gonna spend so much time in the water, wouldn't you want less layers rather than more? Last I checked, layer upon layer of Fabric gets kinda heavy and cumbersome when wet.

Anyways, Tidus impresses Wakka with his l33t bl1tz sk1llz and Wakka takes him to the village of Besaid to get some food. Tidus asks Wakka about Zanarkand to double check if Rikku was lying to him. Turns out Wakka is convinced that Sin's thousand year reign of terror is because people used machines to make their life easier.

Is this one of those Japan commenting on Technology things? Cause I get enough of that in Metal Gear Solid, thanks.

The boys get to the village after some random encounters and Wakka suggests that you introduce yourself to the Summoner at the temple. Given that Tidus seems to not have clue one about what's going on, I can't wait to see what happens when he pisses all over their religion. I smell comedy!!

I hate this game...

...takes on the World.

2009-12-29T14:08:00.007-05:00

I'm gonna start off what's bound to be a multi-post review with a little background, particularly of my love affair with Final Fantasy.

I discovered the Final Fantasy games thanks to a buddy of mine waaaaaaaaaaaay back in like 7th grade with Final Fantasy III (read VI) back on the SNES. He'd rent it from a nearby Video Store (remember those?) and we'd spend the weekend playing the same 30 hours of the game (I can still get through at least the Phantom Train almost blindfolded). From then on, I was hooked on RPGs, eventually graduating to the Tabletop RPGs I still regularly play to this day.

I have fond memories of these games, and an abundance of Free Time, so I figured I'd give Final Fantasy X another playthrough. It's been awhile since I had played, and I have fond memories of my first run through.

Final Fantasy X was the first FF game released for the Playstation 2, and came out so close to the debut of the PS2 that it might as well have been a launch title. It shows off the amazing graphic powers of the PS2 (of the time) and is still one of the best looking games of the PS2.

But damn, I forgot how much I hated this game.

Let's get into this then, dear companions. Final Finatasy X, the last of the colorful Final Fantasy Games, before they all went Sepia toned.

The game opens on a set of ruins and a group of characters sitting around, like they're trying to figure out which poor bastard to vote off the island. And then to the relief of the party, the androgynous blonde who's narrating in his head gets up and tells us that this is "his story." Wow, way to make me feel a part of this...and I'm not even to the damn New Game/Load screen yet. This is gonna suck...

So, the game proper starts off in the city of Zanarkand, which resembles Coruscant from Star Wars, except that there's random waterfalls coming off the buildings. Yes Squaresoft, I get it. You can do water now. Do you want a cookie?

And it's in Zanarkand that we are properly introduced to the poorly voice acted blonde from earlier...who the game is kind enough to let us name...wait, hold on. If I can name this asshat, then no one is going to say his name. So, we have the first Final Fantasy with voice acting, and no one is going to the call the hero by name?

Awesome.

So, we find out that Tidus (and no I'm not going to get into the Ti-dus, Tee-Dus arguement) is the star Blitzball player of the Zanarkand Abes. Wow, thank you Final Fantasy. I've always wanted to play as an athlete...oh, wait, no I don't. If I did, I'd play a goddamn Madden game. I play Final Fantasy for swords, not Sports.

So, after we walk to the stadium (hearing some commentator talking about Jecht) we are blessed with an awesome cutscene...wait, a second...wasn't Tidus white a minute ago?

Seriously, here's Tidus's character design (which I'll get into in a sec)...

And here's his Cutscene Face...

So, in-game he's white, but in the Cutscenes he's vaguely Asian? Okay, that's weird.

Now, about Tidus' character design...I hate this outfit. It makes no fucking sense, why is one leg longer than the other? And what's up with the woven arm thing? And why are Tidus's boxer briefs longer than his Shorts?

And then there's Bliztball...I know that everytime you bring physics and realism into a fantasy game, God kills a Catgirl, but I have to ask this...HOW THE FUCK DO THESE PEOPLE BREATHE?! Seriously, Bliztball is this kinda underwater rugby thing, but no one comes up for air. Do they have gills? Is it the oxygen water thing from The Abyss? How the hell does this work?

Luckily, we don't have to wait long, as a tidal wave has decided to take vengence for Blitzball being dumb and begins launching energy blasts at Zanarkand, decimating the city.

Wait, the water launched energy blasts? How does that work? Oh, who cares, Tidus is dead and maybe I can play as the badass looking one arm drunk in the red trenchcoat.

No such luck, as Tidus picks himself back up and we meet Auron, the aforementioned hobo, who hands you a sword and tells you to man up and kick ass.

So, you battle your way through these Sin-Spawn and then a cutscene kicks in and Auron looks like he's communing with the Lovecraftian abomination and picks Tidus up by the collar and more or less chucks blondey into the gaping maw.

I like Auron. Alot. I can't wait to meet back up with him.

The game asks me if I want to save, and I wisely do so...only to find out I'm like 10 minutes into this...I have a bad feeling about this...

...Jumps the Shark.

2009-12-29T00:23:00.002-05:00

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, welcome to 20-Sided Tardis, where our opinions are bigger on the Inside.

This blog is dedicated to discussing, reviewing and talking about all things geeky, from Tabletop Gaming to Anime to American Comic Books and beyond. So, pull up a chair dear companions and let's begin our foray, shall we?

Back in the early 90s, Batman the Animated Series came out and re-defined cartoons. It was dark, it was moody, and it is STILL the definitive interpretation of the Dark Knight. When I read Batman comics, Kevin Conroy is the voice I hear.

But we're not talking about that today. No, today, we're talking about the DCAU's best project, the absolutely amazing BATMAN BEYOND (or Batman of the Future for those of you outside the US.)

Batman Beyond came out in January of '99 and tells the story of Terry McGuiness, a troubled boy who through a series of misadventures becomes Batman. That's right, he stumbles into the Batcave, steals the Batsuit, foils some evil shenanigans at Wayne Powers Enterprises and Bruce Wayne (aged like 900) decides that the kid can stay Batman. Bruce monitors and guides him from the Batcave, and Terry has a series of adventures as he comes into his own as Batman.

The show was fantastic, and offered a new take on a 60 year old character. Terry's rogue gallery wasn't just "futuristic" versions of Bruce's old villains, but were brand new and unique. Inque, Blight, Shriek, Curare, and The Royal Flush Gang all add something new to the Batman mythos. My only real issue I ever had with the show was with Dana Tan, Terry's girlfriend (and I use the term loosely). The two were always on the verge of break-up (which is one of my top 10 female cliches that I hate), and to top it off, I'm a big fan of Superhero on Superhero action as far as relationships go (I'll talk about that more in a future blog).

The show was just as dark, moody and successful as it's predecessor, and I think part of it is that it didn't talk down to it's audience. It didn't assume (as many shows seem to) that it's viewers were morons, and I think that's why it's held up, even after 10 years. Unfortunately, its wasn't renewed for a 4th Season (Cartoon Network instead launched the also phenomenal Justice League). If you haven't seen it, check it out. All 3 Seasons are available on DVD, and it's definitely worth it.

You can trust me, I'm a Doctor!