Hey Man, well this is Babylon

Bitches

• I’ve got nothing to bitch about today. I had expected that I would, but I’m just not going to let myself dwell on the negative for the next few days, or even weeks.

Roses

• I’ve noticed a handful of folks have already been downloading the new Cannibal Contagion rules. If any of you are reading this, please comment and let me know what you think about them.

Hopes

• This weekend my brother got into a pretty serious motorcycle accident. I hope he has a swift recovery.
• I’ve been working on making some changes in my attitudes and perceptions, and hopefully, these will become more solidified in the days to come.

Bitches

• Not being able to play Resident Evil all the damn time is a new bitch for me. Fortunately, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence makes that desire a little more possible.

Roses

• I very recently acquired a GameCube, and now I’m addicted to Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. It could very well replace Beyond Good & Evil as my most favorite video game, and that’s a bold, almost dirty statement.
• I’m nearing completion of the fourth playtest draft of Cannibal Contagion. Stay tuned, as it’s going to be a big one!

Hopes

• I’m organizing a group read-along of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones in the next two weeks. I’m really, really excited about this, and I do hope it comes together nicely and turns into a grand fun time for all involved.

I didn’t update yesterday because I had the day off and spent it relaxing with video games. Awesome!

Bitches

• Goddamned squirrels are invading my garden! KILL!

Roses

• My roommate Bethany and I have developed this weird thing where we’ve started completing each others’ sentences, and speaking what the other person was just about to say. It’s amusing, and is especially hilarious during our Resident Evil runs.
• Speaking of the roommate, she got a new job. Rejoice!
• Also, the new Cannibal Contagion art from Vero and Leo keeps getting more awesome.

Hopes

• I hope my poor squash plants survive my accidental unearthing from the weekend. I’m new at this, but after re-planting them, giving them lots of water and sun, and holding their stalks up with sticks and twine, I do hope they’ll pull through.

Bitches

• The second to last boss in the “ClaireB” section of Resident Evil 2 is a mega-bitch, and then some. It almost breaks the enjoyment of the game for me, sadly. There should be better ways to evoke a feeling of “survival horror” than “repetitive death due to terrible controls.” The bosses in RE1 were way better, but then again, the GC version we played had a fabulous control layout. For me, the main cause of the game-breaking disconnect is that for the entire rest of the game, the difficulty has been more evenly paced and balanced, but then BAM this jackass comes and breaks Claire’s virgin ass in half with little warning. At least Pirate Baby gave a warning when the end was approaching.

Roses

• The release date for Deadspace has been pushed forward a week! Yay! And two weeks later, Fallout 3 is released too! Yay! I’ve totally reserved the next day after each release date for some all-day stay-at-home gaming.
• This morning, on the long and pleasant walk from the bus stop to my place of employment, a song from the Beyond Good & Evil soundtrack queued up in my Zen’s playlist, and listening to it brought a tear and a smile as I remembered how goddamned amazing that game is. I’m definite;y going to post something about it in the next few days.

Hopes

• I’m finally getting to try out the Cold City rules in our upcoming sci-fi “horror” game. I’m considering importing the Aspect cards from Verses to add some spice, but that’s still under debate.

Bitches and Roses? Huh? Read here for the low-down.

Bitches

• Bethany and I have just started part two of our Resident Evil marathon, and are now playing through the collector’s edition of Resident Evil 2 on the Playstation. This is so far lots of fun, and would actually qualify as a rose if it weren’t for the godawful controls. See, in playing through the REmake on the GameCube, I got used to my favorite survival horror control scheme, in which I use one of the shoulder buttons to move forward and the stick to turn. I’ve been using it for years in other games, and love the fact that it doesn’t disorient me. But RE2 lacks this option, and additionally it also lacks a “quick-turn” button, which has become so invaluable to my Resident Evil experiences. Grrrr. Otherwise, this is a pretty great game.

Roses

• #1: I’ve signed on a pair of artists to illustrate the interior of the Cannibal Contagion book. Their work is amazing, and I look forward to posting some sneak previews in the coming days.
• #2: I’ve also signed on another amazing designer to illustrate the book’s cover and draft a game logo. Again, I’ll post more as I hear it, but goddamn, this excites me.
• #3: Getting to play Castle Crashers with Chris, Sam, and Kevin, and then collectively nerd-rage afterwards over a wide variety of geeky conversation topics.

Hopes

• I’m meeting with three players tomorrow to get a new Unknown Armies campaign started, and I do hope it goes well.

Back around the turn of the century I lived as a renter at the Psi Upsilon fraternity house on Georgia Tech campus. They had weekly house meetings, and a common feature of each of these meetings was a little round-robin venture they called “Bitches and Roses,” wherein each attendee got a moment to say something they were happy about and something they were upset about, be it relevant to their life or whatever. Each person would give a “bitch” which would be something like “studying for the goddamn finals sucks!” and then follow it with a “rose” such as “i wuvvs my hot nerd girlfriend!”

I’m going to continue that tradition here, and hopefully keep doing it every Monday. Additionally, I’m adding “Hopes” to the list, to catalog the things I’ve got in the works, or the desires I’ve hopefully got coming to me just around the corner. So without further ado, I’ll kick this off.

Bitches

• My roommate heinously sprained her ankle and had to go to the emergency room Friday night, right before our much-anticipated night of zombie-murdering. She’s in a lot of pain, and it makes me sad.

Roses

• Thankfully, she wasn’t too incapacitated that we weren’t able to pick up our plans Sunday. We finished Resident Evil (Gamecube Remake) yesterday as Jill, and it felt good. Sure, we used a walkthrough, but that’s only because we’re on something of a tight schedule. We need to be able to finish the series in completion before the new one rolls out next year, and we’re both quite aware that the October releases of Fallout 3 and Deadspace will heavily impact our playing of the other titles in the franchise. Go Team Hotness!
• A second one! Saturday we had a fucking fantastic six-player game of Twilight Imperium (3rd Edition). That’s the most epic game I’ve been in yet, and I’ll be uploading pictures soon. Special kudos to Sam, who despite never having played before kept tied with the highest score right to the end.

Hopes

• I want a weekly game again. I’m really inspired for a street-level Unknown Armies game focusing on members of a small zine (maybe grass-roots, maybe political, maybe even poetic). The game would take place, as they say, “20 Minutes into the Future” and be very inspired by Transmetropolitan, Global Frequency, Strange Days, Max Headroom, and Dark Angel. Of course, I have to find players first, so likely this concept will change drastically once I get them. But regardless, I really want to run a street-level UA campaign with some element of journalism uniting the people.