Star Trek: Farraday 1.4a

Star Trek: Farraday 1.4a — Blue Ink Alchemy

Previously...

Catapulted to the edge of known space by an incident in the Mutara Nebula, the USS Farraday is now under the command of the ship's untested former first officer, Anthony Lennox. With limited supplies and uncertainty among the crew, Lennox has made it his first priority to find a planet that can provide enough supplies to give them a decent start on their journey home. Author's Note: I've had to cut my time writing this portion short. I apologize for the delay in finishing section "b" but it should be up around this time next week.

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Doctor Sonora Fairchild was used to dealing with the unknown. While she wasn't a space explorer, and had only ended up on the Farraday by sheer accident of fate, the opportunity to explore the minds of the ship's crew and help them overcome their fears & doubts was an appealing one. Despite the dire nature of the situation, she was looking forward to her first appointment. She sat in the front room of what was formerly the first officer's cabin, where she'd rearranged the furniture and changed some of the decorations. A long, plush couch was moved under the windows, and a matching chair faced it while being next to the door. Sonora was arranging some of the faux planters she'd found when the door chimed. "Please, come in," she said. The door opened and Ecaterina Skirov stepped inside, smiling a little nervously. "Doctor? Captain Lennox told us that if we had personal concerns, we should come see you." "I assume if your concerns were professional, you'd be talking to him," Sonora said with a smile, gesturing to the couch. "Have a seat, Lieutenant." Skirov walked over to the couch as Sonora took her seat across from her. The doctor picked up an electronic notebook and crossed her legs, prepared to begin. Ecaterina found herself looking at the way Sonora was dressed. Her high heels, pencil skirt and low-cut wrap-around top were definitely not Starfleet regulation. Sonora noticed the lieutenant's look and smiled a bit. "Were this an official Starfleet meeting, I might be wearing a uniform," she said, "but since this is a less formal occasion and in my cabin, I'm choosing to be comfortable." "I don't see how wearing that is comfortable," Ecaterina replied, "especially those shoes." Fairchild laughed a little. "It's not the shoes themselves that give me comfort, my dear, it's how they make me feel. When I wear something like this, something like what I'd wear back on Earth, I feel more at home, more like myself. What about you? What makes you feel comfortable?" Skirov gave the question a moment's thought. "I like having a problem in front of me. A chemical equation or an astrogational chart... something that appeals to my intellect. In fact I probably wouldn't be here if the captain hadn't told me to get some rest. I'd likely still be trying to plot a course home through the Beta Quadrant. Some of it, at least, we've explored and have updated charts for." "So why are you here, Ecaterina?" "I'm a bit worried. Not for myself, but for D'Sarl." "Your friend, the Orion helmswoman?" Ecaterina nodded. "She works really hard to be more than just another Orion female. There were a lot of assumptions at the Academy. There have only been a couple Orions interested in breaking from their families and culture to join Starfleet, but people have preconceptions about a race of ruthless merchant slave-traders." "They're not all like that, obviously," Fairchild observed. "You and I know that," Skirov agreed, "but try telling that to a class of horny self-confident Academy cadets. At least the ones she'd bring back to the room would try to act polite." "So, you were roommates," the doctor said, jotting down a note. "Did you bring boys back yourself?" "Just one," Ecaterina said, smiling a little. "Kyle was a year ahead of me. Last I heard he was serving on the Exeter." "How often do you get to see him?" "Every month or so. Our ships will come in close proximity or we'll manage to get leave together. It's not easy." "Military romances never are," Sonora agreed. "As much as you might wish it so sometimes, it's probably good that you're on different ships. You don't want personal feelings to get in the way of duty." "I know. I've just been dealing with the fact that I might not be seeing him for a very long time. Focusing on work helps, but I knew I had to tell someone and I didn't think I should burden Captain Lennox with my personal problems." "From what I understand," Sonora began, leaning forward, "Captain Lennox is a good and compassionate leader. You shouldn't feel you'd be burdening him, especially if you're afraid your hang-ups about Kyle will interfere with your duty. It's his job, after all, to make sure the crew is in good working order, and that includes accounting for their fears, doubts and struggles." Ecaterina nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." "In the meantime, I recommend taking some time to relax with your friend. I'm sure D'Sarl would be willing to listen to what you have to say just as much as I am, and she's known you for much longer." "I would, but she's out on a mission. She's due to be off-duty afterwards, however." "In that case," Fairchild said with a smile, "we'll just look forward to her safe return."

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STAR TREK and all associated technology and concepts are copyright Paramount Studios. No intention of credit or profit is intended. The USS Farraday and her crew are original creations of Joshua E Loomis and are protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Some rights reserved.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Dead in the Water?

Dead in the Water? — Blue Ink Alchemy

So that idea I mentioned in yesterday's IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! podcast? I got it off the ground. I actually got off my ass and tried something new. Basically, the idea goes something like this. There are a lot of podcasts out there that get awfully boring awfully fast. I enjoy podcasting, but just because I enjoy talking about stuff that's interesting to me doesn't necessarily mean you'd be interested in listening to me talk about it. So why not open up the forum for people to contribute by sending me ideas? I mean, I don't want to be boring and you don't want to be bored. And you're probably going to be more interested in what you're hearing if you had a hand in making somebody talk about it. Give folks the keys to the city, so to speak, and let them vote on what'll be discussed. One could even open up the possibility of having people donate to put weight behind their vote. So I picked a song that's freely available for some opening & closing music, brewed up a cup of tea, and blathered the first thing out. Oh, the other gimmick? Unscripted, unrehearsed, unedited. A little raw, as it were. Getting the creative goods directly from the source without worrying about little hiccups or snags. A more conversational experience, rather than me acting like a professional on a pedestal dispensing precious knowledge to you peons below. Then my wife woke up. "Are you actually going to charge people to do your work for you?" First of all, I'm not charging you. You don't have to send me a dime. Yes, I'm poor, I'm underpaid and I'm struggling to create something resembling art without so much as recognition of that, let alone appreciation, from the people who actually do pay me to work. No, they just want to leverage me for more code to actualize their solutions and enhance their action item lists which includes golf outings and service appointments for their luxury cars. But that doesn't mean I'm going to start bilking my faithful visitors for cash. If you like what you read, hear and see on this blog, by all means, show me some love. It doesn't have to be in money. I am not charging you. Second of all, if I am endeavoring to put together a collaborative experience for the listener, how is it making other people do my work? It's more about people working together than me being lazy. I mean, yes, I am lazy. But that doesn't mean I expect other people to do my work. I know there are about a thousand other aspiring creative minds out there in the same sphere to which I belong, but at the expense of sounding arrogant, nobody else in the world can do exactly what I do. I struggle to be original and non-derivative in my work. The degrees of my success are largely subjective. But the bottom line is, these are my ideas and I am working to make them successful. I don't expect anybody else to pour in blood, sweat or tears to make these things happen. That's all down to me. Why am I not saying this stuff out loud? Frankly, I don't think my arguments will carry much weight when spoken. I've lost some of my verbal debate skills. Besides, I feel more often than not like I'm existing in a vacuum, like the ideas I have aren't any good to anybody but myself, and it's better to just keep them to myself and trudge on in my daily life rather than blithering about like a moron until I'm doing it in an alleyway with a cardboard sign around my neck rather than sitting in a warm apartment with a couple of affectionate cats and someone who, despite regularly telling me how shitty my work is, seems to think I'm an alright guy. And, to be honest, she has a point, as she always does. Why put this idea out into the wilds of the Intertubes if I have no idea if anybody's going to give a shit about it anyway? Why waste my time? I guess I'll go back to playing Star Trek Online and pretending what I do matters in the grand scheme of things.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Dead in the Water?

Dead in the Water? — Blue Ink Alchemy

So that idea I mentioned in yesterday's IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! podcast? I got it off the ground. I actually got off my ass and tried something new. Basically, the idea goes something like this. There are a lot of podcasts out there that get awfully boring awfully fast. I enjoy podcasting, but just because I enjoy talking about stuff that's interesting to me doesn't necessarily mean you'd be interested in listening to me talk about it. So why not open up the forum for people to contribute by sending me ideas? I mean, I don't want to be boring and you don't want to be bored. And you're probably going to be more interested in what you're hearing if you had a hand in making somebody talk about it. Give folks the keys to the city, so to speak, and let them vote on what'll be discussed. One could even open up the possibility of having people donate to put weight behind their vote. So I picked a song that's freely available for some opening & closing music, brewed up a cup of tea, and blathered the first thing out. Oh, the other gimmick? Unscripted, unrehearsed, unedited. A little raw, as it were. Getting the creative goods directly from the source without worrying about little hiccups or snags. A more conversational experience, rather than me acting like a professional on a pedestal dispensing precious knowledge to you peons below. Then my wife woke up. "Are you actually going to charge people to do your work for you?" First of all, I'm not charging you. You don't have to send me a dime. Yes, I'm poor, I'm underpaid and I'm struggling to create something resembling art without so much as recognition of that, let alone appreciation, from the people who actually do pay me to work. No, they just want to leverage me for more code to actualize their solutions and enhance their action item lists which includes golf outings and service appointments for their luxury cars. But that doesn't mean I'm going to start bilking my faithful visitors for cash. If you like what you read, hear and see on this blog, by all means, show me some love. It doesn't have to be in money. I am not charging you. Second of all, if I am endeavoring to put together a collaborative experience for the listener, how is it making other people do my work? It's more about people working together than me being lazy. I mean, yes, I am lazy. But that doesn't mean I expect other people to do my work. I know there are about a thousand other aspiring creative minds out there in the same sphere to which I belong, but at the expense of sounding arrogant, nobody else in the world can do exactly what I do. I struggle to be original and non-derivative in my work. The degrees of my success are largely subjective. But the bottom line is, these are my ideas and I am working to make them successful. I don't expect anybody else to pour in blood, sweat or tears to make these things happen. That's all down to me. Why am I not saying this stuff out loud? Frankly, I don't think my arguments will carry much weight when spoken. I've lost some of my verbal debate skills. Besides, I feel more often than not like I'm existing in a vacuum, like the ideas I have aren't any good to anybody but myself, and it's better to just keep them to myself and trudge on in my daily life rather than blithering about like a moron until I'm doing it in an alleyway with a cardboard sign around my neck rather than sitting in a warm apartment with a couple of affectionate cats and someone who, despite regularly telling me how shitty my work is, seems to think I'm an alright guy. And, to be honest, she has a point, as she always does. Why put this idea out into the wilds of the Intertubes if I have no idea if anybody's going to give a shit about it anyway? Why waste my time? I guess I'll go back to playing Star Trek Online and pretending what I do matters in the grand scheme of things.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Dead in the Water?

Dead in the Water? — Blue Ink Alchemy

So that idea I mentioned in yesterday's IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! podcast? I got it off the ground. I actually got off my ass and tried something new. Basically, the idea goes something like this. There are a lot of podcasts out there that get awfully boring awfully fast. I enjoy podcasting, but just because I enjoy talking about stuff that's interesting to me doesn't necessarily mean you'd be interested in listening to me talk about it. So why not open up the forum for people to contribute by sending me ideas? I mean, I don't want to be boring and you don't want to be bored. And you're probably going to be more interested in what you're hearing if you had a hand in making somebody talk about it. Give folks the keys to the city, so to speak, and let them vote on what'll be discussed. One could even open up the possibility of having people donate to put weight behind their vote. So I picked a song that's freely available for some opening & closing music, brewed up a cup of tea, and blathered the first thing out. Oh, the other gimmick? Unscripted, unrehearsed, unedited. A little raw, as it were. Getting the creative goods directly from the source without worrying about little hiccups or snags. A more conversational experience, rather than me acting like a professional on a pedestal dispensing precious knowledge to you peons below. Then my wife woke up. "Are you actually going to charge people to do your work for you?" First of all, I'm not charging you. You don't have to send me a dime. Yes, I'm poor, I'm underpaid and I'm struggling to create something resembling art without so much as recognition of that, let alone appreciation, from the people who actually do pay me to work. No, they just want to leverage me for more code to actualize their solutions and enhance their action item lists which includes golf outings and service appointments for their luxury cars. But that doesn't mean I'm going to start bilking my faithful visitors for cash. If you like what you read, hear and see on this blog, by all means, show me some love. It doesn't have to be in money. I am not charging you. Second of all, if I am endeavoring to put together a collaborative experience for the listener, how is it making other people do my work? It's more about people working together than me being lazy. I mean, yes, I am lazy. But that doesn't mean I expect other people to do my work. I know there are about a thousand other aspiring creative minds out there in the same sphere to which I belong, but at the expense of sounding arrogant, nobody else in the world can do exactly what I do. I struggle to be original and non-derivative in my work. The degrees of my success are largely subjective. But the bottom line is, these are my ideas and I am working to make them successful. I don't expect anybody else to pour in blood, sweat or tears to make these things happen. That's all down to me. Why am I not saying this stuff out loud? Frankly, I don't think my arguments will carry much weight when spoken. I've lost some of my verbal debate skills. Besides, I feel more often than not like I'm existing in a vacuum, like the ideas I have aren't any good to anybody but myself, and it's better to just keep them to myself and trudge on in my daily life rather than blithering about like a moron until I'm doing it in an alleyway with a cardboard sign around my neck rather than sitting in a warm apartment with a couple of affectionate cats and someone who, despite regularly telling me how shitty my work is, seems to think I'm an alright guy. And, to be honest, she has a point, as she always does. Why put this idea out into the wilds of the Intertubes if I have no idea if anybody's going to give a shit about it anyway? Why waste my time? I guess I'll go back to playing Star Trek Online and pretending what I do matters in the grand scheme of things.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

Dead in the Water?

Dead in the Water? — Blue Ink Alchemy

So that idea I mentioned in yesterday's IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! podcast? I got it off the ground. I actually got off my ass and tried something new. Basically, the idea goes something like this. There are a lot of podcasts out there that get awfully boring awfully fast. I enjoy podcasting, but just because I enjoy talking about stuff that's interesting to me doesn't necessarily mean you'd be interested in listening to me talk about it. So why not open up the forum for people to contribute by sending me ideas? I mean, I don't want to be boring and you don't want to be bored. And you're probably going to be more interested in what you're hearing if you had a hand in making somebody talk about it. Give folks the keys to the city, so to speak, and let them vote on what'll be discussed. One could even open up the possibility of having people donate to put weight behind their vote. So I picked a song that's freely available for some opening & closing music, brewed up a cup of tea, and blathered the first thing out. Oh, the other gimmick? Unscripted, unrehearsed, unedited. A little raw, as it were. Getting the creative goods directly from the source without worrying about little hiccups or snags. A more conversational experience, rather than me acting like a professional on a pedestal dispensing precious knowledge to you peons below. Then my wife woke up. "Are you actually going to charge people to do your work for you?" First of all, I'm not charging you. You don't have to send me a dime. Yes, I'm poor, I'm underpaid and I'm struggling to create something resembling art without so much as recognition of that, let alone appreciation, from the people who actually do pay me to work. No, they just want to leverage me for more code to actualize their solutions and enhance their action item lists which includes golf outings and service appointments for their luxury cars. But that doesn't mean I'm going to start bilking my faithful visitors for cash. If you like what you read, hear and see on this blog, by all means, show me some love. It doesn't have to be in money. I am not charging you. Second of all, if I am endeavoring to put together a collaborative experience for the listener, how is it making other people do my work? It's more about people working together than me being lazy. I mean, yes, I am lazy. But that doesn't mean I expect other people to do my work. I know there are about a thousand other aspiring creative minds out there in the same sphere to which I belong, but at the expense of sounding arrogant, nobody else in the world can do exactly what I do. I struggle to be original and non-derivative in my work. The degrees of my success are largely subjective. But the bottom line is, these are my ideas and I am working to make them successful. I don't expect anybody else to pour in blood, sweat or tears to make these things happen. That's all down to me. Why am I not saying this stuff out loud? Frankly, I don't think my arguments will carry much weight when spoken. I've lost some of my verbal debate skills. Besides, I feel more often than not like I'm existing in a vacuum, like the ideas I have aren't any good to anybody but myself, and it's better to just keep them to myself and trudge on in my daily life rather than blithering about like a moron until I'm doing it in an alleyway with a cardboard sign around my neck rather than sitting in a warm apartment with a couple of affectionate cats and someone who, despite regularly telling me how shitty my work is, seems to think I'm an alright guy. I guess I'll go back to playing Star Trek Online and pretending what I do matters in the grand scheme of things.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Hurt Locker

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! The Hurt Locker — Blue Ink Alchemy

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/hurt_locker.mp3] Alfred Hitchcock once said that there's a big difference between surprise and suspense. I hope he won't mind if I paraphrase a little. If I were sitting here talking about movies, and my desk were to explode because someone planted a bomb here, that'd be a surprise. Now, if you as the audience knew there was a bomb under my desk, and I sat here for the next six minutes or so blathering on about a movie, only to get up and walk away without the bomb going off, that's suspense. And we wouldn't necessarily need jump-cut shots to a ticking timer or dramatic music playing. No, just an establishing shot of the bomb being placed, then me coming in and sitting down to do another one of these recordings, without any other trappings or clever gimmicks. That's good storytelling, right? Right. The makers of The Hurt Locker know suspense from surprise, and have created one of the most suspenseful movies I have ever seen in my life. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, David Morse, Ralph Finnes and Guy Pearce.
"...Oh boy." The Hurt Locker follows the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit Bravo Company during the summer of 2004 in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Will James (Renner) is a soldier who defuses bombs. He's one of the best, even if his methods can seem a trifle cavalier or even reckless to others, especially Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Mackie), who is charged with James' safety during his operations. Yet this seeming bravado is just the first impression of a brilliant professional who understands his role in the grand scheme of modern warfare and also carries a great deal of compassion for those around him despite his outward appearances and behavior. As Bravo Company embarks on one potentially deadly mission after another, we are drawn into their lives and shown the environment in which these men toil, from the desolate wastes of the desert to the equally deadly streets of Baghdad. There are some movies that, when a war is mentioned, I think of almost instantly. World War 2 brings Saving Private Ryan to mind. Discussions of Vietnam trigger memories of Full Metal Jacket. I spend just as much time remembering Jarhead as I do my own childhood experiences when the first Gulf War is mentioned. The current conflict in the Middle East remains a muddy, ill-defined struggle, but The Hurt Locker brings the lives of the participants into sharp relief. This film is every bit as intimate as it is intense. It never becomes political or preachy, focusing entirely on these men and the situations into which they put themselves day after day. Like the other films I've mentioned, we see these soldiers not so much as swaggering macho heroes but more as flawed, driven human beings who are all the more heroic because of their shortcomings.
"This one, I'm gonna disarm with the sheer power of my massive balls." This film is almost entirely without a musical score. The scenes involving the defusing of explosive devices and stalking an enemy sniper are possessed of a chilling stillness, which builds the tension with each passing, quiet moment. The shots are not cut short to try and jar us into a tense feeling artificially, but are left long on the faces and fingers of the protagonists, ensuring we understand who is doing what at which point in time and thus becoming more invested in the outcome of the scene. And in an odd yet telling juxtaposition, one of the film's closing scenes that takes place in a suburban supermarket, far from the front or anything resembling danger, has an extremely similar stillness about it. A lesser team of storytellers might pack a film like this with explosions from end to end. But considering this is a story about soldiers tasked with disarming ordnance, rather than setting it off, one of the many factors of The Hurt Locker that works so well is the fact that we are aware of the fact that any of the bombs we see might go off. Hitchcock would be proud, as writer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow build layer upon layer in every scene to mount the tension to an explosive potential not unlike that possessed by the bombs themselves. It's also established very early in the film that these are not the sort of explosions that our heroes can have much hope of outrunning. There are no rushing fireballs chasing our heroes down corridors here, no shiny CGI to make these explosions look larger than life. They don't have to be larger than life: they are awesome, deadly and downright ugly just as they are. You don't want to be anywhere near them, yet the men and women whose daily lives inspired the story of Bravo Company choose to get right next to them every single day.
"I popped that smoke myself. Why? Because covering fire is for pussies." This is one of those movies I'm sorry I missed in the theater. Not because I think it would be more impressive on a big screen, since it held me in rapt attention from start to finish on my television just as it would in a cinema. No, I would have liked to given these artists more monetary support. The talent on display in The Hurt Locker, from Jeremy Renner's star-making performance to Katheryn Bigelow's near-perfect direction to Mark Boal's captivating screenplay, is a wonder to behold in a cinematic environment where gimmick is king and stories are often sacrificed on the altar of CGI and cheap adaptations. Whatever your feelings might be about the conflict in Iraq, the United States military or a movie that didn't do all that well at the box office, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. I think it's a strong contender for Best Picture at the Oscars, provided James Cameron doesn't buy the committee five-star dinners and oral sex with his massive box office returns. The bombs in the film are designed to blow up human targets. If you're anything like me, you will agree The Hurt Locker is designed to blow your mind. Josh Loomis can't always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it's unclear if this week's film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain... IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Writing Right

Writing Right — Blue Ink Alchemy

We all study at the feet of giants. Even if they are only giants in our own minds, we get from where we are to where we want to be by studying others. As an aspiring writer, I look towards people who write and are not only enjoying a measure of success, but have what I consider to be an accessible method. Instead of admiring folks who are successful but come off as either completely selling out or being a pioneer in their own cult of personality without doing so with their tongue embedded in their cheek. Here are the people I'm checking out to make sure I don't wander too far from the path of good writing.

Terribleminds

It's the Magic Talking Beardhead. Need I say more? I do? Okay, it's this guy Chuck. He writes lots of things. He writes things well. In fact he writes so well he was recently at the Sundance for a screenwriter's workshop and rubbed elbows with greats. It was kind of like the experience of meeting cool folks at GameX, only Chuck got really good feedback from others already in the industry. I got a couple signatures and some compliments on my clever handle. Anyway, if you're not already reading Terribleminds, you should be. So go and do.

Wordstudio

Will Hindmarch is somebody else I've met. It was years ago at an event called NEGLECT in Chicago. It was in the embryonic days of Vampire: The Requiem and he ran some of us through an example module. It was an absolute blast. Will is a friendly, creative guy, and to this day the only Requiem item I own is the storyteller's screen he signed which I won on a random die roll. I confess I don't comment on his blog as often as I should, but he's always got good ideas on writing and insightful meditations on other writers. It's like the stuff I post here, but better.

Wil Wheaton

This guy might be one of the coolest cats on the planet. Seriously. What's that? You thought Wesley Crusher sucked? Well, so does Wil. In his Memories of the Futurecast he not only takes the piss out of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation in general but himself in particular. I really want to pick up his book, as it sounds like a fantastic mix of nostalgia and facepalming, as he puts it. To say that Wil is an inspiration would be a gross understatement. Here is a man who spent many of his formative years in the public spotlight but never got too far ahead of his own shortcomings. He's had his share of interesting journeys both across the country and into himself, and the result is a surprisingly humble and humorous man who isn't afraid to be a nerd, never hesitates to laugh at his own failings and is deeply thankful for being where he is now. Go read his blog, listen to Radio Free Burrito, and brew up some Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.

Kung Fu Monkey

This is hot stuff, dear readers. Like fresh off of the presses stuff. I just came across Kung Fu Monkey today. This morning. And it's all thanks to Wil Wheaton. He told his listeners about Jon Rogers, writer for the TV show Leverage, doing cool stuff over on his blog. I went over there, and I'm glad I did. Wil Wheaton: Giving you the mad nerd hook-up and reminding you not to be a dick. Anyway, Rogers talks about writing for the show, and does post-mortems of the episodes where he takes the questions of the audience. It's really fascinating, to peek into the mind of a creative work in progress that is already successful. It's worth your time to check out.

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Did I mention Wil Wheaton's an inspiration? Well, he is. He's inspired me. "What's he inspired you to do, Josh?" Oh, you'll see. You'll see. Stay tuned. There'll be something of a special announcement during tomorrow's IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! which I am really looking forward to doing - it's something more recent per request from fans at the Escapist - so please cruise by tomorrow and give a listen. Thanks. Now back to your regularly scheduled Thursday.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Thinking Outside the Tube

Thinking Outside the Tube — Blue Ink Alchemy

Today's update is going to be quick and dirty, folks. Let's just dive right into my thought processes about how I'm wasting spending my free time. Last week I tried to put together a video supplement for my preview of Star Trek Online. Since Flash is the 'new media' platform with which I'm most familiar, I figured that the least time-consuming method for achieving my goal would be to use that platform. Sadly, I was mistaken, and I ended up burning a lot more time on the project than I probably should have. And the end result wasn't even in a video format easily disseminated to other formats or venues. With some measure of disgust, I filed that project away and got back to work. I have a day job, after all, no real time for dilly-dallying or rumination upon how to improve upon something that, to me, didn't turn out very well at all. But as time went on and I thought more about the various tools at my disposal and efforts I've made in the past to branch out beyond static text, I thought back to Powerless. Remember that? Powerless, my attempt to break into the high-profile world of the Escapist's video elite? The concept of talking about things gamers can do to amuse themselves without relying entirely on electricity still strikes me as solid, I think my effort got bogged down with trying to add a story element to what is essentially a vlog. That's "video blog" for those not up on the lingo. Anyway, Powerless was assembled using Adobe AfterEffects. For some reason, I had filed that program away as something to only be used when actually recorded video is involved. But, au contraire! A video is images matched with sounds along a timeline, right? And my Star Trek Online preview is - anyone? anyone? - images matched with sound along a timeline. So why not use AfterEffects, reassemble the video portion of the preview, and plop it on YouTube as per my original thought? This opens the door for other possible projects, as well. Perhaps some images to go along with the soundtracks for IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! or a revamped and more focused Powerless series solely about the tabletop games without any major trappings. Except maybe the bursts of static for transitions. I'm not sure. All I know for certain is that this can't detract from The Project, my work for Polymancer or any other writing gigs that come my way. Or the day job either. Insert weary sigh here. What do you all out there think? What would you like to see me vlog (if anything)?

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Imperfection

Imperfection — Blue Ink Alchemy

This is just going to be a quick little reminder about an undeniable fact that is occasionally hard to swallow. I'm imperfect. Yes, I'll blog about how I go about doing the writing thing as if other people should do the same, or venture my opinion about a piece of entertainment media that some others appear to consider having merit. But I never come out with these things under the impression that I know everything about whatever it is I'm discussing. Heck, my dayjob involves me dealing with Flash on a regular basis, but I managed to mess up my Star Trek Online preview to the point that it came out long after the Escapist did one. So yeah. I'm not perfect. I'm happy to share my thoughts on writing, the process I'm going through with The Project, my reviews of movies and/or games and whatever else manages to find its way here. I just never want people to think that I'm under the impression my shit doesn't stink. Because it does. Dear God, does it ever. The reason I'm letting my fingers fly about this is some of the other writing blogs I've encountered. Let's face it, we can be a pretty pretentious bunch. Now, being a published author can give someone the rights to crow a bit, and I don't blame them a bit. And we need to be all about the self-promotion and that means puffing up the plumage. That's fine too. What gets to me is the occasional blog I stumble across that sounds like it's being written by a wildly successful novelist about everything they've done that makes them so awesome but is completely undermined by the fact that they've gotten ink for nothing of note beyond perhaps a few articles. By the way, this is not directed at any of the writers I know personally. Most people I know personally are delightfully tongue-in-cheek about either their current success or their prospects for future publication. They know that publication is a hard, soul-crushing, will-sapping process and those that come out of the other side of it with any measure of success are either wildly talented or masters of salesmanship, especially when it comes to selling themselves. These blogs which shall remain unlinked as I don't want anybody else to suffer through their pretension fall into the latter category. They talk about endorsements they've gotten from celebrities. They gleefully tell us when their next draft is getting reviewed. They act, in short, like Shakespeare or Austin reborn, God's gift to the bookstore, a veritable fucking revolutionary in the realm of modern entertainment. I hope I never come across that way. It wouldn't be that hard. I could plaster the good things Bob Orci has said about me all over the place. I could recount every single pitch I send to the Escapist or other publications, with the assumption that Jordan'd be foolish not to put me into the issue in question. But I'm not going to. I know not everything I produce is worth publishing even in embryonic form, and things I do submit that have a chance are going to need rewrites. I know it's not an easy process and it won't always go the way I'd prefer. So it'd be foolish of me to act that way. I guess I just have a low tolerance for the people who do. If I ever should start acting this way, please, pick up a hardcover copy of Lord of the Rings or Stranger in a Strange Land and give my noggin a good whack. You'll be doing the world a favor. I'd love to do the same for these people I've encountered, but I'd rather not be working on The Project from prison. It'd be hard to concentrate on character interaction when I'm avoiding gang rape.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

Preview: Star Trek Online

Preview: Star Trek Online — Blue Ink Alchemy

Fans of Star Trek, brace yourselves. Cryptic Studio's Star Trek Online is just around the corner. Some are already scrambling to get lifetime subscriptions and all the extra goodies they can, whereas I'm just trying to determine if this game is worth my time and money. From what I've seen of the open beta, it could be. There's a lot going for it, but the game suffers from a few flaws that may prove fatal to the experience of other players. [kml_flashembed publishmethod="static" fversion="8.0.0" movie="/uploads/sto_preview_final.swf" width="480" height="379" targetclass="flashmovie"]

[/kml_flashembed] When the latest Star Trek film was released in 2009, some blabbermouths in the media talked about how it made Star Trek 'cool again'. Star Trek Online has somehow pulled off the opposite. Star Trek Online has returned Star Trek to the bailiwick of the nerd. I happen to think this MMOG is pretty cool, but I'm a Star Trek fan, and that's the target audience for this game. Not the general public, but Star Trek fans. While Star Trek Online doesn't boast the story emphasis BioWare is touting for Star Wars: The Old Republic, a good number of Trekkies are more interested in becoming part of the Star Trek universe and its ongoing story than they are the universality of the gameplay mechanics. This doesn't mean that Cryptic Studios has skimped on the gameplay, because there's plenty to be had. It's just not the same kind of experience one gets from World of Warcraft or Aion, and that can be an obstacle too great for some to overcome. Gameplay in Star Trek Online is divided between ground combat and space combat. Ground combat is typical MMOG fare. You have abilities with cooldowns used to defeat your enemies. When defeated some enemies drop items for you to use, equip or sell. Your primary attack abilities are based on your equipped weapon. It's nothing terribly new here, but there's an aspect of it that feels different from other MMOGs that I'll address in a moment. Space combat, on the other hand, is likely to be the biggest stumbling block to people, because there's a good amount of it in Star Trek Online. Space combat in Star Trek has been depicted as battles between capital ships more often than not. The game aims more for that feel than that of a frenetic dogfight. Like the tabletop game on the subject, Star Fleet Battles, or its tall ships cousin, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, the mechanics of space combat focus on positioning, hit location and resource distribution. If you've played Wing Commander, you'll be familiar with this form of space combat and you'll find it happening at a managable pace from an outside perspective rather than being in the cockpit of a starfighter. Over at Classholes Anonymous, awitelinsta put it succinctly: Instead of the traditional quest structure, Star Trek Online divides its content into "missions." From anywhere in the galaxy, you can hail Starfleet to get a new mission. These missions vary from general exploration and patrols to an arcing story about escorting a diplomat, investigating the theft of precious material or rescuing colonists. Missions are geared to take about 45 minute to 1 hour, slicing the content up into very managable chunks. While most of them fall into a specific pattern - warp into a system, shoot at enemy ships, beam down to the ground location, blast people down there, beam back up for another space battle and warp out - there's enough variety in the types of missions and stories to keep things interesting. The party system also bears a mention. If you're not in a party already, and you warp into a system where others are on the same mission, you'll be automatically rounded up into a party, and the difficult of the mission will scale accordingly. While this idea seems innovative on paper, more often than not you'll find yourself staring down a well-armed enemy fleet while you and your fellow players float there in your starting ships. Even on your own, the combat can be challenging. However, when it comes to facing ground combat alone, you're never really alone. If you beam down to a location without a group, Star Trek Online provides you with an Away Team. Your Bridge Officers, who have abilities that can assist you in space combat, fill in the empty spaces in your party. Other MMOG players are familiar with 'pets' and the Bridge Officers do fall into that category. They have abilities of their own and participating in a mission with them, for me, almost makes the game feel more like Mass Effect than an MMOG. Of course, the Bridge Officer AI isn't overly complicated, but you do have the option of having a 'red shirt' run in front of you to take all of the enemy fire while you come in behind them to clean up. These somewhat unique elements make Star Trek Online feel like a different MMOG experience. For most MMOG players, though, 'different' does not necessarily mean 'good'. A lot of players are going to be put out by the space combat mechanics, the brevity of missions, a lack of clearly defined 'dungeons' and the overall aesthetic of the game. Even some Star Trek fans won't be able to overcome these obstacles to the fun. It really comes down to personal taste. The game has come under 'enemy fire' of its own for a variety of reasons. It's not the most graphically advanced game out there. Aion is by far a prettier game. Sector space, the "world map" is huge, mostly empty and somewhat lonely as you move from one system to the next. And expect to see a lot of loading screens as you transition from instance to instance. Every system, ground location and starbase exist in their own instance, and the game doesn't exactly handle the transition delicately. The levelling system is different in Star Trek Online than other MMOGs, as it is based on skills rather than overall experience, and most of your character's abilities are based on the weapons, 'kits' and other equipment they carry rather than their overall rank. Veterans of other MMOGs may struggle to overcome all of these points, if they decide it's worth their time to do so. Frankly, I can't blame them if they don't. What nudges this game over to the 'worth playing' column, for me, is the sense of immersion the game provides. This feels very much like Star Trek. The music, the sound design, the user interface, the variety of characters and life forms - it all contributes to the atmosphere of a rich and detailed universe that many people have dreamed of joining for years. Hearing Alexander Courage's music at the completion of a difficult mission seems to have an almost magical quality for me, washing away frustration at pirates or Klingons that was gnawing at my patience. I feel that Star Trek Online has a lot of potential. It's made some mistakes here and there, but there's a sense of overall improvement that, hopefully, will continue into the future. It really does come down to personal taste if you feel Star Trek Online will be worth your time and money. I can't blame the people who will decide that it isn't. I, on the other hand, will be setting my course for the release date of February 2, and it is my sincere hope that as much fun as I've had so far in the beta, crashes and bugs and lag aside, Cryptic has even more to offer. Cryptic, make it so.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

A Biblical Post

A Biblical Post — Blue Ink Alchemy

Don't run, don't run! I'm not going to talk about religion! I'm going to talk about that whole planning thing I mentioned. Remember that list that I posted, of things to do in order to achieve that level of great success that others will note? Here's how it looks now:

• Get plot points vetted.
• Generate dramatis personae document.
• Work out rules of languages & magic.
• Write the damn thing (target word count:125k)
• Find a publisher.

After some tweaks here and there, all five people with whom I shared my plot points have said, "I'd read this" in one form or another. This means that the project (and that's what I'm going to call it, at least for now - "The Project") now has a definite course plotted, and I can set that bit of planning aside. This sort of thing happens when major endeavors are being planned in other forms of media, like television shows. Reference documents like that one are called 'bibles'. So my plot points shall hereafter be called the 'story bible'. Moving on, next we have the 'character bible'. What's in a character bible, you ask? I'm glad you did.

Origins

Everybody comes from somewhere. Parentage, homeland, education - all of these are contributing factors to who the character is when the audience is first introduced to them. Establishing origins before the story begins helps put everybody in a particular place along the plot's path, like pieces on a chessboard. Though I doubt most characters will move in a completely straight line - that'd be kinda boring.

Personality

The aspects of a character's personality encompass both good and bad things. A protagonist might be courageous or clever but will also have parts of themselves that they are unaware of, know they must overcome or might not even see as flaws - arrogant people don't often admit to having failings, after all. Likewise, a villain who is nothing but malevolence and savagery is just boring. Unless his minions are all abysmally stupid or no more intelligent than a vicious dog, they'll need to have some way of either concealing their villainy or downplaying it with charm or dispassion. This, like a character's origin, should be established ahead of time.

Goals

We all want something. Some people want to rule the world (not everybody, Tears for Fears. Seriously.), some want to build a better mousetrap and some just want to get laid. If you clearly define a character's goal before the story begins, it will be easier to keep them on track during the course of the plot. The better the definition of a character's goals, the better your chances of having that character's behavior remain consistent throughout, unless you plan to have them change goals. If that's the case, make sure the change makes sense. Don't just drop a hat and have it happen. Even if you are dealing with the fantasy genre, as I am, "A wizard did it" can really only get you so far.

Fears

If being around my wife while she plays the Sims has taught me anything, other than her delight at the various affairs of her simulated plaything, it's that everybody is afraid of something. The fears that should get jotted down in the character bible should be large things, like losing one's home, the death of a loved one or the ruining of a relationship or career, rather than flubbing a homework assignment or burning the roast. Sometimes these fears will be unrealized in the course of the story, and sometimes these will be major plot points. Which brings me to my final point...

Growth

In conjunction with the story bible, ask yourself how the character is going to change over the course of the story. What goals, if any, will they realize? What fears of theirs will come true? When change comes, will they have new goals, new fears? Will there be any change in their personality? Like the story itself, it may behoove you to plot the course of the character's own journey. Of course this is all just part of the procedure I'm attempting to make sure I remain motivated and get this right. Sometimes you might have no plan at all when you sit down to right, just letting the story grow organically out of the fertile grounds of your imagination. That's okay, too. It just seems to me that the bigger the scope of your project, the more planning should be done before hand. Sort of a 'measure twice, cut once' thing. And this project that I'm brewing up? It's going to be huge. Seriously. Huge.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

A Biblical Post

A Biblical Post — Blue Ink Alchemy

Don't run, don't run! I'm not going to talk about religion! I'm going to talk about that whole planning thing I mentioned. Remember that list that I posted, of things to do in order to achieve that level of great success that others will note? Here's how it looks now:

• Get plot points vetted.
• Generate dramatis personae document.
• Work out rules of languages & magic.
• Write the damn thing (target word count:125k)
• Find a publisher.

After some tweaks here and there, all five people with whom I shared my plot points have said, "I'd read this" in one form or another. This means that the project now has a definite course plotted, and I can set that bit of planning aside. This sort of thing happens when major endeavors are being planned in other forms of media, like television shows. Reference documents like that one are called 'bibles'. So my plot points shall hereafter be called the 'story bible'. Moving on, next we have the 'character bible'. What's in a character bible, you ask? I'm glad you did.

Origins

Everybody comes from somewhere. Parentage, homeland, education - all of these are contributing factors to who the character is when the audience is first introduced to them. Establishing origins before the story begins helps put everybody in a particular place along the plot's path, like pieces on a chessboard. Though I doubt most characters will move in a completely straight line - that'd be kinda boring.

Personality

The aspects of a character's personality encompass both good and bad things. A protagonist might be courageous or clever but will also have parts of themselves that they are unaware of, know they must overcome or might not even see as flaws - arrogant people don't often admit to having failings, after all. Likewise, a villain who is nothing but malevolence and savagery is just boring. Unless his minions are all abysmally stupid or no more intelligent than a vicious dog, they'll need to have some way of either concealing their villainy or downplaying it with charm or dispassion. This, like a character's origin, should be established ahead of time.

Goals

We all want something. Some people want to rule the world (not everybody, Tears for Fears. Seriously.), some want to build a better mousetrap and some just want to get laid. If you clearly define a character's goal before the story begins, it will be easier to keep them on track during the course of the plot. The better the definition of a character's goals, the better your chances of having that character's behavior remain consistent throughout, unless you plan to have them change goals. If that's the case, make sure the change makes sense. Don't just drop a hat and have it happen. Even if you are dealing with the fantasy genre, as I am, "A wizard did it" can really only get you so far.

Fears

If being around my wife while she plays the Sims has taught me anything, other than her delight at the various affairs of her simulated plaything, it's that everybody is afraid of something. The fears that should get jotted down in the character bible should be large things, like losing one's home, the death of a loved one or the ruining of a relationship or career, rather than flubbing a homework assignment or burning the roast. Sometimes these fears will be unrealized in the course of the story, and sometimes these will be major plot points. Which brings me to my final point...

Growth

In conjunction with the story bible, ask yourself how the character is going to change over the course of the story. What goals, if any, will they realize? What fears of theirs will come true? When change comes, will they have new goals, new fears? Will there be any change in their personality? Like the story itself, it may behoove you to plot the course of the character's own journey. Of course this is all just part of the procedure I'm attempting to make sure I remain motivated and get this right. Sometimes you might have no plan at all when you sit down to right, just letting the story grow organically out of the fertile grounds of your imagination. That's okay, too. It just seems to me that the bigger the scope of your project, the more planning should be done before hand. Sort of a 'measure twice, cut once' thing. And this project that I'm brewing up? It's going to be huge. Seriously. Huge.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

Preview: Star Trek Online

Preview: Star Trek Online — Blue Ink Alchemy

Fans of Star Trek, brace yourselves. Cryptic Studio's Star Trek Online is just around the corner. Some are already scrambling to get lifetime subscriptions and all the extra goodies they can, whereas I'm just trying to determine if this game is worth my time and money. From what I've seen of the open beta, it could be. There's a lot going for it, but the game suffers from a few flaws that may prove fatal to the experience of other players. [kml_flashembed movie="uploads/sto_preview_final.swf" height="480" width="379" /] When the latest Star Trek film was released in 2009, some blabbermouths in the media talked about how it made Star Trek 'cool again'. Star Trek Online has somehow pulled off the opposite. Star Trek Online has returned Star Trek to the bailiwick of the nerd. I happen to think this MMOG is pretty cool, but I'm a Star Trek fan, and that's the target audience for this game. Not the general public, but Star Trek fans. While Star Trek Online doesn't boast the story emphasis BioWare is touting for Star Wars: The Old Republic, a good number of Trekkies are more interested in becoming part of the Star Trek universe and its ongoing story than they are the universality of the gameplay mechanics. This doesn't mean that Cryptic Studios has skimped on the gameplay, because there's plenty to be had. It's just not the same kind of experience one gets from World of Warcraft or Aion, and that can be an obstacle too great for some to overcome. Gameplay in Star Trek Online is divided between ground combat and space combat. Ground combat is typical MMOG fare. You have abilities with cooldowns used to defeat your enemies. When defeated some enemies drop items for you to use, equip or sell. Your primary attack abilities are based on your equipped weapon. It's nothing terribly new here, but there's an aspect of it that feels different from other MMOGs that I'll address in a moment. Space combat, on the other hand, is likely to be the biggest stumbling block to people, because there's a good amount of it in Star Trek Online. Space combat in Star Trek has been depicted as battles between capital ships more often than not. The game aims more for that feel than that of a frenetic dogfight. Like the tabletop game on the subject, Star Fleet Battles, or its tall ships cousin, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, the mechanics of space combat focus on positioning, hit location and resource distribution. If you've played Wing Commander, you'll be familiar with this form of space combat and you'll find it happening at a managable pace from an outside perspective rather than being in the cockpit of a starfighter. Over at Classholes Anonymous, awitelinsta put it succinctly: Instead of the traditional quest structure, Star Trek Online divides its content into "missions." From anywhere in the galaxy, you can hail Starfleet to get a new mission. These missions vary from general exploration and patrols to an arcing story about escorting a diplomat, investigating the theft of precious material or rescuing colonists. Missions are geared to take about 45 minute to 1 hour, slicing the content up into very managable chunks. While most of them fall into a specific pattern - warp into a system, shoot at enemy ships, beam down to the ground location, blast people down there, beam back up for another space battle and warp out - there's enough variety in the types of missions and stories to keep things interesting. The party system also bears a mention. If you're not in a party already, and you warp into a system where others are on the same mission, you'll be automatically rounded up into a party, and the difficult of the mission will scale accordingly. While this idea seems innovative on paper, more often than not you'll find yourself staring down a well-armed enemy fleet while you and your fellow players float there in your starting ships. Even on your own, the combat can be challenging. However, when it comes to facing ground combat alone, you're never really alone. If you beam down to a location without a group, Star Trek Online provides you with an Away Team. Your Bridge Officers, who have abilities that can assist you in space combat, fill in the empty spaces in your party. Other MMOG players are familiar with 'pets' and the Bridge Officers do fall into that category. They have abilities of their own and participating in a mission with them, for me, almost makes the game feel more like Mass Effect than an MMOG. Of course, the Bridge Officer AI isn't overly complicated, but you do have the option of having a 'red shirt' run in front of you to take all of the enemy fire while you come in behind them to clean up. These somewhat unique elements make Star Trek Online feel like a different MMOG experience. For most MMOG players, though, 'different' does not necessarily mean 'good'. A lot of players are going to be put out by the space combat mechanics, the brevity of missions, a lack of clearly defined 'dungeons' and the overall aesthetic of the game. Even some Star Trek fans won't be able to overcome these obstacles to the fun. It really comes down to personal taste. The game has come under 'enemy fire' of its own for a variety of reasons. It's not the most graphically advanced game out there. Aion is by far a prettier game. Sector space, the "world map" is huge, mostly empty and somewhat lonely as you move from one system to the next. And expect to see a lot of loading screens as you transition from instance to instance. Every system, ground location and starbase exist in their own instance, and the game doesn't exactly handle the transition delicately. The levelling system is different in Star Trek Online than other MMOGs, as it is based on skills rather than overall experience, and most of your character's abilities are based on the weapons, 'kits' and other equipment they carry rather than their overall rank. Veterans of other MMOGs may struggle to overcome all of these points, if they decide it's worth their time to do so. Frankly, I can't blame them if they don't. What nudges this game over to the 'worth playing' column, for me, is the sense of immersion the game provides. This feels very much like Star Trek. The music, the sound design, the user interface, the variety of characters and life forms - it all contributes to the atmosphere of a rich and detailed universe that many people have dreamed of joining for years. Hearing Alexander Courage's music at the completion of a difficult mission seems to have an almost magical quality for me, washing away frustration at pirates or Klingons that was gnawing at my patience. I feel that Star Trek Online has a lot of potential. It's made some mistakes here and there, but there's a sense of overall improvement that, hopefully, will continue into the future. It really does come down to personal taste if you feel Star Trek Online will be worth your time and money. I can't blame the people who will decide that it isn't. I, on the other hand, will be setting my course for the release date of February 2, and it is my sincere hope that as much fun as I've had so far in the beta, crashes and bugs and lag aside, Cryptic has even more to offer. Cryptic, make it so.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

Preview: Star Trek Online

Preview: Star Trek Online — Blue Ink Alchemy

Fans of Star Trek, brace yourselves. Cryptic Studio's Star Trek Online is just around the corner. Some are already scrambling to get lifetime subscriptions and all the extra goodies they can, whereas I'm just trying to determine if this game is worth my time and money. From what I've seen of the open beta, it could be. There's a lot going for it, but the game suffers from a few flaws that may prove fatal to the experience of other players. [kml_flashembed movie="uploads/sto_preview_final.swf" height="480" width="379" /] When the latest Star Trek film was released in 2009, some blabbermouths in the media talked about how it made Star Trek 'cool again'. Star Trek Online has somehow pulled off the opposite. Star Trek Online has returned Star Trek to the bailiwick of the nerd. I happen to think this MMOG is pretty cool, but I'm a Star Trek fan, and that's the target audience for this game. Not the general public, but Star Trek fans. While Star Trek Online doesn't boast the story emphasis BioWare is touting for Star Wars: The Old Republic, a good number of Trekkies are more interested in becoming part of the Star Trek universe and its ongoing story than they are the universality of the gameplay mechanics. This doesn't mean that Cryptic Studios has skimped on the gameplay, because there's plenty to be had. It's just not the same kind of experience one gets from World of Warcraft or Aion, and that can be an obstacle too great for some to overcome. Gameplay in Star Trek Online is divided between ground combat and space combat. Ground combat is typical MMOG fare. You have abilities with cooldowns used to defeat your enemies. When defeated some enemies drop items for you to use, equip or sell. Your primary attack abilities are based on your equipped weapon. It's nothing terribly new here, but there's an aspect of it that feels different from other MMOGs that I'll address in a moment. Space combat, on the other hand, is likely to be the biggest stumbling block to people, because there's a good amount of it in Star Trek Online. Space combat in Star Trek has been depicted as battles between capital ships more often than not. The game aims more for that feel than that of a frenetic dogfight. Like the tabletop game on the subject, Star Fleet Battles, or its tall ships cousin, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, the mechanics of space combat focus on positioning, hit location and resource distribution. If you've played Wing Commander, you'll be familiar with this form of space combat and you'll find it happening at a managable pace from an outside perspective rather than being in the cockpit of a starfighter. Over at Classholes Anonymous, awitelinsta put it succinctly: Instead of the traditional quest structure, Star Trek Online divides its content into "missions." From anywhere in the galaxy, you can hail Starfleet to get a new mission. These missions vary from general exploration and patrols to an arcing story about escorting a diplomat, investigating the theft of precious material or rescuing colonists. Missions are geared to take about 45 minute to 1 hour, slicing the content up into very managable chunks. While most of them fall into a specific pattern - warp into a system, shoot at enemy ships, beam down to the ground location, blast people down there, beam back up for another space battle and warp out - there's enough variety in the types of missions and stories to keep things interesting. The party system also bears a mention. If you're not in a party already, and you warp into a system where others are on the same mission, you'll be automatically rounded up into a party, and the difficult of the mission will scale accordingly. While this idea seems innovative on paper, more often than not you'll find yourself staring down a well-armed enemy fleet while you and your fellow players float there in your starting ships. Even on your own, the combat can be challenging. However, when it comes to facing ground combat alone, you're never really alone. If you beam down to a location without a group, Star Trek Online provides you with an Away Team. Your Bridge Officers, who have abilities that can assist you in space combat, fill in the empty spaces in your party. Other MMOG players are familiar with 'pets' and the Bridge Officers do fall into that category. They have abilities of their own and participating in a mission with them, for me, almost makes the game feel more like Mass Effect than an MMOG. Of course, the Bridge Officer AI isn't overly complicated, but you do have the option of having a 'red shirt' run in front of you to take all of the enemy fire while you come in behind them to clean up. These somewhat unique elements make Star Trek Online feel like a different MMOG experience. For most MMOG players, though, 'different' does not necessarily mean 'good'. A lot of players are going to be put out by the space combat mechanics, the brevity of missions, a lack of clearly defined 'dungeons' and the overall aesthetic of the game. Even some Star Trek fans won't be able to overcome these obstacles to the fun. It really comes down to personal taste. The game has come under 'enemy fire' of its own for a variety of reasons. It's not the most graphically advanced game out there. Aion is by far a prettier game. Sector space, the "world map" is huge, mostly empty and somewhat lonely as you move from one system to the next. And expect to see a lot of loading screens as you transition from instance to instance. Every system, ground location and starbase exist in their own instance, and the game doesn't exactly handle the transition delicately. The levelling system is different in Star Trek Online than other MMOGs, as it is based on skills rather than overall experience, and most of your character's abilities are based on the weapons, 'kits' and other equipment they carry rather than their overall rank. Veterans of other MMOGs may struggle to overcome all of these points, if they decide it's worth their time to do so. Frankly, I can't blame them if they don't. What nudges this game over to the 'worth playing' column, for me, is the sense of immersion the game provides. This feels very much like Star Trek. The music, the sound design, the user interface, the variety of characters and life forms - it all contributes to the atmosphere of a rich and detailed universe that many people have dreamed of joining for years. Hearing Alexander Courage's music at the completion of a difficult mission seems to have an almost magical quality for me, washing away frustration at pirates or Klingons that was gnawing at my patience. I feel that Star Trek Online has a lot of potential. It's made some mistakes here and there, but there's a sense of overall improvement that, hopefully, will continue into the future. It really does come down to personal taste if you feel Star Trek Online will be worth your time and money. I can't blame the people who will decide that it isn't. I, on the other hand, will be setting my course for the release date of February 2, and it is my sincere hope that as much fun as I've had so far in the beta, crashes and bugs and lag aside, Cryptic has even more to offer. Cryptic, make it so.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

Burned by Midnight Oil

Burned by Midnight Oil — Blue Ink Alchemy

This post is going to be somewhat short, which I know will raise a question of why I'm posting at all. Well, I like to keep what few readers I have current, and there's also the fact that I need to vent at people who might possibly understand my frustration. You see, instead of that albeit lovely picture of an oil lamp, this was supposed to be the day I finally got around to posting my preview of Star Trek Online. I have a video supplement planned out and everything. However, it seems that my love for the Flash programming language, ActionScript, has once again proven to be a hindrance rather than a help. I had programmed my video supplement as a slideshow of cropped screenshots, with narration and a bit of appropriate music. Very nice and tidy and all contained within a single frame in Flash. Relatively small and clean, should be no problem to convert to a video that can be uploaded to YouTube, right? Well, not exactly. Turns out I can't seem to get software to understand that there's more content to the video than just that one frame of blank background - the photos load through the script, you see. So I went back and started hashing out the manual, timeline-based method of getting the video together. However, I ran out of time, and now am getting ready to head out for yet another busy day. Why a video supplement? I know I need the practice at planning production times and working with various suites of software if I am to work on them on the future, which I might. I also felt the need to branch out beyond static text into more dynamic forms of media, hence my Netflix 'podcasts' and the attempt at a video with "Powerless," which could have turned out a lot better. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and this is to be more practice for me. Unfortunately, it will have to wait.

---

Blue Ink Alchemy

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gattaca

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gattaca — Blue Ink Alchemy

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In the early days of science fiction, the aim of its creators was not to impress the audience with bombastic explosions or cutting-edge computer graphics. While the overall goal was to entertain and engage and thus earn a living, they didn't have the aforementioned crutches upon which to lean. They had to rely solely on the power of their vision, their skills as storytellers and the ability of their ideas to engage. Gattaca has no ray guns, no explosions, no exotic alien creatures, none of the trappings of what really make something stand out as 'syfy' fare - but when it comes to classic science fiction in theme, mood and execution, writer-director Andrew Niccol shows us how the likes of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne defined the genre. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Alan Arkin, Tony Shaloub, Gore Vidal, Loren Dean, Xander Berkeley and Ernest Borgnine.

In the not-too-distant future, the study of genetics has grown to the point that children can be custom made through liberal eugenics, and that such children are favored over those conceived purely out of love. Vincent Freeman (Hawke) is one of the latter, and when his parents discover his 99% probability of death by heart failure around age 30 coupled with myopia which has all but been eradicated, they guarantee their next child will be more 'perfect,' or more 'valid'. Valid is the term used for children created through the 'proper' eugenics, while those like Vincent are called 'in-valid'. Despite this, however, Vincent is determined to achieve his goal of going into space. To do this he adopts the identity of recently crippled but brilliant Jerome Morrow (Law), and becomes employed by the space-exploring conglomerate called Gattaca. A year-long mission to Titan looms on the horizon, and Vincent's first in line due to his fake genes and true desire, but the murder of the mission director could put an end to his dreams forever.

Taken on its own, Gattaca is a very smart drama. As a movie, it is well and tightly written with good performances from the actors. The art direction bears particular mention. The look and feel of the film is hauntingly postmodern, showing the use of electric cars and advanced gene scanning equipment against the backdrop of 'brutalist' architecture that was prevalent in the 1950s. It lends a familiarity to the story that draws the audience further into the nuanced and well-paced plot. But the virtues of Gattaca don't stop there. This isn't just a science fiction drama. It's a science fiction drama about something.

The film is steeped in symbolism. It plays upon themes of discrimination, destiny, friendship, societal control and sibling rivalry. This is an examination of human nature, and the influences that define, drive and shape the human spirit. While the film is quite clear on the stance it takes with these issues, it never becomes completely overbearing in conveying its message. The story and themes are handled with elegance, downplaying most potential bombast with human emotions that feel real. This might make the film seem bland or lifeless to some viewers, but the plot, acting and thematic elements make Gattaca a taut, stunning dramatic thriller.

More than anything else, Gattaca reminds us that the only true obstacle an individual has to achieving their goals is themselves. It is far too easy for society or an employer or even one's family to lay out boundaries for the individual, saying "This is where you belong, who you are and what we expect of you. Nice people do not deviate from their boundaries." When politeness and conformity are the norm, an individual can feel compelled to swallow their dreams and follow procedure and protocol for the sake of avoiding confrontation. But the truth of the matter is that the dream of the individual is a precious thing, and as a society becomes more regimented and compartmentalized, those dreams are often casualties in the silent but deadly war for the human soul. We have to fight for our dreams, to keep them alive and bring them from our imaginations into reality, and there is going to be opposition every step of the way. Gattaca shows us that even the most imposing obstacles are surmountable, and as I have said on numerous occasions, we only truly fail in our struggle to be who we want to be if we quit and allow others to tell us who we are, rather than insisting on our right to exist, live and thrive on our own terms.

I apologize for the soapbox nature I just got into, but suffice it to say that Gattaca is more than just a good-looking science-fiction drama, and if you agree with any of the points I've just made, about storytelling or otherwise, it's worth your time to watch this film. It's available via Netflix's instant queue, so even in this there's truth to be found. In the end, the only thing truly stopping you... is you.

Josh Loomis can't always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it's unclear if this week's film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain... IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

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Blue Ink Alchemy