The Creeps

The Creeps — Blue Ink Alchemy

Slasher movies and torture porn will always have their place at Halloween and in the hearts and minds of horror fans. For me, effective and lasting horror does not necessarily have anything to do with buckets of blood or how stomach-turning the visuals are. Sometimes, the most penetrating stories of terror have less to do with what we see, and more to do with what we don't; less about the delivery of lines, more about what's left unsaid. In terms of visuals, one of the most effective and haunting horror games I've ever played is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. A little indie gem from a few years back, Amnesia remains a game I have yet to finish. Some horror games like to throw their monsters directly at you in as loud and visceral a way possible, but Amnesia plays things with more subtlety. With no means to defend yourself, a limited amount of lighting in a game defined by darkness and shadows, and the addition of a sanity meter that makes things even more difficult if we're alone in the dark for too long, when monsters appear (or don't, but you know they're there) it's best to just run and hide. It's frighteningly easy to lose track of where you're going and what your goal for the moment is when you hear a moan or a scraping sound and you pretty much crap yourself in terror. The sensations created just through sound design and good use of the environment are, in a word, creepy. Endermen in MineCraft also qualify. Dark-skinned creatures that appear in dark areas, Endermen are unique in that they won't attack you right away. They'll blink around with their teleportation powers, move blocks here and there, and stare at you. If you stare back, though... that's when they become hostile. They scream. And they teleport directly behind you to attack you. Quite creepy. Sometimes, though, the visuals and triggering mechanisms aren't what stick in our minds as something that creeps us out. Sometimes, a person or object can appear completely normal, yet project that aura of vague discomfort that's impossible to shake. This happens a lot when a character appears normal, but talks and acts in a way that hints that they're not quite human, and perhaps only learned about humanity from reading a pamphlet or taking a correspondence course. The Observers in Fringe apply, especially September in the first season. The G-Man from Half-Life also springs to mind - courteous, polite, well-articulated, but... there's definitely something wrong with him. Stanley Kubrick is one of the best film directors to convey this sense of unease. Many of his shots in The Shining and A Clockwork Orange are off-putting in their framing, length, and presentation, even if the conversations within could be considered entirely mundane. But for me, one of the creepiest things he's ever brought to life is the HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Faceless antagonists range from Doctor Who's Daleks with their stilted, loud voices and monstrous appearances concealed by armored throwbacks to low-budget sci-fi, to Michael Meyers and his silent, towering, knife-wielding menace. But HAL is unique. He's not overtly malevolent, nor is he outwardly psychopathic. He is a computer. He is a construct of logic and reason. His actions, given his programming, make sense, when you think about it. And he never raises his voice, never swears, never even speaks ill of those he wrongs. This calm, even manner of speaking coupled with the unblinking gaze of his multiple cameras and the amount of control he exerts over the crew of the spacecraft Discovery make him one of the creepiest characters ever created. What's creepy for you? Who's your favorite creepy antagonist?

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Movie Review: Bram Stoker's Dracula

Movie Review: Bram Stoker's Dracula — Blue Ink Alchemy

It may be hard to realize for some young folks these days, but vampires didn't always sparkle. Nor did they collectively get obsessed with a particular young woman who happens to have really tasty blood or a particular smell. The roots of the vampire tale go deep, and one of the earliest tales to reach a mass market was a novel by Bram Stoker. It's served as the core for a lot of stories since its publication in 1897, and my favorite adaptation thus far is the 1992 film helmed by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, concretely entitled Bram Stoker's Dracula. The year is, in fact, 1897, and solicitor Jonathan Harker is being entrusted with the job of a lifetime. His colleague, a man named Renfield, has gotten locked away in bedlam, and it falls to Harker to do the last bit of paperwork to secure the real estate acquisitions of an influential but eccentic Romanian businessman. Harker says good-bye to his fiancee Mina and heads to Transylvania to meet his client, the reclusive Count Dracula. Dracula welcomes Harker with warmth and hospitality, but when he sees a photograph of Mina among Harker's effects, he suddenly becomes... something else. When Dracula goes to England to claim what's his, he not only draws Mina and her circle of friends into his perilous life, he attracts the attention of one Abraham Van Helsing. Before I get into the characters, which are the true pulsing heart and hot blood of Dracula, I want to talk about how Coppola put this movie together. The first word that springs to mind when I consider the film is "sumptuous." While some more modern tales opt for a washed-out aesthetic, colors have a tendency to pop off of the screen and elements like shadow and camera movement are used excellently. Some portions of the set design and establishing shots feel informed by an earlier era of creature features, and the film boldly shuns most modern special effects techniques, adding even more to the feeling of cinematic nostalgia. Monstrosity and the powers of the night are achieved through Oscar-winning makeup, sound editing and costume design, brought to life by a mostly excellent cast.
"Come in, come in. Stay a while. Have a drink." I maintain that Gary Oldman is one of the best and perhaps most underrated actors of his generation. He has an impressive range and natural charisma that informs just about any role he adopts. His Dracula makes full use of both of these aspects, as he goes through many fascinating and sometimes disturbing changes over the course of the film. He is the magnetic center around which the rest of the film revolves, and his work here is truly impressive. Anthony Hopkins is no slouch, either, and counters Dracula's outright alien nature with a very human and determined Van Helsing. The stiff and somewhat staid performances of Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder as Harker and Mina can be off-putting at first - in fact, Reeves is often called out for "ruining" the movie - but what I like about these initially wooden portrayals is that they show us the sort of people to whom Dracula was introduced by Bram Stoker over a century ago. In Victorian times, the roles of men and women in terms of sex and sexuality were extremely strict and defined. Not everyone subscribed to this, but the common thinking was that men were almost constantly poised to take advantage of the women around them, and women thus subjected to such lusts would essentially transform from ladies of innocense and purity to insatiable, wanton women. Thus sex contained an element of fear and terror, something against the enlightened individual must always be on guard, and Stoker's novel takes that juxtaposition to a natural conclusion, personifying these elements in the vampire. Bram Stoker's Dracula preserves this in that the film's luscious visuals and content often walk a fine line between the erotic and the macabre. The effect is, not unlike the character himself, hypnotic and seductive, drawing us into a world that feels ancient yet familiar, and refusing to let us go.
It's amazing what a jaunt outside of the castle can do for you. Bram Stoker's Dracula does have some flaws, including a couple missteps in pacing and storylines that can make the plot feel a touch crowded, but its energy and presentation balance these elements out and the casting and direction push the film into an even more positive category. Dracula as a character can be difficult for an audience to sympathize with, but Oldman's performance demonstrates how to pull off such a feat. The film, like the character, is a noble and passionate if somewhat cursed and depraved relic of yesteryear, and is all the more charming and seductive in an age of sterile CG and lifeless characters, to say nothing of some of the pretenders to Dracula's throne. He is the unquestionable and ultimate lord of darkness, and Coppola's vision of his story remains one of the finest vampire movies ever made.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Game Review: Dishonored

Game Review: Dishonored — Blue Ink Alchemy

Subtlety can be underrated in video games. A great deal of them rely on glitzy graphics or bombastic action to carry their experiences. Rock-solid gameplay that relies on things other than frenetic twitchy skills, a unique world with a lived-in feeling, and an interesting story with characters that have depth and complexity all contribute to a game rising above the average. In the case of Dishonored, two out of three ain't bad. Corvo Attano had it all. From his birthplace on Serkonos in the Empire of the Isles, he rose from obscurity and a mysterious past to become Lord Protector of the Empress and her daughter. Unfortunately, he did not foresee assassins bestowed with a dark power storming Dunwall Tower and assassinating the Empress. Framed for the murder and on the run, Corvo is on the run with few options - until the same power approaches him with an offer to help him get his revenge. Even as a plague ravages the streets of Dunwall, Corvo finds his way to a Loyalist group willing to back him up, directing him where to point his deadly dagger. As I mentioned in the intro, world-building goes a long way in making a game both worth your time to play and memorable after. Dishonored's Dunwall is one of its main draws. The city seems to have a very unique mix of Victorian-style architecture and dress while things like the Tallboys and Walls of Light have a somewhat dystopian electropunk feel to them. Graffiti, conversations, artwork, and the variety of items to pick up all work together to provide a sense of immersion in the world through which Corvo will be sneaking from target to target.
From its canals to its adverts to its balustrades, Dunwall looks amazing. Much like Deus Ex and Thief, the sneaking and the possibility of bypassing combat entirely instead of being shoved into it the way you are with other first-person games is what sets Dishonored apart. No enemy, from the standard street-walking mook to what would qualify as boss fights, needs to be confronted directly. You always get a clear indication of how aware guards are to your presence, you're agile enough that running on rooftops is always an option, and you don't dissolve in water so swimming can work, too - provided the vicious barracuda-like fish don't have you for lunch. Your gadgets and powers are a big help, as well. Even the lowest level of the Dark Vision power lets you see guards through walls so you can better plan your routes, and Blink, a short-range teleport, lets you cross open areas and even lines of sight without raising the alarm. Couple these powers with the option to choke folks out and a sleep-dart crossbow, and you have the opportunity to prove that assassins don't have to kill to be effective and feared. This leads me into talking about some of the drawbacks to Dishonored. The number of dead bodies you create and the degree to which you use certain powers contribute to what's called Chaos, a mechanic that functions a lot like morality systems in other games. A high Chaos rating alters the last mission of the game, and the game has multiple endings based on it, meaning that if you want the best ending, you need to be as non-lethal as possible, even if it's more organic to silence a guard with a quick stab or you're just fed up with a section and want to blast your way through. On top of that, the characters you encounter, especially your erstwhile Loyalist allies, are very flat and not terribly emotive, many of them having the creepy unblinking constant-eye-contact problem NPCs have had since Oblivion. I almost would have preferred text screens between missions or, even better, a voice-over from Corvo so our protagonist could have a little more personality of his own. Deus Ex (especially Human Revolution) and Thief games benefit greatly from their heroes not being silent.
"Fly, my pretty ones! FLY!!" Still, none of these problems can prevent me from recommending Dishonored. For all of its faults, the game plays extremely well and feels rewarding when you pull off the right combination of teleporting, sneaking, distracting guards, and finding your unique route to your target. The world is rich and well-realized even if it is populated with stiff characters lacking true depth, and the visual and sound design pull you into Dunwall every time it loads up. A little characterization here, a touch of personality for our hero there, and removing the Chaos issue would make the game damn near perfect. As it is, it's simply a very good game that fans of stealth, assassination, and games with a stand-out look and feel are bound to enjoy.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

What Characters Say

What Characters Say — Blue Ink Alchemy

"Supernatural" has some great exchanges. There are many people who come to mind that prefer dialog in prose to description. Even peers of mine find it much easier to write dialog than long narrative passages. The difficulty in writing dialog well is twofold: Making conversations clear, and making them feel natural. Both of these challenges, however, are entirely surmountable, and it might not be as hard as you think. Clear conversation can be a problem because once you get on a roll, you may lose track of who's saying what yourself. In rough drafts especially, our old friend "said" can help with that. Yes, I remember old English lessons trying to tell me that "said is dead." Catchy as the mnemonic might be, it's not necessarily true. Said can hold up the structure of a conversation long enough to get yourself through it, and when you're drafting or rewriting and a deadline is looming and you have to write something but nothing is coming to mind... "said" can help. You can always take it back out later. You don't have to replace every instance, mind you. But descriptors of emotion definitely help keep the story interesting and inform the reader of the state the characters are in. Action immediately before or after a line of dialog helps, as well. There's no hard line between speaking and motion in real life; why should there be one in your writing? Imagine one of your characters having a conversation with another one while making breakfast. The cooking doesn't just stop when they talk. The character at the stove is frying bacon, flipping eggs, putting toast in, and so on. Is the character at the table taking notes? Drinking coffee? Loading a gun? Use these actions to both keep the conversation clear and flesh out these two folks for your reader. The other challenge of dialog is keeping it natural. Some characters may have reasons for not being natural, but I'll go into more detail about that on Thursday. In the example above, if you're setting up a future scene at breakfast, the temptation might be to fill out the conversation with pure exposition. People, however, rarely just pass expository facts back and forth in conversation. They ask questions, they interject thoughts, they go off on tangents. Banter is something that's tempting to emulate, but first and foremost is doing your best to make your characters talk like real people. I would recommend spending some time on public transit. Seriously, moreso than television or films or theater, sitting on a bus or train listening to people talk can really help you nail down some ways and means to keep your dialog lively and organic. Too much exposition or straightforward emoting ("I am feeling sad because of X") can make dialog feel stiff and clunky, even if it's clear. The more dialog you hear outside of constructed fiction, the better your own dialog will be. That said, you can always go out and engage in a little conversation yourself! Listen to how people talk, and note your own reactions and speech. I wouldn't recommend taking notes right in front of someone, though. That strikes me as kind of creepy.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Flash Fiction: Mission to Sirius

Flash Fiction: Mission to Sirius — Blue Ink Alchemy

This week, for The Subgenre Smash-And-Grab, the d20 Ring picked Space Opera and Technothriller.

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The intelligence report appeared one letter after another on Commander Dane's data-pad, red letters turning green as they were decrypted by the star cruiser Intrepid's onboard AI. He frowned, and turned to the lieutenant keeping pace with him as he strode down the corridor. "Edelston, have Captain Poole join us on the bridge, please." Lieutenant Edelston nodded and ran off. Dane walked through the pressure doors onto the bridge, glancing around at the men and women at their duty stations. "Report." "Shipboard communications are still down, sir." The yeoman near the Engineering console was next to one of the ship's best technicians, who was elbow deep in the circuitry underneath. "Last report from the Drive section was that the reactors are at 25% power. We're not losing life support any time soon, but we're essentially dead in space." "Damn it. Navigation?" "We're drifting deeper into the nebula, sir. Telemetry suggests we can remain undetected if we stay on this course for the next few minutes, at least. We got lucky, sir." "Thank you, Lieutenant. I need a runner to get me an update from Drive." "On it, sir," an ensign said, who promptly left the bridge. Dane turned back to the report in his hand. The AI could not communicate or transmit any new information with the system down, but archives were still available. The intelligence report was timestamped just before the sudden shutdown of communications and main drive function, a transmission from Fleet Command. Dane read it over again as the runner from Drive reappeared on the bridge, only slightly out of breath. "They say we'll have full function in ten minutes. They're going to use power from the main gun to jump-start the drive." Dane realized what was going to happen, and handed the ensign the data-pad as he left the bridge. He jogged down corridors and slid down stairwells, stopping at one point to pick up a sidearm. In just over a minute, he was in the bowels of the ship, entering a maintenance area over the construct that ran its length. He drew his weapon and dropped through the hatch. "Captain Poole." Poole turned, his arm around Lieutenant Edelston's shoulders. His free hand held a plasma cutter, poised at her neck. "Weapon on the deck, sir." "Edelston, are you hurt?" She shook her head. Poole tightened his grip on her. "I said, weapon on the deck." "I heard you, Captain. I'd like you to explain yourself, first." "We have to abort the mission, Commander. What we're doing out here is wrong." "We're observing fleet operations in the Sirius system, Bob. Nothing more." "Why not send a survey team to do that? Why send a star cruiser?" "We're the fastest and most capable ship in the fleet. We have an experienced crew. We were already on maneuvers in this area of space." "And we also have a goddamn moon laser as our main gun." "That's just a colloquial term for it. You know its proper term is coaxial cannon." "Whatever it's called, it shouldn't be out here. Now, put down your gun." Dane studied Poole for a long moment. "I'll take my finger off of the trigger, but I can't put it down. Fair enough?" Poole tightened his grip on the lieutenant. "I don't want to hurt her, Dave." "Then don't. Put down the torch and I'll put down the gun, and we can talk." "Talk? What is there to talk about? I shorted the primary transfer coupling in the Drive section. I did it in such a way that killed our communications, for now at least. I know I'll be court-martialed for this. There's no discussion to be had." "You still haven't told me why." "The Senate's not popular back home. They need something to rally the people behind. A war with Sirius is a great motivator." "We barely have contract with Sirius. Why would they want to start a war?" "Profit? Votes? Who knows? All I know is, a star cruiser with a moon laser is an extremely aggressive message to send, even if your orders are really just to observe. What were our orders, Dave?" "I'm not at liberty to say." "What target did the Senate pick out for the moon laser?" "Stop calling it that." "Why? It's called a moon laser because they intend it to blow holes in moons. It can level cities from orbit in a flash. They sent us here to start a war." "Bob, please, let her go." Poole flicked the plasma cutter on. Edelston winced, gritted her teeth, but didn't cry out. She looked at Dane. The ship's commanding officer touched a stud on the side of his sidearm, and Edelston gave him a very small, almost imperceptible nod. "What do you want, Bob?" "I want us to go home. I want you to record and transmit full disclosure of our orders to every newswave station in the Colonies. I want the Colonial Senate to answer for what they've done, and what they intend to do. And I want you to put me in an escape pod as soon as we're in range of the Outer Reach." "That's it?" "That's it." "Okay." Dane pulled the trigger. The sidearm, set for stun, hit Edelston in her mid-section. She gave a short, sharp cry as the electromagnetic charge blasted through her system, and she collapsed. Before Poole could react, Dane stunned him, too. The comm device on his belt chirped at him. "Bridge to Commander Dane. Main Drive systems and communications restored, sir." "Excellent work. Tactical report?" "Long-range scans indicate several Sirius frigates making for the nebula. They know we're here." Dane frowned. He'd never agreed with their orders, and he wasn't about to risk his ship and crew if they'd already been compromised. "Plot a course for Station Theta. Get us out of here." "Aye aye, sir." "And I'll need a medical team at the Foward Coax Bay." He looked down at Poole. "You should have talked to me, Bob."

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Writer Report: Long Hours, Long Days

Writer Report: Long Hours, Long Days — Blue Ink Alchemy

It is my sincerest hope that this week was an aberration, and not the template for what's to come between now and January (or even February depending on how busy things become). Weekend work combined with long days requiring intense focus have left me somewhat drained. I also hope I'm not sounding too much like a broken record, making posts like this. It is cruelly true that in my position, I must prioritize doing what pays the bills over doing what I want, what I enjoy, or what interests me. The editing and rewriting of Cold Streets doesn't pay bills. Writing articles about games and storytelling don't, either. And the last week or two have been demanding enough that I have not been able to nail down a change in schedule that will allow me to pursue those things to put me in a better position for a greater change in my life. So we'll try again next week, and hope that the hours and days aren't quite as long.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

From the Vault: Death & Consequences

From the Vault: Death & Consequences — Blue Ink Alchemy

Dayjob demands have put me way behind in several ways. As I struggle to recover & catch up, here's an entry from last year that I feel is still relevant.
One of these soldiers is likely to die. There's just something about a game, or story, that doesn't pull its punches. I get a feeling for that something when I play FTL or the new XCOM. A ship exploding under my intrepid crew or a favorite soldier getting their face melted off by plasma fire carries a bit of an emotional wallop. I'm tempted to keep the autosave feature of XCOM turned off to heighten that feeling and maintain the game's edge. And that edge comes from choices having consequences, and those consequences sticking. When games present their players with choice, the experience is improved when those choices mean something later on. One of the strengths of the Mass Effect series was that who you spared and who you left to rot does come back in one way or another, even if it doesn't play too much into the overall story. While the consequences of those choices only really mattered in a minor sense, it felt like they mattered, at least to me. In the aforementioned games, the choices really do matter, and a wrong choice means death. It's not telegraphed or presented in story terms, either; they're the little incidental gaming choices we make, like having a soldier cover a civilian's retreat, or picking one class of weapon over another, or choosing the destination for your vessel. It is nearly impossible to predict which choices will lead to total victory and which will lead to bloody doom. That is what makes these games challenging and fun to play. Similarly, some of the best stories out there have characters who make choices that lead to either their deaths or the deaths of others. It happens to men and women in command all the time, sure, but others are simply doing what they feel is right or trying to protect someone or something they love. George RR Martin, Jim Butcher, and Chuck Wendig have all done this - a character we like makes a decision, does all they can to back that decision up, and it explodes in their face. Someone close to them gets hurt or killed, and their own life may come close to ending before the story's done. It's tragic, it's harrowing, and it's great storytelling. Make your character's choices matter. Make those deaths mean something.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

No New Review This Week

No New Review This Week — Blue Ink Alchemy

The dayjob has been demanding much of my attention and focus. Since that is how I'm currently paying the bills and funding my endeavors, it has to come first. Unfortunately, it's left little time for me to see or play anything new. I have a couple books to read, but that also requires time I haven't spared lately. Overall the last couple weeks have been kind of a bummer, and I'm still trying to shake off the vestiges of seasonal transition that left me feeling drained and unmotivated. Hopefully next week I can be back to my normal schedule. Thank you, as always, for hanging in there with me and for reading what I write. The good stuff is coming. I deeply appreciate your patience and support.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Flash Fiction: Back It Up

Flash Fiction: Back It Up — Blue Ink Alchemy

This week at Terribleminds, we were asked to use a random song title.

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Cornelius remembered the morning's breakfast all too clearly. "Bah!" One of the consuls, Gaius Terentius Varro, shot to his feet and stabbed a finger at the other. "You're as spineless as your beloved Fabius! Give me one good reason why we don't destroy the enemy of Rome here and now!" The other consul, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, shook his head, holding his bread firmly in both hands as if to keep them from going for a weapon. "I'm telling you, Varro, every other Roman leader that has smashed into this enemy has brought ruin upon himself and his men. Look to the examples set by those who've come before, and think before you act." "What would you have me do, Paullus, you old degenerate? Wait for Hannibal to escape from us? Look! Out there are only 40,000 of his men! We have twice that many!" "Yes. Across an open, flat plain, where his cavalry and beasts have the advantage. We should dispatch at least one legion to the hills nearby, and neutralize the high ground. If you want to capture Hannibal, we should attempt to contain him first." "Capture him?" Varro crossed his arms. "You forget, Paullus. I swore an oath to Rome that I would crush Hannibal, not capture him. I would be a poor consul indeed if I took such an oath, and did not back it up with decisive action." He picked up his cup and raised it to the tribunes assembled in his tent. "To oaths fulfilled! To victory! To Rome!" Cornelius had toasted with the others, not wishing to antagonize Varro any further, but even then, misgivings emerged in his mind regarding Varro's plan. However, it was Varro's day to command, and thus the army was deployed to face the Carthaginian forces. Cornelius noted that the enemy was arrayed with their lighter infantry in the center, advancing ahead of the rest of the army, and as he squinted through the dust, he could have sworn Hannibal himself was at the forefront of that detachment. "Hah!" Varro pointed, tall and proud in his saddle as he rode with his cavalry on the army's left flank. "See, the man himself comes to face his doom. Advance!" The Roman legions packed in closer and closer, as Varro had planned. His goal was to use his powerful, superior numbers to smash straight through the lines of Carthage and fulfill his oath. Cornelius, for his part, drew his sword to do his part in supporting the advance. The battle at Cannae was joined. Varro, Cornelius, and the rest of the Roman cavalry on the left flank engaged the light but nimble Numidians, a cavalry contingent that had long been the bane of supply lines and water-bearers of the Romans. As the battle began to take shape, spears clashing and thrusting in the dusty morning, Cornelius saw that Hannibal and his center were falling back. They were not fully engaged. Varro called for more pressure on the center, pressing the Roman legions even more tightly to one another and goading their advance. As they smashed into the Carthaginian spears and slings, a cry went up from the rear of the cavalry formation. Out of the dust came heavy Carthaginian cavalry, and Cornelius recognized Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal, leading the charge. It took Cornelius a moment to realize what had happened. While they had been on the left flank of their formation, Paullus and his cavalry had been on the right. Something must have happened to Paullus, Cornelius thought as he wheeled his horse. Suddenly, as the Romans kept advancing into the Carthaginian lines collapsing around them, encircling them, Varro's cavalry was itself caught between two other forces. As Hasdrubal closed in on one side, and the Numidians on the other, Cornelius looked past them towards the infantry, and what he saw seized his heart. It had been hours of fighting, and now the trap Hannibal had laid was closing hard on the Romans. Once the cavalry was done with Varro and his horse, they'd wheel into the Roman rear, leaving the legions nowhere to go, so tightly packed now that they could barely swing their swords. Cornelius turned back to Varro, perhaps to suggest they fall back into the Carthaginian heavy infantry and perhaps relieve some of the pressure, but Varro was already galloping from the field, glancing over his shoulder, his face white as the marble of the Roman senate. Cornelius fought his way through to make his own escape. A Numidian spear found his shoulder, but he struck back at the man wielding it and wrenched himself free, kicking his horse to break from battle. He rode towards the river, intending to follow it to safety, but stopped short at the sight of several men near their slaughtered horses, ready to accept the oncoming Carthaginians. In the center was Paullus, bleeding from a wound in his head. "Consul," Cornelius said, "can you ride?" Paullus shook his head. "I ordered the dismount. I will not abandon our men to suffer and die alone." Hasdrubal and his horse were wheeling around as Cornelius had feared. He offered his reins to Paullus. "Please, Paullus. Flee while you can." The older man placed his hand on the tribune's wrist. "Cornelius. Do not waste in useless pity the few moments left in which to escape from the hands of the enemy. Go, announce publicly to the Senate that they must fortify Rome and make its defense strong before the victorious enemy approaches. And... tell Fabius privately that I have ever remembered his precepts in life and in death. Suffer me to breathe my last among my slaughtered soldiers." Cornelius clenched his jaw, fighting back tears. The cry went up from the heavy horses of Carthage as they came upon their prey. Cursing, Cornelius kicked his horse hard, leaving the scene behind him with all speed. Cannae was a disaster. Varro had failed in fulfilling his oath. He had no idea how any of them could save Rome now. The song "Back It Up" is by Caro Emerald, and has nothing to do with Rome. The Battle of Cannae took place in 216 BCE. Learn more about the Punic Wars here.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

So Then, That Happened

So Then, That Happened — Blue Ink Alchemy

Remember when I said that there was a bunch of dayjob nastiness looming on the horizon a few weeks ago? Lo and behold, it has arrived. I volunteered for some weekend work (might as well get in front of the thing while I can), and while I was able to take care of things, it took a lot longer than I expected. I was planning on writing my flash fiction yesterday, as well as get another one of those personal Tumblr post things out of my system. I've had one brewing for a while. But the paying work takes priority. And I don't get paid to navel-gaze and whine and carry on. So. Flash fiction tomorrow, pontification later, and for now, whatever rest I can get before the next big assignment comes along.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Writer Report: Word by Word

Writer Report: Word by Word — Blue Ink Alchemy

This is... a bit more complex than I thought it'd be. I'm working over Cold Streets the way Jack Bauer works over someone who knows where the bomb is on Air Force One. Two of the opening scenes have been entirely swapped, and I'm rewriting a major section and introduction of a new character to make more sense and be more interesting. The more I work it over, the more I realize there's more to do. Other things to add and change. Lines of logic I need to keep untangled. That sort of thing. And then you have realizations along the lines of "Wait. If I change X, then why wouldn't Y happen?" So I'm working to incorporate those new ideas, as well. Suffice it to say, the rewrite's going to take a bit longer than I initially estimated. I guess I have my work cut out for me.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Don't Call It A Comeback

Don't Call It A Comeback — Blue Ink Alchemy

Probes aren't just adorable - they're essential. There are really only two games I'd consider playing competitively on a regular basis. I don't think I have the skills to play a first-person shooter anything but casually in multiplayer, and while I used to play CounterStrike in university, I can't see myself devoting the time necessary to the game now, let alone coughing up money every year for the latest iteration of the best "spunk-gargle-weewee" game around. I'm also not one for fighting games like Street Fighter; again, I'm much more casual with that sort of game, and Divekick is more my speed with that sort of thing. The two games I look towards as a true test of my skills and that engage me enough to drive me to improve constantly are Magic and Starcraft. While I still want to return to Legacy in Magic, Standard will be more economical, but that's a post for another time. Even more economical is StarCraft 2 - unlike Warhammer or Warmachine, there's no miniatures to buy or paint, and no need to find a table big enough to play on. The only investment required is time. And lean tissue in the brain. Getting back into StarCraft 2 after a long break isn't easy for anybody. Heart of the Swarm has hit since I last played on the ladder, and that may have changed things up drastically. My only recourse is to change with them, and that means starting over again, from scratch, to build myself back up into a better gamer. What I like about StarCraft as opposed to say, Magic, is that the random element is minimized and, on higher levels of play, non-existent. It's entirely skill and strategy. But before I can get anywhere near that level, I have to get my bare bones basics nailed down. And that means mechanics. That means making workers. Building workers is pretty much the foundation of any future play. It's the fuel that runs a player's engine in StarCraft. It's the mana of Magic, the production certs of Axis & Allies, the planetary resources of Twilight Imperium. I can't spend any time worrying about build orders or army composition counters or even the meta-game at large. Not yet, at least. As much as I love to tie my strategic and tactical gameplay into a greater philosophy or Sun-Tzu or something, there's a reason soldiers start at boot camp and aren't just shipped into combat. Eren in Attack on Titan doesn't strap on the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear and get right to titan-slaying without some serious training. That's the way it has to be for me, as well. So I've looked up some notes on the changes to the game, watched some videos by Filter, and started drilling against the AI. Not to practice tactics, not to ensure wins, not to nail down build orders. I'm just making workers and basic units, focusing on the workers. So far, Terran and Protoss are going fine. Zerg, I'm struggling with. But I'll get there. And when I do, at that point I'll jump on the ladder and start fighting live opponents. Though 'fighting' may be a bit of a stretch, as all I'm likely to do is bunch up all of my basic dudes and lob them at the enemy with no real tactics involved. Then again, I don't think many people at Bronze level will know what to do when 50 Marines or 30 Zealots or 40 Roaches come knocking at their door en masse 10 minutes into a game. I guess we'll see once I have my benchmarks nailed down.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Game Review: Dishonored

Game Review: Dishonored — Blue Ink Alchemy

Subtlety can be underrated in video games. A great deal of them rely on glitzy graphics or bombastic action to carry their experiences. Rock-solid gameplay that relies on things other than frenetic twitchy skills, a unique world with a lived-in feeling, and an interesting story with characters that have depth and complexity all contribute to a game rising above the average. In the case of Dishonored, two out of three ain't bad. Corvo Attano had it all. From his birthplace on Serkonos in the Empire of the Isles, he rose from obscurity and a mysterious past to become Lord Protector of the Empress and her daughter. Unfortunately, he did not foresee assassins bestowed with a dark power storming Dunwall Tower and assassinating the Empress. Framed for the murder and on the run, Corvo is on the run with few options - until the same power approaches him with an offer to help him get his revenge. Even as a plague ravages the streets of Dunwall, Corvo finds his way to a Loyalist group willing to back him up, directing him where to point his deadly dagger. As I mentioned in the intro, world-building goes a long way in making a game both worth your time to play and memorable after. Dishonored's Dunwall is one of its main draws. The city seems to have a very unique mix of Victorian-style architecture and dress while things like the Tallboys and Walls of Light have a somewhat dystopian electropunk feel to them. Graffiti, conversations, artwork, and the variety of items to pick up all work together to provide a sense of immersion in the world through which Corvo will be sneaking from target to target.
From its canals to its adverts to its balustrades, Dunwall looks amazing. Much like Deus Ex and Thief, the sneaking and the possibility of bypassing combat entirely instead of being shoved into it the way you are with other first-person games is what sets Dishonored apart. No enemy, from the standard street-walking mook to what would qualify as boss fights, needs to be confronted directly. You always get a clear indication of how aware guards are to your presence, you're agile enough that running on rooftops is always an option, and you don't dissolve in water so swimming can work, too - provided the vicious barracuda-like fish don't have you for lunch. Your gadgets and powers are a big help, as well. Even the lowest level of the Dark Vision power lets you see guards through walls so you can better plan your routes, and Blink, a short-range teleport, lets you cross open areas and even lines of sight without raising the alarm. Couple these powers with the option to choke folks out and a sleep-dart crossbow, and you have the opportunity to prove that assassins don't have to kill to be effective and feared. This leads me into talking about some of the drawbacks to Dishonored. The number of dead bodies you create and the degree to which you use certain powers contribute to what's called Chaos, a mechanic that functions a lot like morality systems in other games. A high Chaos rating alters the last mission of the game, and the game has multiple endings based on it, meaning that if you want the best ending, you need to be as non-lethal as possible, even if it's more organic to silence a guard with a quick stab or you're just fed up with a section and want to blast your way through. On top of that, the characters you encounter, especially your erstwhile Loyalist allies, are very flat and not terribly emotive, many of them having the creepy unblinking constant-eye-contact problem NPCs have had since Oblivion. I almost would have preferred text screens between missions or, even better, a voice-over from Corvo so our protagonist could have a little more personality of his own. Deus Ex (especially Human Revolution) and Thief games benefit greatly from their heroes not being silent.
"Fly, my pretty ones! FLY!!" Still, none of these problems can prevent me from recommending Dishonored. For all of its faults, the game plays extremely well and feels rewarding when you pull off the right combination of teleporting, sneaking, distracting guards, and finding your unique route to your target. The world is rich and well-realized even if it is populated with stiff characters lacking true depth, and the visual and sound design pull you into Dunwall every time it loads up. A little characterization here, a touch of personality for our hero there, and removing the Chaos issue would make the game damn near perfect. As it is, it's simply a very good game that fans of stealth, assassination, and games with a stand-out look and feel are bound to enjoy.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Writers Need Editors

Writers Need Editors — Blue Ink Alchemy

Kerrigan demands better motivations. She's a strong, independent woman who don't need no man. I don't know how many writers would be willing to admit this. Good ones, I'd imagine. But here's a shocking fact that may take you by surprise: no writer is an island. Even great writers who sell millions of copies don't really work alone. They need people to read their work. They need publishing houses and agents to get physical copies on store shelves. And above all else, writers need editors. For some, these can be test readers that point out plot holes and typos. For others, these are professional gate-keepers, savvy and mature folks who know when to say "No" to something and also when to slap a writer's wrist for trying to pull a fast one. This is especially true if you have multiple writers working on the same project. Without someone in an editorial position overseeing the work, said work is going to end up as a confused mess with conflicting visions and nonsensical passages. In short, it's like trying to run a kitchen where one person is undercooking the steak while another is using the wrong spice for the potatoes. You can have the freshest, highest-quality ingredients, but if someone does something to those ingredients that don't work for the dish, the entire meal is ruined. Case in point: I finished the campaign for StarCraft 2's "Heart of the Swarm" expansion and... my feelings are very, very mixed. I would feel a lot better about it if so much of it didn't feel like a retread of earlier Blizzard works. There are direct parallels to be drawn between this and Warcraft 3's "Reign of Chaos", specifically the Orc campaign. It was difficult for me to discern anything I'd call a meaningful arc for any of its characters, even Kerrigan. Some of the conversations feel less like actual discussions and more like one-liners traded between characters put into a scene the way you put two ships into a harbor to pass in the night. However, I never found myself completely disgusted by any of this the way I was by how romance overrode what could have been character development for Kerrigan. Her quest for revenge becoming a consolidation of Zerg power under her rule that gave way to a greater understanding of the Swarm would have been a lot more interesting and involving if we weren't constantly reminded of the romance. I don't see why Kerrigan ever needed to be 'saved'. I would have enjoyed the campaign a lot more if she'd made her own choices and stood her own ground more. So what was good about the campaign? The expansion on the history of the Zerg was interesting, some aspects stretching back past the original writing of the Zerg background. Several of the characters, from the new Ancient Zerg to those returning in new forms, are interesting conceptually and have unique points of view, moreso than similar characters in the previous campaign, "Wings of Liberty." While some of the dialog was eye-rolling in its delivery, it wasn't all terrible and there were moments where I was taken aback or found myself having a good-natured chuckle in response. And as egregious as I found the romance in which Kerrigan found herself entangled, when she was on her own I saw glimpses of a character who was thinking, growing, and moving forward for her own reasons. There's so much more than could have been done with this story. There's potential in its concepts and history that went unrealized or underdeveloped. Why? Too many writers, not enough editors tied into a singular, clear vision. Kerrigan could have been much stronger if she hadn't been yanked around between learning about the Zerg and being lovelorn over her dude. The story would have felt a great deal more smooth if plot points from "Wings of Liberty" had been remembered more clearly. The concepts and characters could have been given more time to breathe and develop if the story wasn't so busy cribbing notes from earlier games. What we got wasn't the worst game story I've ever played, and it's left more of an impression and a desire to play than the first campaign did - but it could have been much, much better.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Flash Fiction: Strict Instructions

Flash Fiction: Strict Instructions — Blue Ink Alchemy

Normally, this would be where I share with you the latest story I cobbled together for this week's challenge over at Chuck Wendig's Terribleminds. But this week, I can't do that. Nope. Chuck gave strict instructions this week. You can go here to find out what they are, and then hunt down my entry. I believe it's towards the bottom of page three. Good luck to everyone involved. The prize is pretty awesome. Also, it's a horror theme, so... sweet dreams.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Writer Report: By Hand

Writer Report: By Hand — Blue Ink Alchemy

This week has been relatively rough. Some projects at the dayjob simply refuse to die. I've had some difficulty sticking to my exercise routine. It's possible I'm still knackered by the changing of the seasons, especially now that colder weather and even less sunshine is the order of the day. So I'm not as far along in my edit & initial rewrite of Cold Streets as I'd like to be. There is, however, good news in that I have quite a few ideas and notes written out. By hand. I'm hoping to apply my ideas over the weekend, and possibly make some larger strides towards finishing the rewrite. I'd solicit test readers right now, but I already know how rough this draft is, and I won't subject any of you fine folks to it without at least a little bit of polish and sanding. I've also been writing letters to friends to keep that art alive, but that's neither here nor there. Hopefully, next week will be better. I'll do my best to make it so.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Making Magic More Metal

Making Magic More Metal — Blue Ink Alchemy

It's been a few months since I've even considered looking for more than a few minutes at truly competitive gameplay. There's been a lot going on, and I haven't really taken the time to consider how that could be helpful to me. Things like constructing a deck in Magic and building efficiently in a RTS game are good structural exercises for my mind. Taking those skills into a competitive environment keep my attention sharp and teach me how to be a more gracious loser. Because I know I won't always win. But that doesn't mean I won't try, dammit. For the better part of a year, I haven't seriously tackled the Magic: The Gathering format of Legacy. I was considering a few potential decks a while ago, but most of those plans fell by the wayside. After the release of the Modern Masters set, and some prompting from a friend, I've come back to the notion of putting a deck together to take with me to official events and the occasional Saturday night at my friendly local gaming store. Legacy isn't the only format out there, though. Between it and the ever-changing Standard is a format known as Modern. There are a few decks out there that have cards that span both formats. The one that appeals to me the most is called 'Affinity'. I've liked artifacts for a long time, because they're not dependant on colors and can get around a lot of obstacles if played correctly. I tried putting together a list that didn't subscribe to most common color combinations for the deck. However, a few suggestions and lists introduced me to [mtg_card]Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas[/mtg_card]. An ambitious and cunning artificer, Tezzeret has always been friendly to metal decks. As an agent of resident big bad dragon daddy Nicol Bolas, he's slightly more insidious. The deck takes some of the basics of other Affinity decks in terms of creatures and mana sources, which gives me a few options. [mtg_deck title="Tezzeret's Affinity"] // Creatures 4 Arcbound Ravager 4 Ornithopter 4 Memnite 4 Vault Skirge 3 Etched Champion 3 Steel Overseer // Spells 4 Thoughtcast // Planeswalkers 4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas // Artifacts 4 Chalice of the Void 4 Mox Opal 4 Cranial Plating 3 Springleaf Drum // Lands 4 Vault of Whispers 4 Seat of the Synod 4 Ancient Tomb 3 Glimmervoid // Sideboard 3 Oblivion Ring 3 Perish 3 Ethersworn Canonist 3 Whipflare 3 Tormod's Crypt [/mtg_deck] The deck can push damage past defenders with the [mtg_card]Etched Champion[/mtg_card] or fly over them with [mtg_card]Ornithopter[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Vault Skirge[/mtg_card], any one of them benefiting from carrying [mtg_card]Cranial Plating[/mtg_card]. However, the deck also has a win condition that has nothing to do with creatures. Tezzeret can drop very early in the game, and his ultimate ability syncs well with artifact lands, 0-cost cards, and other low-cost options. Remember, X is twice the number of artifacts. So, if I have 5 artifacts in play, I gain 10 life and my opponent loses 10 life. That's a 20-point swing, which can be difficult to overcome. The deck is, of course, not invulnerable. It has no counter means save for Chalice of the Void, creatures can trample over the Champion no matter how much protection he has, and faster decks like burn can probably beat me to the punch or take wind out of my sails. Still, I think it has a lot of potential, and that potential doesn't stop with Legacy. In Modern, the Chalice goes to the sideboard and illegal cards like Perish and Tormod's Crypt have to go. Still, the play of the deck will be largely unchanged. I'm looking forward to putting it together and seeing how it plays.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Game Review: The Resistance

Game Review: The Resistance — Blue Ink Alchemy

Games are meant to be fun. In general, they are distractions from the tumult and tedium of our daily lives, and interesting exercises in thought and interaction. You play them with your friends, to share an experience and grow closer. For the most part, at least. Some games, though, pit you mercilessly against your friends. Some games make you suspect your friends, your trusted companions, are capable and even willing and eager to stab you in the back. Some games make you feel like Caesar on the Senate floor as Brutus and Cassius approach with long knives unsheathed. The Resistance is one of those games. In the original version of The Resistance, between 5 and 10 friends gather around a table as members of a covert cell of freedom fighters, dedicated to toppling the oppressive near-future government that has clamped down on individual liberty and thought. The members take it in turns to lead missions against the government or its lackeys, choosing team members from those gathered. The missions themselves are formless and ultimately irrelevant. What matters is that some of those around the table are actually government spies, traitors who will stop at nothing to sabotage the efforts of the Resistance. The game, then, is figuring out who the spies are, and succeeding in enough missions to win the day despite their dastardly efforts. This game is relatively light on rules, but deep in its nuances. At the beginning of the game, the spies reveal themselves to one another in secret. Each knows who the other spies are, but the other members of the Resistance have no idea who could be a spy and who is loyal. When the leader for the turn chooses her team, the rest of the Resistance votes on if the team should proceed or not. If you're loyal to the Resistance, and you suspect one of the members of the team is a spy, you can vote against the mission, but be careful: if too many votes fail, the spies win. If too many missions fail, the spies win. The loyal members have to rely on deductive reasoning and clear heads to prevail, while the spies must use deception and undermining of the truth to win. After you get the feel for The Resistance and how it plays, you can throw more variables into the mix. These take the form of Plot Cards, two of which are drawn by the leader for the turn and given away to other team members. These cards allow players to see the allegiance of others, take control of the team, or voice their opinions before anybody else does. These are powerful tools for both sides, and more often than not reveal information regarding loyalty and motivation. As such, they tend to give the Resistance an advantage over the spies. This isn't always the case but it happens more often than not. Recently, Indie Boards & Cards have started changing things up. A variant has been released simply called The Resistance: Avalon. Instead of the near-future and Plot Cards, the game takes on an Arthurian theme and features particular roles. Loyal servants of Arthur are assisted by Merlin, who knows the identities of the traitors, here called Minions of Mordred. However, one of those Minions is the Assassin. If the Assassin can name Merlin after the loyal knights and ladies complete three quests, the bad guys still win. This means that the loyal servants must conceal information almost as much as the Minions do. Other roles include Percival (who knows who Merlin is), Morgana (who appears as Merlin to Percival), and Mordred himself (who is unknown to Merlin). These roles add more mystery and intrigue to the game than the Plot Cards of the vanilla game do, and I'd have to say it causes me to lean more towards the Avalon variant than the base game. Not that I'd turn down a game of either... If The Resistance has a flaw, it's that playing it multiple times with the same group of people leads to deductions based on previous patterns rather than in-game behavior. I've discussed this previously, and while it's certainly not a deal-breaker for the game, it does point to an advantage players might have if they can pick up on the behaviors of others in a short amount of time. In other words, if you're good at poker, you're probably going to be pretty damn good at The Resistance. And if this is the only flaw the game has, the only thing I can say I really don't like, it's clear that the game is a winner. Indie is not quite done with this game, as they recently held a successful Kickstarter for a variant based on the deception & bluffing game Coup. I'm curious about it, but I guess I'll have to wait for them to do another run of it before I can pick up a copy. In the meantime, I'll definitely be playing more of The Resistance during lunch breaks and gaming get-togethers, and if you have a group of friends interested in a game that requires no dice, no grand strategy, no big time commitment, and a willingness to stab your friend in the back, I can't recommend it highly enough.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Brick & Mortar Questions

Brick & Mortar Questions — Blue Ink Alchemy

I've heard it said several times that brick and mortar bookstores are going the way of the dodo. And for a similar reason, as well: we're killing them. Now, I don't think that every single Barnes & Noble is going to lock its doors and shutter its windows tomorrow. I think brick and mortar stores have a lot of life left in them. As much as people like the convenience and lower prices of e-books, there's still something about the tangible feel of a hardcover in one's hands. Your Kindle doesn't have that new book smell. And a lot of these stores now feature coffee shops, board games, movies, stationary, and all sorts of stuff that make them worth visiting in person. In my humble opinion, at least. Walking around a brick and mortar store is a good exercise for a writer, as well. When I was there the other day, I found myself looking at the shelves and their titles ("Ugh, why are the Magic novels so bad? Why am I not writing for Wizards? Holy shit, it's Double Dead by Chuck Wendig, I know that guy! Oooh, they do sell Attack on Titan in manga form here, but NO SPOILERS! Can I really drop $80 on Mage Knight even if it is a masterfully designed and gorgeous board game?"), and in between all of the other internal ramblings, it occurred to me that regular visits to such places could yield valuable information and inspiration. The next time you find yourself in one, be it to buy books or to sign them, it may be worth your while to ask one, some, or all of the following questions:

What am I not seeing?

There are gaps in the store shelves that have nothing to do with how the shelves are stocked. Steampunk might still be a thing, but where is the series of novels about a sky pirate and his colorful crew? Children's books cast cats, dogs, pigs, even monsters as their heroes, but where's the kid's book telling the story of a brave and lonely kakapo? Teen romances are a dime a dozen, but when did you last read one that was legitimately funny, featured authentic characters and had a neat premise like aliens and government conspiracies? These are just a few of the ideas that I had walking around a bookstore looking at the shelves. I'm sure yours would be entirely different (and probably even better).

What do I see that strikes a chord?

It could be an emotional chord, like seeing the cover of The Fault In Our Stars or the name of an author you admire who's passed away. It could be a resonating chord, struck by a new release in a franchise you enjoy. Whatever it is, it grabs your attention away from everything else for a moment. Ask yourself: Why did it do that? What is it about this book or author that made me stop and think? I won't say to try and do likewise, as you should be worried about doing your own thing and not somebody else's, but as a thought exercise it can get the creative juices flowing.

What do I see that makes me MAD?

For a lot of people, it's Twilight or its fanfiction (you know, 50 Shades of Gray). For others, it anything with Bill O'Reilly's name on it. For me, it's those and the novels from Magic: the Gathering as well as a lot of Warhammer stuff. There's a lot of shlock out there. People are getting some truly awful books published. That part of the game is really all about making the right sorts of connections - the right agent, the right publishing house, etc. Instead of just getting mad, I say, do what they do after you write your masterpiece. Find agents. Follow up with them. Be patient in getting responses. Get yourself out there. The more you hammer the market, the more likely someone's going to hammer back. That's what those folks did. No reason you can't, too. I honestly hope brick & mortar stores are around for a while. Libraries are good for this, too, but as much as I love libraries, very few of them contain a Starbucks from which I can get a chocolate breve chai while I'm browsing books and agonizing over the cost of my hobbies.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Flash Fiction: Dead Girl's Island

Flash Fiction: Dead Girl's Island — Blue Ink Alchemy

Dark Island by Steve Carter This week Chuck at Terribleminds had us roll for our titles.

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The boat's small outboard motor lost its place as the only sound when Jessica spoke. "I still don't think this is a good idea." Carl rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you've made that pretty clear. But we need you, Jess. You're the one who looked up the legends in the first place." "They're just legends. I don't see why we have to come out here." "For the truth!" That came from John, who sat by the engine to steer the boat. "You said yourself there are a lot of unanswered questions about Lindsey Swanson and how she died." Jessica didn't say anything. She stared into the fog. It wasn't uncommon for the vast lake near their town to be blanketed in swirling gray, especially in the morning, but usually strong winds from the hills came down to clear things up, and let those living on the edge of the lake see the faint outline of the small island in the middle of the lake. But today, there was no wind. It was calm. Quiet. And silent. Jessica felt another chill go through her body. "It'll be fine." Carl gave Jessica a smile. "You've got the knowledge, John's got the boat, I've got the gear. Not to mention the military training." "You've been in ROTC all of a semester and a half, dude." "Shut up, John, it's still military training!" "Quiet, both of you." Jessica's voice was a soft hiss. "We're here." Up close, the island loomed out of the mists. The mound was mostly wooded, and Jessica's research indicated a cabin sat in the middle of it. John leaned away from the outboard engine. "Any chance someone's still living there?" "As far as anybody knows, it's been abandoned since the 1880s." Jessica crossed her arms. "Reports of people coming out here are sketchy, at best." "Not so sketchy anymore." Carl pointed. "Look." On the shore of the island, a few boats lay scattered on the rocks. Two were aluminum canoes, one a wooden kayak, the others larger craft like the one they were using. Jessica turned to John, whose face had gotten considerably more pale. Carl pulled out his phone and started taking pictures. "Instagram," he told the others. "No way we're getting lost without a trace, or anything." "Stop it." John eased the motor down as they approached the shore. "There's nothing here. It's just trees and stuff." Jessica picked up her backpack, which contained a few flashlights, a bottle of water, her camera, and a notebook with her research and notes. Neither Carl nor John had brought much besides the contents of their jeans, as far as she could tell. John guided the boat within a few feet of the shore, and Carl hopped out of the boat to pull it up onto land. The three got out, and Jessica handed out the flashlights. "Just in case we need them." "I'm telling you, there's nothing here. We should just leave." "Come on, John, we're already here. We might as well take a look around." "And if there's nothing here, there's nothing for us to worry about, right?" Jessica gave John a smile that belied the creeping feeling under her skin. "Let's head up the hill and have a look." The fog made travelling through the forest slow. All three of them watched their footing more than anything else. As they approached the summit, a dark shape loomed out of the mists. Jessica felt, simultaneously, vindication for being right and an even more pronounced sense of dread. "Okay. So, there's a cabin. Great. Can we go now?" Carl ignored John, reaching under his shirt. "You said nobody's supposed to be leaving here, right, Jess?" "Yeah, but..." Carl produced a pistol and pulled back its slide, checking its action. "Just making sure." "What? Carl, why did you bring a gun?" "I'm being prepared." "Jess brings flashlights and water and God knows what else, and all you can think to bring is a gun?" "Look, your pencilneck..." "Shut up, both of you!" Jessica wanted to yell, and struggled to keep her voice down. "Let's just look inside, take some photos, and get out. Okay? Carl, put the gun away." "But..." "Do it." She walked past him and reached for the handle of the cabin door. It swung open on its own. "I'm going back to the fucking boat-" Before John could finish speaking, Carl grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the cabin. Jessica rolled her eyes and followed. Their flashlights penetrated the gloom, moving over smashed plates, rotted food, animal carcasses, and floors stained with blood. "Is it just the one floor?" Carl asked. Jessica shrugged. She looked past the threshold within the room to the bedroom, then moved her light over a metal ring set in the floor. A gentle tug opened the trapdoor, and she moved her flashlight to peer into the darkness. "Looks like a root cellar." "I'm not going down there," John whispered. "You can't make me." "Now, listen, you little-" In turning to face John, Carl bumped into Jessica, sending her down the dark stairs in a tumble. There weren't many stairs, eight or so at most, but Jessica still managed to strike her head on one of them. For a moment, everything was dark. A sharp, loud sound she'd never heard before snapped her back to her senses. She tried to stand, but the ceiling was low. She smelled smoke, like something burning, and looked up to see a thin haze at the top of the stairs. "John? Carl?" The sound, again, accompanied by a bright flash of light. Gunfire! It was a lot louder than on TV. Something moved in front of the cellar door - Jessica couldn't make out what it was, but it almost looked like the hem of a white dress. John came down the stairs, like he'd been tossed. His face was covered in blood, his eyes wide and unblinking. Jessica screamed, and the cellar door slammed shut.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Writer Report: Looming Quarter

Writer Report: Looming Quarter — Blue Ink Alchemy

Much like some malevolent giant peering over the wall of a nearly defenseless settlement, the dreaded Q4 is upon me at the dayjob. Expectations are high. Work is sure to come fast and furious (and without the benefits of Michelle Rodriguez or Jordana Brewster). I'm going to have to take extra steps to stay on top of things. Bills need to be paid, which means I need this employment, which means I can't lose it. This means I need to rearrange my schedule. The last couple weeks I've been catching my breath. Picking at Cold Streets instead of tearing into it. Thinking about Godslayer more than I write about it. Blogging when I feel like it instead of on a schedule. I've taken a leisurely pace to things, in an attempt to get my head and heart together. It's time to put that aside and focus on getting through the next few months intact. I've been losing weight, and I plan to keep doing that. A focus on my physical imperfections and progress will help me focus, in turn, on the imperfections and progress in front of me. That's the idea, at least. I'll have to make sacrifices, be it less time for games, or relaxation, or friends. I'll still make time for those things, and watching things like Agents of SHIELD or Attack on Titan, but these are rewards, not goals in and of themselves. I hope I don't offend anybody if I disappear for hours at a time from people's radar. While I do still need the support of friends and family - there's no way I could have made it this far without them - there's a large portion of what's in front of me that I have to face alone. Surviving to see 2014 in a prosperous and meaningful way means living up to my potential, owning my mistakes (which I am bound to make), writing the stories only I can write, doing everything I can for those around me, and never ever giving up, even if the odds seem stacked in favor of the house. I know there's help, and I'm grateful for it. I know there's ground that's been tread before, and I'm willing to learn from it. But in the end, when the reports and the edits and the demands come in, it's all on me. No pressure, or anything.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

I Like Big Bots (And I Cannot Lie)

I Like Big Bots (And I Cannot Lie) — Blue Ink Alchemy

The more I think about Pacific Rim, the more I like it. Yes, the characters can be somewhat stock, and the plot is fairly straightforward, but the scope and spectacle of the film are awe-inspiring. I think if you had told me even five years ago that big robots would be on the big screen in America all on their own without an anime series behind them, I would have balked at the idea. As much as I've been a fan of big robots since I was a child, and piloted robot fiction for a decade or two, I didn't think it would happen. It's something of a niche genre. Still, big 'bots have been a part of my entertainment since I was young. The original Transformers animated series made me look at boring old traffic in a new way. A sports car, a tractor trailer, even a construction vehicle could, at any moment in my young mind, become a giant robot ready for a fight. My first piloted mecha show was either Voltron or Robotech. As much as I enjoyed all three of the series that got jammed into the latter show, the portion in the beginning, Macross, captured my attention the most. One of the first shows I sought out on my own was Macross Plus, the OVA (original video animation) that followed the Macross series. With beautiful animation, a haunting score by Yoko Kanno, interesting character dynamics, and Sharon Apple, it remains very much up my alley to this day. I was introduced to Neon Genesis Evangelion and my first Gundam series (Gundam Wing) at about the same time. Evangelion is very different from just about any other mecha series you'd care to name, damn close to a perfect deconstruction of the genre. It's still talked about today, 18 years after it premiered. That's right - there are people today, who might be reading this, who do not know what it was like to live in a world without Evangelion. Or the Internet. ... Let's move on before I feel too old. It was always a shame to me that The Big O didn't get more than a second season from Cartoon Network. The infusion of noir sensibilities and greater mysteries into piloted robot antics worked very well. Not long after that, I saw some of the massive body of work that is Getter Robo. It and Mazinger Z are pretty much the urtext of the other series I've mentioned, and while I haven't checked out any Mazinger, I'm a fan of Go Nagai's other work. And then there was Shinkon Gattai Godannar, which may take the prize for the most fan-service in a series that isn't adults-only that I've seen. I mean, it's a good series outside of the fan-service, and that theme song is catchy as hell, but... damn. And then, most recently, there is Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I went over that one in detail previously, and looking back on everything I've seen already, I do think that it stands head and shoulders above the rest. Maybe it's just that stories that involve the indomitability of the human spirit get under my skin in ways others don't. A lot of mecha tales approach this idea, from revolutionaries refusing to give up to human consciousness overcoming programming and restraint, but Gurren Lagann feels unique in the way it treats the fighting spirit of the human heart as a power source, and a nearly inexhaustible one at that. I think that's one of the things that sticks with me about Pacific Rim. Arch as the characters might be, many of them have that never-say-die attitude that I can't help but admire. There's also the fact that these shows are at their best when the big robots are less important than the people inside them. As cool as the Jaegars are, they are only animated when their pilots enter the Drift with one another. It's something the film has in common with shows like Evangelion or Gurren Lagann, and why it sticks out in my mind as a good story, and one worth watching again. Though, I could simply be biased towards big bots.

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Game Review: Mark of the Ninja

Game Review: Mark of the Ninja — Blue Ink Alchemy

One of the reasons I thoroughly enjoyed games like Deus Ex and its sequel Human Revolution is due to the stealth elements. I've dipped my toe into Thief, and I also got a charge out of both of Rocksteady's Batman games (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City). Stealth-based games need a few things to work well: clear indicators of how easily the enemy can detect you, multiple routes to your objective, and an atmosphere of tension generated by foes and situations that present you with puzzle-like ways to overcome their deadly obstacles. Klei Entertainment's Mark of the Ninja has all of these things, with the added bonus of appealing to aficionados of the legendary spies and assassins of feudal Japan. For centuries, the Hisomu clan has defended its secrets and maintained its traditions. Without warning, the diabolical company Hessian Services storms their dojo and makes off with those secrets. Our hero is awakened from his recovery from an extensive tattoo (the titular 'Mark') to rescue his master, and embarks on a path of revenge and assassination. However, the Mark that allows him to move undetected and leap superhuman distances comes with a price: before it drives him mad with power, he is expected to take his own life. Klei Entertainment previously made the Shank games, somewhat over-the-top side-scrolling action games in the vein of Mad Max or some of the nastier, in-your-face encounters of Borderlands. The designers have traded frenetic, button-mashy action for a more quiet, measured approach. Like the good stealth games mentioned above, Mark of the Ninja is built around smooth motion and wide-open level design. Moving around the maps feels natural and intuitive, and you think less about button-presses and combos than you do about guard search patterns and the locations of fuse boxes and lights that ache to have darts thrown at them.
The cutscenes are like something out of Gargoyles. Adding to the atmosphere is the art style, steeped in darkness and flowing like ink from a brush. While the faces of the characters may be a little cartoonish for the game's occasionally violent content, it definitely works within the context of this game's world. When the game plunges into darkness, be it due to the environment itself or your darts shattering lights above the heads of hapless mercenaries, it becomes clear the art style was more than just an aesthetic choice. Your character becomes a shadow of his former self, literally, with only the ink of his mark visible to us as we sneak from one hiding place to another. It lends the game incredible atmosphere and tension all on its own. Sooner or later, though, you will encounter your enemy. The decision must be made if you will dispatch them or try to sneak past. Killing guards does make it easier to make it across the room, but at the end of each level, if you manage to avoid killing anyone you get a substantial bonus to your score. The game also rewards you with Honor, which can be used for upgrades. Paradoxically, your upgrades make it easier for you to kill people. It's hard to say if the trade-off is substantial enough to prevent you from doing fun things like hanging bodies for other guards to find, or picking off a room full of enemies one by one just to see how scared the last one gets.
"Hmm. Where does one stab a laser?" Let me draw your attention to the screenshot used above. Pretty dark, isn't it? As much as I'm uncertain as to how well-balanced the game is in terms of sneaking versus killing, I want to reiterate how lovely the game is and how well its art style informs its gameplay. Being reduced to a dark silhouette against a dark background, especially when it happens just as a guard turns to face your direction, never stops producing a sadistic little grin and the desire to jump on the big dumbass to give him a wedgie. Unfortunately there is no "wedgie" option, and we're back to deciding if we want to try and move on in spite of the challenge or if we take the quick and easy path of murder. As much as I like Mark of the Ninja, I haven't gotten too terribly far with it, which may make this more of a "First Impressions" write-up than an actual review, but the flow of gameplay is so smooth and the storytelling so organic I can't help but recommend it. Scaling a tower to close in on an enemy feels like an achievement in and of itself, the challenges the game presents provide incentive to be even more inventive and careful, and there's something inherently badass about a game featuring a ninja behaving in this way. When was the last time Ryu Hayabusa actually snuck up on someone? I think it's been a while. Mark of the Ninja is available on Steam and XBLA, and it's definitely worth checking out.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Mother, Should I Trust The Government?

Mother, Should I Trust The Government? — Blue Ink Alchemy

You know, I had a nice, light post ready for today. I was going to talk more about big robots. Go into a little more detail about where my love of the genre comes from. Give Pacific Rim a bit more love. But I can't in good conscience do that. Why, you ask? My government is having a tantrum that puts most four-year-olds to shame right now. More specifically, the House of Representatives is doing the governmental equivalent of crossing its arms, pouting, and refusing to do anything whatsoever because it didn't get what it wanted. It didn't convince the President and the Senate to consider changing the Affordable Care Act. So, this august body of elected officials has decided that if it ain't happy, nobody's happy, and has pulled the plug on the federal government. The Library of Congress? Closed. NASA? Shut down. Employees? Out of a job, at least for the time being. A lot of so-called journalists are asking "Who's to blame?" and pointing fingers at the President, at the House, at the Tea Party... ...and it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who's to blame, even if the answer should be fairly obvious to a reasonable human being. I would love to just tell everybody I know what bad news the Tea Party is or has been for years, but Chuck Wendig's already covered that far better than I ever could. In the end, though, it's not about blame. It shouldn't be about who's at fault for the United States government being in this sorry state. What should matter is, how are people going to live? Why are families with no connection to this particular debate being made to suffer because of obstinate thinking and overblown rhetoric on such a massive scale? And what can we, the people, do about it? That's probably not a question the government wants us to consider. They'd like us to forget that "of the people, by the people, and for the people" is the assumed manner under which they're meant to operate. Instead, for years the government (Congress in particular) has operated of themselves, by themselves, for themselves. I'm not a big conspiracy nut, but I don't consider this a conspiracy. In fact, in light of recent events, it seems rather obvious. With rhetoric aimed at instilling fear and pointing fingers, they have taken power away from the constituents and squirreled it away in the hopes of putting the disenfranchised in an even worse position so they can elevate themselves. As much as I think making the blame game the central question of the shutdown is detrimental to progress, it should be clear that no matter how it began, the end result of this is a government uninterested in the common citizen to the point of refusing to do what's in the population's best interest. I'm not saying we should rise up against our leaders. I'm not calling for revolution or anarchy or anything like that. Violence won't solve this. It'll just make things worse. However, I don't want this to be forgotten. Sooner or later, the parties will come back to the table. Some sort of compromise will be negotiated. A deal will be struck. And the government, Congress in particular, will hope that we just forget this ever happened. If you and I have anything to say about it, we will never forget. We should remain vocal. We should assert our rights. We should make our leaders aware of what this will cost them. We should keep in touch with one another, do what we can to keep ourselves going, share stories, offer comfort. And we should vote. I'm not calling on my fellow Americans to take up arms. Instead, I want them to remember. I know the first of October does not lend itself to catchy rhymes as much as the fifth of November does, but... Hey, I'm just saying. "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

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