A Gamer’s Non-Violent Lament

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So, I find it odd that our U.S. legislators would want to put a warning label on “E for Everyone” games that clearly states: WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior.

Let me show you a picture.

Huh. So Super Mario Brothers will lead to aggressive behavior. Which means that my brother and I, who played Super Mario Brothers growing up must be violent thugs who wound up in prison. And not, say… happy and healthy adults with no criminal record to speak of? Okay, wait. I have chucked my controller across the room during a boss battle once or twice. You got me.

But wait… aren’t there other pastimes that are technically more violent than playing an E for Everyone video game? Like full contact sports? Maybe we should put a warning label on football or wrestling or soccer or hunting or martial arts… Oh, that’s different because those things are real and smashing mushrooms is fantasy. I get it now.

I believe the stupidity speaks for itself. Once again, we have legislation crafted by non-gamers to appease other non-gamers who don’t understand why we play, create, and enjoy games. Why video games have become the Ouija board-pariahs of entertainment I’ll never know. Sometimes, I think these parents should sit down and experience the evil video games for themselves instead of diving back into Puritanism. Eesh.

Thankfully, the ECA is on the case!

    Mood: Troll spray!
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: One. No, really.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Walk
    Yesterday’s Projects: Game, Editing, Fiction
    In My Ears: The whispering wind. DOM DOM DOM.
    Game Last Played: Battle Something or Other
    Movie Last Viewed: Kaena: The Prophecy
    Book Last Read: [Redacted.]
    Latest Artistic Project: Paint! Thar has been painting.
    Latest Release: Redwing’s Gambit for Bulldogs! the RPG
March 27, 2012
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Constructing Redwing’s Gambit: Research and Background – Part 1 of 5

When I was plotting Redwing’s Gambit, the Fate version of Bulldogs! was just a glimmer in Brennan Taylor’s eye. I knew that the game was going to employ the same system as Spirit of the Century from Evil Hat Productions, but that’s as far as my knowledge went.

The first question I asked myself was not about what story I wanted to write, but how I wanted to present the tale in such a way that felt more like Fate than d20. I had played Spirit of the Century and I also participated in a game run by Ryan Macklin, too. In my mind, Fate really emphasizes and focuses on relationships or the ties that connect and bind the characters to one another.

To help me make my decision, I dove into cinematic reference material to feel out the structure or the architecture of the story. (In other words, I wanted to design an elevator pitch that captured the mood.) Farscape. Star Wars. Firefly. Star Trek. I, Robot. Earth 2. Dune, etc. Of the many science fiction titles I had at my disposal, I leaned more strongly toward a Farscape crossed with Firefly feel. Farscape has a cast of several alien races — including the ship Moya — but still manages to focus on story in spite of the sheer volume of aliens the writers have to describe. Bulldogs! has several alien races and a theological war, too. Firefly has close-knit relationships, all of which are human, but mixes up action and mystery to survive another day.

Now, in both shows, the crews are on-the-run. They’re rogues. Renegades. Pirates. Escapees. I didn’t want to mirror that in my story because I felt it was too easy and distanced itself from the heart of what Bulldogs! is. Sure, there’s pirates in Bulldogs! but the galaxy is only so big and it is at odds with itself. What makes the Bulldogs! setting unique to me are the alien races and how they interact with one another. Those connections create a lot of conflict — which is great for both a game and a story.

Before I could craft a plot, though, I felt I needed to draw up the characters and use the Fate system to ground them. Enter the treatment and the characterization of the full cast and crew.

Other Parts to this Series

  • Constructing Redwing’s Gambit: Easter Eggs – Part 5 of 5 will be published on April 23, 2012.
  • Constructing Redwing’s Gambit: Revisions and Cut Text – Part 4 of 5 will be published on April 16, 2012.
  • Constructing Redwing’s Gambit: Structure and Plot – Part 3 of 5 will be published on April 9, 2012.
  • Constructing Redwing’s Gambit: Characters and Treatment – Part 2 of 5 will be published on April 2, 2012
  • You are reading Constructing Redwing’s Gambit: Research and Background – Part 1 of 5



About Redwing’s Gambit: Redwing’s Gambit, the first novella for the Bulldogs! RPG, debuts today in digital. This story was written by Monica Valentinelli and will be published by Galileo Games, creator of the Bulldogs! RPG. This RPG was originally published with a d20 system in 2005. It has since been updated and released in a new edition which employs the Fate mechanic in 2011.

March 26, 2012
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Fun With Paint and Other Non-8 Bits

Been a busy last couple of weeks; I was in Las Vegas for the GAMA Trade Show representing Steve Jackson Games. I’m on deadline as well; one project is for a game and the other is editing-related. I’ve been a bit… disgruntled? Kerfluffled? Irate? Why? Well, this word begins with “P” and doesn’t rhyme with Poole. In a word — politics. Problem is, I went back and read some of my other “Can I even try to make sense out of these rants?” posts and I felt I was being too negative and pretty weak. The news and subsequent rants got the better of me and my mood to the point where it was counterproductive. So, to remedy this, I took some time off from my deadlines this weekend for sanity purposes and dove back into art. The fastest way to boost my mood is to simply create. Simply… be.

I have a few toys I want to paint with more intricate designs; a blank My Little Cthulhu and a larger Munny. To ramp up my skills, though, I wanted to paint some less expensive figures.

An Iteration of Frankenberry Painted on a Toy

I opted to go with an iteration of Frankenberry instead of a regular Frankenstein because it’s not Halloween. Hah. This was a small kit I had on hand produced by RoseArt. The body and head are hollow; the arms articulate. After New York Toy Fair and my visit to the Funko booth, Frankenberry was stuck in my head.

I used a medium viscosity paint, which is why you can see the brush strokes. Found out that to have more of a glazed/professional look, you’d have to either use spray paint, craft paint, or I’d have to thin and blend the paint I have. The detail was actually painted, though I cheated on one side and used a Sharpy. Definitely doing that again, though I found some Sharpy paint markers that will do a better job.

Since I knew the brush strokes were going to be an issue, I incorporated them into the second figure, which was a cat. I used a dry brush technique after blending and mixing several shades of blue-green and black. The shine you see on the head occurs in low light, too. As part of the glaze, I used a silver paint and then covered it with a medium gloss.

A Blue Painted Cat

All in all, it was fun to make a mess, and it’s given me that burst of inspiration to simply go forth and doooooo…

    Mood: At peace.
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: About three or four today.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Walk
    Yesterday’s Projects: What you see here, game.
    In My Ears: Kaena: The Prophecy
    Game Last Played: Final Fantasy XIII-2
    Movie Last Viewed: Kaena: The Prophecy
    Book Last Read: [Redacted.]
    Latest Artistic Project: STILL been too long. Suckage.
    Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem
March 25, 2012
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Have Towel, Will Travel




If Douglas Adams were alive today, he would have been sixty years old. When he passed, he was only 49. I never met him, but The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has delighted me over and over and over again for many years. It’s impossible to encapsulate why I’ll gladly cart a towel around on May 25th or how I’ll be thrilled to (when the time comes, mind you) celebrate my 42nd birthday, but I’ll give it my best shot.

Humor is one of the most challenging forms to write; satire doubly so. Hitchhiker’s takes everything I love about what science fiction can be and pokes fun at it in a non-insulting way. I wish I had an ounce of that ability! Instead, I enjoy the work for time immeasurable and occasionally write my own bits of bad poetry.

Happy Birthday, Douglas! And thank you!

    Mood: Rested.
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Working on it.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: I came. I saw. I walked for jerk burgers.
    Yesterday’s Projects: Game
    In My Ears: BBC Radio
    Game Last Played: Grepolis BASTARDS!
    Movie Last Viewed: Jurassic Park
    Book Last Read: [Redacted]
    Latest Artistic Project: [Blank]
    Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem
March 11, 2012
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Too Much Plot

D'OH!

I was in a pretty foul mood yesterday in part because I figured out what’s wrong with Argentum, the novel I’m working on. It’s too complicated. Seriously. The layers of mystery, symbolism, characterization, and setting caused this first book to read like a Dickens novel on steroids. It is five books crammed into one and I know why I did it. Because I was afraid that I’d only write the first book and then WHAM! that’d be it. End of discussion. Move on to something else. Abandon this child. Stabby Stabby.

Sigh. You get the point.

Ah, well. Time to get crackin’ and unravel these plots. Goals aren’t going to achieve themselves! Also, caffeine withdrawal suuuuuuuuccckkkkssss…

    Mood: Motivation, station
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Withdrawal. Sucks. Seriously.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Quick walk
    Yesterday’s Projects: Mostly day job
    In My Ears: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
    Game Last Played: Final Fantasy XIII-2
    Movie Last Viewed: Not sure…
    Book Last Read: [Redacted.]
    Latest Artistic Project: STILL been too long. Suckage.
    Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem
March 10, 2012
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Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

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