Tag: Characters

The Ultimate Beastmaster – Gaming Edition – Week 3

Will you look at that, we’re on week 3 of the Ultimate Beastmaster Gaming Edition, based on the Netflix reality show produced by Sylvester Stallone, The Ultimate Beastmaster, where competitors from around the world tackle the most vicious of challenge courses, the Beast.

In our gaming edition, there are no coins, rupees or souls to be won, but there is a certain kind of prestige, where one characters steps out of the ruins of the Beast, confident they are the Ultimate Gaming Beastmaster.

Continue reading The Ultimate Beastmaster – Gaming Edition – Week 3

Ultimate BeastMaster – Gaming Edition – Week 3 Challengers!

On Monday we had second week of gaming contestants make their way through the perilous and demanding course that is The Beast, using all their skills to accrue as many points as they could. Twelve competitors became eight, then five and then the remaining and best two, Kirby and the new rebooted Lara Croft, met face to face for Level 4, with Lara’s climbing skills nabbing her the title of Beastmaster, earning 10.000 of whatever currency they use in the next country she explores. Continue reading Ultimate BeastMaster – Gaming Edition – Week 3 Challengers!

The Ultimate Beastmaster – Gaming Edition – Week 2

Last week we had the first few contestants running in this little fantasy league, the Ultimate Beastmaster, Gaming Edition, based on the Netflix reality show produced by Sylvester Stallone, The Ultimate Beastmaster, where competitors from around the world tackle the most vicious of challenge courses, the Beast.

In our gaming edition, there are no coins, rupees or souls to be won, but there is a certain kind of prestige, where one characters steps out of the ruins of the Beast, confident they are the Ultimate Gaming Beastmaster.

Continue reading The Ultimate Beastmaster – Gaming Edition – Week 2

Ultimate BeastMaster – Gaming Edition – Here come new challengers!

On Monday we had our first set of gaming contestants make their way through the perilous and demanding course that is The Beast, using all their skills to accrue as many points as they could. Twelve competitors became eight, then five and then the remaining and best two, Kain from the Legacy of Kain series and Mega Man X from the eponymous series, met face to face for Level 4, with X using his superior movement to beat the ancient vampire and claim the title of Beastmaster, earning 10.000 of whatever currency they use in his 20XX time period. Continue reading Ultimate BeastMaster – Gaming Edition – Here come new challengers!

The Ultimate Beastmaster – Gaming Edition – Week 1

Last week I introduced you to this little fantasy league of mine, where video game characters take the place of real world athletes and compete on the most brutal course in history, The Beast. In The Ultimate Beastmaster show, competitors from around the world try their best to be crowned a Beastmaster, earning a nice chunk of cash and coming back at the end, competing with every other Beastmaster for the title of Ultimate Beastmaster and a heavy monetary prize.

In our gaming edition, there are no coins, rupees or souls to be won, but there is a certain kind of prestige, where one characters steps out of the ruins of the Beast, confident they are the Ultimate Gaming Beastmaster. Continue reading The Ultimate Beastmaster – Gaming Edition – Week 1

Inside the gaming world – How do characters feel about the inner workings of videogames?

Have you ever thought at what happens inside a game for the characters? I mean, when we pause a game, what do they do, stay frozen in place or do they take 5 and grab a drink, maybe stretch, talk among each other while they way for us to resume? This is a question an acquaintance posed, but I’ll be honest, I couldn’t see too many variations on the pause theme.

I mean, the best one would be with the Mario characters. Shigeru Miyamoto once stated that he felt the characters were members of a theatre troupe, so for me the pause would just be the director calling out for a 5-minute break, maybe clear the set, reset for the next scene, remove unnecessary debris so nothing gets in the way of the audience.

But what about the rest of a game’s elements, those little intrinsic mechanics that we expect in every title. How do characters feel about Lives, Game Over, Reloading, Continues, character generators and the dreaded New Game Plus? Those are bigger questions for me. Continue reading Inside the gaming world – How do characters feel about the inner workings of videogames?

Dungeon Master Writer – How RPG Storytelling can improve your writing – Part 2: Adaptation & Characterisation

Weeks ago, I spoke of how much I enjoy storytelling and my love for being a dungeon master. I do really love creating and playing in fantasy worlds and taking players through perils and adventures.

But even though I consider myself a storyteller first, writer second, the art of storytelling, specifically being a Dungeon Master—or any kind of RPG narrator, again just using one of the most popular titles—has had a profound impact on my writing, as I’ve learned many things in taking people through the theatre of the mind.

I began this series last week with lessons on Knowing your Audience and Sensory information. Here’s part 2 for your enjoyment!

Continue reading Dungeon Master Writer – How RPG Storytelling can improve your writing – Part 2: Adaptation & Characterisation

Dungeon Master – The Joy of Storytelling

Rainer Maria Rilke, in Letters to a Young Poet, says “If, when you wake up in the morning, you can think of nothing but writing…then you’re a writer.” I consider myself a writer and it’s one of the greatest passions of my life, but under that statement, I’m not one.

When I wake up, the thing I want to do the most is to tell stories and create them, to lose myself in my mind’s eye as I explore strange new lands and create the tales of normal people and heroes alike.

So, more than a writer, I’m a storyteller, and Tabletop RPGs have always been a way for me to thoroughly enjoy the art of storytelling. And as much as I love donning the armour of the warrior, defiantly raise the staff of the wizard and fiercely grip the holy symbol of the cleric, and joining my fellow adventurers as we defeat bandits, or demigods in the streets of New York, there is something I love even more than playing and it’s, of course, being the game master, the person running the story and telling the plot, adjudicating results and placing the challenges. Continue reading Dungeon Master – The Joy of Storytelling

The Fool’s Journey – Persona 5 Characters – Part 3

In the Persona series, the protagonist’s relationships with party members and important NPCs appear in the form of Arcanas, represented as Tarot cards, with the protagonist often taking the Fool card, number 0 in the Tarot. This is the wild card, representing innocence, creativity and inexperience.

A way to understand the Tarot is the Fool’s Journey, which takes you from Zero to the last card, from the Fool to The World, in a narrative about that card’s journey to find itself and overcome its own weaknesses. In Persona 5, you even hear this explanation and how each confidant, each NPC holding an Arcana, contributes to the protagonist’s personal Journey.

So let’s talk about those characters and what I think about them. Note: Below you’ll find minor spoilers on character story arcs. You have been warned. Continue reading The Fool’s Journey – Persona 5 Characters – Part 3

The Fool’s Journey – Persona 5 Characters – Part 2

 

In the Persona series, the protagonist’s relationships with party members and important NPCs appear in the form of Arcanas, represented as Tarot cards, with the protagonist often taking the Fool card, number 0 in the Tarot. This is the wild card, representing innocence, creativity and inexperience.

A way to understand the Tarot is the Fool’s Journey, which takes you from Zero to the last card, from the Fool to The World, in a narrative about that card’s journey to find itself and overcome its own weaknesses. In Persona 5, you even hear this explanation and how each confidant, each NPC holding an Arcana, contributes to the protagonist’s personal Journey.

On Wednesday, I spoke of the first seven Persona 5 characters, let’s do another seven today! Note: Below you’ll find minor spoilers on character story arcs. You have been warned. Continue reading The Fool’s Journey – Persona 5 Characters – Part 2