General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
Bad stereotypes (of RPG players and RPG characters) aren't funny in and of themselves, despite what the author may think.
Boring. I realise that the author was trying to parody a bad RPG plot, but it wasn't interesting or humourous.
There were a couple of funny scenes, but most of it was lame.
Sorry Jonny, just my opinion.
Geoff.
Oh thank GOD. I thought I was the only one who read this book and thought it was dull. I felt the author missed the boat on trying to parody a clichéd plot and just delivered a clichéd plot, sprinkled with fairly obvious RPG stereotypes.
Oh thank GOD. I thought I was the only one who read this book and thought it was dull. I felt the author missed the boat on trying to parody a clichéd plot and just delivered a clichéd plot, sprinkled with fairly obvious RPG stereotypes.
Well I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it. I'm pretty happy with the response I've got back from Game Night, in terms of feedback, reviews, and - of course - the ENnie nomination. But I'm not so naive as to belief that I could write a book that everyone could like.
I know from my own, personal experience that there are books I rave about that other people are distinctly "meh!" about, and books that I'm distinctly "meh!" about, that other people rave about. And if you want a guilty confession, I've never been able to get into the Lord of the Rings. Given the number of people that love it, and the degree to which they love it, it's clearly a brilliant book. But I guess it's not my kind of brilliant. (I'm not going to be so arrogant as try to claim that Game Night wasn't "your kind of brilliant" either, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I accept that I can't write something that everyone will like, and whatever you write some people are going to like it and some people won't).
The only thing I would perhaps say, in reponse to your post and the post you were quoting, is that I wasn't trying to create characters who were RPG stereotypes; I was instead trying to create characters who were RPG archetypes, representing patterns of behaviour I've seen at the gaming table. (And behaviour that I've done myself at the gaming table). I've had a lot of fun over the years playing some fairly dysfunctional games (with frequent breaks for laughter) and I wanted to try and capture a slice of a typical roleplaying game, the good, and the bad. There would be no point writing a novel about a good roleplaying game, because you'd have no conflict, and it's conflict that drives a story.
Anyway, having said that, I am sorry you didn't like Game Night, and hope that perhaps you'll live the new novel that I'm currently working on.
Yeah, we will. We've got a stall to sell Game Night, and I'm hoping to get on a panel.
(I go to Dragonmeet every year, so even if I didn't have a stall, I'd still be there).
Will you be there?
I hope to, we may even have our own item to plug by that point.
The issues are often expense with travelling down from "Up North" and trying to arrive in time to catch the show after battling British public transport!
I hope to, we may even have our own item to plug by that point.
Sounds interesting. Look forward to seeing it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulofCthulhu
The issues are often expense with travelling down from "Up North" and trying to arrive in time to catch the show after battling British public transport!
Luckily, we only have to brave British public transport for about 35 minutes on the tube from Hounslow to Kensington High Street.
We've just made our Fundable target (in four days - it's still open for another 22)!
Is that the recordings of sessions of Horror on the Orient Express and Masks of [thing I can't spell]?
If so, I'd be quite interested in listening to the latter, as we spent about three years playing it. (I'd have to put the former away in a box, as I think we're just about to start playing it).
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulofCthulhu
I'll have to pick up a copy of Game Night from you at Dragonmeet.
Well that's a commercial transaction I'll be very glad to engage in. Thank you.
Well I spent quite a while working on its plot, so I've only just started writing it, but I'm currently on chapter four and it's going well. But it will be next year before it's out.
(It's not a Game Night sequel by the way. It's a more general fantasy humour piece.)
I'd just like to say that it was really fun to do the interview, and I thought Ross asked some really good questions, and I hope I was able to give answers worthy of those questions. Thanks!
Well that might not quite be a question, but there is an answer I can give to it anyway.
But it's a bit long, so I'll do it tonight.
Mind you, while I'm here, I'm afraid I can't help from asking the question I often ask at this point: have you bought/read a copy of Game Night yourself?
(Apologies if the answer is yes, and you've already told me elsewhere).
Yes and I have if it is all from Signs and Portents.
Damn, I think I've run out of stuff to palm you off with then. So what you're basically saying is, you've read everything I've ever written, and now you'd like some more, please.
Thinks... Did an offbeat short story you might like?
Well that might not quite be a question, but there is an answer I can give to it anyway.
But it's a bit long, so I'll do it tonight.
Well this is actually tomorrow and not tonight, but tonight's gone so tomorrow/today it is.
I get asked quite a lot about when I'm going to do another issue of Critical Miss, and I'm afraid the answer is basically, sometime, but not now.
At the moment, my current game plan is working towards one day (hopefully) being a full-time writer, writing novels, comics and perhaps some freelance newspaper and magazine articles. But at the moment, I have to fit my writing around my day job.
So if I'm writing a novel, which I currently am, then that pretty much takes up all my time. What time is left, I tend to devote to my blog, on the grounds that I can pump out regular stuff without it being too distracting. I do some gaming stuff on there, and the current plan is to do semi-regular "critical-miss style" articles on it. (It has occurred to me that if at some point in the future I end up with enough of those, I could repackage them into a new issue of Critical Miss for those who don't read my blog).
Stuff like my blogging from our Star Trek campaign (read from the bottom):
If/when I do get to the full-time writer stage (and I'm not holding my breath on that) then it would be easier to justify Critical Miss as an advert for myself. But at the moment, I don't think I can really justify that as doing "the advert" would stop me doing the thing that the advert is supposed to be advertising, if you see what I mean?
As an aside, I am thinking of doing a short-story prequel to Game Night, which I'd publish on my blog. Because a) it would be fun, and a change from working on the novel, and b) it would hopefully serve as a good advert for Game Night).
I've gradually spread the word among my game group about this book and it's been popular. As you may or may not know, the most recent expansion for World of Warcraft came out this week and it introduces a new character class: The Death Knight.
One of the guys e-mailed me the name of his new character: Draag
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