Sneak Preview #21 - Roger Steel: Missing in Action
Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 3:00 am
Well, not Roger Steel, really, as he's been busy adventuring with his new found friends (and foes) and badgering me to write his chronicles and plot his daring escapes from certain death (because without me he'd be lost, the old duffer). Rather, c'est moi who has been absent from this forum for far too long. Sorry about that ... domestic issues, work issues, cat issues, and sundry other life-stuff have come between us, my beautiful people. But now (says he, somewhat rashly ) I hope to be back here providing regular SPs once more.
So for those who were beginning to wonder - Yes, Roger Steel is still in the schedule as a Winter Wolves game, if not exactly on the schedule Jack and I originally planned.
Rest assured, I haven't been idle on the Roger Steel front. Recently I've been busy casting the main party characters. By casting, I mean researching images for the artist(s) to use as references for the character art. This doesn't just mean finding lookalikes who could be chosen to play Roger, Ann, Arthur, and the rest in the blockbuster movie adaptation (coming soon to a screen near you ... ) but finding model poses that convey the quintessence of the character, and dressing them in costumes and gadgetry that, while being suitably sexy for a Winter Wolves game, are not completely ridiculous and blend well with the game's setting and environments.
Because of the steampunk aesthetic combined with the non-canon post-Victorian/Edwardian time period in which Roger Steel takes place, this has taken a bit more time than I anticipated, even without the distractions alluded to above. But it's all good fun and makes a change from the writing that is my day job and, come to think of it, my evening job too right now.
Of course, back in the days when pixels were PIXELS and we liked 'em that way, we had to imagine our hero or heroine in all his or her hi-res glory, and it's interesting to consider who, in the absence of in-game art so far, you might cast to play your Ann or Arthur, or the motley collection of characters they will adventure alongside.
I know there's been some discussion elsewhere on the forums about the merits of having unconventionally attractive (that's the politically correct term I believe) characters as romantic interests. Ultimately, of course, it comes down to sales, and whether having even a small number of unconventionally attractive main or supporting characters might negatively impact the game's reception. In real life, desperation, hormones, or simply good old-fashioned beer goggles might be factors in romantic assignations, however brief. Needless to say, game characters don't benefit from the same influences. But as we see around us every day, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. People magazine might choose 'the most beautiful person in the world', but how many of us agree with its choice? Personally, the quirky looking girl or rather nerdy looking guy is often more attractive than any random supermodel or movie star.
Would Lara Croft be the icon she is if she had been presented to the world as an angsty and acne-plagued teenager carrying a few extra pounds around the caboose? On the other hand, those who have played Heavy Rain, the PS3 adventure, might recall the most memorable and perhaps likeable main character, was the middle-aged, rumpled, down-at-heel, and decidedly burly detective. Charisma can make up for a lot of physical shortcomings, but is difficult to convey in art (especially static art) and writing.
So what makes an attractive character for you? Is it physical appearance (whatever floats your boat in that regard), personality, attitude (reserved, extrovert, gung-ho or laid-back: Indiana Jones – in the classroom or in the field – or the Big Lebowski), or some more elusive 'aura' (for want of a better word)?
Anyway, that's enough for this Preview. There'll be another soon(ish) but in the meantime, please keep the comments coming! It's been fascinating for me to see how different aspects of the game have resonated with different players.
So for those who were beginning to wonder - Yes, Roger Steel is still in the schedule as a Winter Wolves game, if not exactly on the schedule Jack and I originally planned.
Rest assured, I haven't been idle on the Roger Steel front. Recently I've been busy casting the main party characters. By casting, I mean researching images for the artist(s) to use as references for the character art. This doesn't just mean finding lookalikes who could be chosen to play Roger, Ann, Arthur, and the rest in the blockbuster movie adaptation (coming soon to a screen near you ... ) but finding model poses that convey the quintessence of the character, and dressing them in costumes and gadgetry that, while being suitably sexy for a Winter Wolves game, are not completely ridiculous and blend well with the game's setting and environments.
Because of the steampunk aesthetic combined with the non-canon post-Victorian/Edwardian time period in which Roger Steel takes place, this has taken a bit more time than I anticipated, even without the distractions alluded to above. But it's all good fun and makes a change from the writing that is my day job and, come to think of it, my evening job too right now.
Of course, back in the days when pixels were PIXELS and we liked 'em that way, we had to imagine our hero or heroine in all his or her hi-res glory, and it's interesting to consider who, in the absence of in-game art so far, you might cast to play your Ann or Arthur, or the motley collection of characters they will adventure alongside.
I know there's been some discussion elsewhere on the forums about the merits of having unconventionally attractive (that's the politically correct term I believe) characters as romantic interests. Ultimately, of course, it comes down to sales, and whether having even a small number of unconventionally attractive main or supporting characters might negatively impact the game's reception. In real life, desperation, hormones, or simply good old-fashioned beer goggles might be factors in romantic assignations, however brief. Needless to say, game characters don't benefit from the same influences. But as we see around us every day, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. People magazine might choose 'the most beautiful person in the world', but how many of us agree with its choice? Personally, the quirky looking girl or rather nerdy looking guy is often more attractive than any random supermodel or movie star.
Would Lara Croft be the icon she is if she had been presented to the world as an angsty and acne-plagued teenager carrying a few extra pounds around the caboose? On the other hand, those who have played Heavy Rain, the PS3 adventure, might recall the most memorable and perhaps likeable main character, was the middle-aged, rumpled, down-at-heel, and decidedly burly detective. Charisma can make up for a lot of physical shortcomings, but is difficult to convey in art (especially static art) and writing.
So what makes an attractive character for you? Is it physical appearance (whatever floats your boat in that regard), personality, attitude (reserved, extrovert, gung-ho or laid-back: Indiana Jones – in the classroom or in the field – or the Big Lebowski), or some more elusive 'aura' (for want of a better word)?
Anyway, that's enough for this Preview. There'll be another soon(ish) but in the meantime, please keep the comments coming! It's been fascinating for me to see how different aspects of the game have resonated with different players.