HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - J. K. ROWLING
Sorry I was late putting up a post yesterday for the books that had an impact on me. It was a combination of being busy with writing, and the timing after JK Rowling latest tweets...
I'm just going to post to say I love Harry Potter. I loved the movies first, then finally read all the books. But it was the sixth one - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that really struck a chord. Mostly because there is a lot of cool background in there, masses of story that they didn't have time to put on screen, detailing Tom Riddle's background and upbringing, that was fascinating.
I just wish that Warner Bros. bought Harry Potter off of JK outright, opening up the world to other creators to set stories (and games *hint*) within the Wizarding World.
There's a really cool track on the VAST album (Visual Audio Sensory Theater) called "Three Doors". It has been circling my head a lot these last few days, as I really do feel like I'm trying to pick a direction.
WILD
If you've been following my blog for any length of time you know I've been working for many years on WILD, an RPG of Dreamsharing. Open, untethered, and born from my love of Inception, Dreamscape, Paprika and The Matrix. I've been working on it off and on while doing other projects and its always bubbling away at the back of my mind, like a constantly spinning top locked away in a safe, in a house, in the city of my subconscious.
But I keep suffering from doubt, and also hearing tales of how horrible our hobby can be. Ignorant, vocal men, mostly. Threatening creators, posting abuse online. I'm sick of it.
I tried to voice some positivity years ago by creating RPGaDAY, trying to get people talking about the positive aspects of gaming. But I'm so ashamed of the abuse and discrimination in my hobby.
WILD Fiction
The door next to working on WILD is to concentrate on the fiction. For a NaNoWriMo many moons ago I wrote the first book of a trilogy, set in the WILD universe. A teenage school-leaver finds herself trapped in a nightmare she cannot wake from, while her father tries to create what will eventually become the dreamshare technology of the game to try to guide her back to the waking world. It was bizarre, a little personal, and weird thinking as my lead character - an eighteen year old girl facing the pressures of leaving school, going to university, her strained relationships with her parents and the betrayals of her friends.
Once again, doubt has reared its ugly head. Can I write fiction? Would anyone want to read it? What's the point?
And behind door number 3?
Something else?
My desire to write the Harry Potter RPG has never subsided. I know it's a mostly fruitless exercise, but there's that part of me that knows it's a good thing. It could be great for kids and adults alike, getting kids using their imaginations rather than staring at a screen. But while things seem to be more likely now than ever before, with the Fantastic Beasts - Cases from the Wizarding World game on iOS, as well as the forthcoming Harry Potter miniatures game, I'm still just a dreamer. A lone writer with no financial backing or big company to put the money where my mouth is.
I know how it could work, how it wouldn't even really be an RPG, and part of me just wants to write a good chunk of it, and digitally print a couple of copies to really show off what I have in mind. Send copies to WB and JK Rowling. But even then, I'm just me.
Besides, I'm sure there are already others out there who are working on it.
--
So at the moment, I'm standing there, like the guy in the stock photo above. Looking at the doors.
I had a birthday recently, and there's a big one coming up next year. Part of me is just thinking "You're too old for this crap" and there's another part of me shouting "Get it done! Do something before the next birthday. You have a year. Get off your ass!"
Well, I'm off my ass. I'm just lost looking for the right door.
Yeah, time got in the way again. So let's catch up on the questions before we head into the final stretch!
Day 25: What makes a good character?
It's all down to the player. I've seen some really interesting characters get created at the table, and they just haven't been played very well. You have to like the character you have as well. If you don't like the character you've generated, you really can't get into the game and it takes you out of it.
I'm not saying I'm super immersive or anything - far from it. But you have to at least like the character you have. Too many times as a kid I generated D&D characters I didn't like and just didn't enjoy playing them... finding myself putting them at risk needlessly until it wasn't long before I was cracking open the rulebook to create another character.
Day 26: What Hobbies Go Well with RPGs?
You mean you have time for hobbies as well? Jeez, I must be doing something wrong. I guess that as RPG gaming is quite imaginative and creative, suitably creative hobbies probably go best, such as writing, art, crafting... Making stuff!! Make art, be it words, visual or more! Just do it!
Day 27: Most unusual circumstances or location you've gamed?
That'll probably echo back to the 6th response, raising money for the local church roof with a marathon RPG session. The last place you'd expect a 90 hour game of D&D to be played, especially in the 80's, would be a church hall. I'm sure that place was haunted as well...
Day 28: Thing you'd be most surprised if a friend hadn't seen or read?
It still surprises me when someone hasn't seen Star Wars. Any of them. What's wrong with you?
Day 29: If you could game anywhere on Earth, where would you choose?
That one's easy. J K Rowling's house. I'd run a game at J K Rowling's house to show how RPGs work - to prove that a game can be fun, exciting, creative and imaginative without changing or harming the source. I'd get her to join in on one of our current Star Wars games - a massive amount of fun, excitement and drama that doesn't lessen Star Wars at all. Doesn't destroy canon, doesn't ruin the films or the books, and hopefully, by the end of the game, she'd let me write the official Harry Potter RPG...
After a few weeks of very little happening on the blog, I've a lot of updates in a short period of time, culminating in the biggest update of them all. But we'll come to that in due time.
The exterior of the Palace Theatre, London.
First of all, Debs and I were lucky enough to secure tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the play that is currently in previews at the Palace Theatre in London. Written by J K Rowling and Jack Thorne, this is the official 8th story, continuing the tale of Harry Potter long after the Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of the dark lord Voldemort.
Debs outside the theatre!
JK Rowling has expressed a desire for people to "#KeepTheSecrets" and not spoil the story for people, making sure that the surprises in the play (and there are plenty of those) remain surprises. And I respect that. But I did want to write a blog post about it.
Don't worry, NO SPOILERS!!!
I'm not a massive theatre goer, though we are both huge Harry Potter fans. I must admit, I went in a little worried. What if it was going to be the new Attack of the Clones? What if it was awful and tarnished my love of Potter forever?
Luckily, I had nothing to worry about.
Recapping the final moments of the last book, sending Albus Severus Potter off to Hogwarts for the first time, the play continues, following a new generation of Hogwarts students, coping not only with their own troubles, but also with the legacies of their incredibly famous parents.
Again, without spoiling things, the story of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child echoes the themes and events of the previous books perfectly, with humour, action and deeply emotional moments that had the audience enthralled from the very start.
Me, looking like a goon, outside the theatre as well.
The production was astounding. The sets were perfectly designed, with elements that echoed throughout the theatre, right down to the wallpaper, and even the decoration at the various bars.
There were magical elements, both with stage effects and trickery to reflect the magic of the wizarding world, that had us all gasping, and even looking back on it now it's difficult to see how it's pulled off so quickly and seamlessly. We were amazed.
However, the best element of the play by far is the cast. Everyone (and I mean, everyone) is perfect in their roles, but the real standout performances had to be Albus Potter (Sam Clemmett) and Scorpius Malfoy (Anthony Boyle). Bringing an awkwardness to their roles that perfectly fit their characters, they shone in every scene they were in, with such humour and emotional depth you really felt for them both.
L to R: Harry Potter (Jamie Parker), Albus Potter (Sam Clemmett) and Ginny Potter (Poppy Miller)
There are revelations in the play that will have everyone gasping, laughing and crying. Previews end 31st July (aptly Harry's birthday) and a fresh batch of tickets go on sale in August for May 2017-2018 and we're already considering going again. The script for the previews will be published on the 31st July as well, so if you can't make it to the play, you can read the story for yourself (and it will be published again before the end of the year with the final version of the script - the post previews version, so to speak).
