Inspired Opulence - Blogs http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/ Inspired Opulence is an open roleplaying community that features many in depth guides, discussions, and roleplays for your enjoyment. IO is your one stop for all things RPing. Phi is also the home of the Harry Potter RPG, Utopia on Hold, and the original high fantasy realm, An Opprobrious Revolution en Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:10:17 GMT vBulletin 1440 http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/images/styles/reflection/misc/rss.jpg Inspired Opulence - Blogs http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/ My new home http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u78-b6.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:58:42 GMT



This is the view from my new condo. No Photoshop, no filters, nothing. I reduced the image size, and that's it. Envy me. On second thought, don't envy me. But really - I get to look out my window while eating breakfast and see dolphins frolicking in the ocean. I can walk down to the pier that is a quarter mile from my house and watch sea lions beg for sardines. I can drive for fifteen minutes down the coast and hang out at tidepools. I live less than a hundred yards from the beach, where, right now, its only other occupants are surfers and joggers. It's fucking gorgeous.And every day it gets warmer and more lovely. Even if this feeling only lasts a moment, life is beautiful. ]]> Æther http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u78-b6.html Graveyards Raided http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u7-b5.html Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:47:12 GMT
Graveyards Raided — Police Baffled


Godric's Hollow, England -- Several residents have reported desecration to the graveyards of family members and friends. Several graves were dug up over the night.

Estimates place the time of the grave robbery at roughly two to three in the morning. A number nearby residents reported the sound of wood clacking against wood during the aforementioned time span. Though three eyewitnesses stepped forth, no one could produce an accurate representation of the perpetrator.

The graveyards targeted were mostly well-respected names n the neighborhood. Many of them were centuries old. Police have found little motivation for the crime, finding no clues at the crime scene or from eyewitnesses that would implicate a suspect. Some members of the community believe that the job was done by an old resident who has since moved away. His name is left anonymous.

According to officials, there are currently no suspects, but assures that the ministry is working hard to resolve this heinous affair.

The Daily Prophet's Declan Arkwright contributed to this article. ]]> The Game Master http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u7-b5.html School in 1967 vs School in 2007 http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u1-b4.html Sun, 25 Nov 2007 06:46:34 GMT I found this somewhere, and it's just funny/sad that it's seems so true.

Quote:
Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.

1967 - Vice principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his own shotgun to show Jack.

2007 - School goes into lockdown, the FBI is called, Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors are called in to assist traumatized students and teachers.


Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1967 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2007 - Police are called, SWAT team arrives and arrests Johnny and Mark. They are charged with assault and both are expelled even though Johnny started it.


Scenario: Jeffrey won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.

1967 - Jeffrey is sent to the principal's office and given a good paddling. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra state funding because Jeffrey has a disability.


Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1967 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.



Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some Aspirin to school.

1967 - Mark shares Aspirin with the school principal out on the smoking dock.

2007 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from School for drug violations. His car is searched for drugs and weapons.


Scenario: Pedro fails high-school English.

1967 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.

2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is racist. US Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.



Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover Independence Day firecrackers, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up an anthill.

1967 - Ants die.

2007 - Homeland Security and the FBI are called and Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. Team's investigate parents, siblings are removed from the home, computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.



Scenario: Johnny falls during recess and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.

1967 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.

2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in federal prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy.
]]> Lightning http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u1-b4.html <![CDATA[The Difficulty of Finding a Good Staff and the Flaw of RPG "Services"]]> http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u1-b3.html Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:44:00 GMT It seems that it's nearly impossible to actually find a good staff these days. On phi, we have three administrators at the time of this post; unfortunately, personal issues make me the only member of the administrative team that still can regularly check in for the time being. So, with that in mind, we have—on more than one occasion—conducted staff searches on the various RPG "services" out there.

Let me tell you, the fact that they claim to be a service is a lie. They're nothing but vomitous self-promotion schemes. Given our success with them, they should, in fact, be thanking us for the service of adding posts to their forums. There is no other gain from them.

This happens to be the fifth time we've attempted to use them, for various incarnations of UH and IO. We've tried a variety of approaches, appealing to a variety of senses. This particularly time, I attempted to intellectually rationalize with them. Previously, we've attempted to appeal to them with grandeur, hook them with psychological conditioning, or entice them with possibilities of high positions at an established RPG.

And do you know how many functional staff members with a pulse we've gotten out of it? Zero.

That's right. The damn "service" is so unproductive that we've gotten zero worthwhile leads. Sure, we've had applicants. We've even had more than a handful of them actually make it to the site and register. But none of them do anything worth a damn before they disappear. It seems that whoever frequents those forums looking for "work" are in actuality, allergic to actually… you know… working.

I swear it's the culture of RPGs these days. Everyone expects RPGs to last a week or two at the most. It seems that creating an RPG is the fashionable thing to do, and if they can't have things exactly how they imagine them, on demand, they jump ship without a reasonable care for whatever they leave behind. And worse of all, not only do they only seek control, they are also completely unwilling to work for it.

The nature of today's RPGs means that it doesn't matter if the administrator is entirely inadequate, because the RPG isn't expected to have a long shelf life. These fly-by-night RPGs are so permeating and prevalent that the mindset is drilled into many of these communities, including those with RPG "services," such as "graphic communities" (a rant about that later). The nature of the game isn't to produce the best story or realm anymore, but to entirely create funky twists on previously done tales. The recycling certainly gets old.

Pitiful. Dreadful. Absolutely despicable. Seems like the entire genre jumped the shark.

We'll try to be different on phi, because while we have roleplaying "services," we also have very integrated and very immersive roleplaying realms built in, so people are not simply here to sell to the highest bidder or to pimp their own projects. It really is quite a shame when the RPG services are no longer about helping the respective RPG or to even discuss issues related to them intellectually; it's all about self-promotion and they know it and embrace it. It is not, was not, and never will be about the advancement of RPGs and genuine RPG discussion. Simply because it is used primarily for a platform for advertising. The insightful RPers often avoid it altogether.

And I'm personally tired of it. ]]> Lightning http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u1-b3.html The Closing of the Book http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u7-b2.html Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:00:22 GMT Everyone knows the story.

Everyone knows of how Harry Potter defeated the tyrant, the Dark Lord, He-who-shall-not-be-named, Lord Voldemort. Everyone knew happier days would come eventually. The defeat of the Dark Lord lifted the ominous clouds above their collective heads. A wave of optimism—of euphoria—washed over the population. People took their brethren's arms in great embrace, and the love returned to the world. The wizarding world was at peace, and Britain could return to its former glory.

The rebounding curse, the ultimate—and final—defeat of the great tyrant ended the three-decade long epic. A generation had been embroiled in the greatest conflict the wizarding world could remember. The wizarding world had their own "greatest generation." A generation that had overcome all the hardships to last a lifetime; after all they had done, after all they had been through, rebuilding would be easy—the golden age was coming… right?

With the defeat of the Dark Lord, the final scattering of his forces, and the dispelling of his plague, the wizarding world had finally written the last word in the saga. The fairy tale was over… the real world awaited. The real world, where the enemy did not mark brand themselves on the arm, where there was no evil overlord to unite them, where the answers never appeared so obvious, where the coda wasn't the end.

—— Real life is never that simple. ]]> The Game Master http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u7-b2.html Where has the love gone? http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u1-b1.html Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:53:03 GMT This is mainly used as a test post for blogging, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to post a quick rant.

I really have no words to express the massive proliferation of various roleplaying games these days, especially with those that Riss and I have "fansheep RPGs." Those that focus on garish and unnecessary aesthetics and unbelievably long post lengths. Whatever happened to good writing, quality literary sense, and a moving story?

I've even heard some "reputable" roleplayers in the genre claim that roleplaying is not writing. I guess they're telepathically communicating in some foreign language, one that we just so happen to read in English text. Maybe the text is read exactly how the brain chooses to render it—how's that for philosophical cannon fodder?

As absurd as this sounded to me, it seemed that the idea has caught on with some. Roleplaying is somehow fundamentally different from writing. Somehow the act of responding to a post means that we should not strive for the writing axioms of thoughtfulness, clarity, grace, and concision. Perhaps the rules of the game have changed.

Gone are the days where it's enough to post just enough for the purpose of composing the best story. Gone are the days where you attempt to shoot for a few paragraphs that answer all the critical issues presented to the your characters. Gone too are the days where it was enough to simply post your character's reactions, actions, emotions, and thoughts. Now, as if concisely and entertainingly creating the best possible story, as elegant as it was subtle, wasn't difficult enough, the fansheep apparently demand huge vomitous masses of text that really serve very little purpose than to didactically talk to the reader. No doubt, it's another attempt to show off the size of your e-... well let's not go there.

Is this the future of RPing? Is it no longer enough that we write for the sake of telling a good story? Where quality roleplaying obeys the same conventions as good narration and storytelling? Will roleplaying one day be an off shoot of writing and become a massive orgy of stream of consciousness?

Let's hope not. I personally can not imagine if this would become the case. And neither can phi, really.

I still maintain that good writing needs no aesthetic adornment. That we don't need monstrous paragraphs written in all lowercase letters, or titles that have more symbols and spaces than they actually have text. I don't see the appeal of double ampersands, brackets, or semicolons. The roleplaying should be a venue for expressing through writing. The entire environment should be nothing more than perks that keep attention long enough for one to craft the next literary device and plot hook.

Call me old school, a relic of the past—I simply don't see the appeal in focusing on the same avatars and the same hypertexturized banners on dark backgrounds; I don't enjoy viewing über ornate titles and text—they just distract me from the writing. Perhaps I'm a bit insensitive to the winds of change, but I still believing that play-by-post roleplaying obeys the convention of good writing, and I don't think those have changed. I still maintain that the definitions of a good read, a good book, or a classic adventure have remained. What the critics perceive as quality writing conventions, good storytelling, and riveting plots may have evolved somewhat with the times, but they too still linger. I want to hear good stories, discover fascinating characters, and read good writing.

And the overly adorned, gigantic pontifical masses of text certainly do not qualify. Not in my book. Maybe we, too, as roleplayers, can endure. Let us try on Inspired Opulence. ]]> Lightning http://www.inspired-opulence.com/forum/blog/u1-b1.html