ALEXANDER NEWCOMBE
  • Portfolio

Video Games

29/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Pixel art of one of my favourites
I think a lot about video games. One of my main purposes for this blog is to have a place where I can lay out critiques and thoughts on games. I want to discuss them in a way beyond the like/dislike conversations that you usually get amongst a group of friends (not that I don't love those too).

Often this will come out as a
short essay. Sometimes it'll be a kind of review (though I don't think I'll be assigning points, stars, or buckets or whatever).

I tend to lag behind the big new releases, especially on console, so I won't be your source for breaking news. Mostly I'll be talking about games I've played as opposed to speculation on unreleased ones. I'd love to say that I'm not going to get swept up into the fervor around the latest trailer or Kickstarter for game X, but I'd hate to disappoint everyone. Occasionally I'll get hyped enough about an upcoming game to post about it here.

I imagine working in the games industry has influenced my view of games quite a bit. I started in out-sourced QA in 2006, continued on as a QA team lead at EA Montreal, and then started as a Writer/Narrative Designer (depends how fancy I want to sound) at Disney Interactive in 2013. I still feel like I'm just a fan, especially when I'm discussing them as I hope to here, but if I sound like some industry shill at some point, you can blame it on me being on the other side of the fence :)

0 Comments

Tabletop Gaming

28/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Of all the different interests I'll be talking about on the blog, this is the one that is the hardest to introduce. Most people don't know what it is, but a lot of the readers of a gaming blog will. I'm going to err on the side of caution for now.

I'm tempted to launch into a history lesson on where Dungeons & Dragons came from and where it is now. Maybe even a discussion of all the things that fall under the umbrella of "tabletop role-playing game". But those are probably all posts on their own. I'll jump right to the big points and let you pick it up as we go.

For the uninitiated, tabletop RPGs are co-operative games where you play through a story in the role of a fictional character. There are rules that determine how challenges are overcome and how the world reacts to the characters. You also can't win or lose. If you threw improv theatre together with an in-depth board game, you might get the right idea.

If you're already familiar with all that, then you probably think RPGs are great. There are very few people I know that have actually played an RPG and don't enjoy it. The spontaneous creation of story mixed with exciting adventures and codified character building certainly sucked me in early. It may have also had something to do with my dad teaching me to play when I was young and impressionable. Either way, I was hooked from a young age and have been playing these games off and on since then.

I'll be posting my thoughts on new RPGs that come out, lessons learned from my own games, and maybe some home-brew creations as well.
Plus, I'll point the way to some of the great RPG sites and podcasts that are out there. I tend to like learning new systems and I'm not one to dig in and choose an absolute favourite. I will say that the FATE System from Evil Hat has been a front-runner for a little while though.

0 Comments

Writing Fiction

28/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
In a lot of ways, I'm just getting comfortable with calling myself a writer. So, the writerly advice will be at a minimum. Most of what you'll see here will be on how I write, what I like, and where you can get some great information.

Look out for some fiction pieces being posted as well. Sometimes I'll post complete drafts of short stories. Other times, works in progress.

Whether reading or writing, I'm always drawn to stories of the weird, supernatural, or speculative. But I don't exclusively like those kinds of stories. In the end, it just has to be fun. I don't believe a reader should necessarily struggle with fiction—I like it to be entertainment even when it is serious.


PS. If you go to www.hbm-anthology.com, you can see the anthology that I co-founded with Duane Burry and Vincent Mackay. It has lots of samples of my writing, examples of what I love to read, and a few blog posts from me as well. All of what goes up here will be new material, however.


0 Comments

    Archives

    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Fiction
    On Writing
    Tabletop
    Video Games

    RSS Feed