Posts
I find that I often find inspiration for writing in songs. For example, I once wrote a short story called “The Old Man’s Bar” inspired by the song “Broadway” from The Goo Goo Dolls.
A while ago I started writing a short story inspired by the song “The World at Large” by Modest Mouse. I haven’t finished the story yet, because I got stuck on an important detail, but hopefully I’ll be able to complete it soon.
Recently, I was listening to the song “Dust Bowl Dance” by Mumford & Sons and thought there was a really powerful story in that song. Actually, I could see it as the seed of a great scenario for the role-playing game Dogs in the Vineyard.
Do you ever find inspiration for writing in music? Which songs have inspired you?
This is a belated review as I saw Steam Boy most recently almost a month ago. Steamboy is an anime movie directed and co-written by Katsuhiro Otomo, who directed the anime film Akira (I’ve never seen it, but it’s famous). Steamboy is pretty much my only exposure to the steampunk subgenre of science fiction.
The story focuses on a family of scientists in Victorian England who develop incredible steam powered inventions. James Ray Steam’s father, Edward, and grandfather, Lloyd, are working together on a secret project in America, but they split ways after an accident that leaves Edward severely injured from a blast of steam. A short time later, back in England, James receives a mysterious package from his grandfather. The package contains a steel ball, about the size of a basketball, and a letter from his grandfather telling him to protect it from a company called the O’Hara Foundation. Only a short while later, agents of the Foundation attack James’ house in an attempt to steal the Steamball, which contains super-compressed steam, thus launching an action-packed thrill ride as everyone battles for this new energy source. The O’Hara Foundation, now allied with James’ father, wants it to power new military weapons that they aim to sell to any nation who can afford them. The British government want it for their own ends. James simply wants to make sure that his family’s invention is used for good and not evil.
The movie had good animation, with lots of computer enhanced art. The character designs were somewhat bland to my eye, but were clean and a little more on the realistic side of anime. Overall, the movie reminded me a bit more of Disney-style animation than of typical anime. One of the most interesting visual aspects of the movie was the mechanical designs. The high-tech vehicles were steam-powered and looked like something that could come from the industrial revolution. I especially liked how they used series of moving magnifying lenses to mimic the functions of cameras and video screens. The only major drawback to the art that I noticed was that many of the interior scenes seemed very dark, which made it difficult to really appreciate the interesting interiors of some of the buildings.
The music score was OK, but not really exceptional. The voice acting for both the original Japanese language track and the English dub were good, and the English dub featured the voices of some well known actors including Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, and Alfred Molina. In some parts, though, the voices seem a bit overwhelmed by the music and sound effects. It would have been nice if they hade made the dialog track just a bit louder.
Overall, it is an interesting movie. It has good quality animation and some neat ideas. One minor detail of the film that I really enjoyed was the credits. As the credits roll at the end of the film, a slideshow plays in the background that gives hints to how the story might continue, with James Ray Steam using his steam-powered gadgets to become a high flying war hero.
Roleplaying
Because of my obsession with roleplaying games, I tend to watch most movies and shows with an eye for what I could take from it and apply to gaming. Here are some ideas from Steamboy.
Alternate History: Steamboy presents an alternate history in which the Victorian era achieves technology far in advance of the real industrial revolution. I know I’ve seen other examples of this, and it’s a fun creative exercise to ask what history might have been like if certain scientific discoveries were made earlier. Using this in an RPG could be a neat way to add a little different flavor to the typical Sci-Fi game.
Family Conflicts: Most of the story in Steamboy revolves around three generations of scientists in the same family, with two of them ending up on opposing sides of the main conflict, and the youngest one having to choose which one to follow. I’ve used family connections to add to the drama in Dogs in the Vineyard, but it might be interesting to use this tactic more often in other games.
I've begun watching all of my Batman DVDs in "chronological order". I watched Batman Begins last night, next I'll watch Gotham Knight, then I'll move on to Batman: The Animated Series, and finally Batman Beyond. Batman is my favorite superhero by far, and Batman Begins is an awesome portrayal of the character and his origin.
What I really like about Batman Begins is that it is a deep, character-driven story about one man's determination to become more than just a man - to become an elemental force of justice - and how he masters his own fear and anger to turn those against the criminal element that made him a victim. As Bruce Wayne puts it himself: "I seek the means to fight injustice. To turn fear against those who prey on the fearful." Unlike the majority of superheroes who are either born with their powers or obtain them by accident, Batman is a man who chooses the path of the superhero, and puts forth a tremendous amount of effort to become what he is.
Another thing I like about the movie is it's great writing and casting. Some of the dialog is just so fundamental to the image I have of the Batman character and mythos - it's cool to see how Alfred, Ducard, and even Rachel all helped shape Bruce Wayne’s identity. The acting in this film is superb, and I think they definitely hit the mark with their casting choices. Christian Bale makes a great Batman. He portrays the character and his personal struggles superbly. Michael Caine and Gary Oldman were perfect in their roles as Alfred Pennyworth and Jim Gordon. Gary Oldman is to Jim Gordon as J. K. Simmons is to J. Jonah Jameson (a better match could not be found in both character portrayal and physical appearance). Liam Neeson is also an actor I enjoy watching, and he was well cast for the role of Ducard. Katie Holmes did a fine job as Rachel Dawes, though the film's sequel showed that another actress could do just as well. Rachel Dawes was actually one of the things I like about the film. In what seems to be a continuing trend in superhero films, Rachel is more than just a love interest for Batman, but is an interesting character herself and plays an important role in Batman's fight against crime.
I think Batman Begins did a good job of making Batman believable. We could see how someone with Bruce Wayne's history and resources could become a crime-fighter. I liked how they even gave a convincing explanation for why such a character would choose to don a very theatrical costume with a bat motif. The "Tumbler" is the single most awesome and believable version of the Batmobile. As cool as it would be to play Batman in a movie, I think the best job in the production of this film went to the stunt driver who got to drive that sports-tank.
Roleplaying
Because of my obsession with roleplaying games, I tend to watch most movies and shows with an eye for what I could take from it and apply to gaming. Here are some ideas from Batman Begins.
Superhero Origins: Previously, when I played a superheroes game, we simply jumped right into the action at the point where the heroes were coming together to form a team, and skipped their individual origins. If I ever run a superheroes RPG again, I think it would be cool to tell character-driven origin stories for the superheroes involved.
What Makes a Character: In this movie we see various people and events that shaped Bruce Wayne's character. I think it is cool to play an RPG where characters experience considerable changes as the story unfolds. Dogs in the Vineyard's conflict resolution system makes this kind of character growth a built in function of the rules mechanics, but I think the same kind of character development can be accomplished in any game system, so long as the players make a conscious effort to produce it.