Things to talk about
Jul. 6th, 2007 10:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckro We saw Live Free or Die Hard on Tuesday, and Transformers on Wednesday.
Both movies were pretty much the standard summer blockbuster fare. Lots of explosions, bullets flying, and requisite "the US military is cool and we love them, even if the government is stupid/incompetant" plot points.
Die Hard was fun, if totally predictable. Bruce Willis jumps clear of many exploding things. What more do you want?
Transformers had beautiful CGI that could have been shown off better--Michael Bay showed his love for various film effects, especially lensflares, but he doesn't love the "posed action shot" or "body pan up" that I really expected to show off the transformers themselves. Which was odd. But the script was decent, and vaguely Star Wars-esque in its execution; and Shia LaBoef did an impressive Ben Savage impression.
And I want to get ahold of the comic book adaptation/novelization/shooting script. I'll bet dollars to donuts that the Hoover Dam was supposed to be destroyed in a torrent of explosions and tiral waves, but budget constraits prevented that from being in the final film.
(I don't think anything was spoiled in there, but it never hurts to be careful.)
I've had a plot idea for a three-part D&D game for a couple of months now. The idea (at least, in my head) tries to work sensibly with the system, encourage character development, and have a fun twist to it. The general plot and action, though, it pretty standard: Escape the dungeon. Find out what's going on. Defeat the bossmonkey.
My mistake? I designed the game with 5-6 players in mind. I currently have 10.
Running the first part with 7 players on Wednesday went reasonably, though combat took forever and wasn't terribly well balanced. And characterization was limited, as is often the case when more than half the game is combat and there are so many players. Next week promises to be even worse, as I'll need to ramp up my planned challenges to keep the game from being a total cakewalk; but need to make sure combat moves quickly so I can fit the plot in.
The problem, I think, is that my gaming night has grown a bit large for a standard tabletop game. We've reached the point where it becomes necessary to either split into two groups with two GMs, or play something LARP-like where the GM is not strictly necessary for interactions. Of course, the last time I suggested LARPing, it went over like a lead balloon.
I'll think of something.
And I have other things to ramble about, but they require a coherancy of thought that I lack at the moment.
Both movies were pretty much the standard summer blockbuster fare. Lots of explosions, bullets flying, and requisite "the US military is cool and we love them, even if the government is stupid/incompetant" plot points.
Die Hard was fun, if totally predictable. Bruce Willis jumps clear of many exploding things. What more do you want?
Transformers had beautiful CGI that could have been shown off better--Michael Bay showed his love for various film effects, especially lensflares, but he doesn't love the "posed action shot" or "body pan up" that I really expected to show off the transformers themselves. Which was odd. But the script was decent, and vaguely Star Wars-esque in its execution; and Shia LaBoef did an impressive Ben Savage impression.
And I want to get ahold of the comic book adaptation/novelization/shooting script. I'll bet dollars to donuts that the Hoover Dam was supposed to be destroyed in a torrent of explosions and tiral waves, but budget constraits prevented that from being in the final film.
(I don't think anything was spoiled in there, but it never hurts to be careful.)
I've had a plot idea for a three-part D&D game for a couple of months now. The idea (at least, in my head) tries to work sensibly with the system, encourage character development, and have a fun twist to it. The general plot and action, though, it pretty standard: Escape the dungeon. Find out what's going on. Defeat the bossmonkey.
My mistake? I designed the game with 5-6 players in mind. I currently have 10.
Running the first part with 7 players on Wednesday went reasonably, though combat took forever and wasn't terribly well balanced. And characterization was limited, as is often the case when more than half the game is combat and there are so many players. Next week promises to be even worse, as I'll need to ramp up my planned challenges to keep the game from being a total cakewalk; but need to make sure combat moves quickly so I can fit the plot in.
The problem, I think, is that my gaming night has grown a bit large for a standard tabletop game. We've reached the point where it becomes necessary to either split into two groups with two GMs, or play something LARP-like where the GM is not strictly necessary for interactions. Of course, the last time I suggested LARPing, it went over like a lead balloon.
I'll think of something.
And I have other things to ramble about, but they require a coherancy of thought that I lack at the moment.
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-06 04:07 pm (UTC)It has to be. Why the hell would you set a military base under the Hoover Dam, do lots of shots of the Hoover Dam, have the little evil robot (Ravage? Rampage? The one that turns into a radio) hack into the Hoover Dam, evacuate the Hoover Dam, and then not blow up the Hoover Dam?
They must have run out of money. It's the only way this makes sense.
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Date: 2007-07-06 04:42 pm (UTC)Rampage is the Beast Wars transformer who turns into a tank and a giant crab, and has an imperfect (read: homicidally insane) copy of Starscream's immortal spark.
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Date: 2007-07-06 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-06 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-06 08:49 pm (UTC)Either way, I'm glad the Jar-Jar Junior robot wasn't one of Soundwave's. Soundwave would put a fist through that thing's face.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-06 08:51 pm (UTC)I...didn't even put those together in my head, but now that you've said it, that's amazingly accurate. More anti-liberal propaganda!! Boycott it!
...'cept I wanna see robots. Crap.
I, too, bemoan the lost opportunity to show off a full transform as they ought to have done. Because the animation of the robots was otherwise pretty good. Maybe in the sequel?