Observations of the Fox

Looking through my old posts, I see a few ideas that really need re-addressing. One of those is the "Unexploited Resource" series. So to resume the concept, here's an idea I've been thinking about for a while. Music in games. I remember a few years ago, actually it was the mid to late 1990s. It was the traditional "end of convention" trip to the pub...a common occurrence that still happens at Australian RPG conventions. A friend of mine was sharing an idea over a drink. He had recently placed a computer game in a regular CD player on a whim,and he found that the background tracks and theme music for the game were readable as music files on the CD player. This game him a few key music loops that might have proven useful as introductory fanfares for specific NPCs, but more interestingly, the game included a heartbeat. In the computer game, the heartbeat soundtrack sped up as the character became nervous, excited or stressed, and it slowed down when the charact...

I've been posting away at this blog for a while now (since early 2008) and have had a variety of jobs. The blog actually started off early with a string of posts about my dissatisfaction regarding the corporate world. In the time since I've been writing this blog, I've been an IT specialist, a printer, a bookseller, a freelance game writer, a layout artist, a student and a web designer...Most of those roles I've been paid for. For the last few months I've been struggling to make roleplaying books my primary source of income. It's not been easy, especially when other issues keep cropping up. I'm probably earning enough money through RPGNow that I can adequately sustain myself on packet noodles and a few cheap cans of food...certainly not comfortable, and not even enough to pay the rent, but it's a start. So that's meant I've had to look for more substantial work (the job-hunting has cut into my game design time immeasurably). On the positive side...

According to a number of people within the Facebook group Wenman Family Reunion , it appears that I could be related to gypsies. I find this hugely ironic, when a number of people told me not to pursue my ideas for the game Brigaki Djili. My most vocal opponents decried my work as an act of "cultural appropriation", but now it seems I can counter their arguments by saying that I am actually exploring my ancestry and cultural roots through my work on this game. I realise that if anyone traces their family tree far enough, they can justify almost anything, but this gypsy/traveller connection only stretches back a couple of generations, and it seems that there are still a high proportion of travellers who bear the Wenman name. In fact, one of the origins of the surname "Wenman" is said to be "Wain-man" or "Wagon-man". Maybe it's time to start working on that project again.

Just to show that I'm still ploughing away on the Goblin Tarot Deck, here are a few more images to entice and enthral. At this rate I should have the full deck knocked out in a few weeks. Have a look at my Deviant Art profile for more updates on this project.