To usher in another age in RPG Authoring with an Indi Industry Retrospective

A brief prose on returning to the world a dying art of Game Mastery...

The Author of Eon Legacy, Mobile Suit Gundam: New Age, and Nightmare Factor Project gives us a look at how he intends to bring "Role Playing Games" into a new golden age.

First off I'd like to say "I've been playing Role Playing Games since I was almost eleven." and with that being said I can say I've owned many games with different systems. All the D2 through D20, Card Play, Live Action, Numbertable, and Dungeons and Dragon's clones you can sink your teeth into. I've gone from Apex System to Zero Die Rollers and I've even made a few systems. The problem many have is the "Endless Cycle of Expansion" or the "One's not a hit but the next may be." in the "Table Top/Mixed Platform Genre" without making profit or even taking off.

This is basically what happens when you aptly trip into one of the traps called the Five Pitfalls:

1. Have a devoted following and moderate Fanbase without a strong Base/Core/Flagship Rulebook that leaves an open end for TONS of Gimmick expansion content*.
2.  Narrowed Marketing.
3. Small Target Audience.
4. Consider a "Alternative" to other games**.
5.  Multiple or ALL of the above.

Let's explain "1" by saying the following "When a customer has a specific desire to play something they do NOT want to by "Parts of a game as a whole" as opposed to "The whole thing". They get that ENOUGH of that with Video Games that come with game finishing/breaking/making DLC/Seasonal Passes/Subscriptions. When someone goes to buy a book (E-Book or Hardcopy) they are intending to get the game rolling. If you HAVE to do "Expansion Modules" make them companions to the "Base/Core/Flagship" that cost a fraction. Thematic works are fine but when you have to introduce revisions of game mechanics you're basically negating the work from prior installments." that being said we have seen a format set by the BIG Companies (Wizards of the Coast, Palladium, White Wolf) that toss out a base Sourcebook then a Players Guide, a Monster Encyclopedia, and half a dozen or so Special Rules Expansions. If you start with a solid and complete Soucebook you can offer a fair price, include content for Players and Storytellers, and have the Players get the ball rolling RIGHT off the bat.

Secondly, 2, is pretty self explained. If all you do is a single pronged approach you will not get sales. You need to be out there. Social. Seen. You need to show people that you are a human being with something to give to them. In the end you don't have to but if you want to move forward in an industry dominated by companies that can throw adverts up on Youtube, Buzzfeed, tumblr, and ALL those sites along with canvas conventions you better be ready to NOT get anywhere.

Third but not lastly , 3, that stands to reason that if your entire game is sexy ninja catgirls fighting giant robots in bikinis (the robots are wearing the bikinis) then you're only targeting that niche demographic. I am sorry to say this but the next "Fantasy Incarnation" of your own spin on an "Age of Magic" type world may not be ideal. It's like a pot luck where you HAVE to remember that if someone is bringing hot dogs and hamburgers someone should bring the buns and someone else should bring the trimmings. Saying you're game is a "New spin on an old idea" may be great but in many cases it may not float and neither will the robots with bikinis.

Next let me cover "4" by saying "Other games/publishers are not your competition. They are SOURCE content. They are your BROTHERS AT ARMS. Competition is OTHER entertainment media. Video Games, Card Games, Board Games, Television shows, Movies, Novels... though those can be great materials for inspiration they are what you want to take attention from. You want to offer a product at a fraction of what a Digital Media Game equivalent that can give more play time, interaction, and a feeling of continuity than say "Beat the game in 5 hours on hard". As a storyteller having a TON of books for resources are GREAT and everyone SHOULD make their own House Rules but there are many "By the book" who will "Buy EVERY Book" but what happens when the whole world costs... well:
Core Sourcebook: $26.oo-35.oo (150-200pgs)*
Player Book: $23-30 (80pgs)
Monster Book: $23-35 (60-120pgs)
Expansions: $15-25 (20pgs)
Revisions 1-3x: $23-30 (100pgs)
Gimmick Tools: $10-20 ea (Maps, Minitures, Templates, Dice, ect)
* Rates considered an adjusted standard for most games.

So what we have for MOST games out there is JUST to get started:
$89.oo (Not including tax/shipping)

That's for the Player Book, Monster book, GM Core Rulebook, Dice and a few Minis (At the MINIMUM PRICE). That's JUST to get started. Now to some people "Well, it's a 100 bucks just to get started..cheaper than a Mini Combat game and easier to get started than some LARPs. but what they are missing out on is the fact that everyone that plays should probably get a copy..and those WITH money will buy EVERYTHING they can to "Buffalo the GM" by "Metagaming" which leads to a whole other can of wyrms.

So all of this comes down to "What do we do?" and the solution comes easier said than done:
Consolidate, Design, Market, Sell, Expand, Profit.
All the while avoiding the Five Pitfalls.
Some people have told me "You can't make money without spending money." and to that I say "Don't quit your day job." because no matter how many books you crank out and how many "New Games" you make you want to have something to fall back on until you can pull 10x your day-job income and get expansion sales rolling into NEW hands for months at a time.

Imagination is fading at a rapid rate. 7 year-olds are playing Black Ops and never hearing about "Where the Wild things are" or "Goosebumps" or "Scary Stories". It is OUR jobs as writers to bring focus on innovation and the imagination back. It's ALWAYS been that way. Gorge Orwell, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and so on all did what WE intend to do with our games. Inspire, give hope, give an escape, give awe and wonder... together we can do this by beating out the big companies and establishing our prices to be both fair for our readers and for us without having to "Bread Crumb" bait people like so many struggle to do!

A Tabletop Gundam Role Playing Game for a New Era with M.S. Gundam: New Age

Or a "New Age" one would say...

The vast body of knowledge of game design and Anime Mecha Fandom will rise in America again!!!

In the mid 90's America got a big dose of "Mobile Suit: Gundam" in the for of Cartoon Network's Toonami. Though the Sci Fi Channel had aired a few Episodes of Macross and other "Mecha" features it was Gundam W (ing) that set the stage for the "Sudden Gundam Craze in America" that had Anime Conventions and even Anime/Manga stores pop up with a HUGE number of Sales for "Mecha Models". Popularity waned in the following years. Though "Gundam" and other mecha still gets Translated and distributed across English Speaking Territories the ONLY things that keep fans going are the off-chance releases of video games and the various Macross/Battletech or Homebrew Inspired RPGs. Most of these games run of a d20 system or some form of Palladium's game design but what if someone came up with a new system? A System that is built around the action of Mobile Suits and Gundams? 

It just so happens that an Unofficial game has been designed and bare-bone structured since 1998. Robert Rankin, the Author behind the soon to be popularized Eon Legacy, has been testing and hosting sessions with various veteran Table Top and Traditional Role Players for years now. With the perfect mix of dice rolling, Table-top relative location placement, streamlined numbers, and Mobile Suit Lore/Tech Mobile Suit: New Age has potential to reawaken popularity and fans! Though the game itself is still in the "Waiting Room" phase with Bandai as of today, 12/1/2013 the potential is resting in their hands. With the potential to sell a SMALL yet handy Sourcebook (Estimated 130 pages WITH art) and Mobile Suit Miniatures (1-2 Inches ideally) there stands to be a LOT of potential for both a Franchise to return, collectibles to be made (many of them already exist just check E-bay). Imagine if Bandai and Sunrise were to Greenlight this game? The application of technology, save for a little gimmick tweaking here and there, across every Gundam Universe would beget desires to collect all and any miniature that suits the Mobile Suit Master (Game Master) and players. You can check out some already produced Minis here Online but if you want the Gundam RPG that feels authentic you may want to call Bandai America/Bandai and Sunrise and tell them "You want Mobile Suit Gundam: New Age Tabletop!" and give them this blog link because until it's official the guy writing it won't be "Mass Distributing" nor "Reselling" nor "Public Domain-ing" it any time soon! The good news is you can ask him ALL about it on his Facebook Page!

"Gundam", "Mobile Suit" are © Sunrise and Bandai.

Update: Some have asked for a "Sample" of the game. So here is the standard requirements for a session-
~Pencil
~Paper (Character Sheets)
~Glossy Dry Erase Board/Cardboard 3x3 or 4x4 (All depends on size of combat area)
~Collected Dice: 4d6 (Needed for Hit/Miss/Dodge, Damage, and Combat Feats), 1d4, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 1d20
~Mobile Suit Miniatures (at MOST 2.5 inches high used as Placeholders in the Combat Area for relative positions, ranges and facing placement) or some form of chess or mini.
~M.S. "Mobile Suit": New Age Guidebook Materials

Political Correctness is Bullshit!!!

Why in the modern world "Political Correctness" establishes a double standard and makes everyone some form of offender.

A no BS honest opinion of what this "Modern Standard" is doing to push "Modern Thinking" into a  "New Taboo".

Imagine for a moment, if you will, that the clothes you are wearing THIS INSTANCE is offending SOMEONE...SOMEWHERE...else. Be it a man exposing the bottom of his shoe to the world (Some places in the middle east) or a woman showing ANY skin (you can connect the dots) these people are in violation of what the WORLD in general has dubbed taboo or "Politically Incorrect". Now keep imagining, don't stop, you are a minority (Religion, Race, Age, Culture, weight group, book club) and the Majority don't agree with how you live/practice/worship/eat (as long as no one is getting hurt in any way as to not infringe on your civil rights). Now imagine if the law and General Public Practice (Not the government but the people) is to Shame/Shun/Humiliate/Leave Dog Mess on your car hood/protest violently/Fire you/or worse because of your opinions. Don't stop imagining! Now imagine YOU part of the MAJORITY and you've been raised to think "People who do this and that are BAD! They will make you BAD! They will make your children BAD!" and you, being the GOOD person that you are, rally behind fighting these STRANGE and DIFFERENT.. BAD people must be stopped! For goodness sake! They eat red meat/plant matter/worship a different invisible friend/wear hats/have different skin despite all being from the same core genome... AMERICA!

The rule is something along the lines of "If the majority of the world frowns upon it, it's WRONG and shouldn't be said". The writer of this little opinion comes from is the United States of America which is SUPPOSED to be "The Model Western Free World" but the issue is not about Freedom but censorship of opinion due to "Offending Majorities and minorities". This stuff has become so rampant that people mocking modern day idiots, psychopaths and mishaps get punished by..wait for it...

Idiots en mass.

For doing nothing more than stating ones opinion and/or expressing themselves. We have to agree, some opinions are wrong, stupid, or just down right gross but the founding fathers of the United States intended for people to express their fears, woes, concerns, hatreds and likes. If you decide that someone's opinion is wrong or bad you can simply say it. Not everyone was "Raised" the same. Not everyone "Gets the stigma". Some people are raised the same and get the stigma and want to THROW their opinion in your face and that's what MOST of pop culture Media Entertainment consists of. We ALLOW people to stand by their race/color/creed to mock our own for some kind of Circular Logic based on history decades/centuries ago yet we don't hold the SAME people to the STANDARDS that we are meant to hold? If you want a few examples just look at our last two presidents or look at how WE respond to the terrorist attacks with Halloween costumes and they respond to that with BURNING THE FLAG AND AMERICAN HUMAN EFFIGIES.. oh but it's TOTALLY COOL FAMILY GUY DOES IT! What?

We can divert from the "Race/Culture" part of it because BLAZING SADDLES does it best. Let's talk about Political Correctness in the GENDER WORLD. We all know the statistics about women and men, structure for labor and structure for pain thresholds. Since man could shape clay and smear shit paintings on walls he has drawn or given the "Ideal shape of the now" for all to see. From Kings and Queens, Emperors and Empresses to Presidents and Prime Minsters... the jobs and responsibility works for both genders and BOTH are very able to do TERRIBLE things. What people are NOT acknowledging is the fact that in a MODERN TIME Dad can take care of the same things mom can and mom can do the same as dad.. or they can both work together on the same things. The problem comes into the scene when one or the other gender can't express themselves. Men in the modern world are seen as "The Breadwinner" or "Provider" where as women are still seen as home-maker. Case in point.. EVERY FIRST LADY (except maybe Hillary, she's still wearing the pants and got Bill's balls in a vice). Don't get me wrong there are MANY progressive women out there that are fighting HARD to change the view from "Baby Machine" to "GODDESS" and they NEED to be given our acknowledgement.... but the MAJORITY, sadly, are for keeping the world in order and free of chaos or powerful female figures because the "GOD'S A MAN AND THE SIN OF EVE CAST US ALL FROM PARADISE" mentality.

I should be allowed to say "That idiot is wrong and here is why!" and not have a bunch of fuckheads scream "You're a RACIST" when a valid point is made. When did America become Nazi Germany (Hitler's Germany, no correlation with modern day Germany and the territories within*) for saying facts I get a David's Star slapped on my chest and no one will hire me for making fun of the Status Quo? That's what it's like today... Where will it go? When will it STOP? How far will it turn back the use of "Minority Cards" and "Doublestandards"? Only time will tell once everyone SEES it.

The Rise, Apex, and Decline of Manga and Anime in America

The Cat Returns WAS a good film!

A look at the Asian Animation and Comic medium phenomena and it's rise to power and slow fall into obscurity and what "American Manga" or "Pseudo Manga" has become.

The 80's Rush

GO SPEED! GO!

In the 1980s America got it's first taste of "Anime". Mainstream titles like:
Astro Boy
Gigantor
Transformers
Speed Racer
Urusei Yatsura
Space Battleship Yamato/ Harlock/Galaxy Express
Gundam: Mobile Suit
Macross/Robotech
And those at the time were what we consider today "Anime in the 80s". The medium was unexplored territory. With works like Gem, MLP G1, Garfield, Space Ranger, He-Man/She-Ra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Silverhawks, Thundercats, GI Joe and dozens of other american titles they were swept up in the mix. What we didn't get were the huge works till years later from Japan and much of the content we DID get was Rush-Dubbed. We also SLOWLY saw the advent of Manga in the 80s but it wasn't till the next decade did translators (and a few non-translators implanting their own stories into the speech bubbles) honestly begin the flood.


The 90's Kayo Ken

I doubt they'd ever all pose together like this.

So much Gundam....

The big push came with the rush of cross culture media. MTV, VH1, and various other news sources started to expose the world to more strange content. Musicians were using Anime in the background of their videos or even FOR their videos. Manga became a new exotic medium for comic book stores to sell fresh translations of. The "Mainstream" anime we got were:
Sailor Moon
Lupin the III
Ranma 1/2
Dragonball Z (Dragonball was translated later)
Pokemon
Digimon
Project Lyoko (Computer Animated)
Gundam Wing/Gundam G Fighter
Inyu Yasha
Yu Yu Hakasho
Bubblegum Crisis
Cutey Honey
Blood the Last Vampire
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Sorcerer Hunters
City HunterRonin Warriors
My Neighbor Totoro
Ghost in the ShellSlayers
Escaflowne
Armatige
Palbot Mobile Tank Police
Dirty PairTenchi Muyo
Outlaw Star
Cowboy Bebop
Yu-Gi-Oh
We also got Manga corresponding with MOST of this anime and the advent of adult content (but that would be a multipage list on it's own so we'll just leave it at that).  The Cable Cartoon Network spearheaded the Anime Movement with their "Toonami" programming list while the Sci-Fi (now SyFy) Channel had their "Saturday Morning Anime Hour" and the Warner Brothers network had the popular "Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh" and Fox News Network had their hands on properties like "Digimon". These were what established the "Mainstream" titles and exposure while there were more obscure things happening around the same time.
 Another medium appeared called "American Manga" (also called Pseudo-Manga by the critics at the time). These were works by Ben Dunn, Fred Perry and Adam Warren.
Ben Dunn- Ninja High School/Marvel Mangaverse/Gigantor Revised

SO ANIMU!

Fred Perry- Gold Digger/Legacy

Plunger Gun. Mmmhmm.

Adam Warren- Dirty Pair Comic Book Adaptation/Star Wars Manga

Selling point= T&A

Ben and Fred have worked together on the smaller publishing venue known as "Antarctic Press" while Adam was "Hailed as the godfather of Pseudomanga" despite actually being the LAST of the first three to start authoring comics in a Manga-esque look and style but because he had the HUGE Property holder/Publisher "Dark Horse Comics" behind him both Ben and Fred, sadly, never got the recognition for being pioneers in "American Manga" besides the claims in their comics. Meanwhile, Viz comics were cranking out translations of EVERYTHING and the Manga/Anime Fever Bug began to spread with the increase of "Anime Clubs" and "Anime Conventions" like Anime Expo and various other named conventions.
There were still more specific, rare titles for Anime and Manga that were the following:

There were 3 Devil Hunters... 3. 

Devil Hunter Yoko (Same producer/art director as Sailor Moon)Devil Man
Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventures
Fatal Fury (Game Original)
Gokizer: Voltage Fighter (Game Original)
Street Fighter (Game Original)
Prince of Tennis
Slam Dunk
High Kicker Aya
Virus Buster Surge
Fushi Ugi
Gal Wars
Macross +/ Southern Cross
Though these were less seen titles they would set a standard slowly pushing their way into the NEXT decade of Anime/Manga culture. Time to lock down the inner Otaku folks. The next one's a whopper of a statement...

So yea... he remade it.

The early 2000's DESU DESU NIPPON!
Oh how cruel the times have become. Anime and manga didn't change. The style was refined, cleaned up, given to both mature audiences and younger audiences. The lines between cultural satire, original content, social commentary, and exploitation began to merge. The advent of Streaming Media, E-Comic Pirating, and loss of content management and liability for exposure became the agonizing and slow decline for Anime and Manga. Adult content was made readily available by people who "don't care for copyright laws or protecting the youth" that would cause worried parents to rail AGAINST the medium and at the same time cause a loss of revenue for publishers, artists, and content providers. Streaming Media also took from the TV due to lack of advertising and commercializing content and the only way to turn a profit would be to offer your content on a high quality "Download or stream" basis direct and merchandise. Some companies have began but they forget the content that MADE them what they are. If we as fans of this content don't start speaking OUT against theft and if content providers don't give an acknowledgement to the changes in the industry they will go broke and WE won't have anything to watch.

My Opinion

Before I was married and had a child I would buy comics and anime EVERY MONTH. I'd say almost religiously because back then it was taking 10% of my earnings! I currently have much less than what I had bought but back in the day I was proud to buy DVDs and Comics and Merchandise but my life has changed where there are priorities to take care of first. I still pick up a Gold Digger comic when I can but when I look at the newest Manga on the shelf... or the newest incarnation of Magical Girl Cute Vixen 900 I die a little bit on the inside.

-Robert RankinAll characters Copyright their creators.

Mai from Fatal Fury. Oh My.

World of Warcraft: Why It's broken and One month from 1-90 

First how to ding 90 in a month:Step 1. Scroll of Resurrection (If you have an old account/Cuts month down to 2 weeks).Step 2. Random Dungeons.Step 3. Get in a guild with XP Bonus.Step
4. Play Casual (Randoms rewards are HUGELY reduced since Cata).Step 5. World Quest.XP from World Quests have NOT been nerfed and with rested+Guild+BOA (Optional) bonuses.Step 6. Commit game time. You can't Willy Nilly it. You are PAYING to Play the game.


A quick opinion before we get to the good part: 
I'd like to say I played since Vanilla...because I did. I had also played the beta when I had the time before it was even released. When I first played it was like "Everquest on Drugs" with various organizational features that EQ didn't have. Hell, EQ was just a really spiffy Meridian 59. So I have played it ALL. The issue that this all falls to is "What happened and why?" so I shall give you the answer I can grasp...

What happened?
World of Warcraft went through what most MMO game designers call "A Carebear Phase" where the game was made more friendly and less hostile or "More acceptable by modern standards". Parents saw the game and though "I'll let me KID play it" then when they saw sexy dancing Night Elves and blood sprays with every hit they FLIPPED (not to mention kids were complaining the game was "Too hard" and "not user friendly" due to the REQUIRED social interaction. So, during the "Vanilla"/Classic age of WoW the game was pulled at by 2 different consumers- The Kids and The Fans (I fell into the latter). The Kids and their parents demanded change if their money was to continue to be spent and the FANS just wanted the game to play well. So when "Burning Crusade" rolled around and the "Summoning Stones" got easier to use and "Dungeon Finder" was implemented and World Quests (The world of Warcraft itself) became obsolete when you could sit in your capital and wait for your timer to ding... huge loot, assured gold, higher drop rates, why go kill 4-20 animals for a quest when you can "Get the BLUES!" Still kids were using their parents credit cards and "Fans" were left to a crawl when it came to gearing up and trying to compare to "The kids" who only had school and maybe some homework where the adults were left to work, social life, and whatever they could devote to playing the game (While some would sacrifice Social AND Work time in some cases). Fast Forward to TODAY-People like Gold Farmers, Kids, and Hardcore players DOMINATE the game. Blizzard has set the system to work against people getting "Bursts of Upgrades" by limiting specific in-game currencies. This means the people who can afford the TIME to play for weeks and months on end will lord over the "Casuals" and despite the money spent on the game being the same the "Hardcore Players" are a more profitable group for Blizzard... this leads us to.

Why?
Blizzard has become the "Walt Disney" of PC games. While some of their games have become AMAZING franchises others have faded from the public eye (Death of Superman, Starcraft Ghost, Warcraft Legends, Untitled Games 1-18).  They are a money making operation and have BUILT their income around milking the subscriptions for World of Warcraft. Games like Starcraft and Diablo are GREAT for anticipated income based on released and a sliding scale. So their bread is buttered by "Hardcore" players subscriptions and THEM bringing people in to play. World of Warcraft IS a great game but it is the PEOPLE you find who are either good or terrible (with little between) and with the advent of F2P and P4P (Pay for Premium).games cropping up everywhere it's no wonder that NEW Classic Style Tabletops are coming back!This also harkens to WoW becoming F2P and that sometime in the future they will have to adapt but the FEELING of the old game may never return.

A game dies: Warhammer Age of Reckoning

Warhammer AoR Shutdown:
BAM. Costs too much to maintain. Despite the progressive nature of the game (One of the first ones to have reoccurring timed world events while having cities you can capture). Dark, gothic, grim... too bad it only appealed to the true fans of the game. Unlike Everquest or WoW or other longstanding MMOs their fanbase was NARROW and could NOT turn a profit in the long run. Even newer games like Guild Wars 2 (I have max level characters there) that came CLOSE to the Epic of WAR but the game is now a ghost town (Shockingly so is the server on WoW that I have played). I could go into all the game highlights or the fun I had in the Beta or the sillyness of me getting into the game just after one of my best friends stopped playing and left me with a month to try and play solo only to find myself grossly underpowered and tissue paper against guild run chaos. Let me just say it's a sad day but for me, as a Game Designer on a different media, I would hope something that predated something that "Set the Standard" and was the FOUNDATION for that "Standard" would have run longer.

Check out the official news

You are not a god-damned vampire (but those guys may be)...

Considerations of a Writer on the state of "Goth" culture in respects to the image of the classic immortal homage in contrast to the modern imagery.

Disclaimer: The following is an opinionated view of what has become of "Gothic Culture" so if you were looking for vampire lore of some kind you are in the wrong place. The term "Vampire" is used as a parody to the modern view. =End Disclaimer=

First I would like to say I have had more than enough fun back in my Jr. High and High School days of playing RPGs. Hell, I even made one. Back then there was a company known as White Wolf (still exists but their games have been filled with "Carebears" and "Feel Guys") that produced dark, moody, dramatic, RPGs that would make satire of cliches but also introduced people to cultures and underground movements that were otherwise only seen on the "Late Night MTV Special" from the 80s (who, by the way, actually TRIED to label such movements as weird and irregular). These were games like "Vampire the Masquerade, Wraith, Werewolf, Hunter, Mage, Demon" and the like. Then, in the 90s, we had shows like "Kindred the Embraced", "Forever Knight", and movies like "Interview with a Vampire", countless "Dracula" knockoffs, "Blade", and "Buffy". What we also had to content with was the rise of the "Other-kin" Pseudo-religious movement. Currently if you look at goth clubs you'll see all types. People who work an image, people who pose as something else, people who WANNABE something else, then the people who actually break out into hives in the sun and eat rare meat because it invigorates us...

Now being friends with some people in the "Gothic" community has given me a clear view on what it means to be burdened with a stigma. It's a lifestyle outside the norm but in it's own way a standard, be it, common viewpoint. You've got 3 kinds of people (at the core. There are others that claim to be mixes of the three but it's rather their attempt to stand out in a sea of black, red, gold, and silver):

The Goth: We know them. They are the true tribute to the image of night draped in the traditional black. They are the actors and the artists of shadow. They are those who bask in the dim cool of moonlight and feel most alive after the sun goes down. They are the cultural movement that says "Cast aside your color as tribute to those who can't" and in a sense pay homage to those who are no longer with us. They can't be defined beyond their actions for their nature has been in cultures worldwide before they were a modern movement.

The Pretender: These are the people that live the "Lifestyle" as more of a fashion statement. When considering macabre or the darkness of fear they shirk. You'll recognize them with their lack of respect and constant "Baby-doll" attitude while treating the local culture as a "Popularity Contest". The quote I have been given is "There are a few at every party, club, meeting, convention." -R.T. and have witnessed it myself. Despite "Looking the part" they are not. Giving too much thought to them gives them credit where it is not due.

The Silent: I've been told I fall into this category. These are the folks that know the lifestyle, that enjoy the company, that enjoy the people and pay their best mutual respects without adorning themselves in the black thread or wear. The theme of "Respect my choices and I will respect yours" becomes a mutual thing. Most of "The Silent" are what goths call "Closet goths" as both a term of endearment and sign that some feel they're not committed like them while The Pretenders will say "Is this your first time? You must be new here. -insert remark about not fitting in and being in the wrong place while wearing clashing fishnets and beads-!" in an effort to discredit your image while boosting their own... while they rant and rave that Combichrist is awesome and how they "Hate that guys boots but mine from Hot Topic are so shweeay".

Conclusion: There are different types of Goths. Some are there for the culture while others are there for the people and others are there for themselves. Quantifying them makes them easier to recognize but the depths of their devotion to the image differ depending on the person. Then there are some people "The Otherkin" who think there are Vampire-Werewolf-Demon-Angel-Pixies born into the body of a human who hate red meat and have no such aversion to the sun or religious iconography.... that's a story for another day.

Last few words: I enjoy the culture and people. I myself am allergic to the sun as mentioned earlier and seem to feel empowered by eating rare red meats. I found that many others in the "lifestyle" share my plight and empowerment so I tend to identify with them more than say the Rock-a-billys or the "Raver Kids". In the end though I love everybody but the snarky people... and that should give you an idea as to what kind of things I've endured delving into this culture! SPOOKY!

Party Etiquette and Protocol

After witnessing some horrid things at a few parties in the last few months I thought I may give a list of "DON'T"s to save people the agony of "Party Wrecking". This also goes for years of attending industry, private, and house parties so I have a little background in it.
DON'T:
~Touch things that are not "common exchange". Just because something is on display does not mean "GRAB AND MANHANDLE".
~Wear something intended to "shock" people. We will all know it's a "look at me" cry.
~Grab handfulls/armfulls of the supplied food/beverages. Just because you say "Man, I need like 7 monsters JUST to make it through the night." does not justify taking half the box that a promoter brought. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
~Come to the party tired/angry/wasted/stoned/drunk. If you are tired rather than get snarky TELL people because then they will understand.
~Get drunk/stoned/high at the party (Unless it is "That kind of party").
~Seek a "Hookup" while omitting social interaction in an effort to "Find some". Such should come naturally with attraction and intercourse of conversation.
~Wear silly hats. Only true bosses can wear silly hats.
~Quote Firefly. No one cares.
~Put your finger in the dip.
~Eat the pie with your bare hands.
~Eat the word "Happy" on the birthday cake. That is reserved for the person the birthday is for.
~Dance with the devil in the pale moonlight.
~Do a jig with a fiddle on the dancefloor. What do you think you are?
~Eat that mushroom. You are NOT Mario.
~Activate your lightsaber. You want to start Sith?
~Tell everyone about what your "Imaginary Friend" told you. You can just say "Sorry, I'm crazy." to inform us to your handicap.
~Eat the yellow snow. That's where the huskies go.
~Trust the Golden Monkey. Always a bad idea.
~Wear shoes you can't stand in for more than a few hours.

~Wear a corset or attire that hinders your overall ability to breath. This applies to all genders.
~Stop the time warp again.
~Pull a "Hanna Montana".
~Jump the shark in an effort to impress everyone. A 911/Emergency Services Phone Call ends parties pretty quick, idiot.
~Eat the raw pumpkin.
~Woo the host's dog/cat/fish/ferret with promises of pleasure. People can get jealous too.
~Stare uncomfortably at anything.
~Have entire conversations of movie quotes only to get angry when someone decides "To talk normal", you nerd.
~Try and show people your private parts. What did I tell you about getting drunk? What do you mean you haven't had a drink... oh god. Put it away!
~Ask the host or hostess if you can "Bang them" (again unless it's that kind of party).
~Scream quotes from horror films as an attempt to impress people. That puzzlebox will only get you so far.
~Babble incoherently about things no one can identify with in an attempt to seem like you "Know something". No one cares about the obscure facts about how Indi games give homages to other indi games that pay further homage to classic retro games that are playing a trope to action films of the 70s and 80s...unless it's that kind of party.

This list goes on and on. I hope to update it with video clips or something. Enjoy!

Welcome Home

I, Robert Rankin, will be your host. I am the creative mind behind all of the projects at Chasing Sasquatch and the author of Eon Legacy. I will be giving you updates for all of the mentioned projects, productions, comedy, skits, expansions and my insider opinion of all that is the intellectual culture movement. I assure you there will be no Shazbots and Bazzingas here but there will be the occasional hurl of insult, fume of venom and the off chance use of vulgarity but before I begin this long journey into the depths of my imagination or humor made real I have to ask of you one thing: Enjoy.

Now that I've got thing started I have to warn you... opinions may shock you. They may amaze you. They may even offend but I approach all of these with a mind free of the figurative being "open" but rather ready to take whatever fact and fiction that are thrown my way and make sense of them. In the end I want to entertain and hope everyone has fun too!

Love,
Robert Rankin

P.S. Bookmark/fav/watch/follow now...mmmmyes.