Year's End Stuff

Remiss of me not to update the blog for a month, I know, but I've always said I find this blogging thing a bit hard. I'm not a natural blogger. Still, I don't want to stop it since reading comments from you lot now and again is well worth the effort.

So, what's been happening? Let's see. The new Deathwatch short is finished and has been approved by Inquisitor Kyme. The story is called Exhumed, and I'm hoping you'll all like it as much as you seem to have liked Headhunted. Readers who know Headhunted will definitely be at an advantage, but Exhumed ought to be comprehensible for those that don't (at least, I'm hoping so). Look for it when Fear the Alien is released next year.

It's on to my new novel now. Much of it is already established in my mind, but I've got to get a proper synopsis done before any contracts are signed. I've a long chat scheduled with the Kymester on Wednesday and I'm hoping to get the final details hammered out. I'm looking forward to this one. More info when I'm told I can leak something.

In non-BL news, I'm hoping to get a new computer sorted out this month. My e-machines died on me after 6 years of solid service. The Dell I'm using as a substitute is the same age and definitely on its last legs. Time to get a monster graphics machine so I can get back into 3d character design and the like, which I've always loved. I'm also looking forward to discovering how PC gaming has evolved over the years that I've been exclusively a console-gamer. Yeah... really looking forward to that! :D

Talking of games, I've got to recommend Square-Enix/Pop-Cap's new collaboration. It's called Gyromancer, and you can get it on PC or Xbox360 for about $15 (don't know how much in British pounds). It's absolutely awesome - a combination of Pop-Cap's addictive Bejeweled Twist gameplay and Square-Enix's beautiful fantasy art, great music and high production values. It really has me hooked right now.


I've also recently developed an interest in the CCG (collectible card game) Magic: The Gathering. I watched some of the world championships live on the web and couldn't understand a bit of what was happening (world class players are really serious about this stuff), but the basic game is loads of fun, and I managed to pick up a starter set for only about $4!.

Anyway, that's all for now, except to say that there's still just a little time left to get your questions in for the Rynn's World video interview. So, if any of you have something else to ask, get in touch with me via the Contact page and let me know. The questions are mounting up now, though, I must admit, so I won't be able to answer all of them.

Ouch!

I didn't see it coming. Anyone who follows Nick Kyme's blog will know that he and I have been engaging in a few online gaming sessions recently (his first trip into the world of online gaming). Last weekend, it was Unreal Tournament 3. Top fun!

Well, that's on hold now. My Playstation3 just rendered itself utterly useless. It won't read any kind of disk whatsoever. Great!

It happened during Angels and Demons. Just over halfway into the movie, BLAM! The drive died. I think I took it fairly calmly. Nothing else in the room was destroyed. Now I have to send the busted machine in to Sony, who are charging me 9,000 yen to sort out their mess. Yeah, I said their mess. The word on the web is that a recent firmware update caused drive issues in original 20Gb and 60Gb PS3s. Not really sure if that's the whole truth, but it had better not be.

Anyway, gaming on hiatus for now. Just as well, really. I've a Deathwatch short story to write for Fear the Alien. Yup, that's right. More Talon Squad on the way. Keep watching this space.

Eaten... and Pooped Out!

It's never happened to me before, but, just a few hours ago, a giant salamander ate me, worked me through its digestive tract, and pooped me out an orifice in its tail. Yeah, it sounds weird, which is why it was such a surprise, but I sure as hell enjoyed the ride.

I've been rocking the Lost Planet 2 demo (Playstation3 version) this week, going online with BL editor and good mate, Nick Kyme, to hose down baddies in our search for glowing globules of T-energy. It's a lot of fun, as I knew it would be (I was a huge fan of the first Lost Planet game) but I wasn't expecting anything like the surprise I got when that big, slimy beauty gobbled me up. I was bracing myself for a quick 'Game Over'.

Nick got swallowed soon after I was ejected from the beast's rear, but he didn't make it through the gastric tumult in one piece. Once his lifeless corpse lay sloshing around in the beast's guts, it really was game over for both of us. Actually, I think there was a timer on the battle and it must've run out.


It looks like the full game is set for a Dec 09/Jan 10 release and, if the full product is as good as the demo, it deserves to do damned well. Check out the demo if you can.

Heroes of the Space Marines...

... is available now. That's right, the new Warhammer 40,000 anthology, featuring my Deathwatch short story, Headhunted, is now on sale. So far, the reaction seems to be very good indeed, so I hope you'll all check it out. On a related note, I'm very pleased to report that I'll be writing- Mrrrrph! (gagged by Editor-Commissar Kyme)

Ahem, well, since I can't talk about that, here are a few pics of something I came across on a site called ut3mod.com, which is dedicated to the totally brilliant online shooter, Unreal Tournament III (by Epic Games, the studio behind the equally brilliant Gears of War 1 and 2).

As you can see, the fan-made model is a pretty damned decent likeness of a Space Marine. Playing with this badass doesn't change the game in any way save cosmetically, and there are no Space Marine Chapter icons or double-headed Aquilas anywhere (for copyright reasons, no doubt), but it's still very cool to see him running around blasting other players, and I have to take my hat off to the guy behind the mod.

There are a bunch of other mods floating around out there that feature great game characters like Solid Snake, Samus Arran, Marcus Fenix, Master Chief and the like, so if you're a UT3 player, there's plenty for you to play around with. I only wish I had time to play around with it more myself. Who would be a bloody writer, eh?

Lost Hours

Well, as you can probably tell from the frequency (or infrequency) of my posts, I still haven't gotten into a proper groove with this whole blogging thing. Not surprising really, since I'm basically a self-confessed introvert, but I'd like to get into the habit of blogging more. It might help if I didn't play my damned Xbox 360 so much.

Anyone who knows me knows that games are, and always have been, one of my greatest weaknesses. It was through my love of games that I ended up working as a video game designer for a couple of years before making the move to Japan and switching over to writing fiction.

There's something really compelling about the mix of music, art and story that a great game provides. Combine it all with well balanced and addictive play mechanics and you've got a really powerful combination. Video games might just be the most potent form of story-telling on the planet today, though the recent proliferation of game-based novels clearly shows there is more than enough room for both. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they compliment each other (when the latter are done right).

Of course, the video game as storytelling medium only really shines when it all comes together well. Hits like Half Life 2, Call of Duty 4 and others show what can be done, but it's a sad fact that the storytelling aspect often gets left in the hands of game designers rather than professional writers. That's not to say this is always bad. Some of these guys have turned out work I'd happily admit to being jealous of. But how much better could they be with a pro writer onboard who truly understands the freedoms and limitations of writing for games? It's starting to happen more and more often nowadays, particularly since the games industry is overtaking Hollywood in terms of revenue.

In my tray at the moment is the fantastic Lost Odyssey by Japanese studio Mistwalker. I'm only sixteen hours into the story ('only' he says!) but, so far, I'm enjoying the hell out of it. The music and art are exceptional and the character design (particularly that of Kaim, the central hero) is top rate.


If the game has a problem, it's the consistency of the writing, which stops the game short of being truly mind-blowing in quite the same way that CoD4 or Portal were. On occasion, the writing is genuinely mature and even quite moving. At other times, it lets the overall atmosphere of the game down. Part of this is no doubt due to the translation process. Perhaps understanding a little Japanese is actually a hindrance in cases like this - I frequently notice moments in the story where the subtitles deviate unnecessarily from what's actually being said by the characters onscreen. The original Japanese script seems to be of a far better standard than the English version. The difference is regrettable.

It's still an intense and beautifully crafted role-playing game, though. If you're an Xbox360 player with an interest in fantasy and SF, and can handle turn-based combat in your games, I urge you to check it out.

By the way, if anyone asks, you didn't get that recommendation from me. If my editor hears I've been playing games, it'll be fifty lashes... and he won't hold his strokes!