So I have been a big fan of the Tron Universe (The Grid?) for a looooong time and I have always wondered why whenever someone makes a game about it, all it focuses on are the games and not any of the storyline which could be between the chapters. With this in mind, I'd like to start something akin to a brainstorm about a Tron MMORPG. This would be interesting due to the grid only having two registered users, Flynn and Sam. This leaves open two avenues of development, either the players are programs or isomorphic algorithms (ISOs) or it takes place years after when Sam has opened up the grid to more users, either through a better teleportation method or through a traditional MMO screen but with the player controlling it through it. If the first is true, then if you derezz (die.) then your character would remain dead unless it is backed up somehow (possibilities?). If the second is true, the player is not connected and it is his avatar which derezzes and so can be rezzed if need be. This would create an interesting plot hook since the programs/isos themselves cannot be rezzed, but the player characters can be.

You also run into a bit of a problem with the source material because in Tron: Betrayal, the Sea of Simulation (where the ISOs actually come out of) gets poisoned at the end, so the possibility of more ISOs by that method is null. If this happens before the ISO insurrection and annihilation then it might work given the large number who were killed off. This would also lead to an interesting point where anyone playing as an ISO would be killed in the storyline since the only remaining one is of course Olivia Wilde's Quora.

Another interesting idea is instead of going the MMO path would be to go for either a Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) or a tabletop RPG akin to Dungeons and Dragons, etc. With a MUD you would have a computer interface and would definitely have massive geek cred, but the TTRPG would be able to be expanded and the rules worked on to better work out the kinks before we even try launching it on computers.

Also: Name Possibilities?
- Tron: Insurrection (too much like Alien)
- Tron: Redemption
- Tron: Genesis
- The Grid

Blogging from a dock in the bay...

Good three day weekend folks. Had fun times with friends and good quality time with the lady. Now back to our regularly scheduled entertainment!

What has happened with fantasy art lately? I look around at old authors and new authors on the shelves of my local used bookstore and notice people shying away from the epic "I really want this airbrushed on my van" type of art. It seems to be being phased out with artsy 'representations' of what it's about or with the non-descript cover panel with the name (I'm looking at you, Song of Ice and Fire...). If I ever get a sportscar, remind me of this and I'll get it custom pained with a wizard or something. Do my little part to bring light to such awesome artwork.

Hockey and Technology

I'm sitting here listening to the Sharks get now their third goal over the Capitals while looking up information on my new app in development, info on the new release of Android to see what I can work with, and watching the developments of the game on the TV. Now what metropolitan area would I be in?

Life has been good as of late even with the finances being tight. I've gotten another shift at the restaurant downtown so be prepared for snark on Thursday nights as well! I hope to see some old friends and can't wait to see new faces next week since it has been a while since I've been on dinner shifts.

Oh, and if you want to help out with the work on the app, lemme know! I can't pay you of course, but what's new?

It looks like I'm going to have a little bit of a busy weekend, but feel free to message, call or text me to see what's going on and if I have time to hang out.

Of Friends and Secrets

Everyone has their secrets, ones which will eat you up inside unless you have someone to share them with. With winter finally here (took it long enough) the weather gives to introspection and contemplation of those secrets with those who we hold close enough to keep them.

If I were religious I would say that I am praying for my friends in troubled times, but I guess I should just wish them luck, logic and purity of heart because these are what everyone needs to make the right decision.

First of all we have luck to be in the right place at the right time, but most importantly the luck of having the right idea pop into the mind at just the right time. Those can be lifesavers.

Second is Logic, because most people have eschewed this for knowledge provided by others. If you are unsure of what to do, listen to other people, weigh what they say against your own ideas and then make a decision. Please, don't (and this applies to everything) just take somebody's word for anything important. Where to eat's fine though.

Third, and most important, is purity of heart. This is your soul, your conscience, or whatever you want to call it. I hope you ask it whenever you're making a decision, especially involving loved ones, because even if something may be ingenious and logical it doesn't mean it won't hurt someone.

But enough about what you need to think. Go out and do.

I'll be chilling here with a good book.

A Midwinter's Afternoon's Blog

I love the weather during winter. With the visions of clouds racing across the sky to the chill of wind blowing across my nose I remember places I have been. The winter in Tucson brings dry cloudless nights punctuated by floodwater conditions and lightning storms. In Medina winter is a mix of dreary overcast with snowless ground and bright sunshine reflected by a blanket of white. Laguna seems to lack winter, with it's only showing being the sweater clad students waiting for the bus to ride to school admiring the light frost from freshly watered grass the night before.

These people who fear the winter and hide behind cloth and cover as if it were arctic conditions (Medina, of course, is the exception...) have always perplexed me. Being one who loves the feeling of chill down the spine and one who hates the feeling and smell of a room or car heated upwards of ninety degrees I love to watch people stare as I walk around in shorts and a tee shirt enjoying the morning air.