Game time on.



So I need some more RAM for my computer. I’ve never been really gung-ho on must-have the top of the line PC components, but I like to have a system that can handle what I’m deciding I’m obsessed with at any given moment. Late in the year it seems I start to get interesting in playing PC games more than anything else, which may have something to do with the way marketing and game companies gear up for the Hols. I can think of a few X-mas/Birthdays (it’s generally the same event at my house) where I’ve burnt days killing Nazis or demons or Nazi-demon-vampire-piggies.

This year things are spinning up a little earlier than December. I was way into Elder Scrolls: Oblivion in March and that’s been it for most of the year, but with Bioshock now released and the upcoming Hellgate: London on Oct 31st, I feel the pull to play and the measly 512 MB ain’t gonna cut it.

Bioshock particularly looks interesting since it’s got an underwater, Jazz Age, steampunk thing going on. I really wish people would stop exploiting the Steampunk genre because, well, I love the genre and the Braxton Frame script I’m prepping for work after finishing M/O of Gallows Gulch is going to take a stab at it. So slowing down the whole steampunk fad would help save the territory for me. Doesn’t help that BoingBoing is linking all things steampunk like the shit is going out of style or something.

Anyway, Bioshock is also unique because it’s catching press for something I’ve long thought was a logical progression- screenwriters associated with full-fledged game design & production. (God help me, I’m about to link to FoxNews) There’s a story about how Bioshock is becoming a bit of a surprise hit- which honestly makes no sense and would only be a surprise to anyone who doesn’t play games. It’s a conglomeration of a lot of geek-friendly mythos & action while invoking the supremely popular System Shock 2, how could it not be a hit? Back to the article- it features a note about so-called failed Screenwriter Ken Levine who conceived the story for the game. Or it infers that Ken calls himself a failed screenwriter- but jeez, Ken with games like System Shock 2, Thief, and Freedom Force (all of which I own) under your belt, failure is hardly the proper adjective.

I’ve always thought that the plot and story development in gaming has an amazing built-in parallel to screenwriting & filmmaking. My favorite games have big, meaty narratives, strong characterization and stories that call forth the best elements in genre fiction/films and it’s the immersion in these that keeps pulling me back to the computer or the console. But go back, way back and look at the SciFi and Fantasy roots in tabletops and examine the evolution of those. Role-playing is an extension of theater. Hell, the evolution of chess and checkers to Monopoly to D&D and then the evolution of pc/console gaming- the explosion of budgets and increase in production values, turn-around times- all very distinctly invokes the evolution of the film industry to me. It’s all immersive entertainment and it makes sense that things would draw together.

Which results in things like Samuel L. Jackson and Ray Liotta doing voice-work for Rockstar’s newest title instead of twenty lines of dialogue for the paper-doll happy-meal game to go along with the huge movie & toy-line release. Bioshock features more than a few Law & Order and Star Trek alums in the voice cast as well as some VAs from JLU, The Venture Bros, Grim & Evil  and many other games. And it’s all really cool because it can only mean better games as the media continues to evolve  and the storytelling improves. Ideally might turn around and have an effect on the quality of the  movies, though I suspect the blending has a long way to go before that’s immediately apparent. But it’s a nice thought.

Touchdown Endeavor.



Congrats on the safe landing and welcome back!

Official Landing Times
Main gear touchdown:
12:32:16 p.m. EDT
Nose gear touchdown:
12:32:29 p.m. EDT
Wheels stop:
12:33:20 p.m. EDT
Total miles:
5.3 million

The Big Restart



Have told some folks that I got my Nicholl dink for 2007. Was disappointed, but not a big deal which means I’m probably getting better at deluding myself. Success! This was the third year I’ve entered and marked the first time I dinked on a script that was entered twice- Nickel & Dime. Which probably had something to do with my expectations as there were signifigant changes made- as I’ll relate below- of the story between the ‘06 and ‘07 versions. I was hanging a lot on making the quarters just once to validate that I’m moving forward. It’s all about the validation.

But I still really like the script, so everyone who doesn’t (Nicholl readers, Mom, whoever) can go fuck themselves. It’s not like the contest has my name on it or anything.

So in the interest of finding validation elsewhere, I’ll report that I’ve reached the point in the Gallows Gulch script where I’ve written about half a draft and decided the premise needs an overhaul so it’s back to soup trying to detail a new outline. I call this bastard event ‘The Big Restart‘ and it’s sort of familiar territory.

This weird write-half-a-script, stop, go back and rebuild-from-page-one thing has happened in most of the scripts I’ve done. Except the crack-headed one I did in 11 days for a entire class grade and I was probably juiced out on Mountain Dew/Rum cocktails at the time. Anyway, the point is that it occurs and that I’m never really sure when or entirely why it does. With N&D this actually kinda happened twice- I was about 25 pages shy of THE END-ing the first draft and realized that adjusting some major elements would improve things, but I pushed on anyway and ignored the urge to go back and rebuild. So once I got to the 2nd draft I was rebuilding over 130 pages and had to stop and do the restart anyway and change everything from after about pg 25. It ended up long and painfully drawn out over the course of a year and a half and a Nicholl entry fee.

Other occurrences of the Big Restart have seemed to slow down process as I tweak and once an earlier script was completely killed and to this day it sits unfinished in a dark corner of hard drive. This all gives the sense that I’m doing it wrong and it’s a rather unorganized approach, but no matter what amount of outlining I do beforehand I think I honestly need to start throwing down scenes before I get a handle on my characters and my theme as I try to implement the story.

Having mentioned how frustrated I was with the protagonist a little while back, I can say now that he’s starting to come into focus just a little more, even though I am mucking with his backstory a bit. So the big restart isn’t abandoning huge amounts of what was worked up previously, say reaching pg 57 and chucking it all in the shredder. It’s usually an attempt to make story choices that add depth and dimension to the characters and their relationships and the overall picture. Which I’m sure is a task I’ve been told to save for the rewriting once you have a complete shotgun draft. But I really get to the point where I can almost see that if I go ahead and shotgun through that fast draft I’m going to end up stuck with some things I don’t like and am going to end up changing anyway. So, you know, it’s frustrating.

Now stay with me, because this is where I express the hope that this is in fact an indicator that my process and understanding of craft is evolving. What I’d like to hope is that this go round I’ll get through the restart a little faster and with every subsequent script I’m more quickly able to recognize whatever it is that pushes me back to start. This would all ideally culminate in me being able to build a stronger story from the get-go.

All of this assumes that my problem is story and structure and as my understanding improves it will go away. Which might not be the case, it might not really be a ‘problem’ and may just be they way my schizo logic works- build the shanty first, go back and build a mansion around it and exorcise the crap later. I may always have the Big Restart and hey, whatever, we’re all using different brains here most of the time. For the meanwhile that’s how I’m putting my head around it, but all opinions and suggestions welcome.

ETA: Found a post from Will Dixon that mentions the idea of ‘rebreaking’ a script:

Now I’ve story edited several Canadian features and TV movies, and there’s been more than one occasion when I joined the development fray that I had to suggest that the writer rethink their structure. The kernel of the cool idea may still exist, but their execution hasn’t realized the full potential of the idea. It needs a rebreak. In essence, you’re telling the writer they need to ’start over’, and that’s not easy for anyone to say…or hear.

Which, even though I can’t rule out being completely delusional, is kinda what I feel like is going on.