| From: | dbuehrer@******.carl.org dbuehrer@******.carl.org |
|---|---|
| Subject: | State of the Game |
| Date: | Thu, 13 Apr 2000 10:40:42 -0600 |
>Couldn't FASA simply tell those people they were idiots and to decide for
>themselves? Well, I suppose not. Still, if someone had asked me, as Line
>Developer, what "multi-task your cognative needs" meant, here's what I'd
>say:
>
>"I don't know. What do you think it means? Seriously, son, it could mean
>about anything...or nothing. How much, based on what you read in Shadowtech,
>would you trust Smiling Bandit? And did he mean they come that way out of
>the box, or that you *could* use them for that? Remember, he said, 'you can
>use these babies to multitask your cognative needs.' Maybe he means that
>this is a modification that can be done by an educated doctor or cyberware
>expert. Or maybe it comes this way out of the box, and you'll find it easier
>to talk on the phone while shooting a gun - or maybe only if the skills
>you're using are in the chipjacks. Maybe you can truly become multiple
>people, doing multiple things, restricted only by having a single body, and
>then not restricted if decking or rigging. Or maybe, in order to get this
>bonus, you need two of them.
>
>"You see, son, this is the real strength of Shadowrun; you can have that
>black information mean anything you want. Take it literally, ignore it,
>assume it is a partial truth...it's up to the GM and his players. But we
>give you a start, and idea, multiple multiple choice, instead of making you
>think all of this up for yourself. Because that's what we're here for, to
>give you hooks to start your game. And if we didn't give you that, what the
>hell would you be spending your money on? As long as I'm Line Developer, you
>won't ever lack for ideas. Not if I can help it."
Now imagine, having lacked the foresight to print that in the preface to
the first rule book, saying that over, and over, and over, and over to the
thousands of shadowrun players who call asking about the veracity of the
shadow comments :)
>Then again, if I were Line Developer, SR would never have lost Bradstreet,
>either. The game would be a lot different. *sigh...*
Well, that goes without saying. If I were the line developer the game
would be a lot different. If anyone else were the line developer the game
would be a lot different :)
To give Shadowrun it's due, it's one of the best games out there. Sure,
it's got a few flaws. And yes, I miss the shadow comments too. But all in
all, my love for the game hasn't diminished.
You know AE, with a little bit of time, and one of those free web pages,
you could put together a list of shadow comments for each of the books that
are lacking them, and put them up on the web to inspire the imagination of
shadowrun players and GMs everywhere :)
To Life,
-Graht
http://www.users.uswest.net/~abaker3
--
"Wisdom has two parts: having a lot to say, and not saying it."
