Social Vox populi ~ Interviews with RPFers ~ Issue#5 ~ DarkLordoftheFins

I've been looking forward to that one.

 

I think I was to before I forget it was coming, but that just means I get to look forward to it all over again.

 

I´m not a God - An interview with Saintheart


First a word in my own interest. I am sorry this took so long, but things got busy on my side and I lost my computer with all these interviews on and so on and so on . . . anyway, this interview is a bit older and as far as opinions might have changed, I certainly think saintheart will be happy to clearify in the discussion. So here we go . . .

Again, as so often, my guest might need very little introduction. A former Mod, GM of the extremely long running only dice-based game of our board and recent winner of the Best GM title . . . and not for the first time . . . Saintheart was around for as long as I lurked these boards. He did many projects over time, played amyn characters and never failed to impress, entertain and bless us with his participation. It is my honor to present you Saintheart.


Hello Saintheart, how are you?

Pretty good, actually. I've been listening to Pat Benatar while the kids are asleep, so life is actually most pleasurable at the moment.


Okay, we jump right into it. How did Saintheart end up in the RPF? What were your first steps? What was your first game?

It's been a long, long time. I wound up in the RPF more or less by chance; I originally came to these boards looking for Star Wars fan films -- both to watch one and eventually seek recruits in Western Australia to make one -- but saw the Role Playing header and clicked on it, only to find all these wonderful games and what seemed to be stories being told bit by bit. I did lurk a little bit, but I really just jumped into it - from memory my first game was a very, very freeform game called "The Jedi Temple" or some such. I first met Ktala in that game. I played around in that for a while, but it was in a startup called "A Time of Change" that I started to take my first GM-ing steps ... mostly because I carved "filler" detail in and started to direct some storylines as the GM slowly got overwhelmed and eventually disappeared from their own game. Those were basically my training wheels into GMing on these boards.

I think the board knows and worships you for being a former Mod with a very own and appreciated way to handle things and the GM of the epic dice based game of Tides of Flames. A tremendous success. You know what? I always see you and think of KesselBreak. And Lando Calrissian. And the guy who did this Jawa Jedi. Tell me what do you think were your defining experiences on the boards.

I hope the board doesn't worship me. I'm not a god. I've just got mileage and I had some very good teachers. That's all. There's a lot of better GMs around here, and in terms of development of the RPF it's Imperial Hammer who should be given the title as the Hardest Working Man in showbusiness.

"A Time of Change" was an important experience for me, because in a roundabout way it persuaded me I could GM. If you wind up running a game because its GM drops out, if that doesn't convince you that you can run something, then nothing will.

After that, IBOP -- the Integrated Balance of Power for those who need to keep up with the acronyms -- was my masterclass. I still don't know how Lightside_Apprentice ran something that big for that long and managed to keep so many plates spinning on sticks and hold down a job at the time. IBOP taught me about big, big pictures and about how big groups of players act. It taught me about large-scale updating and organisation. How LS_A GMed his games taught me the right approach for how to deal with players and people.

"The Matrix: Brave New World" was a defining moment for me GMing as well because it convinced me I could never run something as big or as complex as IBOP for long. At its top, there were 20+ people playing, most of whom were in one fight scene. That was Spartan madness. On the other hand, I think it also gave me a bit of a soft touch in that I still do take on too many players than I strictly should, because I like to help people have fun. It hammered home that

 

Saintheart, that was one of the nicest things anybody has said about my playing style for a long time. Especially as I get so worried that my short posts don't stand up very well against everyone else's epic masterpieces! Thank you, it means so much to read that

 

Speaking of fan films, I'm still looking out for the full version of yours, Saint.

 

Saintheart, not much I can say but this is great, and I enjoyed reading the interview very much.

Also....















[image=http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2009/2/14/128791417732918816.jpg]

 

Was a great interview from both parties.

 

It´s always hard to discuss an interview, because they are very informative and therefore pretty hard to swallow. I enjoyed this one most of all three, because I knew Sinre a little and the second Interview partner was a total idiot Saintheart I only knew as a Mod. I believe we never played in any game together, although I was always highly aware of his presence in games like AFAS.

And you are a Master of taking quotes out of the context and making us all look megalomaniac in the titles of these interviews I see a religious thing running through those preambles

Anyway, great interview. Very interesting to hear from the old days before my own arrival. You usually hear from the guys who are very eager to tell, but it is special to hear from someone less "missionary" and get some insight what it was to be around, back then.

 

Damn hard to kill off - An interview with WingedJedi

Hello again. Once more I present an interview that was amde several weeks ago. And even with the danger of repeating myself, once again I have a guest who barely need any introduction. He is one of our most admired, most successful and envied GMs on the board and creator of many of our very own classics. Not few consider him to be the finest GM of recent years. Please welcome with me the multi-award-winning creator of Lea Monde and ManCubs and many other games, WingedJedi!

---

[b]Hello Winged. How are you?[/b]

At the time of writing, I'm very contented.

[b]Excellent. I think we should dive right into it then. It is fair to say you are primary a GM, are you? Why do you think that is so?[/b]

I'm a narcissist and a control freak. Seriously. Or at least, I am when I'm Winged_Jedi.

[b]What inspires you to do a game? How do you come up with games?[/b]

I just ask "what if?" questions a lot, and occasionally they interest me enough to build a concept. For example:

What if you could "cure" Force-sensitivity? (Archangels & Alchemists)
What if the main characters were all siblings? (Man Cubs/Vengeance Is Mine/Seven Orphans)
What if the GM was an unreliable narrator? (Rose, Rogue, Raven)

At that point I play with the idea in my head like a mental Rubik's Cube, and I keep going until all the sides match.

[b]Well, how did it all begin? Tell us a bit about your early days in the RPF. How did you end up here, anyway?[/b]

I can barely remember anymore. My earliest posts are unfamiliar when I read them. Apparently my username was inspired by Final Fantasy VII's One Winged Angel? That's what younger me said.

It seems I quickly gravitated towards the RPF. I know that I wanted to write stories, and FanFic was (and remains) a difficult place for a newbie to get any attention. IBOP was just about to get started, so I signed up then I'm still here today. Learned a couple things along the way.

The first game I GMed was a very simple one called The Birth of Coruscant. We were a small group of relative newbies playing out a cliched and chaotic story, but we had a lot of fun and we actually managed to complete it. Beginner's luck.

[b]Well even today people wait for a sequel to Archangels & Alchemists, I think. Will they ever be heard?[/b]

No. Not from me, anyway. I've discussed ideas with Sinre. I think he liked the concept more than I did, to be honest.

[b]How did this game come to pass? I think it was starting point for many of our most prominent users today. Many credit Ibop and stuff, but I think everybody loved A&A. So where did it come from?[/b]

Its influence is overstated. We didn't last very long, relatively speaking, and I took on far more players than I could handle. That was the game that taught me player caps are an absolute necessity.

As for where the idea came from, see my earlier answer on "What if?" questions. The game just built itself out of that concept.

I should also note that the game most people refer to was in fact the second incarnation of A&A. I'd tried it once before and it didn't work very well. The game that everyone remembers was actually a reboot.

[b]I think The Seven Orphans was a gamechanger for you as it introduced the Fate-System the first time to the boards which you became famous for. How did the game and the system develop? Did they come together or separately?[/b]

Separately. I wanted to tell a Star Wars fairytale because I thought it would be a fun take on the mythos. I loved the idea of this being a story that Aunt Beru might read to a young Luke.

At the same time, I was thinking about different ways of framing a story. As you know, it's not uncommon for films or TV shows to begin at the ending and then explain how the characters got to that point. It's the How We Got Here trope. The Fates are a version of that. The players start off knowing where their characters end up: the question is, how did they get there?

The only reason I didn'

 

That made for some interesting reading, Wings. Thanks for sharing your insights with the boards at large.

What is it about law that drives so many of us poor buggers to the RPF? I know the profession at large has problems with alcoholism -- maybe we should be prescribing RPF play as a release valve?

 

Aw, Wing.

Yeah, I completely agree regarding the benefits of having regular collaborator(s). It's not just the Player-GM relationship, either: it's a ton more fun to be RPing alongside people you've known for a while, whom you know are good, whose styles/foibles/idiosyncrasies you're familiar with, who complement your own styles/foibles/idiosyncrasies... Which is not to say newbies are bad and you should never RP with new people, don't get me wrong. But old friends are worth keeping.

 

I'm really enjoying these Vox Populi interviews! I love hearing from these great GMs, and the questions asked are always very good. Many props to Sirak for her efforts here.

Also, nice responses there Winged! As level headed and down to earth as always.

I really liked this one about the image thing:

"But when I'm here, I like to pretend that it's important, because the RPF's a game in itself, and for almost nine years Winged has been my character in its story."

Really interesting to think about!

There is a lot of good wisdom in this thread. When we move, I would love to see this stickied, or at the very least turned into a how to. Its a great resource.

-I_H

 

Finally got around to reading the interview as opposed to skimming between math problems. Good stuff.

And Saint's comment makes me wonder something - is or was LordT also a lawyer? Because then Season 1 is literally the Lawyer Season, and themed seasons are awesome.

 

I can only agree with the above. Those were four insightful, interesting interviews. Each and every one of them great in it´s own way and useful to get an idea what the RPF is and was. Therefore I hearby officially file the request for a second season! You talked about a more player-centric series of interviews? Bring ´em one!

But now to the interview at hand.


Apparently my username was inspired by Final Fantasy VII's One Winged Angel? That's what younger me said.

Finally I have unearthed this arcane knowledge! I always imagined a cross-breed between Gargoyles and Anakin Skywalker, before.




I think The Seven Orphans was a gamechanger for you as it introduced the Fate-System the first time to the boards which you became famous for. How did the game and the system develop? Did they come together or separately?

Separately. I wanted to tell a Star Wars fairytale because I thought it would be a fun take on the mythos. I loved the idea of this being a story that Aunt Beru might read to a young Luke.

At the same time, I was thinking about different ways of framing a story. As you know, it's not uncommon for films or TV shows to begin at the ending and then explain how the characters got to that point. It's the How We Got Here trope. The Fates are a version of that. The players start off knowing where their characters end up: the question is, how did they get there?

The only reason I didn't begin exactly like that trope (i.e. starting with an actual scene from the end of the game) was because it would spoil the surprise of seeing how other people's characters turned out.

That one actually had a big influence on me. I was "flashed" by the concept and how you could do interesting games, by branching off into new territory. For the ten posts or so I did I had an amazing time in this one, too!





But then, another part of me says: yeah, but I've invested hundreds of hours into those stories...I want to imagine that it means something. I want to have awards and trailers and write long theories about gaming. I'm not an idiot. I live in a world outside of the JC. I don't need someone to scream "perspective" in my face. Yeah man, I know. But when I'm here, I like to pretend that it's important, because the RPF's a game in itself, and for almost nine years Winged has been my character in its story.

So that's what I think about what you might call the "star system".

An important point. I believe there are three stages of dealing with it. you can take it too serious, which means you got a lot to learn. You can take the only a game about space-elfs- approach, which is as forced and lazy as the first, from a mental point of view. And then you can take as serious as you want to, because you decide that and not the code-of-cool or the rules of being an adult or whatever.

My favourite quote. If someone says "You´re cool!" The only answer that proofs it to be right is: "Who cares?"

Good point, Winged. Good point.



That are obviously only the highlights of the whole thing. It is a very interesting read from the beginning to the end, really. Great job, both of you!

 

Ah we posted the same time. LordT actually does know quite a deal about law, but he is no lawyer. I hope so, because I AM his lawyer! Also he is working in an environment that has quite a lot to do with laws.

I shouldn´t have denied her the interview. The lawyer-thing . . . it would have been my turn to join my comrades

 

Damn, so close!

I guess we can claim the theme is people not in the North American continent?

 

Yeah, and actually I am a lawyer, too! So LordT is probably an exception from the rule that serves to make it more obvious a theme? He provided contrast, so to say! Then again I indeed asked Fin first, because I thought LordT would fit into a player season just AS WELL. And Fin would have completed the cycle!

Well, considering people seemed to have enjoyed it . . . and so have I certainly . . . I will probably soon begin with my second season. Themed "Blue Collar Guys" ! Hihi. No, probably I´ll make it "players", actually. People who had their focus on playing and characters. A third season could be labelled "Old Blood", as I wanted to go into people no longer around here playing OR people who had been around for ages. I had ideas for a "newbie" season, but I really think that won´t work right now. I also think I´ll might approach the lesser known oldbies, with whom the community had lesser contact.



Oh and two specials I had in mind.

First there will be a SotS themed special with Fin, which I will probably only release in Pieces, or both threads. I wanted to have him as an interview partner from the start and finally he agreed. And I thought really, really, really interesting could be: One Hit Wonders. A series of shorter interviews with people who had only very limited runs here. If I can catch them. What made them come and go? How did they experience us all?

So, you see I enjoyed it and I have plans to keep it up. Not fast, probably. But with a slow burning passion. But I tihnk it is such a very, very nice way to remember the board, I really wanna do it.

I was also asked to subdue to the media myself for an interview recently, but that might be something I will void as long as possible.

 

I can just imagine: And if your idea of a first date is a singular TAG, you might just be.... an RPFer.

 

TAG: You.

 

I doubt you´ll catch any of our one-hit-wonders anymore. They have the habit of leaving and never returning. But a more player-focused interview season 2 sounds awesome. While we GM do more of a "concept-job" the players experience the whole thing. I really, really think I´d like to hear that stuff.

The old guys and their "good-ole-times"-stories might be awesome, too. So all in all, yes please. Continue! You have just begun, my dear!

BTW, Sirak was terribly overlooked at the awards for this here . . . I just realized.

 

My biggest regret, as a player, is not having joined Sins of the Saints.


Looks like you delat with that one, by now!

Great interview. Very interesting once again. The dots of fragmented info one gets really comes together and it is very, very surprising and delightful to see the man behind the GM!

 

Thanks for your work on this first season, Sirak! It was fun answering ya.

I whole-heartedly endorse this prescription. Though, as far as I'm concerned, I'm an ex-lawyer. I got the degree, and with a bit of luck, that's the last I'll see of the profession.

 

Great job Sirak and very interesting to see how the mind of Winged works. Makes me appreciate him as a GM more.

 

A lovely and interesting read. Especially the insight on player-GM relationships is something to be treasured. So I agree with IH, this might be a more useful ressource for upcoming GMs than a "how-to-do-it" list. Mine excluded obviously, as I am the whinny guy talking only about my personal life

And quite a few surprises in that last interview. Winged is very different from what I thought.