"Tragic Journey" is the outcome of my tinkering with the old Mix Tape concept. There had been some discussion that Mix tapes just aren't made for or by people these days and frankly maybe it is a thing of the past with iTunes and other music services like Last.FM and Pandora auto-generating playlists for their listeners. As a result, the brain trust over at Cave Radio.com and the CaveIn crew on Twitter decided to resurrect the practice. I hope that this allows for the pre-show music segment to be programmed by the listeners during the Thursday night Live Show, but I'm not sure what Brian and Jen intend.

I've always used music extensively in my storytelling. Many writers talk about how difficult it can be to create while music is playing, that it is a distraction and sometimes I completely agree, but over the years I always used music to focus my creativity. When writing fiction or drawing characters I often take time to build a musical picture of their personality or story arc within the piece I'm writing. I find it helps when writing dialog or scenes to remove myself so thoroughly from this reality and let the music take me elsewhere.

"Tragic Journey" is about a love gone bad. It begins, like most love story's with the promise of love and fulfillment and devolves into a tale of two men and a young woman. One supportive but not the right fit, one obsessive and dangerous. She makes a bad choice and competition emerges, lies and betrayals occur and in the end all the participants are left changed in the aftermath.

I've started at 45 minutes, but will probably work to expand the story to the full 80 minute mark eventually. I wanted to begin with a concentrated list of songs. I'm considering adding some more of the roller coater romance into the story as well as some of the aftermath of her choice.. which is something I elude to in the playlist more than illustrate right now.

There is a song missing from this playlist unfortunately - the opening theme - which is meant to establish that the tale will not end well - The Smashing Pumpkin's "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning", however without it I think the playlist still stands up well enough.

Liveblogging the lost premiere.. just like BSG.. lets hope its better hands down.

Liveblogs in the comments.. readers feel free to contribute.

Ok.. now to find out if its been worth the wait/journey.. I'm not expecting too much but we'll see.. liveblog in the comments.

Shawn

I'm not sure anyone will even see this but since we're not getting an opportunity to share it on the site as of today Gaming Today, the gaming news blog at filefront.com is no more.

We were victims of an unstable economy I guess.. an easy line item to cut from the annual budget cycle in a world filled with economic uncertainty.

I was honored to write for filefront again. You see this is bittersweet because in most ways this is my second time going through this. I wrote for Filefront before the Ziff Davis Acquisition a few years back and got the suddent news that our news team positions were going away then as well.

When Filefront Launched Gaming Today almost two years ago I was honored to get a call to come back and work with them to build this less newsy blog from nothing to the site it eventually became.

While GT was never a Kotaku level site I think we filled a valuable niche in the Ziff Davis online game sites that was often overlooked. WE weren't "hardcore news" in our focus like say 1Up or EGM. We were just competent gamers who were writers and had a passion for talking about games - often games and other news that bigger mainstream sites would not touch.

Our connection with Filefront also gave us a more PC oriented spin than many of the Gamespots/IGNs of the world. We didn't inherit a huge audience based on our brand, we had to build the synergy like so many startups but we enjoyed the protections of being associated with an established organization like Filefront all the same.

We never knew our numbers, it wasn't something as a writer I much cared about. I knew people were reading the work I did, I knew that all of the staff were dedicated to doing good work as well.. we had a quality product that also happened to be fun to produce.

I think most of all in this closing I should be thankful for the fact that it showed me how others covering this industry could work as a team despite not living in a bullpen environment. I was lucky to call fellow writers like Stephany Nunneley, and Ron Whitaker my friends as well as my co-workers. Those relationships will persist after the loss of the site, I'm sure but I'm maudlin about the end.

I'm going to take some time and go back to my roots. Building gameon.dispatch.com if its parent company will allow it as well as continuing to write for Gaming Nexus.com. I hear Steph already has a great opportunity with a big news group. I'm looking forward to reading her future work.

R 082000z OCT 08
ALMAR 042/08
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC CMC//
SUBJ/UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY MESSAGE - 10 NOVEMBER 2008//
POC/SSGT M. BELL/ADMIN CHIEF/UNIT:CMC STAFF GROUP/-
/TEL:(703) 614-2326//

GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  DURING THE SUMMER OF 1982, IN THE WAKE OF A
PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE, MARINES WENT ASHORE AT BEIRUT, LEBANON.
FIFTEEN MONTHS LATER, ON 23 OCTOBER 1983, EXTREMISTS STRUCK THE
FIRST MAJOR BLOW AGAINST AMERICAN FORCES - STARTING THIS LONG WAR ON
TERRORISM.  ON THAT SUNDAY MORNING, A SUICIDE BOMBER DROVE AN
EXPLOSIVE-LADEN TRUCK INTO THE HEADQUARTERS OF BATTALION LANDING
TEAM 1/8, DESTROYING THE BUILDING AND KILLING 241 MARINES AND
CORPSMEN.

2.  EXTREMISTS HAVE ATTACKED OUR NATION, AT HOME AND ABROAD,
NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE THAT FATEFUL DAY IN BEIRUT. THEIR AIM HAS
ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME - TO KILL AS MANY INNOCENT AMERICANS AS
POSSIBLE. THE ATTACKS OF 11 SEPTEMBER 2001 CHANGED OUR NATION
FOREVER, AND OUR PRESIDENT HAS RESOLVED THAT THIS NATION WILL NOT
STAND IDLE WHILE MURDEROUS TERRORISTS PLOT THEIR NEXT STRIKE.
MARINES WILL CONTINUE TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE ENEMY - HITTING THEM
ON THEIR OWN TURF, CRUSHING THEM WHEN THEY SHOW THEMSELVES, AND
FINDING THEM WHERE THEY HIDE. 

3.  ONLY A FEW AMERICANS CHOOSE THE DANGEROUS, BUT NECESSARY, WORK
OF FIGHTING OUR NATION'S ENEMIES.  WHEN OUR CHAPTER OF HISTORY IS
WRITTEN, IT WILL BE A SAGA OF A SELFLESS GENERATION OF MARINES WHO
WERE WILLING TO STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR OUR NATION; TO DEFEND THOSE
WHO COULD NOT DEFEND THEMSELVES; TO THRIVE ON THE HARDSHIP AND
SACRIFICE EXPECTED OF AN ELITE WARRIOR CLASS; TO MARCH TO THE SOUND
OF THE GUNS; AND TO ABLY SHOULDER THE LEGACY OF THOSE MARINES WHO
HAVE GONE BEFORE.

4.  ON OUR 233RD BIRTHDAY, FIRST REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED AND
THOSE "ANGELS" WHO HAVE FALLEN - OUR REPUTATION WAS BUILT ON THEIR
SACRIFICES.  REMEMBER OUR FAMILIES; THEY ARE THE UNSUNG HEROES WHOSE
SUPPORT AND DEDICATION ALLOW US TO ANSWER OUR NATION'S CALL.
FINALLY, TO ALL MARINES AND SAILORS, KNOW THAT I AM PROUD OF YOU AND
WHAT YOU DO.  YOUR SUCCESSES ON THE BATTLEFIELD HAVE ONLY ADDED TO
OUR ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY.  GENERAL VICTOR H. "BRUTE" KRULAK SAID IT
BEST WHEN HE WROTE, "... THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT NEED A MARINE
CORPS ... THE UNITED STATES WANTS A MARINE CORPS."  YOUR ACTIONS, IN
IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, AND ACROSS THE GLOBE, ARE AT THE CORE OF WHY
AMERICA LOVES HER MARINES.

5.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARINES AND SEMPER FIDELIS! JAMES T. CONWAY,
GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS//

Just a quick note.. Thanks to everyone for weighing in on the Logo earlier.. I may be redesigning it again for a different reason. The title may be changing.. not sure yet and it may have a new home. Look for news in the next few days and another logo voting opportunity.

See anyone who's attending in a few..

I have a Panel at 7:00 tonight and I'm running the game room for the con all weekend. If you're attending be sure to stop in and give me a hard time :)

Don't know what Context is??? Well www.contextsf.org/ is the place to find out.
From the website:

What is Context?

Context is a friendly convention focused on speculative fiction literature and related games, comics and films.

If you enjoy manga, anime, science fiction, fantasy, or horror, you'll find plenty to entertain you at this convention.

Who Will Be There?

Tanya Huff and Brian Keene are our author GoHs; there will be many other guests.

When/Where Is It?

Context will be held September 26-28, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio, at The Ramada Plaza Hotel & Conference Center.

Here are my initial drafts for the logo for The Analog Gamer. I'd love some feedback and suggestions. From those I've polled so far the interest seems to lean between #3 & #4.

Vote for your favorite.



Poll #1267588 The Analog Gamer Logo
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

Which Logo do you prefer?

Thanks!

I've decided that since Gaming Today is soon to be a thing of the past and the people at 1Up have shown little interest in the feature, I'm going to move my "The Analog Gamer" here until I can find a better outlet for it. So if you see a number of archived posts (ones I didn't also copy here) that explains why. I think I'll also take the time to develop some logo branding for the column as well.

Anyone know of an tabletop game/RPG oriented website looking for a new feature?

I'll post my last few pieces on news.filefront.com for as long as that outlet continues to exist before being swallowed whole by the 1Up news machine for good, but I hope people will enjoy the feature as it moves here.

A preview of the next TAG is "Dungeon Diving for Fun and Profit". The Analog Gamer talks about the now released full first series of D&D 4E Heroic modules - The Keep on the Shadowfell, Thunderspire Labyrinth and Pyramid of Shadows.

Upcoming entries:
Mad World - How Warhammer Fantasy converts to an MMO
Challenging Forces - A review of The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide for Star Wars SAGA
Hunting for Godot - Comments on the recently relaunched Hunter: The Vigil.
Change is Good, or is it?: An analysis of what it takes to revise a long running campaign to a new ruleset or edition of the same rules.

Hope everyone at least tolerates the content. If it's something you'd rather not see here I'm listening for friendly comments and can relocate it elsewhere.