Breakfast was an interesting experience this morning. I got up at some ungodly time, and after freezing in the shower for a while my roommate and I went on a hike for some eats. Although the French toast sticks were below par, we still managed to squeeze in some conversation.
A couple weeks ago, I was sifting through the web and decided to check out Half-Life. Yeah, I know I'm a bit slow, but hey, when you have a lack of money it's better not to tempt yourself. So I downloaded the demo and, big surprise, within a week, we owned the full version. Anyway, back to our early morning conversing. As it happens, we both seem to be stuck in Half-Life (Details: A big giant claw thing that reacts to sound is killing a bunch of people, myself included now that I think about it. But of course, I have to kill the monster, and do my hero stuff.). We have seemingly tried everything, from shooting it to blasting it with industrial strength lasers. Whatever the idea, the giant claw thing shakes it off, and comes back kick'in. This problem has now become more of an obsession. With daily brainstorming sessions, we hope to prove ourselves worthy of the title, "Half-Life Super Studs," but now it seems as if the only thing we are going to accomplish involves strangling each other.
"Oh, are the two roommates having difficulties? How cute."
Hell yeah, is what I say to that.
Actually it's more of a different way of viewing the world. While I see things in a slightly skewed sense, my buddy for life seems to take the more practical road. Neither opinion is wrong, but I would venture to say that when you are attempting to stop the invasion of an alien race composed entirely of computer pixels, slightly distorting your view, wouldn't be a bad idea once in a while. In other words, if I were to suggest running up to the giant claw thing and maybe, head butting it, would it kill you to try? No, and this brings me to Shadowrun.
"About fraggin time you dweeb."
When we role-play, the facade of our characters allows us to step into the shoes of an imaginary person. Think about this concept. We are no longer hunkered down by the society we live in. If you wanted Bobby the Butcher to walk down the street wearing nothing but a gun holster, you could. You may get to spend some time with the Star, and of course there is that whole thing about playing in character, but technicalities aside, role-playing give us total freedom. Unfortunately for most this is a freedom that we never express. Sure, you may have started out playing AD&D, where killing fifty orcs with one blow wasn't uncommon, but as soon as we picked up Shadowrun we dodged behind the veil of maturity, as if there was some sort of responsibility that came along with playing a darker game. It's disturbing to think that these thoughts may be required to role-play, and for this very reason I declare to practitioners of this philosophy, "Screw you guys, I want a naked Butcher!"
It may remind you of your early role-playing days, where just the thought of doing something stupid would conjure up all kinds of joy, but this mind set is not necessarily out of place in a game like Shadowrun. Sure, we runner's are a newer, more advanced breed of players. We are filled to the brim with things like character stories, and player quirks. However, let us not forget our roots. Games are supposed to be fun, and that sometimes means doing things with our logic out of whack. Who cares if your tactics aren't socially acceptable? Sometimes the best way to look at your problems is through the eyes of a loony. It's all about creativity. Don't be afraid to take chances and make a seemingly impossible plan sound plausible. Let's face it, there isn't much to hold you back in a world with talking dragons. Let your mind go, and the rest of your role-playing buddies will quickly follow suit.
Now before things get out of hand, recall that if your game master heard this, he would probably tremble with fear.
"How dare you play one of my campaigns less than seriously!"
And it's not without good reason that he would express himself in this way. Coming up with creative plans is one thing, but a game can quickly degenerate into nothing but a group of trolls hitting on a Stuffer Shack chick for hours on end if just a bit of perspective isn't kept in mind. There is most likely a reason why you don't play AD&D anymore, so have some self control. If your game master's face looks as if he it's about to explode, that's probably alright. You haven't gone too far yet (they always look like that), but when his eyes turn into thin red slits, and he sprouts horns, you may want to back off. In other words, have your fun, but don't let it impede on the game as a whole.
With those final thoughts in mind, go forth and head butt your enemies! Game creatively, and game with a passion.
