Grand Theft Roleplay
A good portion of the years 2017 to 2020 were consumed by a deep addiction to what I now view as the natural evolution of open persistent multiplayer worlds for emergent gameplay. (In short, virtual worlds where developers create systems built around driving random social interactions between players). I had dabbled in "roleplaying" in PC multiplayer games going back to the mid-90s, starting with BBS Door Games and peaking (for me) with Ultima Online and the roleplaying community there. My teenage self even somehow found the focus to create a website/IRC community around the roleplaying scene on Ultima Online's Pacific shard (server) with a good friend of mine, Dan. Roleplaying in the late 90s on Ultima Online's Pacific Shard That is a completely different story however, and not one that I am sure those of you who will read this came here for. Early in 2017 I found myself sitting in my living room in Newport Beach - having just come home late from working on a (now shelved) VR open world design project at inXile Entertainment. My eyes were glued to the screen of my TV as I watched my roommate and coworker upstairs (Lou), appearing on the livestream…continue reading →