Resourceful? (part 4)

Resourcefulness also indicates a character's knowledge about a situation that others would not normally have. It assumes that the character has heard about that particular situation in some previous instance, and that he has suddenly remembered the information. Characters might not otherwise know the location of a secret shipyard, or where a particular pirate gang might attack from, but with resourcefulness, a character may have somehow heard about these things before, which might help the characters find what they are looking for, or even avoid being surprised. Resourcefulness can be very useful in the wilderness as well, because a player with this skill will be more likely to find useful materials or be able to substitute tools for tasks that normally require specific items. Some talents related to the resourcefulness skill include: Ingenious Crafter, Sense of Direction, and Trader's Eye.

Resourceful? (part 3)

Another use of the resourcefulness skill can occur during dialogue encounters. While one of the characters on the team might be talented in persuasion attempts, other players can use resourcefulness checks to find useful information about the target. Success might result in the discovery of information about him online that could then be fed to the persuasion-expert on the team, which often results in a bonus to his persuasion attempts. Resourcefulness might also turn up useful tips about what keywords the target might be looking to hear. In one particular mission, a successful resourcefulness check against the target will reveal that he's only interested in two topics—knowing this is something only a resourceful character can determine. In another instance, a successful check will reveal that the confusing hand motions of a silent prisoner is actually military sign language to indicate there are listening devices nearby and the characters are being monitored.

Resourceful? (part 2)

I've seen players use resourcefulness in a number of interesting situations, and this skill allows players to contribute when they might otherwise find their character momentarily side-lined (which is something we really designed Solar Echoes to avoid—we want all players involved throughout the game!) As an example, in a car chase, the most active characters are the pilot and the gunner. Characters may use personal weapons if the pilot manages to close the range on their target, but at long range, some characters might literally feel like back-seat drivers. However, with the resourcefulness skill, I've seen characters in this situation pull out their micro-personal computers and access road maps for better driving options, or coordinate driving strategies with agents in other cars. One player once had the idea to find the municipal traffic control station, and with a successful resourcefulness check, he succeeded in locating it online. A successful hack later (involving the other characters in the back seat) resulted in control of the traffic lights. Needless to say, that team was able to stop their target from escaping, much more easily!

Resourceful? (part 1)

If you've ever watched “Burn Notice,” the character of Michael Westen is an ingenious burned spy who creatively overcomes many obstacles and situations through his resourcefulness. In all honesty, my entire reasoning for the Resourcefulness skill in Solar Echoes was because of Michael Westen—I wanted the players to be able to do the kind of stuff he did. The skill at first seems to be very general and open-ended. However, when players invest a rank in this skill, they will find it to be quite useful on any mission. At its core, resourcefulness is the ability to use what you have on hand or to gain insight into a situation beyond what common sense would normally avail. Behind the scenes, though, this skill gives the MC (Mission Controller—the GM in Solar Echoes) an opportunity to drop hints to the players through a game mechanic. If the team seems unsure of how to proceed, the MC can simply ask a player with ranks in the skill to make a resourcefulness check (the MC can set the difficulty to match the situation.) If the player succeeds, the MC can then give helpful hints. “You notice...” or “There seems to be...” are examples of ways to drop the hints in-game. However, the use of this skill doesn't end there...

The Star Wars Effect (part 4)

In 2013 at USC, both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas voiced their prediction: the film industry will soon implode. They foresee a huge change in the movie-theater experience, with higher-priced tickets ($50 or more), and only the biggest blockbuster movies drawing in crowds. Considering my own attitude about movie-going, I'll have to admit that I agree with their predictions. Star Wars may look like something spurring a massive revival in theater attendance, but it may actually be the death knell of the movie industry we used to know. Perhaps our culture has shifted away from the theater experience, just as digital caused us all to migrate away from renting Blockbuster Videos. It's easy to imagine a future where the more thoughtful movies are only available to us online or for purchase on blu-rays/DVD's. Going to the theater will be reserved for the kind of family-event that only a movie like Star Wars can manage. When I saw Star Wars this weekend, a number of audience members were dressed up as iconic Star Wars characters, including young children, with many of them wielding toy lightsabers and some even wearing stormtrooper or darth vader helmets. This is the kind of movie that will draw all of us out of our homes to see at the theater, and we'll not only be happy to do it, we'll be ecstatic! I'm probably going to go see it again!

The Star Wars Effect (part 3)

Hollywood used to hate Star Wars, considering it to be a franchise machine used to sell toys as much as tickets. Better movies with more substance, Hollywood moguls insisted, were not receiving their proper attention when competing with big-budget blockbusters like Star Wars. These blockbusters were considered forgettable, without critical acclaim, while the smaller, lesser-known films were those that were awarded impressive nominations, though these decorated films rarely seemed to find a very larger audience. This isn't a problem for us, though, considering that we usually prefer watching the more thoughtful films at home, paying only a couple dollars to see them. I feel this way myself—why spend $25-$30 dollars to see a drama that I could just wait a few months to rent online? There's no hurry, it's not like everyone is going to be talking about it. I'm only willing to go through the inconvenience of watching a movie in the theater if it's an experience that the theater will enhance—I don't need amazing theater surround sound, 3D projection, and a giant IMAX screen to watch a thoughtful drama, but I do want those features for a movie with lots of action and special effects. This shift in attitude towards movies is one that may affect the industry in a big way...