Game in the Brain

TL:DR So the Gaming Take away is: I’ve got no time to Learn new shit, maybe I should slowly incorporate it in my games?

Back Story:
I am a graduate Bachelor of Arts in Multi-Media. In the College of Saint Benilde there is a course of Multi-Media which I don’t recommend.  One frustration I had (other than the 68 units that didn’t need to be there) was that I had a Pseudo thesis. My “thesis” was an RPG set in Philippine History.

In CSB I had a “Thesis”. Now they, CSB, cant call it “thesis”, as my professors stressed and would often slip-up. They call it a Multi-Media Project but it walks, quacks, and looks like a Thesis. It has also a bearing and importance of a thesis. As one professor kindly explained to me: it’s because they, CSB, did not pay for certification that allowed for one in the degree I graduated.

While I had a defence, worked on 10k words, did a lot of art and had to even outsource and pay friends for more art material it cannot be called a thesis. In fact I repeated the “thesis” even when I got a passing mark because I hated what I compromised to produce. I got up to the top level on the second try but only lost against the top 3 for the term. Note that I didn’t learn to lessen Scope, back then. I was: Great Audacious Hairy Goal or nothing.

My “thesis” was about a Philippine Historical game set in the days leading to the revolution. It was poorly researched one cannot and should not wear too many hats (writer, researcher, artist, manager). Like my days in UP Fine arts, it was a 100 hours a week gig. Burned out so much the term “artist” still conjures so much revulsion. I got extremely myopic and didn’t have the techniques I know now. It was 10 year too late, If I could go back in time and teach myself Gerard Puccio’s “The Creative Thinkers Toolkit” and various self-Management techniques.  Even if I were to make it today and in light of Heneral Luna, I would only have 10% of the research material and probably could probably fill in the blanks of up to 50%. Learning my burn-out rate, it would be an impossible project for me these days unless I could delegate it.

There has recently been a History Awakening of the Philippines. History in its most well informed form is rare and unlikely. In the Philippines, like the rest of the world as I’m told by history loving people online, is terrible. By the measure of terrible: to be able to absorb and apply (being able to see the effects and repeated mistakes) what is found in the most basic history book.

A terrible state caused by the brain drain and demographic shift: 20% poverty (subsistence) running away at 40% at the end of Martial Law  going as high as 60%.

Such complication is the reason why I want more History settings – to Mix Games and History so that people can Learn history  while enjoying a game, because mixing these is one of the few ways to get over the “Got no time for This”. Carving out time to learn things like History, Science, Social Skills etc… is hard and mixing such tasks is one of the simple yet effective solutions for some (like me).

I guess its like why I love Airsoft and why I want to get into Heavy Combat. Its SO many things at the same time. RPGs is problem solving, empathy exercise, diplomacy and negotiation, project or task management, and all these other skills. If I can add one more aspect to get more bang out of my time would solve a lot of the Time Management problems I (and probably others) have in my life.

did this with Nico Salonga on a Pentium 3 in 2004ish

I know the from Hell reference, but I didnt really watch the movie until after college.