Narrative Warfare: The Fake Gamer Tell

Tonight on the Metro City Boys podcast, the crew (with a very special guest), they got on the topic of watching vs. doing in gaming. It came up here and there, so I'm just embedding the episode.

There's a difference between watching someone else play a game, and playing a game. The latter makes you a gamer. The former is just you watching a gamer get their game on. If you are one of these retarded Rhesus monkeys claiming that you don't have to play games to be a gamer (or, similarly, that watching someone else do it means that you did it), you are a Fake Gamer.

Skin in the Game, folks. The real deal has it. The fakes don't. It's one of the most reliable tells around across the board. Anyone that says you can be a gamer without playing games is lying to you, and likely has something worse in mind for you and for gaming, so punt that fucker to the curb.

My Life a Gamer: The Pundit on the "Equal Time" Fraud

The RPG Pundit is back with a third video in his series on the lies Fake Gamers Tell You. Watch and learn.

Jeffro Johnson's take mirrors my own, so I won't repeat the substance of his post; click through the link, read it, and come back.

There's something a lot of the naysayers to Real D&D and Real Gaming miss: doing things the Old School way is simpler, easier, and far more accessible to normies than Fake Gaming could ever be. The reason? It's built to be popular entertainment, and popular entertainment doesn't deal in catering to snowflake bullshit. Be it Literary Realism, Hipster Nihilism, or Muh Storytelling the rot is the same and so is the effect: to take something with popular appeal and closing it off into a ghetto for degenerates.

The murder of the pulps in the 1940s, the installation of the gatekeepers in the 1980s, the SJWs in the last decade- all following that same pattern. Pervert it, close it off, gatekeep for freaks and failures until the degeneracy is normalized and then use that thing to spread the disease.

No wonder the SJWs hate the fact that fandoms are not so easily converged without first integrating them heavily with centralized institutions (conventions and publishers for SF/F, comics, and gaming); without some form of central command-and-control you can't do the takeover and make it stick- the real deal always escapes and rises again.

So not only is what they tell you wrong, they're outright lying to you to sucker you into fronting for them. Fake Gaming is nothing more than a front for the Death Cult, just like what you see with Scientology. That's yet another reason to kick the crooks turning tabletop RPGs (especially D&D) into a fake lifestyle brand to the curb, and then shut their own gates behind them to keep them out.

Gaming--in all media--must become explicitly and avowedly anti-SJW, for its own good, or it's done.

Narrative Warfare: Indies Doing It For Themselves

Independent authors don't need to deal with the mainstream media anymore to promote their books or themselves. It is now viable and easy to do this exclusively through independent media outlets that lie outside the mainstream, thanks to YouTube and its competitors (as well as similar companies like SoundCloud) to replace TV and radio as well as blogging to replace magazines. I'll refer mostly to YouTube, but this also applies to other such outlets.

YouTube channels, like blogs, need to release content on a regular basis to attract and retain an audience. This means that they are always on a search for sources that they can turn into content that they can release through their channel to serve that audience. The audience for a given channel can be small, in absolute terms, but that audience is far more likely to be friendly to what you write; the trick is to scout out a channel before you decide to approach them, because not every likely channel is actually good for what you want- to grow your audience and expand your reach.

With that in mind, I want you--my fellow independent SF/F authors, #pulprev and #superversive and #noblebright--to consider the following:

• When creating our SF/F works, we come up with a lot of material--lore--that is necessary to get the work done but doesn't get a lot of attention in the presentation of the narrative. This is usually set aside in your Notes folder or junk drawer, until you get a hit like Uncle George and decide to publish all the ancillary materials to satisfy the audience.
• There are YouTube channels that focus their content production on the lore of a given property, some with more narrow focus than others, and we're now seeing some of these channels collaborate. These channels tend to be very hungry for content, and are likely to be open to collaborating with creators like us.
• If you do your part and know how to appeal to the focus of a channel, you can reach out to their audience and promote your stuff to their audience while giving them new and exciting lore content to do videos about. You win. They win. The audience wins. Everyone benefits. If you can find an alliance of channels and can work with the alliance as a whole, the synergy really takes off.

We have three channels that are now in an alliance that are likely to be favorable to us: The Templin Institute, Spacedock, and Eckhart's Ladder. Templin likes to talk about factions, locations, notable people, and so on; they're the big player of this three-party alliance. Spacedock is a gearhead-focused channel, and has already done paid collaborations to promote properties (New BSG and The Expanse). Eckhart's Ladder is mostly Star Wars, but open to others, and his "Battle Breakdown" series is fantastic for adventure-heavy creators.

We should reach out to this alliance and offer to collaborate with them. We have exactly what these channels are hungry for, and if we can successfully reach out to them then the win-win synergy will become apparent as we take the material we otherwise would never get the full benefit from and put it before the audiences that want exactly that sort of thing.

The goal is to drive more people to our email newsletters, and convert those subscribers to regular book buyers and readers in turn. This is not a one-time affair; this is going to be an ongoing relationship, one that can (and will) turn into opportunities to return the favor as these channels in turn want to begin producing original content- opportunities we would be in a prime position to exploit. (Spacedock is doing this now, "The Sojurn", and Templin's been making similar noises; Eckhart will follow presently once the bug bites him.) If nothing else, being in position to readily offer to do the novel adaptations is invaluable and serves to keep the relationship healthy via returning value for value.

Yes, I will do this once I am ready regarding Star Knight, but some of you are already in position to hit this hard here and now. Go to their YT pages, hit up their contact emails, and introduce yourselves. You've got lore; they want to talk lore. Start making it happen. (Good God, if Nick & Jason did this all three channels would explode yet again and thrive.)

Narrative Warfare: And Rohan Will Answer

A few days ago, I made a post where I point out that we have sufficient independent media outlets (each with sufficient audience sizes) that we no longer need to put up with the mainstream. We can--and we should--network among ourselves henceforth and cut the MSM out entirely.

So I decided that right now we're in a position where the various clusters I see as being close enough together to benefit from this sort of move, and this morning I did take that first step: I made sure I was in the livestream for Morning With Pop Culture, the new morning show that World Class Bullshitters now puts on during the week. I lucked out today; Jeff (the host) decided to do an Ask Me Anything segment and I got the question answered:

There it is, folks- asked and answered. World Class Bullshitters WILL talk to us, both in terms of taking ads and in terms of being a guest. If you've got something of interest to their audience, especially if it's the #StarWarsNotStarWars sort--Nick Cole, Brian Niemeier, Jon del Arroz, myself--then you've got someone willing to have you on and present you to people who may not have heard of you or your stuff (but are fed up with Mouse Wars and would be open to alternatives). You can reach WCB by email at worldclassbs@mail.com, and on Twitter (@TheWorldClassBS); take the time to catch some streams or watch some videos so you can get the vibe. (If you like Razorfist, you'll likely find these guys to your liking.)

World Class Bullshitters is part of The High Council, a group show done with Ethan Van Sciver and the Geeks & Gamers channel. Those two are also worth approaching, likely with similar caveats. Ethan in particular is someone we should get into contact with for making connections with other comic people. Why? Independent comicbook adaptations of our novels, and independent novel adaptations of their comics.

Here, this is tonight's live show (yes, separate morning and evening shows how; that's how explosive the growth's been), so you can get acquainted with the crew and see why Space Opera writers in particular ought to get to know this crew and reach out to them to be a guest and/or take out an ad. In particular I think Nick Cole & Jason Anspach will find a welcome reception for Galaxy's Edge with this audience.

And come back tomorrow, folks. I have a proposal for approaching another set of associated YouTube Channels who seem to be right up our alley: The Templin Institute, Spacedock, and Eckhart's Ladder.

My Life in Fandom: Return of the GERWALK

The 1980s were a golden time for giant robot fans. While the number of Super Robot shows decreased, the rise of the Real Robot subgenre that debuted in 1979 with Mobile Suit Gundam exploded in earnest with Super Dimension Fortress Macross in 1982. That series's signature mecha, the VF-1 Valkyrie, is famous for being a Real Robot with three modes: Fighter, GERWALK, Battroid. That middle word is in all-caps because it's an acronymn, and the Macross franchise isn't the only mecha property to use it.

"GERWALK" means: ...Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee-joint. The GERWALK form allows flight, VTOL (vertical take off and landing) and walking on the ground., and this quality came out in full force in the studio's second "Super Dimension" series: Super Dimension Century Orguss

Orguss heavily features GERWALK mecha designs, as noted at GEARS Online's collection of imagery from the series and its concept artwork. Though not mentioned explicitly, there is one big reason for why GERWALK style mecha are so prominent in this setting: they are cheap as hell to construct.

Why? Because GERWALK is one step away from BattleTech's paradigm of Mech-as-Walking-Tank; put a cockpit and an engine in a box, bolt on a pair of legs, and GO! There is no need even for the expedient of allowing the legs to fold back and make the mech have a Fighter mode- something Macross did with the Zentran Reguld Battle Pod. The Crusher Joe movie (one of BattleTech's image sources) also had such a mech.

But the concept didn't stop with Orguss. While the name went away, the idea matured a little more with the production of Aku Daisakusen Srungle While the title mech, a true transformable super robot, only uses that mode part of the time the pilots at its controls use GERWALK mecha ("Trekkers") when outside of the hero unit. The enemies, naturally, have their own; it's the last time GERWALK style mecha get so prominent a display for a long time after that show's conclusion.

Not that they'll ever be gone for long. I'm not the only one to notice how cheap and easy GERWALK mecha are, which makes them ideal mook mecha across the board. It's what I'm doing with my own Star Knight Saga, and I'm not skimping on the easy transition to flight mode.

Hell, even Uncle George noticed back in the days with the AT-ST and the AT-PT (the latter for the prequels, and one of the more interesting personal-scale mechanical designs). So yeah, I'm giving GERWALK its due- and that includes the word itself (and what it stands for); I'm adding this to the setting bible, including its real--Real World--origins. I'm writing my stories in part as loving homage, so why not give some overlooked ideas some time to shine?

If you're looking forward to seeing the GERWALK return, then watch out for my IndieGoGo campaign to crowdfund Star Knight's first entry, coming soon.

Those Heartless Husks Erased Even The Memory of Him

While on World of Warcrat late last night, I was on my Hunter character for a half-hour to do some stuff. I rolled this character just to do meme stuff, so I tamed a gorilla and named him "Harambe". WOW!Harambe, named in memory of the slain zoo gorilla (and to refer to the meme), had been around since shortly after the real one died. We're talking a couple of years of me running around in-game with this pet and only getting laughs and cheers.

It was a harmless way to keep the memory alive, much like how I tamed a pet penguin and named him "Grapekun". Harmless fun.

No more.

I got disconnected out of nowhere. Not unusual; it's weekly maintenance time as I write this post, so in the hours preceding it I'm not surprised when connection hiccups happen. But when I logged back in, I noticed that my pet lost his name; it was just "Gorilla"- and that's when I figured out what likely happened.

I checked my email inbox. Confirmed; someone reported the name and the GMs decided it was "Harassment" or some bullshit and forced a reversion. RIP Harambe, again; some killjoy got triggered at the very mention of his name and got assmad at someone having harmless fun that they didn't like.

How petty are you to get offended at someone naming a NPC pet animal after an Internet meme? I've saved some folks' asses with Harambe over the last few years, notably during the prepatch event for Legion. He was a hero, and now he's gone.

Dicks out one more time, my dudes.

Fine, I'll just have to come up with something better. I dare you joyless fucks to get mad over "Koko".

On a serious note, I want you to remember this: a core component of Narrative Warfare is manipulation of the past via control over what is made available to the population. Martyrs are easily controlled because they are dead and cannot defend themselves, and so is everyone else who's dead or dying. It is for the living to defend the dead from the defilement that is what happens when SJWs (or their masters) do a 1984 job on the facts- on the truth. If they're comfortable enough to do this in a game, they'll do it to unperson a world-important author (H.P. Lovecraft, Laura Ingalls Wilder) Because REEEEEE!

We can't let them. That way lies madness. It is the refusal to see reality as it is, even in the small ways, that allow greater evils to happen.

Narrative Warfare: The Price Is Right (To Blacklist SJWs)

Today's topic comes courtesy of the Mombot, whom you should follow if you're on Twitter and you're not following her. Behold:

Jessica Price was interviewed by Polygon and called her former employer's decision to fire her "highly unprofessional". pic.twitter.com/NacKmfmaY3

— Best Mom Eva (@mombot) July 9, 2018

Remember the Three Laws of SJWs: They always lie, they always double-down, and they always project. In the Polygon puff piece, we see all three exhibited like a battle flag in a thunderstorm.

She calls herself a developer. That's a lie; devs code, and she can't. She's a writer, a basic bitchwork one at that, who's job (and history) is of doing bitchwork unskilled writing crap like flavor text and branching dialog lines. In short, she oversells how good she is to puff herself up. She puffs herself up due to status anxiety, classic r-selected psychology, which she also exhibits when she gets all mad and throws around BadFeel bullshit to shame her targets.

When called on her bullshit, she doubles-down; this article is her doing this in a big way, repeating her lies and compounding them to keep her scam going. If she wasn't well-ensconced in the Sea-Tac SJW Clique she would've been rightly blacklisted and run out of the business entirely years ago. (Even then, she managed to fuck up a sure thing with Paizo.)

And look at all that projection! "He's unprofessional!" "You're entitled!" Trump should draft this broad for the Space Force- as a Ground-To-Orbit Launcher. (She's actually have a job suitable for her talents.) She's been like this for years on end, and she's not stopping now because she's so delusional that reality might as well be a flavor of ice cream to her. No matter how hard she screws herself, she always finds someone else to blame for her failures and fuckups. She refuses to see reality as it is.

Everyone in the gaming world needs to know this woman's name and memorize her face. She's done nothing but cause unnecessary issues wherever she goes, costing her employers time and money while damaging their brand and reputation- excusing her unprofessional behavior entirely with her being woke and doing Social Justice. Blacklist this bitch already.

The Church excommunicates the unrepentant delinquents and reprobates, casting them out utterly and cutting them off. Why in the world would this not be done for more ordinary chronic offenders? It is necessary and proper to establish and maintain lists of folks who are nothing but trouble regardless of what they can do or who they know. (It's also already done by her and her allies, and they do not shy away from calling this a good thing.) While you're at it, take note of others like Price and put them on the list also.

No "But"s. You know damn well that these SJWs do nothing but start shit and try to steal employers from their owners Because Social Justice. It's long past time to tag them, nag them, and run them out of town- tarring and feathering optional. You have to do it to them because they will do it to you as soon as they get the chance. This is War To The Knife, Knife To the Hilt; purge them or get sacrificed to their demon god.