I have lived a very cursed life. Those unfortunate to have met me can well attest. Yet it is by no means an understatement when I say this - It has all lead me to these last dark days. But who I am is irrelevent in the grand scheme of the events I expose within these pages. What I write here will either simply be further damning evidence of Mankind's folly,

Or the point of origin for Our demise.
~
October 24, 1942

I hear it clearer now: it is Its name. The unholy Thing has a name.

No doubt, it was from exposure to the gateway and the influence of those vile beings I've come to call Dark Ones. Its name hums violently inside of my head constantly now. I must force myself through the pain to remember.

I was once part of a team of people who studied and hunted the occult workings of this world. I came to trust them with my life when we fought against sinister men and the evil, otherworldly forces that plague our reality. After months of tracking members of a previously unknown society, dedicated to some obviously unscrupulous cause, I took it upon myself to initiate contact with them as a curious, lost soul. Although they were stringently opposed at first, my persistence and fervent attitude finally moved them to relent, and they inducted me as a neophyte into their order.

My team was unaware of my actions, as I did not mention how I bided my time outside of our usual work, in concern of their safety. The prospect of their involvement interrupting the progress of my case was also one I wasn't willing to entertain. One of the conditions for joining the order was that I could not contact anyone from my previous life. Thusly, I settled to only inform my comrades when absolutely necessary. Well, that time has undoubtedly come.

This small town of [///////////], out in the boonies of [///////////] County, is now full of furiously paranoid and distraught people, being terrorized from within by the more cunning members of the order, who hide in plain sight during the day. I've heard townsfolk whisper of public lynchings eventually being a resort, just to have some measure of comfort. I certainly hold no blame towards them in that regard.

I lived here some time before being introduced to an indomitable sort of leader within the order. I immediately felt a dark strangeness about him, and so I used the mental techniques, taught to me over the years by my acquaintances versed in the psychic and paranormal, to steel my thoughts. To my nigh overwhelming terror, I most definitely saved myself in doing so. In every instance we talked, I felt his insidious presence inside my mind, probing for doubt; for any alterior designs that would hinder their work here. They're very close to their nefarious goals and will destroy the minds of any acolytes whose murderous convictions falter.

Lo, I am one of them. In order to keep their trust, in order to uncover and decapitate the head of this hideous and utterly inhuman beast, I have practiced with them their bloody cerominies on the townspeople, without hesitation. Kidnapping or helping sacrificed innocents, not even for Its satiation. It won't be content. Not until It's able to consume us all, and it may soon will.

Two nights ago, I beheld a maddening sight that no lesser willed man, righteous or not, could live with after. I say this, because my mind is still my own for the time being, and I may very well bear witness to even worse before my soul and spirit leave this body. But I only dare not reveal the event here, even after professing my previously mentioned crimes against these poor people. To have my cohorts, or any other seeker of justice reading this, know that I idled and did nothing to prevent it; they would hold me to account for the unforgiveable. It would crush me, even in death, for them to cast me down with the rest of the mad men that we imprisoned and smited together, in what feels like eons past. My only attempt in selfish, feeble atonement for this will be drawing my team here to finish what I started, and recording the events leading to their success.

The event, that I wish not to disclose, started an unearthly chain reaction in the very science of the open air before me. Visually concieved, it was as if the natural fabric of that open space tried futiley to maintain itself, until simply melting away into God knows where. The area was replaced by an anomalous rift, and it was then that I felt It. The ancient and incredible darkness beyond: Nierolythalulzalhapewpewpew.

I don't know how close they are to unleashing It on this hapless world, but the time to act is now. The proof is here. And it must be destroyed.

I've already sent letters about the direness of the situation to my team, heavily encrypted for the instance of interception. Last night, I killed one of the cultist bastards. I lead him astray, alone, and I sliced his neck open. I can't say that I did not derive savage pleasure from it, but my horrible ruse is now over. I did this in the hopes of making them deviate, if only barely, from their nightly progressions. The Dark Ones will know he is dead and they will be coming for me.

I am now in hiding within the confines of this forsaken town, only barely staving off further deterioration of my own consciousness.

I will not leave til the absolute conclusion of this hopeless war wholly reveals itself unto me.

omnia aut nihil fraternus


BEHIND-THE-SCENES
I usually need appropriate music to help me iron out awesome ideas. Here's a few tracks that I used for this one:

Silent Hill 3 - Rain Of Brass Petals
Resident Evil 3 - Free From Fear
Undying - Main Theme / Extended Version
Random Music & Ambient Soundscapes. Awesome if you like listening to less bombastic scores.

I'm in the middle of sending out PMs to players and will make a post this AFTERNOON, allowing the madness to begin. If you would like to join us, please make your presence known in the thread so we can have a confirmed number of people. So far, we got:

1. Usedtabe
2. ZP
3. Djpups
4. Tarvu
5. Mxy
6. Byronic
7. Artful
8. Muckfoot
9. Dexter
10. Fraser
11. PhilKS
12. Manchild

The more we have, the more insane it will be! Don't know the rules? Check here to see if you're ready for some fucked up shit. LET'S DO THIS.



PS: If you've not made an account for the Forums, you'll want to make a intro post in the Meet and Greet, so everyone won't freak out if they don't know you. Also, your posts will go through a moderation period before you can post and private message freely.

PSS: GAME START MAY BE HELD OFF TIL MONDAY IF EVERYBODY IS BUSY FOR THE WEEKEND

Welcome, doomed souls, to the weirdest game of Werewolf ever played!

Not only is this my first game of Werewolf - EVER - I will be moderating the shit out of it in the Destructoid Forums, with heavily modified rules. Once again, you guys have been my lifesaver, since I've been having an absolute blast writing for this over the past week.

For those of you who wish to know the progress of the game, but dare not tread into the Basement, I'll be posting the narration bits and behind-the-scenes fun facts here for you to enjoy. If you're interested in playing with us, head on down and say you want in before THIS coming Saturday. The player cap for now is 20, though I'm willing to run it for any and all that join! But beware: your gruesome and miserable fate may be at hand, long before the game ends.

This is your last chance to escape. Don't sit there staring, just turn and run. Go, flee!

Still here? Well then you're gonna wanna hold on to your butts for this. Don't say I didn't warn you.


There are THREE factions; The Townspeople (or classic villagers), The Cult of Nierolythalulzalhapewpewpew (not-so classic werewolves) terrorizing them, and The Investigation Team (a new, independent party).

The game is set in an unspecified town in Lovecraft Country. In this town, people are being sacrificed nightly by a secret cult.

There are open Gateways in the town that are about to unleash an ancient and terrible evil onto the world.

A harcore team of paranormal investigators is sent there to close them. The cult, working to release the evil being, resides in the town, disguised as townspeople. Since their dark plan is close to fruition, they will do everything in their power to stop them.

The townspeople, paranoid and on the brink of insanity, have resorted to lynching those suspected to be cultists. If they can successfully hang all of the cultists... they still lose the game, because the Gateways will eventually release a Dark God that will destroy them all, along with the world at-large.

This is where the investigation team is crucial. While they may help the townspeople weed out the cultists, their primary focus is in finding and closing all of the Gateways, fighting off the cultists as they do so. If they successfully close all of the Gateways, they may continue to help kill the rest of the cultists. Or they could call it a Day and get the hell out of dodge. Either way, the human race will continue to exist, unworthy as it is.

So, to recap: Good Guys win if all Bad Guys are dead and/or all but one Gateway is closed. Bad Guys win if everyone else is dead and/or there's MORE than one Gateway left open that can't be closed. If ALL the Gateways are closed, the game will continue until either the Villager or the Werewolf faction is left standing.

It's much trickier than a regular Werewolf game, I know. But hopefully, that'll all be part of the fun!

Here are the roles that players will be randomly given:


Townsperson (villager) - You're mad as hell, and you aren't gonna take it anymore! Take the town back by nominating people who might be a werewolf, or let the team help weed them out if they have chosen to. WIN, by killing all werewolves.

Dark One (werewolf) - The wretched spawn of an Ancient unknown, in the guise of a Townsperson. As leaders of the cult, your primary goal is to keep the gateways open, in order for your creator to awaken and reclaim this pathetic world. You can act on your own and/or give the Acolytes orders at night. Attacking anyone but Occultists will make the victim go insane, instead of killing them. However, your powers are increased at gates, allowing you to kill there. You WIN, if at least TWO gateways are left open and CANNOT be closed.

Acolyte (werewolf) - A Townsperson who moonlights as a demented, crazy-pants cultist. If a Dark One orders you to kill someone or standby at a gate, you must do it. Otherwise, you sleep normally. WIN, by killing all Team members and/or villagers.

Deputy (villager) - You've found a gun, and you'll probably use it, either on someone you think is a cultist, or on yourself to escape this madness!

Necronomicon (villager) - You bear the unholy Book of the Dead. How in the hell did that happen? If protected by a Team member, the team can automatically close a gate at night, regardless of who's there. If killed by an Acolyte, werewolves can re-open a gate.

Potential (villager) - You show signs of great intuition, skill, ...and carnage. If you can guess the eccentricity of a Team member, you will be added to that role on the team! Guess the eccentricity of a werewolf, you will become one. But the werewolves also see you, and they can turn you into one of them at their discretion on Night 3 or later.

Dreamer (villager) - You have a great power that you scarcely understand. It may save you and the town, or be your undoing. It allows you to pinpoint where a gateway is without the Team using an Investigator, and close one without the Team using an Occultist. Your horrific, nightly visions may give you clues as to who a Dark One is. However, time is of the essence, as you already feel your mind slipping away...

Investigator (team) - Applying the skills from your previous profession, you take the time to figure out where gateways are, or deduce who Acolytes are from their murders. You can use your trusted method of self-defense against Acolyte attacks only once before they know all the tricks you have up your sleeve. You'll also be able to close gateways yourself under special conditions. WIN, by closing all gates and/or helping to kill werewolves.

Hard Case (team) - You fear no man and your facility for killing makes you a force to be reckoned with. Ethereal beings, however, are a different story. You're able to protect yourself and are likely to keep others safe from Acolyte attacks. WIN, by helping to close all gates and kill werewolves.

Occultist (team) - Your familiarity with arcane artifacts and phenomena make you the perfect choice for closing gateways and detecting who is, and is not human. You also have the means of defending yourself and others against Dark One attacks. The catch: All that time and experience spent honing your ability has left you incapable of defending against Acolytes. WIN, by closing all gates and/or helping to kill werewolves.


The game consists of Day and Night phases. Typically, during the DAY, Townspeople will publicly talk to each other; trying to find quirks that tell them whether someone is a werewolf or a specific role. Also during this time, villagers in special roles may expose themselves only under certain conditions, in order to change the game up. Dreamers who wish to close a revealed gateway must PM me AND the Team members with their decision.

Team members and Townspeople that are insane cannot perform their special role actions.

Team members can get in on the conversations as well, and/or use their special role skills to try outing werewolves for the villagers to kill. Usually, a player nominated for death will give their defense as to why they shouldn't be lynched. It's entirely possible for a person to be wrongly accused of being something he's not.

In the instance of Townspeople nominating someone to hang, players simply put forward their vote on who they want to Lynch or if they want to Abstain. If more players vote to abstain than to lynch any single player, no lynching occurs. If more people want to kill a particular player than want to abstain, however, the player who receives the most votes against them is executed. In the event of a tie where all the votes to lynch are for a single player and equals all the votes to abstain, mob rule wins and lynching occurs.

Team members are not allowed to nominate, but can be nominated.
Townspeople who are insane cannot nominate.

Players can either voice their nomination in bold publicly, or PM them to me privately. Once all votes are in; the appropriate result is enacted, the Day's events are recounted, and the Night phase begins.

During the NIGHT phase, villagers will sleep, while the Werewolf and Team factions fight over Gateways. The outcome of these battles will be determined through an Encounter Chart, and depending on which roles are sent to me via PMs, the Gateway may either close or stay open.

The Werewolf and Team factions can also attack and defend, respectively, a sleeping villager or team member. The outcome for this encounter will be decided simultaneously with the Gateway encounter, or by itself if no Gateway fight occurs. After each faction's choices are sent in, and all encounters calculated, the next Day phase begins, starting with the results of the previous night's activities.


There will be a certain number of gates; only the werewolves will know how many. Team members and Werewolves battle for a gate via their choices sent to me through PMs.

The need for a map in order to find gates is eliminated by Investigators and Dreamers simply following the guidelines for their roles. Any actual named locations is just flavor text.

Team members cannot send anyone to a gate if during the Day Phase: the Investigator failed to search for one or a Dreamer didn't say where one is. Team members that are insane cannot perform their role actions.


Townspeople and Team members driven insane will recover either that night, or the following day. Dreamers, however, will stay insane under certain conditions, removing them from the game. Team members driven insane will be vulnerable to Acolyte attacks.


For certain events and conditions, Dreamers, Occultists, and Investigators must pick a number on a pre-made scale and PM it to me. If their number falls within certain digits of a random number I rolled on the scale, they stay relatively sane. The further away from the number, the less sane they become.

After successfully closing a gate, or exposing a Dark One, and/or defending against a Dark One, the scale grows. If they choose too far from my rolled number too many times, they go insane and are removed from the game.


ALL THAT broken down, will go a little something like this:

(DAY)
Results from the previous Night's activities are recounted:
- Defended attacks and/or deaths.
- Whether a Gateway closed or is still open.
- Those who have gone insane.

Special actions may be taken and are made public, i.e.:
- A Deputy exposing himself and shooting someone in the face.
- An Investigator being exposed by solving a murder case.
- An Occultist being exposed by revealing a Dark One.
- A Dreamer being exposed by saying where a gate is.
- A Dreamer being exposed by saying who he thinks the Dark Ones are.

A Townsperson (or Team member) will hang if the majority wills it.

(NIGHT)
- Townspeople sleep. Deputies can PM me with who they want to shoot in the face the next Day phase.
- Werewolves send an Acolyte to kill a villager or team member, or defend a gate.
- Dark Ones can also act on their own to attack someone sleeping or defend a gate.
- Only ONE werewolf can defend a gate per night.
- The Team send up to TWO of themselves for closing a gate - but only ONE if a Dreamer chooses to close a gate.
- The Team can also send ONE member to protect a villager, or protect one of their own.


So... You in? please say yes

I'm extremely grateful for the support this idea is being received, because I get to do one of the best things I ever get true fulfillment from: I get to create, using my imagination. And what better way to do that, than with my 'Net-family?

I also find it ridiculously appropriate that this is going down so close to Halloween. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the stars were aligning!

Oh, wait...

=P

I want to say I got off lucky, somehow, compared to whatever ridiculously high number of people out there that where/are dragged through the worst of it. Drinking and drugs and getting taken in by the cops were a big chunk of (fortunately) my adult life. No jail or juvenile hall, but plenty of padded cell time. Funny how much nicer everyone is, when all you want to do is kill yourself. Funny, because I never did it for the attention or for them to be nice. Was just trying to find a way out of the numbness and pain. And I hated them for delaying what I thought was inevitable.

At the same time, though, it was that distance I kept from people that kept me from getting into the deeper shit, otherwise I'd have more interesting war stories to share. Or, I'd probably be dead.

Or I'd might be where you are, with more inner fire than ever. Even with what happened this summer, I still have a ways to go. I have friends and family, but it's hard to want personal success, when I've gone for so long without anything to really fight for. Part of me wants that challenge. To be defined by it, even though I don't know what IT is. Part of me says that time's past, that it's too late to try because I'm tired of failure, tired of wasting effort in the pursuit of happiness. Everyone has their own lives and their reasons for staying strong, but when things get quiet, it's hard to stay focused when I'm alone. Hopefully it's just been the last few slow weeks and money constraints pullin' me down a little.

I know better who and what I am now (other than a fucked up loser), and I have my family and y'all to thank for that. But other than having that, I don't want for anything. I know some would look down on that, calling it either laziness or selling myself short. And I can't help but agree. But I've lost that fire, man. I've lost the want. Maybe taking more community college classes will do something for me, but right now, I don't have it.

I'm glad you have it though, Mike. Your shit is nothing short of inspiring (hence, this long-ass reply), as the book will be, no doubt.




I'm also very luck that I've never been a victim of Racism (that I remember, anyway).

I have, though, on more occasions than I could care to fucking count, been a victim of ignorance.

Some people don't know the difference, and if you're reading this and are one of those people, lemme break it down for yous: Racism is always an intentional attack, (verbal, physical, or otherwise (like denying someone a (hand)job)) with an intent to hurt someone because they wear different skin, regardless of their psychological character.

Ignorance is being unaware how big of an asshole/bitch you're being by saying or doing something that could be misconstrued as racist. Unless of course, you're being an asshole or bitch for the attention.

Another way of putting it: A lot of people, young and old, still uphold segregationist values ("you can't have what we have" "stay on your side of the fence"). That's racist. Acting uncomfortable around people who don't look/act like you when you've lived in a small town your whole life. That's ignorance.

One is, usually, a bit more unsubtle than the other. But ignorance can be forgiven (to a point) and worked around. Racism, on the other hand, I don't think can be fixed. It's like a cult; you're either in for the long haul or you stay away. And if you're in, that pretty much makes you a bad person. I mean, we all have our faults, but hating an entire race of people for no GOOD reason is a pretty big one. Maybe you're an alright joe otherwise, but still. I think we can agree that's pretty fucked up.

Along with misogyny, you're just assuming a specific mass populace are unworthy shitheads. Or maybe they're worthy of being your footstool, but still there to be shit on, by you. A little unfair, if you ask me. Either shit on everybody, or trip and fall down a well so we don't have to deal with you.

Pages, man. Pages upon fucking pages I could write about Black society and its role in my life. And luckily, I don't have to. All I have to say is I don't care. I think that's why I love human skulls. It fits symbolically enough to me. Takes away all the predispositions, and exposes what you are. Your money, religion, years of institution, your skin. Get rid of it all and what's left? You're just bones, my friend. Same as me. Same as her. Same as them. But you don't have time to think about that with all that extra shit on top. How nice it must be.

What the fuck was I talking about? Oh right, juegos.

Now, in video games, what we've seen the most of is ignorance when it comes to multicultural representation, if representation is what they were going for at all in the first place.

Predominantly white. Predominantly male. Predominantly nerds. Or if such is your inclination, predominantly Japanese.

It's a little unfair to expect them to tackle the subject properly; they aren't sociology majors. But as the community attests, variety in protagonists and inspired stories is sorely lacking at this point. There may be something for everybody, but we don't want to go searching for it. We want to point in a general direction, so that everyone and their grandma's dog can see it. We don't want to have to bring up something from 10-15 years go. We want something for the Now.

But we also wanna live our lives and play video games. Kinda hard to have your cake and eat it there.

I believe the hurdles to jump before we get to that point are immense and many. But I do believe we will get there. If society and economy doesn't implode, first.

I briefly mentioned in my 10 Things entry that I lost my negro-cred, as it were, to "white" music and I didn't bother looking for it. I already had video game music to appreciate, along with whatever angsty headbanger shit I got into. That doesn't necessarily mean I wasn't able to appreciate stuff MTV played that also got a bunch of radio time. If something is catchy, then it's catchy. But luckily, my tastes in gaming were diverse enough for me to be exposed to more that weren't up to radio standards, I suppose. Life bleeds into art, and video games are no exception.

I present to you, my n-word's, my three favorite rap tracks used in games (ranked from ill to illest).

Phat beats abound. Or whatever.






Dude, when this started up at the beginning of that race in MC2, I got pumped right the hell up, and I think the reason is simple. The first verse of the chorus says it there: Put up or shut up. Perfect for street racing mentality, without the risk. Or the stupidity. I must've restarted that mission a dozen or more times just to listen to this song, and I don't remember any other music on the game's soundtrack sticking out as much, besides the menu screen music.

Not much more to it than that. A smooth beat with creative lyrics and tight flow, for your city-cruising pleasure.

Actually, the next track on the list is not too dissimilar, yet considerably more chill. A much needed respite from all the double-crossing and killing and maiming and tom-foolery.





I must've spent hours rollin' 'round Liberty City to this. And maybe running over hookers and old ladies here 'n there, but mostly just rollin'. Well, there was KJah on the radio, which is probably as chill as you can get when it comes to music, but I have a funny story about that.

I usually don't listen to music when I drive IRL, because I'm an asshole or something. When I do, it's with KEarth oldies, or KJazz and blues, or rarely, KRoq. But I remember a time during my playthrough of San Andreas, where I was listening to reggae from the in-game radio, a lot, as I was running red lights and generally wreaking havoc with cars I stole. I fucking love the irony in that, by the way. Anywho, I remember coming home from hanging out one night and I was scanning through stations when I fell upon some reggae.

"Nice," I thought. "I've been listening to reggae lately while playing SA. Can't wait to get home and play some more."

It wasn't long after that, that I had to consciously stop myself from mindlessly running through a couple red lights on the way home. After stomping the breaks at the third red light, I turned off the radio and vowed never to listen to reggae again while driving in real life. Ever.

I believe that instance is among the most potent of memories, insofar as video games having an effect on the way my brain works. I wasn't high or drunk or anything. Crazy shit, man. I can only imagine how violent games have gotten other law-abiding adults into freak accidents. And how fucking dumb they must have felt afterward. So yeah, rap music in games. I never listen to rap while I'm driving, so I'm pretty safe there. Thank Buddha.

I like this track mostly for the instrumentals. Price's verses are cool and Agallah's are amusing, but I definitely can see myself just cruising on my way to work or Del Taco, just bumping the shit at an appropriate level w/o the vocals. Yeah, good times with this track during my time with GTA 3.

Which brings us to the final, and illest, track up in this motherfucker.





Well, I guess it's subjective how ill it is, as with the other tracks listed, since it's a very different experience listening to them, by themselves, as opposed to hearing them while you're street racing for glory, running over prostitutes for money, or gunning down and beating the living shit out of hardened criminals for great justice. But if you've played True Crime LA, and you remember the moment when this track burst through the speakers, you are going to fucking agree with me.

Kinda like how you only get the full effect of HEALTH's "Tears" when you play the scene in Max Payne 3 where it starts blaring, to get you friggin' pumped to take out an entire army standing in between you and your target (spoilers for every scene in every Max Payne ever?). Not exactly the same in emotion... but similar in effect.

And the effect here is to make you wanna run into a building and cap almost everyone in it, in bullet-time. Or watch a Jet Li movie. I don't know if I'd feel the same way about it if I had heard the song before I played the game, but I think you have a winner when there's a line saying you're going to die in your neighborhood like Mr. Rogers.

I dunno. Maybe that's just me.

-

I'm hoping that it is less of a natural predisposition to this particular type of music (which wouldn't even fucking make sense at this point) and more of a natural intuition of what could be universally considered "good" music. The juxtaposition between the flow and the rhythm of the beats/instrumentals works, sometimes in ways you don't expect it to. When I listen to music, I usually don't hear the lyrics first (I wouldn't be able to through all the screaming anyway). I'm listening to how it sounds when it all comes together. And in special instances, it comes together better in a video game than by itself.

Agree/disagree? Have your own favorite tracks to share? Fap or comment, nukka.


PS: And with the bot bitches gone, I can respond properly to Occams: I don't smoke Lucky Strikes.

I fucking savor them.

FUCK.


FUCK FUCK FUCKING FUCK YOU FUCK THIS PIECE OF SHIT FUCK CUNTBALL GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKER COCKSUCKER.

FUCK. SHIT.

SCROTUM.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.




Thank you.