Wednesday, April 12, 2006

I don't wanna be et by Reavers


So, you remember how the Reavers were created by the Pax, a gas intended as a mellowing agent? So, funny story (pardon the simplification of some aspects of it) - there's a substance in our bodies called MAO which metabolizes excess neurotransmitters, preventing them from building up and overloading the neuron. There is a gene (MAOA, I think) which determines whether people have either high or low innate levels of MAO.

We also know that people who were maltreated as children are, statistically, somewhat more likely to become violent criminals than those who were not maltreated. Interestingly, people with high MAO levels are all about as likely to become violent criminals, regardless of past abuse. However, abused children with low MAO levels are highly likely to become violent criminals.

Now, why is this kind of scary? Because MAO inhibitors - yep, things that lower MAO levels - are common anti-depressants (not as common as they used to be though). Depressed people have lower-than-normal neurotransmitter levels, so inhibiting the MAO brings them back up to normal levels, ideally helping cure the depression. But inhibiting MAO in people with normal levels of neurotransmitters (i.e. the majority of the populace) gives us - you guessed it - neurotransmitter overload and increased chance of violence.

So, MAO inhibitors either level people out or lead to violent excitation. Sound familiar? The Pax sounds a lot like some kind of uber-MAO inhibitor, hence, dead people and Reavers. Isn't science fun?

Thanks to Karen for bringing the Reaver Gene and these facts to my attention!

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Go go gadget ... Go?


In spite of homework's best efforts to the contrary, my last week has contained a healthy amount of gaming. I've restarted an Exalted campaign I started here sometime last year...four of my friends, mostly new to the whole RPG thing an all new to the Exalted world, are hitting their stride, and it's fun to see how they interact with the world compared to how the usual group does. Very different, certainly. I kinda wish a few of them were going to be around DG for the summer, they'd make great additions to the group, I think, and none of them are hippies! Huzzah!

I learned how to play Go earlier today, and it's interesting. Very simple rules, though it does seem like one of those "lifetime to master" things. Fun, and I love watching the patterns unfold on the board...something very elegant about it.

Finally, I got around to playing the Gal Civ 2 demo which Andy directed me to, and now I've played through it twice. I like it a lot more the second time through, though I'm going to have to try more to figure out what I think about the combat system; at present I'm not too big of a fan. The game itself is fun, if a bit slow (at the beginning anyay, I imagine that getting more than 3 years into a game and having a larger galaxy would be a lot more interesting but hey, them's the breaks of a demo). So, we'll see on that one. The ship editor is AMAZING though, and tons of fun to monkey around with.

Finally, I come to what I see as the cream of the week's gaming crop - the Rise of Legends demo. I cannot wait until this game comes out (unfortunately in May or something, bah) because it's the first RTS to appeal to me in a while. Basically, fantasy RTS with a really creative world and take on things; Andy, I can see this appealing to you especially just for the craziness and beauty of the world they've made. Check it out.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Odds and ends

Letting people know that I updated the Garou, Prelude below to reflect my latest edit; mostly my shift away from the "telepathy" I used for wolfen communication earlier on to a more authentic "body language" style, based on growls/barks/etc. in concert with posturing and body language to get concepts across. Obviously this will limit somewhat the complexity of communication in wolf forms, which I think adds to the flavor of the world and highlights the differences between the breeds, plus I want to reserve the "Mindspeech" for more special Garou. Oh, and I changed the last part a bit to hopefully make it more "ooh! cool!" than before.

More of the story itself, rather than frivolous editing, will hopefully follow shortly. Also, I think Carl's almost done with the artwork for the second page of the comic, so I'll try to get that up sometime soon.

In media news, Kung Fu Hustle is hysterical AND incredible. I can see why it's listed as a reference in the new Exalted book. Also, I've just started watching Lost, and while it's no BSG, it's still some pretty good TV. Too bad I hear they ultimately just tease you with most of the mysterious plotlines, but it's quite fun nonetheless. And if Frodo can become a Bible-thumping prostitute-eater, then there's nothing wrong with Pippin becoming a heroin-addict rock god. Nothing at all.

Finally, Hans expressed interest in the girlfriend mentioned in the last post. Yes, she does exist. She is not in Africa, and she's not pregnant, thank Jeebus (though apparently she'd considered telling me she was on April 1st...but then decided that it would be in poor taste, HANS, even though that was dang hilarious). Karen is quite the excellent girl, very fun, possessed of an excellent sense of humor, v. pretty, and fond of Battlestar to boot. Really, what more could a guy want?