New Years Star Wars Resolutions

A fresh start. That’s what the new years represents to me and a lot of other folks. Its like hitting the ‘reset’ button on all the stuff you did and meant to do the year before. This year is no different- except for the fact that I’m going to put some resolutions down IN WRITING this time, rather than just float them around in my head. I don’t normally make resolutions regarding my leisure time, but in this case, I’m going to- because I really would like to make some more significant progress. Why? Because it feels good to do so. It is part mental exercise (for entertainment), part practical (for my own gaming uses), part irrational (to try and impose ‘order’ on an otherwise jumbled collection of gaming stuff), and part egotistical (to show the world my OWN take on Star wars and (hopefully) how cool it is). So without further ado, the list:

1. Finish what I’ve started.
This is my BIGGEST vice when it comes to personal projects— I will get within sight of the finish line, then sputter to a halt and go on to some other project, leaving the first one dangling there, tantalizingly ALMOST complete. The projects I have dangling now are:

a) The Star Wars droid sourcebook. I am so close on this it is maddening. All that remains is to finish up the sections on droid-related equipment and running a droid Player Character. What’s holding me up? Well, the fact that the equipment section overlaps another project I want to do- the equipment sourcebook. This has me feeling as though I need to complete the equipment section before I can finish the droid. Gah. In either case, I need to just buckle down and do it. It will feel very good to just have one section ‘complete’.

b) Otherspace III. I have been working on this off and on since about.. 1992? I have four of the five episodes of the adventure already done and the fifth episode outlined. I just need to buckle down and finish it already. Even so, I would still like to work on some interior artwork for it. Unfortunately, I feel as though my own illustrative skills are a bit lacking (from atrophy). I also look back at it and feel as though a bit of a re-write of the interior sections might be in order as well. I see that there may be too much combat and not enough problem solving. I’ll have to give that a second look.

c) My Star Wars rulebook. This is my version of the ‘core’ rules. I would say it is about one-third complete at the moment, outlining the basic rules system. The combat and skills sections remain to be written and are going to be a lot of work.


2. Put in a little work every day
This is how I intend to accomplish my first resolution and move on to the others. I will often look at a project and see the mountain of work that needs to be done. This typically prevents me from even starting. I will put it off until I feel more inspired (or less intimidated). Unfortunately, this means I will often just put it off indefinitely. Therefore, I resolve to put in a little work each day rather than just letting it sit. I will chip away at the mountain, little by little.


3. Re-write the prequel trilogy
I started this in my blog, got about a third of the way through the first movie then stopped. But I really enjoyed it while I was doing it. Therefore, I resolve to continue- to finish my ‘re-write’ of Episode I and maybe move on from there. The fact of the matter is that I am a little surprised in seeing how much of those movies I actually like. For me it was the few ‘rotten’ parts of the prequels that stunk it up for the rest. A few minor tweaks is all it will take for the latter movies- though Episode I is going to see some pretty major changes.


4. Be more regular in my blog posts.
Blogging is, for me, mainly just a way to vent. But I realize I do have an audience and if I want to build that audience (even if only to satisfy my own ‘vanity’), then I need to post more often, even if every post isn’t a huge one. I started this prior to my Christmas break and intend to continue throughout the new year.


5. Catch up on Star Wars in other media.
Namely, I have to catch up on the Clone Wars cartoons. Though initially I disliked this series, it has gotten consistently better and I feel that by looking through it I could come up with some great ideas to carry forward into any future campaigns.

So, there you have it, the resolutions. Lets see by the end of the year how well I’ve kept them. Heck, maybe I’ll have a quarterly ‘update’.