85: The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

fictoplasm
fictoplasm
85: The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
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In the last episode of 2020, I cover The Sundial by Shirley Jackson and discuss how to turn it into a pseudo-LARP based on the UK indie game Witch: the Road to Lindisfarne.

Show Notes

Introduction 00:07

Synopsis 02:04

Remarks 13:21
– Boundaries
– No appeals to authority
– Hierarchies
– Oracles and weirdness

RPG 18:36
Across the Table episode on Witch: the Road to Lindisfarne
– Adapting Witch: the Road to Lindisfarne to the Halloran Witches

Media 23:41
Fictoplasm episode 4.03 (The Last Policeman, Hard Sun, The Three Body Problem)
On the Flip Side by Nicholas Fisk
Interview with Flatland Games
Through Sunken Lands and other adventures

Music Credits

Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive

Samples: “Is that you or are you you?” from Reappear // “Another version of you” from Thoughtless

74: Days by James Lovegrove

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fictoplasm
74: Days by James Lovegrove
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Intro 00:07 // Synopsis 02:50 // Commentary 15:20 // The Outside (what kind of a world has gigastores?) 15:28 // Manufactured cultures (zaibatsus and phyles) 16:26 // Grant Morrison (intelligent cities and corporations as planetary contagion) 16:48 // City as organism 17:20 // (autocracy) 18:36 // (microcosm) 19:01 // (visitors) 19:41 // (spaces) 24:26 // (scenes) 29:16 // (pacing) 32:43 // (rise and fall) 33:52 // Extra 34:42 // High Rise by J G Ballard 34:51 // The Hope by James Lovegrove 39:14

Music Credits

Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive

Samples: “Is that you or are you you?” from Reappear // “Another version of you” from Thoughtless

Episode 64: Until the End of the World, Strange Days

fictoplasm
fictoplasm
Episode 64: Until the End of the World, Strange Days
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This episode I’m revisiting two charming 90s near-future films: Wim Wender’s Until the End of the World, and Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days.

Show Notes

Until the End of the World 01:17 // Strange Days 06:26 // Themes 10:49 // Brain taping, addiction to dreams, Snow Crash, Dollhouse, Sense8 10:53 // Fear of the future, The Last Policeman 13:43 // Games 16:48

Music Credits

Music is by Chris Zabriskie: chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive

Samples: “Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear // “Another Version Of You” from Thoughtless

4.03: The Last Policeman, Hard Sun, The Three Body Problem

fictoplasm
fictoplasm
4.03: The Last Policeman, Hard Sun, The Three Body Problem
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Ralph briefly discusses three pre-apocalyptic novels, with the conclusion that all that matters is how much time you’ve got left.

Show Notes

Links

  1. This episode is partially inspired by the thread Nihilism: Gaming in a Hard Sun world on the UKRoleplayers forum.
  2. Here’s a fun stackexchange thread) on Hard Sun’s possible extinction event.

Music Credits

“Cylinder Nine” from Cylinders by Chris Zabriskie

chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive