Note: This is an early work of mine from 2015. I included it to maybe show differences between how I write now versus how I wrote then.  His head pounded as his senses came back to him. Tom lay on a cool, damp cement floor and the scent of rot and sewage permeated all around. He remembered what had happened what seemed like only moments ago. He and his comrades, Raul and Rog, were chasing their quarry; a horrid beast, but with only patches of skin and fur to cover its bare muscle and gore. It led them on a grand chase through the narrow streets illuminated only by the dingy streetlamps which colored it the same as dark urine. As they turned the corner, their prey had seemed to elude them. They cursed and spat in frustration; this wasn’t the first time this had happened. This moment lasted only but a brief second, before the beast announced itself from behind, from behind its pursuers. It flung itself at them, with the hunters only having enough time to gaze in horror in realizatio

      " Folban Station , MPV Roux , requesting permission to land" Harah droned once again to no reply. He had already tried the radio a number of times to no effect. He wasn't sure what would be worse-- continuing to get nothing back, or having to explain why he was coming back in their patrol craft. It is not like he had much choice; when the Roux "detained" him, they only had enough fuel for the return trip which had already been punched into the navigation. Where else could he have gone? He looked out the porthole in the cockpit, and saw that one of the docking stations, Port-3, was open.      "It's not like anyone is telling me no" he justified to himself, and slowly brought in the Roux . Besides, he wanted to see what was going on-- stations don't typically go silent for no reason, and he was just unwise enough to be curious.     As the Roux drifted in, he soon regretted his choice; the landing lights on the ship revealed a scene of mass

 Hello! A friend of mine recently made their own blog for their writing. I've known them some time now, and I admire the use of narrative voice in their work. Give them a read! You can find their stuff here.

  Note: This was a work I had feelings about putting on here. It gets a bit graphic on the violence end. If that is something you have a hard time with, then it's a-okay to skip this one. I wrote it some years ago when I was in a weird place in my life. Harris Johnson walked home late at night, to his small apartment in North Port. He had stayed out late, having a few drinks to numb his unease over losing his job earlier that day. He had worked at a bank, in a back financial office, dealing in corporate finance and leasing. It had been the second job he had of that nature, and couldn’t stand them—but they paid well. He wasn’t sure why he had been fired; had he taken one too many days off? He thought about it as he shuffled home. “Good riddance” he thought to himself, trying to bluff himself out of his concern. When he arrived, he unlocked his door, but not before missing the key slot half a dozen times in his buzzed and exhausted state. He dragged himself in, placing his hat and

     Released in 2004, Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords ( KOTOR 2: TSL ) is a CRPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Upon release, it left a lot of content on the cutting room floor which was subsequently re-introduced by fans via the  TSLRCM , or The Sith Lord Restored Content Mod, which also resolved a number of technical issues the plagued the game such as stability problems and broken in-game quests. This is the third in a series of articles detailing specific choices made in the design of KOTOR 2. The first article covering item and characterization design can be found  here , and the second covering party companions here .     In KOTOR 1, Darth Malak is the undisputed antagonist through the entire game, after betraying his master Darth Revan before the events of the game. Despite the revelation of Revan's true fate toward the end of the main plot. Its sequel, KOTOR 2, has a much less well-defined series of antagonists. This isn't a condemnation,

     Released in 2004, Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords ( KOTOR 2: TSL ) is a CRPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Upon release, it left a lot of content on the cutting room floor which was subsequently re-introduced by fans via the  TSLRCM , or The Sith Lord Restored Content Mod, which also resolved a number of technical issues the plagued the game such as stability problems and broken in-game quests. This is the second in a series of articles detailing specific choices made in the design of KOTOR 2. The first article can be found here .     One of the most important aspects of CRPGs is the party composition. You'll spend tens of hours with these characters, and how they are portrayed is important to not only enjoyment of the game, but how the narrative interfaces with the gameplay and immersing the player in that world. When done poorly, it can jerk the player out of the experience with jarring dialogue, poor characterization, and bad mechanical imple

 The black liquid was oil, we’d struck it rich. We knew that we could now retire, and live in leisure. We actually started talking about all the ways we’d spend the money. Our first choice was to move out west, and buy land, or even try our hand in the market. Ross said we could go back east; return in glorious triumph. Joseph didn’t know what to do with it, but then again, he didn’t know what to do with himself in the best of times. As the burning sun bore down on us and our discovery, we began to feel a growing sense of annoyance to take us. All alone in the wastes, we bickered about how we ought to split our find. Ross said he should get the majority, since it was rightly his equipment, while Joseph staked his claim by virtue of it being his land. While, I myself being a gentleman of sensible mind, suggested even shares, but the others would not have any of it. Ross swung first at Joseph, knocking the smaller man to the ground; then mounting and pummeling as he went. I tried to pull

  “ I’m going to hang them by their tool s , and beat them with sticks! ” Harah roared in the cramped compartment. The fuel gauge read empty, which was why his small freighter dropped out of phase so violently. So much so, that Harah had been ejected from his cot, hitting his head against the bulkhead. He could still feel his skull ringing. Staring at the gauge, he theorized that the shady roustabouts at Port Lancel siphoned fuel-- not a surprising act in more remote areas that don’t produce much of their own. They would fill your reserves with inert liquid with the same density, leaving just enough actual go-juice in the line to get you off and running into phase, and leave you stranded far enough away to where you couldn’t sub-light back. Harah stood there in his impotent anger, alone, with just the subtle hum of shipboard electrical to keep him company. Thankfully, his arcanite generator would power that indefinitely as far as he knew. At least, longer than what probably remai

     Released in 2004, Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords ( KOTOR 2: TSL ) is a CRPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Upon release, it left a lot of content on the cutting room floor which was subsequently re-introduced by fans via the TSLRCM , or The Sith Lord Restored Content Mod, which also resolved a number of technical issues the plagued the game such as stability problems and broken in-game quests.     KOTOR 2 uses many of the features from the first game , developed by BioWare and released in 2003, as well as its Odyssey Engine. It does add additional features, and character customization options to compensate for moving the level cap from 20 to 50. Some of those new features expand previously introduced feats or class options, and the rest are entirely new to the sequel. KOTOR 2 also greatly expanded the crafting and weapon & armor customization options from its predecessor, allowing more than just tinkering with unique items. The most influential

 Hello! This is the first post in what I hope is not a doomed venture! My primary goal is is to showcase short works of fiction that I make once or twice a month, time and supply of Bailey's withstanding, and also a decent article on a less regular interval.  Nothing more than that to add at this moment, but welcome! Zachariah O