Fixi Novo. This publisher has its own manifesto!

When I go to the bookstores, I sometimes scroll through books by Malaysian writers. One publisher's books however caught my attention. After reading a first few pages, I had a feeling that I am going to like that publisher's books. Check out the Malaysian publishing company Fixi Novo's manifesto!

 

I LOLed after reading this. So, I bought one of their books. "Love in Penang" sounded fantastic because, as you should already know by now, I love Penang. This book turned out to be a collection of short stories by various writers; for RM20 only, its a real good bargain. 

Full review forthcoming!

Windhammer 2014 Review: Archipelago of Omens

Last year, I submitted an entry that had a problem of rules being too complicated. This year, as if by providence, an entry appears to show me how a gamebook with complex rules system would look like if done properly.  Archipelago of Omens is an entry where the rules don't complement the reading experience because they are the reading experience. 

The story revolves around a two deity lovers who were separated and only by uniting them can the world be saved. You get to play as characters in 3 different time periods to accomplish that mission. The story was plain and simple. Playing different characters just gives you different rules to toy with. I was hoping that somehow finishing a story with a character in an earlier time period will change the story for the other characters if I replayed.

The rules was where the game truly won me over. However, having to swallow 5 pages of rules and 3 pages of appendix was very off-putting at first. But once I start playing, slowly with plenty of page flipping, I managed to get the hang of the rules and boy it was fun! Very quickly, I forgot what the story was about and obsessed over every new item, weapon, and armor I got. However, I can foresee that this will not suit everyone's taste. I only find it enjoyable because I am a fan of tabletop RPGs and this type of game was just my cup of tea.

Complex rules eh? My munchkin senses are tingling

Despite the rules being its strongest selling point. It had a few minor weaknesses. The armor system was kinda confusing, the crafting rules did not clarify what counts as safe location, and the random encounter table sometimes coughed out enemies that were not in the same time period as my character.

Overall, this was a fun game but it will only be so for people who like pen and paper RPGs. In my opinion, complex rules works best when combined with an open world. So perhaps with less railroading and a nice map, this game will be solid. However, to make this game fun for the general public, the author must answer this question: "If I liked games like this, why am I not clicking away on Diablo 3 or World of Warcraft instead?"

The Empire's Edge (Commentary): The Touchy Theme of Imperialism and Colonialism

When I wrote the short gamebook The Empire's Edge, I pictured an adventure in a land seldom explored by literature; my own homeland. I could have just wrote a story about a mighty whitey saving a native princess or a native hero who defeats the evil colonialists. However that would have made the story very typical. I chose to bite directly at the subject of imperialism for it spices the story suitably. It was a sensitive topic so massive research and planning ensued.

In the course of it, I realised that the modern perception of imperialism is very odious. This is especially true if you are coming from European countries. A mere mention of the word 'colonies' would afflict a westerner with an uncomfortable silence. Understandable. After World War II, the once noble notion of empire building had by then tasted poorly in everyone's mouth. So predictably, when people read it, comments came back asking 'why are you glorifying something so distasteful?'

The answer is simple; imperialism and colonialism was not all bad.

It's an action story of a fictional native hero who killed the evil colonialist. Would have been fun if I did not know where Sarawak is.

I may have reached that personal conclusion philosophically. I wanted to portray truthfully how the people were back in the days and truthfully, the colonised did not all loath the idea of being governed by a foreign power. The image of the native colonies giving the British Empire the middle finger and rejoicing to be finally rid of their evil overlords as the empire crumbled was not all true. Case in point, a passage from the first prime minister of Malaysia's independence speech:

 "For many years past our fortunes have been linked with those of Great Britain and we recall in particular the comradeship of two world wars. We remember too the products of our association; justice before the law, the legacy of an efficient public service and the highest standard of living in Asia. We shall therefore always remember with gratitude the assistance which we have received from Great Britain down our long path to nationhood; an assistance which culminated today with the proclamation of Malaya’s Independence."

-Tunku Abdul Rahman

Even from old manuscripts and journals in Penang during 1800s, the voices of old did not seem disgruntled to be ruled by a foreign power. To make it easier to explain, I will list out common perceptions of how would the colonised react to being colonised and then provide some of my input.

1) The people would have been very unhappy that their ruler is foreign.

True, but only in the later time period. In the 1800s, nationalism was unheard of. The natives' understanding of politics was very simple, the king protects and the people serve. It did not matter what colour the king's skin was and the East India Company was a fair king. True, the laws were unfair but it installed order; their laws were clearer and they had the manpower and money to enforce it.

2) The colonialists brought slavery and indentured labour. The people suffered.

Yes, slavery was bad and it was older than feudalism. Even before Europeans set foot in the East Indies, slavery was a common practice; imperialism just expanded the market. Ironically, it was the British Empire who brought a empire-wide abolishment of slavery. We have Wilberforce to thank for it.

Indentured labour however was a morally grey area. But to put it into a native's perspective, a choice between starving to death and working for low wages in a far away land was not a hard choice to make for most.

3) The people were poor, because the colonialists sucked all the wealth.

It would seem that taxes and the conspiring to keep native's labour pay low damages a nation's wealth. However, being a colony means the people had access to technology, capital, and a law system conducive to business. One could still be wealthy beyond what they could have achieved before colonialism if they worked really hard and the people knew it.

4) The people resented being bullied by the colonialists and their cannons and ships.

If you were a local ruler, yes you would. But to the common lay man, it was either being bullied by European muskets or the local ruler's home-grown spears.

It may sound like I am praising colonialism but I assure you the opposite; colonialism is grey. Colonialism has its bad sides, though to discuss it is to beat an already dead horse. Thus my characters all had differing view points of colonialism to show readers that in those days, the people had a love-hate relationship with the British Empire.

Windhammer Results!

Sorry for my pause in postings. I was a little swarmed by work from my day job.

Anyways, the results from the 2014 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction is out and I got a Merit Award. Yay!

Just like last year, being able to see other fellow gamebook writers' work and in turn offer and receive criticisms has been and still is a very valuable experience to me. I think the ideas put forward and suggestions for improvement will help us all grow as writers.

To be winning the merit prize with Philip Armstrong was (oh, whats that Asiatic word for it) a great honor. His entry was made of pure awesomeness and to have my work regarded equally made me all giddy inside.

Applause for Paul Struth for winning the competition. His abilities as a writer was immensely impressive, I could not have thought of a better winner.

So thank you, and thank you, and see you all next year! Hopefully.

Windhammer 2014 Review: Tales Of A Captain: To Recruit A Daemon

When I started reading the entry, I was pumped up. The introduction was humorous, the game system was very creative and fresh, and the powers that I get to use sounded very powerful. But sadly, I felt really disappointed once I was done.

Tales Of A Captain: To Recruit A Daemon is a game where I got to play as a Captain... of something, and I had to recruit a daemon... for some reason. There was actually not much background in this entry. All I knew was I had awesome powers but am unsure how they worked.

As I pressed on, I had a really hard time following what was happening. Judging by the words used, I think there were lots of explosions, cosmic radiations, and forceful impacts. The story was so confusing, it got to the point where I gave up and just randomly picked a choice and hopefully don't die. Or, in short, I felt like I was reading a Micheal Bay movie.

The game system had potential. To make a choice, I select the power I want to use. Each power has a number next to it. I add the number to the entry I am currently in and flip to that passage. Simple. However, it failed to impress. The game was science fiction, but the author did not explain how physics works in this setting and in extension the author also did not state how my powers actually worked. To make matters worse, make a wrong choice of powers, you may just stumble upon instant death!

To better illustrate, here is an example:

Pulating VoidBalls, hundreds, denser, and are glowing, you move forward and they veer towards you attracted to matter. How are you going to get past them?
Me: "What are VoidBalls? It has got the word Void so er spherical Voids? But you said in the beginning Void is absence so how does it have density? Well gonna use PosiArts then." *Flip*
The power attracts the VoidBalls. Game Over
Me: "What? But says in the intro void is absence, absence is negative, and opposite of negative is positive. So my PosiArts which were positive energy should have cancelled out the VoidBalls! Fine, maybe that is not how it works. So lets try Dimension Well. says in the intro it could potentially punch through void energy kinda cancelling each other out." *Flip*
The attack swarms from every side and your well cannot stop it. Game Over.

This is an entry with a lot of potential. Perhaps with better narration and explanation of the in-world physics. This can be a solid entry.

Windhammer 2014 Review: The Puttbuster Initiative: Spacetime Golfcrush

This has got to be the most hilarious entry this year. The characters, the game system, the setting were all whimsical and all added to the entry's appeal. Or to summarise it in one word, Awesome!

The Puttbuster Initiative: Spacetime Golfcrush is an entry which puts readers to play golf, not regular golf but inter-dimensional future space golf! The story was that I am an a newcomer to the pro tournament, and must win to get enough prize money to repay my debt. Silly plan? yes, and honestly just a plot to explain why my character is risking his life to play golf with no upgrades unlike my competitors.

The game was played with very well illustrated er... golf-fields? (apologies, I am not very good with golf terminologies) that were cut into different sections. Where will your ball land on depends on your upgrades and your die's mood. But each time you land on any of the squares, there will be challenges such as a monsters to fight, acid splashing onto you, or your ball zapped into oblivion all of which can be negated with the correct upgrades.

How I imagine the 3-platinum drive looks like

The writing was fantastic and adds to the whole silliness of the entry. The commentators were hilarious and I always look forward to what they had to say after a swing. However, I feel they seem to get less and less funny as the game progresses, a slight downer.

However I do have some nit-picks though:
1) After you finish a hole you get money to buy upgrades, the better you perform the more money. However, the holes will get harder so upgrades become even more important. So how well I perform in this game is dependent on how well I did in the 1st hole which is dependent on the mood of my die which I felt is a bit unfair.

2) The commentators were awesome, however I felt the they could be made funnier. Their characteristics were great but I think there is an untapped potential in there.


All in all, this in a very enjoyable entry, hugely recommended. I can totally see it in an phone app someday. 

Windhammer 2014 Review: Problem?

I have to admit, after dying horribly multiple times for no apparent reason at all, I wished this entry was a book so I can fling it to the wall. But then it hit me, that's the whole point of this book.

Problem? is as the author puts it, a tongue-in-cheek silly game not to be taken seriously. The game starts with me being summoned to a queen where I was asked, well, forced into a quest which the queen could have solved it herself but makes you do it anyways for the lulz.

This game is clearly a parody for the 80's gamebooks and with it contains everything that made me scream in frustration like, a circular maze, meaningless choices, traps that look like treasures, a boss you could not possibly beat, instant deaths and more!

Are you having.... FUN??? Hue hue hue hue hue.....

To say that this is a bad entry is not doing it justice. The author intended it to be bad. In fact, I'm guessing that he imagined us having a good time laughing along with him at his work. However, I rarely see people laugh when they are at the receiving end of the trolling.

This is one of the first entries I played. So a month later (after my rage died down), I can retrospectively see that this entry is actually quite solid. I talked about this entry the most with my friends. Honestly, I think there is a diamond somewhere in all that dust that I can't seem to put my finger on. That is going to bug me for days. 

I would recommend you play this, then let your friends play it so you can see them rage quit! And thus the trolling repeats itself!

 

Windhammer 2014 Review: The Sacrifice

Traditionally, gamebooks tended to use 2nd person narrative. Perhaps that is in reminiscent of RPGs where the author acts like a dungeon master telling the players what has happened. That restricts the authors from telling the players what they think or feel. The Sacrifice however uses 1st person narrative and thus feels like a short story trying to be a gamebook. But, the application of gamebook rules into the story is overall well done and I enjoyed playing this entry.

The story was set in England after World War 1 and it involved a close friend who changed drastically after returning from the great war. So, being the concerned friend that I am, I was sent on a quest to go solve this mystery. After talking to the said friend, the lover he abandoned, and the lady he was entangled with, the story climaxed with a zombie out-break summoned by occult magic and I saved the day by breaking the spell.

"I dare say, the ol' bean just has not been the same since he's back from the trenches fighting the Jerries"

The writing in this story was phenomenal. Such is the benefits of 1st person narrative I suppose. It painted a good picture of life amongst the upperclassmen in an English Mansion. The characters were colorful and I could feel them coming to life each with different views and concerns about the said close friend.

The game system was very simple perhaps too simple for my taste. At the passage where there was a battle, the combat system felt like a momentarily jam in the story. Other than that nitpick, the game system complements well with the story. I really liked the ending part where a scoreboard was presented as a epilogue so the happy ending depended on what you did in the story.

Overall, this entry's game system was too simple to the point I asked myself does it even qualify as one. However, the engaging writing and story more than compensates that weakness. This entry is easily recommendable and it got me thinking that perhaps my writing should aspire to be more like Paul Struth's.

Windhammer 2014 Review: Path of Heresy

Before I start, I have to confess I don't particularly like bishojos. Bishojos are a type of dating simulation computer games that are popular in Japan. Very similar to gamebooks except bishojos have graphics to show how the girl(s) looks and their reaction when you make a choice. Path of Heresy is a book version of this. Since it is 100% text, it needs very good writing to bring the characters to life and that is challenging. Sadly this entry fails to deliver that.

First, it introduced me as a priest of Light but does not tell me what that my vocation is exactly. The game mechanics introduced favour points that can be used to power up prayers but then does not tell what these prayers do. I looked past it and get into the game hoping that the setting will slowly establish once I read on. It did not, so I just assumed it was a generic Dungeons and Dragons setting.

 "Each prayer will decrease your Favour and if it reaches 0, the journey will be over since the prayer will have consumed the piece of Light you carry by birth – your soul."

The writing was problematic. Although I'll give the author some slack because I too come from a country where English is not the first language. Thus we too use English a bit differently. I generally understood what the author was writing about. However, this is a competition where majority of the readers (I assume) comes from countries where English is the first language. The oddness of the sentences is so numerous in this entry that it felt like the reading experience was littered with speed bumps and that stops me from being taken in by the story.

At the start of the game I was introduced to Sister Ulmia the girl I had to woo to win this game. Personally I felt that the author did not write enough to bring this character to life enough for me to care about her. But you be the judge, here is a list of descriptions of Sister Lumia in the entire entry.

- You turn your head and smell the sweet odour of Sister Ulmia. Her emerald almond-shaped eyes sparkle in the light of the street lamp. She looks stunning even in twilight.
- There is an ugly scar on her throat, marring her immaculate milk white skin.
-You can see her wide smile as you begin the prayer. It is a beautiful smile. She puts her hand where the scar was.
-Sister Ulmia looks with disgust at the bloodstains as soon as you arrive at the well-lit square in front of the inn. You understand her. She is used to the jet black members of the Order of the Cleansed wear.
- The priestess plays with her infernally red hair, trying to sort the beautiful mess.
-“I feel like drinking a jug of wine,” the priestess says.
- She asks, her cheek already obtaining a rosy hue.
-What you know about the beauty is that she used to be a devil who went through a series of transformation prayers so that she could look human and serve the Light.
-The skin of the priestess gets bright red and spotted. You have never seen her initial form,
Then she gets kidnapped and not heard from until the end.

I would not have cared much for this girl if treating her nice was the only way to win. The author will keep reminding me from time to time.

Even if I ignore about the romance part of the book and pretended was a rescue adventure. The challenges posed to me was very often resolved by sheer coincidence or by a solution that does not make sense and that makes the adventure mediocre.

Overall, I can say that the author's writing is his biggest weakness, and that weakness is magnified by writing a genre that needs good writing skills to make readers engross in the story. This one is hard to recommend even among fans of Bishojos.

Armenian Street: Secret Societies (Kongsi Gelap)

Armenian Street has now become a hotspot for tourists coming to Penang. That is wonderful news except for when I have to drive there to eat Hokkien mee which then the crowd becomes bothersome.Ha

But, what I always notice is that every daytime that I am there, I'd see everyone crowd around in one particular section of the street to take a picture of the mural called "Little Children on a Bicycle".

The most important tourist attraction in Penang right after Char Koay Teow (Fried Noodles)

Everyone comes to take a picture with that one iconic mural

I understand that the mural is iconic and a must see, however there are cooler things to see in Armenian Street. A shame really, not many know. So, I'm here to give you places in Armenian Street you should definitely stop by next time you are there.

Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple (Tua Pek Kong Temple)
To understand the significance of this place, you need to understand how kongsis work in British Penang. Now, Penang was a popular destination for Chinese migrants seeking employment. But after a Chinaman arrives in Penang, there were no employment centers or job advertisements. He had to go find his kinsman/clansman (which most of the time had the same surname). Well then, these kongsi were the community centers for each of these clans. This was the place ceremonies were performed, the dead were worshiped, and the clansman were gathered. So the Chinaman just had to go to his respective kongsi and ask for jobs.

Very often, these kongsis have businesses ran by individual clansmen or have business run by the collective effort of multiple clansmen. Nevertheless, that meant jobs were plentiful for the newly arrived Chinaman. He could stay at the kongsi building until he has enough money for his own accommodation.

What seems like a perfect arrangement has its shortcomings. The newly arrived Chinaman was now under the protection of a kongsi. Being this far away from home, the kongsi was now his family and he was willing to sacrifice his life to protect the kongsi. In essence, the kongsi now had men willing to fight for it and thus acted more like a criminal organization (this is debatable) away from the eyes of the British officers. They have become secret societies.

Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple was the headquarters of Kien Teik Tong, a locally created secret society. Kien Teik Tong is not one single kongsi but a combination of kongsis banded together. This makes them one of the more powerful ones in Penang.

Khoo Kongsi and Cheah Kongsi's Temple can be found in Armenian Street too

But the Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple is kinda secluded. I think its seclusion fits well as a Secret Society's headquarters. But here is how you find it:

Walk away from the mural and a little deeper into Armenian Street

On your left you will see a small gate

And you have found it!

But, Kean Teik was not alone. Often they came into conflict with other secret societies. I mean, who likes it when other people come into your turf. Their main enemy is the Ghee Hin Society. However, this rivalry is not only confined to the Chinese only. To make sure they had the upper hand, each secret society went out to find allies, powerful and influential Indian and Malay leaders started taking sides. 

 Secret Society Factions in general 

So as you can see, the Kean Teik got the support of Hai San secret society (Hai San are more active in the Perak rivalry, but that is another tale.) and also the Malay and Indian leaders from Acheh Street which is actually just side by side with Armenian Street.

So when you are standing in Armenian Street, you are standing in the heart of one of the most powerful underground organization Penang has ever known!

This rivalry was no small conflict. In 1867, both the Red Flag and the White Flag went into open fighting. This fighting was so destructive, Georgetown became a war zone for 9 days until reinforcement from Singapore and India came to quell it.

British forces are very limited to stop the riot. The people had to take arms and protect themselves

So, next time you are in Armenian Street, stop by the kongsis and the Hock Teik Cheng Sin Temple, admire the Chinese communal spirit, mercantile success and the evil that follows it.

After the riots, the British had banned Secret Societies. However, rumor has it "The Red Flag still lives".

Next time I will write about Armenian Street's contribution to the fall of the nighty Qing Dynasty in China

 

Windhammer 2014 Entries: Quick Review

Played all the entries in this year's (2014) Windhammer Short Gamebook Competition. Some of the entries are really good and I enjoyed reading them.
Check them out at Windhammer Prize 2014. Please vote and/or comment! It means alot to us!

Now, let me summarize all the entries in one sentence and a picture so you guys know what to expect. In no particular order:


1) The Tomb of Aziris by Sam Beaven
"Go dungeon, get treasure, get out, don't die."

2) Problem? by Andy Moonowl
"FUUUUU!!! Curse the author's devious sense of humor!"

3) Archipelago of Omens by Richard Penwarden
"Screw the story, my character sheet is the coolest thing in this book."

4) The Puttbuster Initiative: Spacetime Golfcrush by Philip Armstrong
"Title says it all, play silly golf in the multidimensional space!"

5) Tales of a Captain: To Recruit a Daemon by Stefano Rochi
"Dragonball-like battle in space, if only I can understand what the author is writing."

6) Path of Heresy by Ivailo Daskalov
"Date a demon."

7) Why Don't They Leave The House? by Nicholas Stillman
"A horror book, very disturbing horror book."

8) The Sacrifice by Paul Struth
"Investigate Occult magic in Victorian London."

9) Castle of Spirits by Tammy Badowski
"Go dungeon, kill boss, get out, don't die."

 

10) The Empire's Edge by Chan Sing Goh
"I wrote it. Rule Britannia!"

Full reviews forthcoming!

Hi There! This is my first post!

Thank you for visiting my blog! Now instead of a lengthy introduction which I would praise myself in a humorous way so you would not think I am a prick, I will break it down in a rhyme:

I love to think when I am bored,
So I type type on my keyboard.
Like to write but am unexplored,
someday a book with an award.

Flintlock pistols and white breeches,
East India Company enriches.
Penang! The pearl! The white beaches,
Past colours like cloth in stitches.

If you like my blog and my post,
Subscribe! so I won't be a ghost.
I'll post more and be a good host,
And to you I will give a toast!