It’s funny and almost ironic, how watching Robotech in the early 80’s would lead to me getting involved and then playing Battletech in the mid–late 80’s as a fan of what would become the Federated Commonwealth. Battletech had led me (eventually) to playing the Robotech RPG.
As crazy as it sounds, I played RPG’s alone. Even before there were others. Before Battletech or Robotech, going even further back, there was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel Superheroes, Villains and Vigilantes and even before that, the big one: Dungeons & Dragons. Sticking to stringent self-imposed guidelines, I would create scenarios and adventures for RPG and pilot my characters by the rules (my rules) win or lose emphasizing the narrative of play.
As easy as you would think it would be to cheat, I didn’t. I would make decisions for enemies and allies alike based on the characters attributes, personalities, sides or alignments.
Yes, I realize how this sounds, but I had a blast. The awkwardness of being a tween, then teenager and a young adult after that revealed that I was just an awkward guy in general but I loved a good story and when it came to RPG’s, a good story was always at my disposal inside my head.
In my 20’s I discovered and got interested in punk-rock music, bands, art, creative writing and producing zines. In 2012, I would enter a semi-retired state and discover the app/game that would become War Robots around 2015.
Since War Robots has always existed with minimal back-story or narrative, I have devoted much of my time once again, creating my own narrative for the game. Over the last couple years, my interest in War Robots has brought me to become a Gundam fan and lead me back to Battletech.
Currently, despite the recent downs, I am still a regular player of War Robots and continue my self-made, unauthorized fan-fiction narrative (and will continue to do so) because throughout all these years I remain driven by a good story… If one doesn’t exist, then I will create one…
I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the new Battletech Box Set that is slated for a 2018 release by Catalyst Games and who knows, I might even play the game with others this time!
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Fighting Wars With War is part of my self-narrative for War Robots that explains the concept of regular gameplay.
Bad Day at The Plastic Mines 