So a New Year is upon us, and it's time to do one of those year-in-review things. God knows this blog is enough of a self-indulgence as it is, so a little more mental masturbation can't hurt. Here are the top 10 most-commented upon entries for Monsters & Manuals in 2009, in descending order.
Joint 9th - Gaming Advice #1: Don't Be a Dickhead and Metal and Gaming (25 comments). The former a summation of my gaming philosophy and the latter a short musing on the association between musical genres and RPGs. I've since decided that though I declared that "I hate metal" in the second of these entries, there's a good case to be made I don't. I like hardcore, I like grunge, I like desert rock/stoner rock, I like space rock, and I like alternative metal, so perhaps I should have just said "I hate Metallica".
Joint 7th - Cool Cultures (26 comments), in which I (among other things) wonder why in geek culture Japan is cool but Poland isn't, and U-turning on Tolkien, where we have a love-in with China Mieville on how great Tolkien is, which puts entry number 1 into perspective.
6th - Bummed Out on Fantasy Lit (27 comments), a "pitiful whine" about the dearth of quality in the fantasy genre, which seemed to touch a nerve. I wish I could update the entry with pleasent news about some great new discovery, but the major foray into new territory for me things year (Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen) ended in disaster after some early promise. Since then I've stuck to Gene Wolfe, GRRM and Mieville.
5th - On Warhammer, British vs. American Fantasy, and Pessimism (30 comments), in which I compared the bleakness of British approaches to fantasy with the quintessentially Optimistic Individualist American D&D.
Joint 3rd - The Children are our Future! and Top 10 Things that have Pissed Me Off about Roleplaying This Year (31 comments). Two rather depressing entries - about the hobby's future and its current state of play, respectively. Why do I play RPGs, again?
2nd - This is all very Ridiculous Shaped (36 comments). I managed to cut down on all the ranting this year, I feel. Here's one of the rare blasts that got through the net.
1st - No Revolutionary Socialism, Please, I'm an Escapist (87 comments). When I penned this rant about China Mieville I had no idea it would turn into an epic debate about art, socialism, nerdrage and war. Just goes to show.
So, using the data provided here, we can conclude that the most discussion-provoking post possible for 2009 would be something along the lines of "I Played 4e With China Mieville and JRR Tolkien After Adopting An Unpopular Political Ideology And Deciding That Several Areas of Cultural Endeavor Which You All Have Vested Interests In Are, At This Moment, Lacklustre--And Liked It".
ReplyDeletei couldn't resist. i just went and posted on tolkien vs. mieville debate. it had pull of a black hole squatting at the heart of creation.
ReplyDeleteZak S: That's what I was planning for tonight's entry.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: That post is a powder keg, like the Balkans circa 1913.
My most-read post remains the one where I had the temerity to suggest the 1st edition DMG wasn't very good. Rants are popular, it seems.
ReplyDeleteIt's because everyone loves the opportunity it brings to air their own opinion. I know I find it hard to resist!
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ReplyDeleteThose posts were fun. You need to maintain the same ratio of rant to content in 2010.
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