Introducing GalvanicSpiral Creative™!

rocket-launch-galvanicspiralWell readers, the work is done: my new website, GalvanicSpiral Creative, is live and accepting visitors now!

As you will see once you browse over, there’s plenty of content to check out already, but it’s still a bit of a work in progress, so you might see a few changes here and there in the coming weeks.

You will notice some differences right away between the two sites, the biggest being that GalvanicSpiral Creative is focused on far more than just writing. I’m eager to share all of my interests with you, including not only writing, but also gaming and programming. Not every section is quite ready yet, so expect those in the future.

For now, get comfortable and explore the site using the menu bar at the top of the page. In gaming, you will find a link to fan art, such as wallpapers, that I’ve made when hit with inspiration. In software, you’ll be able to download some programs that I’ve written, including StartWAV, a utility that restores the startup/shutdown sounds to Windows 10.

The rest I’ll leave up to you to discover, so get clicking and enter the world of GalvanicSpiral Creative!

NITE Team 4 Kickstarter goes live

If you’ve been following my work over at AdventureGamers.com, you know that since 2015 I’ve been reviewing a series of alternate reality games by Montreal-based developer Alice & Smith called The Black Watchmen, which casts players as an agent of the eponymous agency as they fight paranormal threats around the globe.

A few days ago, Alice & Smith launched a Kickstarter to fund a spin-off hacking-sim game called NITE Team 4. Set in the universe of The Black Watchmen, NITE (Network Intelligence and Technical Evaluation) Team 4 specializes in cyber warfare and the cracking of hardened digital security systems. When they need to get “up close and personal” with a target, NITE Team 4 strike teams are dispatched to carry out infiltration and data extraction in the field.

As you might have already guessed, it sounds a lot like titles such as Uplink and Hacknet, but with the potential for real-world ARG-style interactions and a more realistic focus, as much of the terminology is said to be based directly on NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden. TBW players are already familiar with the command-line-based STINGER hacking platform, and it looks like NT4 will flesh out STINGER while adding some arcade-style minigames into the mix, which you can read more about in my AG.com write-up following the NT4 public alpha release a while back.

Impressively, the Kickstarter received 50% of its funding in less than 24 hours, and the numbers continue to climb. If NITE Team 4 sounds interesting to you, check out the official Kickstarter page or the game’s official web page.

 

K R Parkinson Monogram
– K R Parkinson
NOTE: The opinions and statements in this post are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of AdventureGamers.com or its staff, nor are they made in my capacity as an AdventureGamers.com staff writer.

Writing Prompt Wednesday: Still Alive!

Well, it finally happened. Yours truly got truly busy — and let a Writing Prompt Wednesday slip by without an update. Many apologies for the oversight. Have a few cookies for your trouble:

320px-chocolate_chip_cookies_-_kimberlykv

Now then, let’s get to the belated prompting, shall we? I think we’ll do a collection of story prompts this week. Of course, we’re keeping the Medieval Times theme.

 

Prompt 1

Write a story in which King Arthur and his Knights discover that the holy grail isn’t quite what they thought it would be.

 

Prompt 2

Two words: Steampunk Merlin.

 

Prompt 3

Complete the story:157px-john_william_waterhouse_-_the_crystal_ball

The three old witches sat opposite their King, eyes shut, mouths working to form the words of the spell. Palms facing outward, they pressed their wrists together to form a ‘V’ with their hands, focusing their energy toward the crystal ball placed in the center of the table. Occasionally, one of the old women would groan, straining to maintain her connection to the world of the unseen.

The King leaned forward to peer into the crystal ball. His heart raced with anticipation. If these old crones did what they claimed they could do, today he would…

 


And there you have it, folks. A day late, but as prompting as ever, if I do say so myself. Take care, and have a great week. See you next time!

K R Parkinson Monogram
– K R Parkinson

Photo credits:

Chocolate Chip Cookies by Kimberly Vardeman, used under CC BY 2.0 license.

The Crystal Ball by John William Waterhouse, work in public domain.