Custom Content Spotlight: NWNCQ

If you've been living under a rock, you may have missed the latest awesome custom content. Well, I say latest, but it's been around for a while, steadily picking up steam. It's called NWNCQ, and it's an overhaul of stock BioWare tilesets. There's some other goodies like reskinned placeables, but most of the fun comes from seeing old gross areas that looked dated even in 2002 suddenly looking new and wondrous again. I decided to test it out on my all-time favorite server, Nexus: the City Between Worlds.



The screenshot above was taken in an area designed with using the standard Rural tileset. Oh, and you're only seeing two or three placeables (the campfire and the mushrooms) in all of that. While you pick your jaw up off the floor, lemme say this is because the idea of NWNCQ is to create environments that look incredibly detailed without the builder having to crowd it with placeables. You can get a thick, tangled forest using only the features included in the stock tileset. Additionally, since the detail is confined to the tileset, you don't have to worry nearly as much about pathfinding lag as you would have with a horde of placeables.



Probably the greatest thing about NWNCQ is that it's available in both hak and override form. This means you can incorporate it into your module, or have it incorporated into any module you play. Hence why I can hop onto a running server and see the beautiful content without having to get the admins to install it.

chico400, creator of NWNCQ, has incorporated some good design into the project to make it painless to use. First, override versions of the tilesets make it possible to walk through trees, rocks, and other added details, so you don't have to worry about places formerly accessible now being unreachable. The hak version doesn't do this, since you're planning on building with it and can work within its constraints.

Second, he includes a batch utility to selectively activate or deactivate overrides. While you could just delete the files of a particular tileset that you don't like, chico's utility puts it aside in a special folder. This is particularly good if, say, you want the updated look for one module but not another. Activate it before you play the first module, then deactivate it when you want to play the second.

Performance is very smooth, even with shadows and anti-aliasing, and chico has tried very hard to ensure that fading geometry works well. The end effect is that you have very organic areas that still run well and are a pleasure to play in.

Other features of the package include pseudo-bloom...



...pseudo-bumpmapping...



...animated lens flares...



... and nicer textures.







In short, it's easy, it's painless, and it brings old yucky areas back to life... whatever module you play on. Try it out!

Which sucks more?

NWN2 or HP computers?

I got to test run Casa's Middleforest module and it's coming along nicely. The lighting is beautiful, and the city has a nice variety of pretty and grungy. I can enjoy it more now that I'm getting a little more used to getting the camera to do what I want, and I was actually able to get around Rungholdt without getting stuck this time. However, I did get a pretty bad problem after playing for a while.

My wireless card got uninstalled!

What? Well, it turns out the system board got so overheated playing the game that the soldering holding the wireless card onto it melted, and it detached from the board. Wow! So is that NWN2's fault for having obscenely poor performance on minimum settings? Or is it HP's fault for making their computers out of stuff flimsier than cardboard? This is the second time this has happened to me, but now the extended warranty I bought has lapsed and I can't send it in to be repaired.

The real kicker: I managed to fix the issue by playing NWN2 some more. It melted the solder back and so now I am using a wireless-capable computer once again.

Control! You must learn control! - Social Insanity, Part 3

This is the third post in a series that will look at different components of the amorphous blob called society and how they're relative to Shadows & Silver and to realistic game worlds in general. Last time we discussed gender stratification. Today's topic: Social Control.

Social control is the mechanism society uses to maintain the order necessary for its continuation. Society doesn't like to change; it formed the way it did for a reason, and it has evolved means with which to ensure its continued existence.

There are two basic types of social control. The first is internal control, in which a person is indoctrinated in the values of his society and left to control himself. The second is external control, in which an outside entity (usually an authority figure) provides incentives or deterrents to bring about the desired behaviors in a person.

Internal control is the first defense of society, and often the most effective. Consider, for example, two men who have a grievous disagreement. Will they resort to murder to win their argument? It's unlikely, as evidenced by the fact that many people have such disagreements while few people are murderers. But might we say that this is because of the penalty for murder imposed by the government? To consider this, let us suppose that the two men are spirited away to a far off land, devoid of other people, of law, and of punishment. What will become of them? Will one choose to take the life of the other, will they find a way to settle their dispute, or will they go their separate ways?

Of course, we cannot know the answer for any given man; I can, though, find the answer if I am one of the men in question. If it were me in that far-off land, how would I conduct myself? Would I bow to a law within in the lack of a law without? I would indeed. And since I am, I suppose, an average member of this thing called society, I may then suppose that the average man would do likewise. And so I may conclude that the law that controls the average man from within is more powerful than that which controls him from without.

I have been taught, as have others, to conduct myself in an orderly manner and to treat my fellows as I would wish to be treated. While, in my case and in that of many others, that conviction is of a religious sort, this is not the case with everyone. The urge to control ourselves is as much a practical urge as it is a religious one. We have found that, by co-existing peacefully, we lead better lives than if we did not. Furthermore, we may conduct our affairs without constantly guarding against the malice of others because we may assume that others abide by the same rules that we do.

The manifestations of internal control are two-fold. First, it appears as the action of a conscience, that part of our mind which tells us what we do not wish to hear. When I go to act as I wish, my conscience steps in and reminds me to act as I ought. Second, it appears as the fear of rejection from society. I also act as I ought for fear that I may displease others and so forsake the social bonds I have formed with them if I act as I wish. These two things allow me to control myself unconsciously.

But if internal social control is so effective, why do we need to resort to external control? We often speak of deviants, or criminals, who forsake the values of society to the detriment of others. External control can be both the punishment of the anti-social and the reward of the social. A parent who spanks his child for wrong-doing exhibits external social control, as does one who gives him a cookie for doing what is right. From an early age, this sort of control instills in us a sense that doing what we ought will lead us to pleasure and that doing as we wish will lead us to pain. External control thus results in our ability to control ourselves.

But the very existence of government tells us that the external control of our parents does not always result in people who can govern their own actions. Perhaps it is the result of improper parenting. Perhaps it is the result of a particularly willful or unsociable mind. Whatever the case, some people do not internalize the control exhibited by their parents and become social outcasts. Those who do so in a way not physically harmful to others are considered simply deviant, while those others are considered criminal. At times the lines are blurred depending on how the society views harm. In any case, society then takes it upon itself to correct the slight through sanctions whether physical or social. Perhaps it is incarceration or a fine. Perhaps it is the refusal of others to socialize with the outcast. Whatever the case, society ensures that it will not tolerate the behavior of the outcast until he internalizes the external control that society provides.

So what are we to make of all of this, and how are we to apply it to the game? There are many applications of the concept which we will begin discussing in later posts. For now, however, let's consider social control in the case of gender roles.

Gender roles persist because society has instituted social controls to enforce the order that maintained its existence for so long. There are internal controls in the form of values (e.g., "a woman's place is in the home") and deterrents (e.g., "what will people think of me if I don't marry?"). There are also external controls in the form of societal pressures (e.g., women who buck the social order are looked down upon), incentives (e.g., praise for "the virtuous woman"), and laws (e.g., women are not allowed to vote, own property, etc.). Even if the laws were to be changed, the internal values get passed on for generations, meaning a society based on ensuring the safety and domestication of women will remain the same de facto if not de jure.

Lore snippet: Nerathul society developed in the wastes of the eastern Plain. The need for strong leaders resulted in a paternalistic society. The treatment of women varied across the vast lands of the Nerathim, but classical Nerathul society emphasizes respect for parents of both genders. In that societal model, motherhood and fatherhood are regarded with equal reverence. Thus, each woman is expected by society to strive to bear children. A woman who does bear children is accorded legal status and, unlike in Adunay, may own property. An unmarried woman or one with no children, however, is considered worthless and a shame to her husband. Of course, a woman who has children and abandons them to seek a career breaks the code of parenthood, so the opportunities for women in Nerath are still limited.

Conclusion

Social control, as the mechanism by which society maintains itself, should have a prominent role in any realistic gameworld. Consider what sorts of internal and external control are present in your world, both for NPCs and for PCs, in order to make the society function. Doing this will go a long way towards helping you understand the psychology of your society.

My Fair Lady - Social Insanity, Part 2

This is the second post in a series that will look at different components of the amorphous blob called society and how they're relative to Shadows & Silver and to realistic game worlds in general. Last time we discussed racism. Today's topic: Gender Roles.

I remember when one of my college history courses covered the American feminist movement. At one point the professor asked for all the girls in the class that were feminists to raise their hands. Out of the 70 or so girls in the class, only two did.

"Do you mean to tell me," the professor asked, "that only two of you are in favor of a woman's right to vote or to own property or have any legal status whatsoever?"

One student responded, "Well, everybody wants that. We just mean we're not bra-burning lesbians."

As society has rolled along, feminism has moved from the equal rights movements of the turn of the century to the militant feminism of the 60's and 70's to the emphasis on democratic reform we find so often today. Feminism today has different implications than it has in the past. But while the connotations and specifics have changed, the overall situation remains the same. After millennia of struggles, try as we might, there's still gender inequality, both de facto and de jure, both at home and abroad.

Curious, then, how we seem to conquer the issue so easily in fantasy worlds.

Perhaps it's the idealism that finds its way into fantasy, the same sort of worldview that results in black and white depictions of morality. Surely, if the land espouses all that is noble and just, it will support equal rights for women and everything will be wonderful, right? In fantasy we so often seek to fix the ills of society only to replace them with ham-fisted lessons about how good will triumph over evil. We force contemporary worldviews on a society apparently so backwards that it's managed to remain in a feudal state for thousands of years, then don't even stop to think about the implications. If your fantasy world doesn't assume gender stratification, you're missing a valuable opportunity for roleplay and powerful storytelling.

How did gender stratification begin? Sociologists usually assume it was a natural outgrowth of biological capabilities: men, being stronger took on the role of provider and protector, while women, as the bearers of children, took on the domestic roles that kept them close to home, protected as a valuable resource in the continuation of the species. Social evolution, in other words. Those societies that didn't develop in this way put women at risk, decreasing the chance that enough women would bear children for the society to survive.

This makes sense for a hunter-gatherer society, but why should gender stratification still exist after society transitioned to agriculture and the need for dangerous hunting was removed? And, even more vexing, why does it still exist in contemporary society where women are just as physically qualified as men for most jobs?

We can find one possible answer within Conflict Theory, a sociological discipline which was introduced by Karl Marx in Das Kapital. Marx focuses on the relationship between the bourgeoisie (business owner) and the proletariat (worker). The former controls all the wealth and power while the latter can only obtain wealth and power by serving his bourgeois master. The classes are therefore in conflict; the stronger exploits the weaker to increase his own wealth. We can extend the theory to gender roles: the man, supported by his physical power, exploits the woman. In a world dominated by men, women can only succeed where they bend to men's will, thus making the men even stronger.

Conflict theory is not the only answer we might turn to, however. Talcott Parsons expands on Emile Durkheim's theory of Functionalism, which states that society is the way it is because things serve a useful function. That stratification serves a useful function in the survival of hunter-gatherer humanity is not in dispute, so what function might the contemporary or agrarian society have fulfilled with gender stratification? We might suppose that, through evolution (whether social or biological) women were better suited to fulfilling a more passive role in society, having traits that made them better at their role. The theory goes that women are (whatever the bra-burning lesbians argue) more suited to the careful and nurturing role than are men.

People often bristle when they hear this statement. It's important to make the distinction, though, that we're talking about advantage, not about necessity. What do I mean? Simply that just because a woman's hormones and physical structure make her gentler doesn't mean that she should serve as a housewife, seamstress, or other passive role. It only means she is more capable of it than a man, whose biology and physiology makes him harder, less patient, and more aggressive.

But surely, nature is not all there is to the debate. There's nurture as well: how society has sculpted our personalities, our identities, and our view of gender roles. Girls like pink not because there is some biological imperative that says they must, but because society tells them they should like pink. The same goes for boys and blue. You're ostracized if you deviate from the norm. (The most formative socialization of this sort that occurs is in childhood interactions. As adults, we often decide we'll do what makes us happy, and to hell with the world if it doesn't like it. As children, though, we have a deep psychological need to feel included, part of a larger group. Hence why being popular is so important in high school and so un-important in later life.) Functionalism tells us, though, that society evolved its roles because they fit the biological and social needs of the time. So the perceived social role is only important to society in that it fulfills a need.

But wait! Do those old social roles still fulfill a need? Different cultures stem from different societies, so, surely, sometimes they do. In contemporary America, though, society has changed dramatically. The family structure is beginning to disintegrate. Our divorce rate is over 50%, and more than 25% of American children live in single-parent homes. In addition, the living standard of the average American family is dropping dramatically, requiring even married partners both to leave the home and work just to break even. More and more, the role of the woman as the caretaker of children is exchanged for the role of provider and, unfortunately, she still is not seen as capable of providing, though necessity dictates she must be.

We can't solve the ills of society in a little blog post. But, by extension, neither can we solve them in a game. And really, should we? If conflict is the center of storytelling, isn't the base conflict of woman versus the limitations of society compelling? I've seen character backstories by the truckload that deal with a woman being driven to a life of adventure to escape the chains of an arranged marriage, and nine times out of ten, the conflict stops there. Women in fantasy, it seems, are only chained by society at some distant point in the past. They make a decision to not be the puppets of men and then everything is roses from there. Surely, fantasy is a wondrous thing!

How can we change this? How can we be more compelling?

It starts off small. A little incredulity on the part of men upon seeing a woman out of her socially accepted role goes a long way. She may be ostracized by some or thought incompetent at the least. And some may think her blasphemous. In a society where women are seen as fit only to bear children, cook, and clean, what else would you expect? Those who assume a more egalitarian stance should be few and far between. Men are pricks, and they should be portrayed as such.

In S&S, the treatment of women varies. In Adunay, though, women are barred from serving in the military (except in the capacity of a secretary or nurse), are not admitted to universities, and are rarely if ever allowed to work in professional roles. In the city, most women do menial labor in factories, hire out as servants, or become prostitutes. Those who show exceptional ability may become a nurse, but that's about as far as they can go in the workplace. Even upper class women are treated as second-class citizens. A woman can own property only as long as she is unmarried and has no brothers or sons over sixteen; in those cases, the husband, brother, or son owns it. A woman who inherits money often chooses to stay unmarried to retain legal independence. This, of course, relieves her of whatever good reputation society allowed her to have in the first place.

Being a woman in S&S takes strength. Being a woman and an adventurer, doubly so. The conflict that births that strength should be played up, not down; such resolve in the face of injustice is the thing people tell stories about long after things have changed... if they ever do.