For all of us, whether we're gamers or not, there's one exciting piece of technology to look forward to playing with.
As the prices have begun to come down, I've started thinking loosely about my campaign to get a 3d printer. Some current considerations...
1. How cheap does a 3d printer have to be before I can justify having one in the house?
2. Will there be one that will make use all of the old plastic wargames figures, kids' toys, game pieces and other assorted bits and bobs that fill up my house to allow me to make new (and of course vital) plastic wargames figures, kids toys, game pieces and other assorted bits and bobs? Or are am I going to have to buy more plastic?
3. Can I get one to make use of the plastic bottles that I spend time seperating from paper, metal and garden material which are currently collected and sent off for recycling? If I could, I would recycle from bottles to plastic playing pieces, both saving the planet and myself money at the same time. I would also then recycle the plastic bin that the plastic bottles are currently collected from to save space in front of my home.
4. I've noticed that as I get older, I find it harder to use new technology. I understand what the newtech is supposed to do but I find that I need a younger person to actually make the kit work... something to do with planned obsolescence of older people I think. How young will a person need to be to actually make a 3d printer work?
5. Home manufacturing proves that the future is really here. So where's my flying car?
The gamer can take inspiration from plenty of different places, including subjects studied at school...
Richard the Third and Macbeth were the two Shakespeare plays I have had the pleasure of studying. Both of these offer ideas and atmosphere for gamers, including "What If" scenarios. The inspiration behind today's strip is of course William Shakespeare's 450th birthday- can you imagine the scale of cake needed for 450 candles? Probably the size equivalent of his second best bed, famously left by Will to his wife Anne Hathaway. Would she have prefered a bed size cake instead?
I have a couple of recommendations at this point;
a) If you've not seen it, look out for the film version of Richard the Third starring Magneto Ian McKellen set in an alternative 1930s fascist England. The plot is unchanged, but the film has a great look, McKellen is terrific..
b) If you enjoy alternative history fiction, try Ruled Brittania by Harry Turtledove. Here William Shakespeare writes for the theatre in an England conquered by the Spanish Armada.
Happy Shakespeare's birthday.
There are so many great blogs and websites on the internet for the gamer to explore and draw inspiration from. Its also very easy to get sucked in and lose track of time....
I'm often going to bed much later than planned, but not fallen asleep in front of the screen.............. yet!
