2024: A game of life
2024 was a busy year for me and my family. I continued writing for Computer Weekly and IT Pro, but I also started writing for Live Science about the latest advances in technology. I also wrote an eight-page essay for Secret Passages about the creation of Vampire: The Masquerade. This magazine recently achieved twice its funding goal on Kickstarter and will be released in the new year.
Live events were a big part of the year for me. I hosted panels on science fiction and horror at Edge-Lit fiction festival in Derby. While I was there, a friend gave me copies of The Devil’s Web and Michelle Remembers, two books that were at the forefront of promoting the Satanic Panic against gaming in the 1980s. Despite their abhorrent misrepresentation, they are now cultural artifacts and will form part of my ongoing research into gaming.
At Sci-Fi Weekender I braved the main stage to interview several horror writers. Someone commented afterwards that I looked so relaxed – I explained that I was just trying to sink into the chair due to stage-fright! I also interviewed film director Neil Marshall for Geek Pride. I have been a fan of Marshall’s work ever since I saw Dog Soldiers, which he wrote, directed and produced. It is an incredibly written film with authentic dialogue.
I continued writing for Geek Pride and co-hosting the podcast. Some of our podcast guests this year included Jason Reed (creative lead for Shadowrun at Catalyst Games), Dr Megan Connell (psychologist and author of Tabletop Role-Playing Therapy) and David Chapman (developer of The Laundry Files roleplaying game for Cubicle 7).
Most recently I invited writers Tini and Blake Howard onto the podcast, after meeting them at Thought Bubble. It was my first time at this convention, as I was helping Dr Ian Lamond with research into fair pay for comic creators. We were also looking into possible future research subjects that we could collaborate on relating to gender and sexuality in comics.
A new challenge for me this year was expanding into running tabletop roleplaying games. It started with D&D at Elvaston Castle, where I ran a scenario based on local history and folklore, with the story set in Elvaston Castle. A couple of months later I ran a short scenario celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons for Boards and Swords Hobbies, as well as a suitably spooky game of Shiver for them at Halloween. I was also invited back to D&D at Elvaston Castle for their Halloween event.
I feel incredibly lucky being able to incorporate my love of roleplaying games into my job.
Life, the universe and something
My work necessitated several trips to London for conferences this year. On the occasions that I needed to stay over, I was lucky with the hotels: I usually stayed just off Leicester Square and one time I was given the penthouse suite.
Our family holiday this year was exploring castles in Northumberland, including Lindisfarne. The caravan we hired was at the edge of a lake and it was so relaxing to sit outside and play games together on the decking as the sun went down… until a seagull tried to eat our supper!
My eldest took her GCSEs this year and made a big entrance to the school prom in a friend’s army truck. She is now at sixth form studying A-levels. Meanwhile our thirteen-year-old became a prefect and is regularly helping out around the school. Our youngest is keenly learning both Latin and French, and, after a weekend in Paris, is making plans to move there and revamp the metro system when he is older!
I continued going to Kung Fu and gained my blue belt this year. I am currently training for my next belt, which requires a lot more sword practise – something I never complain about. As my teacher explains; if you listen very carefully, you can hear the faint hum of a lightsaber.
After several years’ delay, due to childcare and the pandemic, I got back into live-action roleplay (LARP). I always enjoyed Vampire: The Masquerade LARPs in the 1990s and was keen to return (I even wrote about LARP for the BBC in 2014). The Royal Academy for the Advancement of Arcane Sciences is a social-based LARP set in dark academia. I naturally gravitated towards playing a field researcher heavily inspired by Indiana Jones – because, who wouldn’t?
Now that our eldest is sixteen and has offered to occasionally look after her brothers, Caelia and I have been able to see bands together. The Noname was a surprisingly excellent punk band from China, but the highlight had to be seeing Wednesday 13 playing Murderdolls songs at Nottingham Rock City (it’s just a shame that the venue no longer has rock nights…)
In April I met Dacre Stoker again, after he visited Derby to present a series of talks about Derby’s connection with Dracula: the stage version of Dracula was first performed in Derby a hundred years ago.
For Halloween, I dressed as Severen, from Near Dark, to take part in the March of the Vampires in Derby. As the event’s name implies, everyone dressed as a vampire and marched down Sadler Gate in Derby. It was great fun.
Read, watched and recommended
I rarely go to the cinema these days, but I did make a point of watching Alien: Romulus there, as I am a fan of the series. Romulus, perhaps wisely, is set between Alien and Aliens, but takes narrative cues from all the films. Unfortunately, all these callbacks created the feeling of it being overly derivative, which is a shame, as the film shone when it told us something new about the setting.
One film I especially enjoyed was The Batman. I was initially disinterested as the Batman character feels over-used and I was not a fan of Robert Pattinson. However, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Batman, as it leans into the detective part of the character and presented a realistic approach to Batman’s gadgets.
I finally watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves and absolutely loved it. To be fair, I would have been surprised if I did not. The film was obviously created by people who have a lot of love for the game and understand the hobby. The characters were all brilliantly played and it would be great to see a sequel with the same actors all playing different roles.
We continued watching two excellent series: Only Murders in the Building and The Boys. However, my favourite series of this year has to be Supacell. It is grounded superhero story set in London, about five people discovering they have superpowers. I regularly visit London and the creator Rapman accurately portrayed the capital and its people.
Two shows we adored, but were subsequently cancelled, were Kaos and Dead Boy Detectives. Kaos is a modern reinterpretation of Greek myths. Its portrayal of the mythic in the mundane, which it used to tell a great story, reminded us a lot of The Almighty Johnsons. Meanwhile, Dead Boy Detectives was a tale of two ghost detectives and was filled with wonderfully bizarre characters, especially Jenny (Briana Cuoco) and Niko (Yuyu Kitamura).
Star Wars television continued to explore different aspects of the setting. The Acolyte presented a nuanced view of the Jedi that demonstrated their willingness to misinterpret facts (“From a certain point of view”) for personal gain. Meanwhile, Skeleton Crew seemed like a cross between The Goonies and Lost in Space, but set in the Star Wars universe. It was also brilliantly realised ‘kids on (speeder) bikes’ tale. Although the stakes were not as high as usual for Star Wars, it was always engaging.
On the subject of Star Wars, I had a lot of fun playing Jedi – Survivor. It is a continuation of Cal Kestis’s journey that started in Jedi – Fallen Order, with many of the cast returning. It is like a cross between Tomb Raider and Assassin’s Creed, but the lightsaber mechanics are an absolute joy.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is set in an alternative version of the Chornobyl exclusion zone, which has been gloriously recreated in this first-person survival game. It is punishingly difficult, but exploring the exclusion zone is an amazing experience.
Like many people my age, the Indiana Jones films were a formative part of my childhood, so I was waiting for the release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with eager anticipation. Given the hype surrounding the game, I was pleased to discover that it more than lives up to expectations. The quips, dialogue and combat make you feel like you are Indiana Jones. Even the iconic shadow of Indy, with his fedora, battered leather jacket and bullwhip, is perfectly recreated.
For Geek Pride, I reviewed the novel Jessica Jones: Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell. Although it was not based on the Jessica Jones television series, the themes and dialogue feel very much inspired by it. Jewell wove a fantastic tale that was combined with a clear understanding of the character.
At Halloween I read the excellent horror comic series Revival, by Tim Seeley. It is best described as rural noir, as the dead start to come back to life at a small town in central Wisconsin. The setting and characters are brilliantly realised, with careful use of horror, so it never becomes overwhelming.
I have been enjoying James Tynion IV’s writing ever since Memetic, but W0Rldtr33 has to be my favourite so far. Set in the modern day, W0Rldtr33 follows a group of friends as they discover a secret architecture to the Internet. It is a story about the unintended consequences of technology; a theme that always interests me.
Back to the Future
2025 is promising to be a busy year for me. I have already been commissioned to write articles for IT Pro and Live Science in January.
The biggest news is that, as part of Dracula Returns to Derby, I will be organising a Vampire Games Day and a Vampire LARP next year. I will also be giving a talk about Dracula’s influence on roleplaying games at the Dracula Conference in May. Personally, 2025 promises to be the Year of the Vampire.
In February, I will be presenting a workshop at the UK Ghost Story festival about the tools of writing, as well as attending Technology Live in London. Then, a few weeks later, I will be at Sci-Fi Weekender for more panels and general geekiness. Later in Spring there will be another D&D at Elvaston Castle.
And somehow, in the midst of all this, I will be celebrating my 50th birthday. It has still not yet sunk in that I will be 50 next year, but I suspect that is mostly due to denial. I would start acting my age, but I am just having too much fun.
For now, I am enjoying the festive holidays with some much-needed quiet time with my family and a lot of new books to read.
Peter Ray Allison
December 2024, somewhere in the vicinity of Derby (currently twinned with Transylvania).
