My husband and I had a conversation this afternoon about boots, more specifically Dr. Martens, and even more specifically, my 20 eye Dr. Martens that I bought for wicked cheap this summer. When they arrived I was so excited to wear them, but then I remembered that thing about Dr. Martens: breaking them in is an ordeal–a painful ordeal no matter how you do it. So it wasn’t until the past couple of weeks that I started the process. I conditioned them with some pleasantly industrial smelling leather conditioner and began with just wearing them around the house. Then I wore them to a friend’s house, where I promptly took them off for the evening. The next day I brought them with me to the Vampire LARP I participate in. My character typically wears another pair of tall lace-up boots I own, and so I never wore them until after the game. [As an aside, one of the things I love about larping is that you might find yourself pondering the significance of a character’s footwear. It will be an interesting  evolution when Rashida becomes someone who would wear Dr. Martens.] And now, today, I walked to town in my fancy boots, which in all honesty, are not made for walking just yet.

So maybe you’re wondering to yourself, Julia, nice boots, but what does this have to do with game design? Well, there’s the simple answer: I trudged downtown in my handsome torture devices in the disguise of fine footwear to update my website and work on What to Do About Tam Lin. This new project, a collaborative effort between Emily Care Boss and me was accepted to Fastaval, in Århus, Denmark. It will debut at Intercon in Chelmsford, MA in March, and all slots are FULL! Not bad for a game that isn’t done yet, for a game from which I am taking a quick break to tell you about at this very moment.

I’ve never been interested in collaborative design. Perhaps it’s because my other other creative endeavor is knitting, and collaborative knitting (other than using a pattern someone already made) is…weird, but I really quite enjoy writing with Emily. Among our little group of Western Massachusetts RPG makers, we have an interest in jeepform, larp, and improvisational theater, and we have different experiences within those areas. It makes for a very well rounded foundation on which to build.

And while I’m here actually talking about games, I should tell you that last week we played Tales of the Fisherman’s Wife at JiffyCon, and ended up with a sexy, romantic story that ended happily. It doesn’t happen often with Fisherman’s Wife, especially in convention games with 6 players and a GM facilitating. Fisherman’s Wife is supposed to be sexy and occasionally scary game about fisherman, their wives, and the demons who love them. It seems to play out more as a scary game where the fisherman and wife break up in the end, unable to endure the demands the demons place on their loyalty and sanity and souls. I didn’t quite expect that, although it’s a pleasant surprise. I also didn’t expect that where I set out to design an intimate game for two people and no GM, it is that and a wickedly fun game that more than holds its own with up to six players and a GM who functions mostly as a narrator to help push the action along.

This game surprises me at every turn, really. I thought it would be done by August 2009, but life dictated otherwise. The delay has given me a chance to really flesh it out and get on a realistic publishing deadline, even with the ambitious plan to have a commissioned cover, a bibliography and filmography, and even a few more demon examples. Oh, and it’s going to be a full color cover and text. It’s going to be a very beautiful book.

Metaphorically, perhaps my game design is approaching that stage in wearing Dr. Martens where they’re comfortable and easy to wear, but there’s still a lingering little sore that reminds youof how far you’ve come, and how you still need some experience. Yeah, that works. Maybe I just wanted to show you my hot boots. I’m not telling. And sure I could have just said all that at the beginning of the post, but my aching feet are front and center in my consciousness, because I have to walk home. (I actually brought some shoes in case I couldn’t do it in the boots, but I might take the chance.)

* Trivial footnote: My boots do not have the trademark yellow stitching, but are in fact authentic Docs. They don’t have convenient zippers. You have to lace them up every time. I don’t have a metaphor for that.