Iāve been reticent to write publicly about Netrunner since I was booted from NISEI, but I canāt deny that Iām finding my way back into the game after a long while away. I guess Iām back in?
I contributed to an upcoming, not-so-secret reskinning project that includes significantly more urchins, libertines, and perfume than Netrunner. More on it as it develops, but Iām thrilled to have been a (paid!) consulting game designer on this fun project.
I had another piece on NetrunnerĀ published this fall, entitledĀ āExploring the Sporting Metagames of Android: Netrunner.ā This was a weird piece to write ā I started it and completed most of it in the week before FFG officially announced their shuttering of the game (so, early June, 2018). Then NISEI started rolling, and I rewrote a lot of it over the subsequent year. Itās in a special issue about āthe sporting mindsetā and I discuss Netrunner from the lenses of fan communities, competitive gaming, money, and memes.
I started streaming NetrunnerĀ at http://twitch.tv/s_c_dĀ ā well, to be fair, I streamed once. And I lost all of my games, making me reticent to do it ever again. But I will, eventually! Maybe?
I bought a ticket for PAX Unplugged next week, and signed up for the East Coast Championships. There are only a handful of spots left if youāre somehow reading this, going to PAX Unplugged and feel like spending all day Saturday playing a ded gaem. Iāve never liked the Penny Arcade bros and have always been wary of their community, but Iād like to play in one NetrunnerĀ event in 2019, and this seems like a wonderful one.
I decided to offer a course on Tabletop Games this coming summer at the University of Virginia where, for the first time ever, I plan to actually teachĀ Netrunner.Ā It will be part of a larger class on understandingĀ āanalog gamesā in game studies, but Iām still giddy at the idea that Iāve figured out a way to slide this game into a course.
Anyway, welcome to my nineteenth Rebirth in the game. Iāll try to post on this thing more regularly in the future, assuming I donāt get sick of the game and/or shunned again.