Many people have asked me this question… Well,..since I have not found an acceptable definition for what that really means (even people undyingly proud to proclaim their "furriness" openly fail to agree on what the definition is, and will even argue with one another as to whether one feels the other is furry or not! Ridiculous...), I simply choose to ignore that topic as being meaningless to my intentions for the product. Am I a “furry”? If every person who asked me that question were to give me their own opinion about the definition of what being a “furry” means in order to help me answer it, then I would be spending the rest of my life merely attempting to respond to each of them with a simple “yes” or a “no”, either of which would be correct depending on their individual definition. What a ludicrous waste of time that would be. What is my definition of “furry”? I have none. I find labels like that tiresome. I have no banner to fly, because banners like that can be used as powerfully for bigotry as they can for solidarity. I prefer people to enjoy my company because of ‘who’ I am, not ‘what’ I am labeled as.
The product's goal is to present a world that others can enjoy, whether they happen to define themselves as "furry" or not... Anthropomorphic animals happen to be something I enjoy for many reasons (the cultural references, the cool traits, the artistically sensual aspects, the very ancient emotional ties to our own attempts to understand the human nature, etc.). I love the way they make me feel. They are evocative on many levels. Because I find them to be so,..I desire to share my vision of them in the product.
But that's not the only thing I enjoy and want to share.
I love the culture of ancient India, Persia, and most of the Far East. It is a shame to see that some of the most beautiful traits of those cultures have been lost or forgotten in this modern age, or have suffered the torturous warpings of "popularity". I may have taken many liberties with them, and have changed some aspects to allow them to blend together in some cases, or to promote the idea that this is an alien world. But because I enjoy these things I wish to incorporate them in the product, and share my envisioned mélange of them to others through Shard's unique setting.
I love the idea of a true role-playing experience, replete with harrowing emotional content, heartless court intrigue, glorious victories, and bitter defeats. So few games that call themselves "role-playing" games actually place an emphasis on each player really getting into playing their character as a role. I LOVE the idea of empowering players with an understanding of how fun such "improvisational theater with rules and dice" can be. And to help this along, I have labored over rich fiction and cinematic content, with as many examples as I can stand to write.
In reality,..Aaron using animal people as the heart of the world's initial ideas struck a cord with me because they are something almost anyone can easily relate to,...and because they are different. Different from almost everything else most fantasy RPGs have to offer... I'm tired of elves and dwarves and orcs... I'm tired of humans...
· I'm a human every day... I want something truly different for my rare moments of escapism.
· I live in the USA. I want to go somewhere different and alien for my precious play-time.
· I have to act like "me" 24-7 almost every day of the week! So when I want to enjoy an RPG, there better be the opportunity for some real role-playing,...otherwise it's not worth my time...
THESE are my intentions for Shard...and the product’s goals… And I believe I share these goals with its co-creator Aaron de Orive.
Scottie
The product's goal is to present a world that others can enjoy, whether they happen to define themselves as "furry" or not... Anthropomorphic animals happen to be something I enjoy for many reasons (the cultural references, the cool traits, the artistically sensual aspects, the very ancient emotional ties to our own attempts to understand the human nature, etc.). I love the way they make me feel. They are evocative on many levels. Because I find them to be so,..I desire to share my vision of them in the product.
But that's not the only thing I enjoy and want to share.
I love the culture of ancient India, Persia, and most of the Far East. It is a shame to see that some of the most beautiful traits of those cultures have been lost or forgotten in this modern age, or have suffered the torturous warpings of "popularity". I may have taken many liberties with them, and have changed some aspects to allow them to blend together in some cases, or to promote the idea that this is an alien world. But because I enjoy these things I wish to incorporate them in the product, and share my envisioned mélange of them to others through Shard's unique setting.
I love the idea of a true role-playing experience, replete with harrowing emotional content, heartless court intrigue, glorious victories, and bitter defeats. So few games that call themselves "role-playing" games actually place an emphasis on each player really getting into playing their character as a role. I LOVE the idea of empowering players with an understanding of how fun such "improvisational theater with rules and dice" can be. And to help this along, I have labored over rich fiction and cinematic content, with as many examples as I can stand to write.
In reality,..Aaron using animal people as the heart of the world's initial ideas struck a cord with me because they are something almost anyone can easily relate to,...and because they are different. Different from almost everything else most fantasy RPGs have to offer... I'm tired of elves and dwarves and orcs... I'm tired of humans...
· I'm a human every day... I want something truly different for my rare moments of escapism.
· I live in the USA. I want to go somewhere different and alien for my precious play-time.
· I have to act like "me" 24-7 almost every day of the week! So when I want to enjoy an RPG, there better be the opportunity for some real role-playing,...otherwise it's not worth my time...
THESE are my intentions for Shard...and the product’s goals… And I believe I share these goals with its co-creator Aaron de Orive.
Scottie