The Locke-r Arcade (& Friends)

A collection of notes and tales related to a fictional arcade, its vaguely prophetic proprietor, and an invasive species of aliens.

[cabinetcorps]

The Locke-r Arcade's Origin

In the beginning, there was Desmond Locke, his Gameboy, Tetris, and the girl who offered cash money to give it a go.

[cabinetcorps]

Angus Grimmolf

Not actually my character, but he's grown into a big presence in the setting, and I forget easily so here's some chatter on him. (Yeah, trust nothing in this to be accurate. I haven't thought about him in awhile.)

In the original drafts, Angus wasn't conceived until partway through A Game of Extinction, when I first put to word the Second Wave from the kehrtal. By that measure, he didn't exist until after I had thoughts about Pyravol, a parallel story to A Game of Extinction that collides into the main storyline when things dice-y for the whole of Earth. He belongs to a friend that doesn't use Tumblr, and I actually don't know his preferred online moniker.

Anyway, Angus himself is, to memory (don't quote on me for this) mixed descent of Scottish, Irish, or Welsh, born and raised in the United States. In A Game of Extinction, he's a freelance game developer that plays War Height in his free time and stumbles into being one of the Graruuk faction's top players.

Speaking of which, the Graruuk faction also belongs to my friend and not I.

His other hobbies include working out and some form of martial art. The man is fit, built, and does pretty well in a fight. He's not the kind of guy you want to be your enemy.

He's a sort of friend to Lazar and an ally to the Lirc faction in spite of the fact that he's also the first person to acquire an annihilation victory against them. When reminded of it and the effects, he feels guilty about it.

[hollowsentinel]

Heck It, 4am Locke-r Content

Am I rehashing as I am wont to do to myself IRL? Possibly.

The name comes from Desmond Locke, the proprietor of the arcade, and the fact he started it out of his high school locker with a Gameboy. He at least ends up dating his first customer, a lady whose name eludes me and was denied leisure activities that interested her. They may or may not marry, and in at least one story, she plays a role in the business of greenlighting/promoting out-of-house derivative works and fan content.

Currently there are three eras: one centered on a horror genre mech simulation, one centered on a psuedo-RTS/4X with persistent growth and many linked derivative games, and one centered on a VRMMORPG in the future and set after the deaths of several characters in the preceding eras. In addition, there is one derivative story set concurrent with the second era and provides an escape from doom. It has nothing to do with games and is instead about fire, the components thereof, and related metaphors about everything having value, working together, and sharing one's load before it breaks them.

Language and communication are key to all the stories, though more blatantly and depressingly the second and third eras.

Mm, end dump.

[cabinetcorps]

Lirc: Age Demographics

This is not a good post to start this blog, but I really want this thought on record: the council that leads the Lirc is largely around Lazar's age or younger. Haniel is the exception, but she's also literally part monster (spirit, whatever). Lazar is in his early to mid twenties by the time kehrtal (I need to check that spelling) start properly invading. A once-major player in the war is led by women who are barely suited to their position. And yet, they are also the most capable.

Following this line of thinking, that means the common troops are even younger and even more inexperienced. The majority of the Lirc faction are barely adults at best and children at worst. And it feels terrible to do to them, but it falls in line with the sort of horror I want to convey with them. And it puts more burden on Lazar's shoulders.