Just something that's been on my mind for a little while now, a post-apocalyptic story involving Steampunks and Backhacks. And they are NOT friends.

Steampunks are a fairly well-known concept these days, but their definition is a bit loose. More or less they're an offshoot of the Goth fashion movement based on the height of the Victorian industrial era. My personal interpretation is that Steampunks are tough, gritty, industry-minded workers and fighters. Their cities hang thick with smog, and they consider the use of electricity to be heresy; in some extreme cases, even punishable by death. Their attitude is more or less, "What, you got a problem with smoke? Then put on a goddamn gas mask or deal with it, either way shut the Hell up."

Backhacks are my own creation, the faction I'd belong to in this world, and pretty much the polar opposites of Steampunks. Backhacks are totally and completely immersed in retro-tech, stuff like old DOS-based and other console-type computers, wires instead of wireless, all blended together with things like 1920s wireless radios, telephones, etc. They live underground in what used to be bunkers, but over time their mining equipment has enlarged the bunkers into vast caverns housing subterranean citadels. Of course, excessive use of technology has led their bodies to decay somewhat, and they're not generally of sturdy stock like the Steampunks. They also consider electricity to be the only option for a power source, more out of necessity than anything; living underground, air purification is a high concern. The use of fossil fuels is one of the worst crimes any Backhack can commit.

So yeah, that's more or less all I've got: basic societal structure. We'll see if it goes anywhere, but I've got a feeling that, like many of my ideas, it'll end up being an incomplete thought, unable to be filled out or attached to anything. Ah well, creation is creation.

Hm, other news? I started playing Battlefield Heroes recently, which is tons of fun; it takes team versus warfare in the form of a stylized parody of WWII, and turns it into something comic, light-hearted, and generally enjoyable. The ability to ride in vehicles is also a welcome feature, since you can either drive/fly the vehicle yourself, or hop in a passenger seat and provide gun support for your teammate. Some of the "emoticon" actions are also hilarious. You get to chicken-wing-taunt the other players. Or your own teammates, if you want. Yeah. XD

I also finally, FINALLY got around to making the second tune in an album I'm composing, Phantasy Star IV Unleashed. Basically I'm doing remixes of all 40+ of the tunes from the soundtrack of Phantasy Star IV, my all-time favorite retro game. I'm getting much better at arrangement, and am really starting to understand the concepts of sound, music and harmonics.

I think that covers it. I've also re-opened an old project idea of mine for dA here... In fact, I think I'll go work on that now. Llllllllllater! ^^