I've got a Deano, now I just need a Sammy and a Vegas show....

Well, I’m back from vacay and kicking it raw yo!

In layman’s terms, that means I’m back to working on the upcoming update. Lots of good stuff, but, like most of you, I grow tired of promises. I want results dammit!

Well, no worries kids. It’s coming. Fact is, I don’t like to rush things and throw together updates just for the sake of saying that I update my site on a regular basis. Raptor Squad has always been about quality, pure and simple. From the artwork which I’ve tried to improve over the years- from crude pencil sketches that, looking back now make me wince- to the fiction that started out as lifeless gamelogs with as much entertainment value as a brochure for a deck cleaning service that has morphed into full-fledged fiction that numbers in the hundreds, if not thousands of pages.

Yeah, I don’t skimp when it comes to Raptor Squad.net. And for good reason too! We are one of the last remaining Star Wars RPG campaign-oriented sites still left out there. For some that may not mean a hill of beans, but to those who played the game, who created characters that lived and breathed (and yeah, died) it still means something. At least I know it does to me and Elfgirl, and I’d like to hope to others as well.

Heck, it must. I’ve come across SWRPG sites that have outright STOLEN Raptor Squad characters for their own use, sites that legitimately ask to use features and artwork (good on ya!), sites that have chosen to not ask for permission and use material and artwork we’ve created anyway (Boo Hiss!) and people that give me great feedback throughout the community that really seem to dig what we are doing and look forward to what we roll out next.

And let’s be honest, it marries things I love! Star Wars, roleplaying, artwork, writing, creating…heck, why wouldn’t I want to produce quality material and entertainment for the masses? And more importantly, I get to do it MY way.

It’s funny, looking back, when I was younger I would have thought designing games and producing art and all that for some game company would have been the end-all be-all of jobs. But as I get older, and I see how the business is really run, with folks looking over your shoulder, changing things, altering what you love because they have a different vision, canning folks at a moment's notice and things like that…well, to be honest I’d have to pass if the opportunity ever presented itself (and it has, and I did). I guess that’s why I never seriously pursued any work in those fields (plus I make a butt load of cash at my current job, so taking a MASSIVE pay cut just to see my name on some book that will eventually be tossed in a dollar bin at my local gaming store doesn’t really appeal to me the way it used to.)

Plus, as I said, the most important thing is…I get to do it MY way (thanks Frank!) and have fun doing it! No running ideas past people to see if they approve, no rewriting or reworking fiction because someone doesn’t like how I describe something…nope…Raptorsquad.Net is 100% pure Me. I make no apologies for it and I can take all the blame, (though when it comes to the credit…well, that has to be shared among a few people, most notable Elfgirl).

So, what have we learned here? Not much, other than I’m still working on the upcoming update and hope to roll it out soon (and of course hope that it’s worth the wait!). Any feedback or questions you can of course leave it here or e-mail me.