Wednesday 26 December 2012

Armour with a "U"

So, why "the armoured writer"? A few reasons actually. First, I am using that awesome picture from my first RPG as my Google+ image, so it fits with the theme, but it is a minor concern compared to my other motives.

I like armour. I like the look of ancient battle armour, modern combat armour, the bulk and threat of modern battle tanks, and I think that the A-10 Warthog (arguably the world's only flying tank) is the coolest airplane ever built. Short hand: armour rocks. It means business.

I like what it represents. Armour is about protection and defence. It is about acknowledging that you are going to take a hit, and it's gonna hurt, but you are going to take the hit and keep going. Wearing armour is about accepting that no amount of skill can truly overcome the chaos and insanity of combat, and the best you can hope to do is mitigate whatever happens to come your way. It extends beyond the physical to the metaphorical. As a (otherwise incredibly privileged) child, I had to armour myself against the constant taunts, insults, and threats of my classmates and siblings. That armour was made of spite, hate, and bitterness, but I often wished I had something tougher to protect myself.

I enjoy the inherent contradictions of armour. It constricts as it protects. As it protects you, it tires you out. The same armour that can protect you from a hail of bullets will do its best to drag you down to your death if you should happen to fall in a lake. Armour can conceal you, but like a uniform, it can give you a sense of identity. It hides you, but transforms you into something tougher, and often signifies you are part of a special group, be it an elite soldier on an ancient battlefield, a member of the aristocracy during the middle ages, a frontline crewman in a main battle tank, or a member of a SWAT team.

My most popular game so far, Remnants, focuses on armour in the form of 3 meter tall battle mechs. Each robot evolves to the whims of the pilot, and its armour takes whatever form the pilot desires. Though I never spelled it out in the rules, I always imagined that each mech would become a reflection of its pilot's personality; a warning and a beacon to others about who lived under the armoured shell. I think that Remnants, for me, was an exercise in wish fulfillment. I have often wanted to hide from the world, but I did not want to hide in the sense that I would go unnoticed, but to hide under three tonnes of armour that is so impenetrable that no one would dare attack me, and I could hand out retribution with impunity.

So, here on the internet, I am The Armoured Writer. I like the word, I like the concept, and I like to put the U in the word because I am Canadian and we put U's in words whether they need them or not!

Armour Armour Armour Armour Armour..... sometimes the damn word just gets stuck in my head.

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