The COG Blog

0

2006-09-13T21:23:00.000+02:00

Thank you for your patience. We are now officially closing this blog and I will thank you for taking your time reading my mad thoughts. Please follow me into the community halls at www.mutantchroniclesrpg.com.

Sincerely
Joakim Bröms
Creative Director

1

2006-09-06T07:33:00.000+02:00

The Mutant Chronicles RPG Forum will launch 13 sept 2006 . A link will be posted in the final 0 blog!

/J:Bröms

2

2006-09-01T09:36:00.000+02:00

Are you ready?

/J:Bröms

the next phase

2006-08-28T19:20:00.000+02:00

There have been some busy COG sessions. We are working hard on the COG System and a lot of finishing touches on the world and its mechanics. Currently we are signing up some people who will be a part of the COG Conspiracy and we are heading for the next major deadline, the end of this month. Entering the next phase of the MC experience!

Sincerely
/J:Bröms

working hard

2006-08-17T18:27:00.000+02:00

Capitol Farmer - Say hello to George Estrada. He is currently bringing home some wood to his farm on Mars. He is a true believer in the rural ideals that the farmers of Capitol hold high. Take a good look at all the cultural details of this character.

Remember to click the picture to have a closer look!

/J:Bröms

for whom the bell tolls.....

2006-08-16T00:34:00.000+02:00

Imperial Tunnelrat – This is a drawing depicting the masters of defensive fighting in an Imperial Fortified Position. He is actually timing the blowing of a tunnel where enemy forces are advancing. Untrained for combat in the tunnels, most enemy forces are an easy match for these specialists.

/J:Bröms

I wield the flesh of the fallen....

2006-08-15T08:11:00.000+02:00

We are working in the think-tank this week with the finishing touches on the Symmetry. Walking back in our own steps and revisiting the industrial war machine of Algeroth, the corrupting powers of Semai, the Flesh of Demnogonis and the shattered Citadels of Muawhije. The Symmetry and I are in love. Liber Hereticus!

/J:Bröms

fantastic Friday!

2006-08-11T21:15:00.000+02:00

Fantastic Friday! I just had a good session of ground and pound at my club. I feel….energized! I will now spend some time thinking about the evolution of martial arts in the world of MC. Please leave some comments if you have an opinion!

/J:Armbar

something about my love for the bayonet

2006-08-10T15:37:00.000+02:00

Every soldier in the world of Mutant Chronicles trains their close combat skills. It is essential to know how to fight with hands, feet and weapons. They know that their firearms will jam some day. That is practically a fact. So they come to love their knives and bayonets, sharpened shovels, axes and swords and they form a special bond with them. The blade will never fail them under the corruption of the Symmetry as the mechanics and moving parts of the machineguns and the assault rifles. The art of close combat is not just a matter of honor among warriors in this world; it has become the primary skill of survival. War is fast and furious, technological and really personal. Much more medieval and much more brutal! War is coming 2007.

/J:Bröms

kung fu hustle OR I am going for an armbar

2006-08-07T22:42:00.000+02:00

We went through some intense work in the think-tank today. The topic was Mishima. We had some problems and found some solutions, as every other process so far in this project. So fans, what is your idea about what should be done with this corporation? Do you like it as it were? Did you hate it for its extremely narrow depiction of the Asian cultural pattern? Loved the Gigamechs? Puked at the idea? Tell us!

/J:Bröms

not just a re-release of the old books....

2006-08-04T14:35:00.000+02:00

We are making some major changes to the MC world as you knew it. This is not just a re-release of the old books. This is a re-working of the entire world of MC. We are developing the new MC-world with close scrutiny from Paradox Entertainment and the original guys who gave us this fantastic world. They trust us and our vision. We love to work with and develop the original world into something more…..COGish. What the heck does that mean? You will see when we launch the official MC-rpg homepage. War is coming!

/J:Bröms

Some love and some hate

2006-08-01T16:51:00.000+02:00

I am fascinated how easy and how hard system design can be. One of the first things we decided when we took aim for MC was to make a completely new system. I am head of that development and I love it. Many fans has expressed that the old system was probably the most flawed thing in the previous versions of MC and that they wanted something better. How do you please everyone? Not possible! I design a system I want to play and I have confidence that I will do a good job. Some will love it and some will hate it. That’s life.

/J:Bröms

CorpoNation over Megacorporation?

2006-07-28T12:35:00.000+02:00

I have something to discuss. It is the concept of the evolution of the corporations into Megacorporations as in previous versions of about a thousand Sci-Fi stories. When corporations evolve into gigantic corporations who actually become corporate nations they should be called CorpoNations instead of Megacorporations. Why? They are gigantic corporations which functions as nations at the same time, not only huge traditional corporations. What makes the CorpoNation different from the nation then? (Remember that I really don’t know if I like that name yet). It is the concept of territory and the concept of citizenship. The CorpoNation is a patchwork of territories with a huge amount of border miles which are held together by other things than cultural patterns. The citizen is only holding citizenship as long as she is producing for the CorpoNation. No value for the CorpoNation? Leave their territory! Hard to be a parasite on that society I imagine.

This is just thoughts and nothing official but you know that already.

Need to work now. Bye!

/J:Bröms

Asymmetric warfare and why letters frighten me..

2006-07-27T15:11:00.000+02:00

I am currently reading a book called”The war in Chechnya” and I just came to the conclusion that I have a morbid fascination. What is wrong with me? Why am I so fascinated with the realities of modern conflicts? Why are the true stories ALWAYS better than fiction? The answer lies in the fact that the most terrifying monster, death or fate a human ever can face is another human who is no longer following the rules of being human. Why read Lovecraft when you can read the interviews from Hell in Chechnya?

The war in Chechnya is a concept that will be a part of the new Mutant Chronicles warfare. We are not only giving you the possibility to fight ordinary war between the corporations but also give you a world where you can find a huge number of small scale conflicts and where the enemy not always need to be a mega corporation or the Symmetry. Asymmetric warfare and terrorism is of course a problem for all corporations but the Chain-movement in Bauhaus hold a special status.

/J:Bröms

(In Swedish only)
A link to the book I read: http://www.smb.nu/pos/06/06b_kriget_i_tjetjenien.asp

into the labyrinth and the Cult of Crowns

2006-07-25T22:33:00.001+02:00

Tomorrow we will return to Capitol and revisit the Cult of Crowns and all the fantastic Corporate Operatives. I also want to thank all of you who give us your opinion on the upcoming official Mutant Chronicles RPG forum. Don’t stop! Bombard us with what you want while it is still possible. Stay in touch friends, but now I must return into my sanctum, to the labyrinth of rulemaking. I dream and I burn in the Mutant Chronicles Purgatory.

/J:Bröms

Official Mutant Chronicles RPG forum

2006-07-22T21:43:00.000+02:00

The Mutant Chronicles Forum is in the COG laboratory. What do you want to see in the forum? Is it important for you to have the Bauhaus flag as Avatar? Give us your opinion and we will give you the place to dominate all other warriors of the corporations.

Sincerely
B as in Bauhaus

Class act

2006-07-19T21:27:00.000+02:00

Bauhaus...I am a fan of the neofeudal industrial panzer corporation. Always has been, and by the look of things, always will. There is something about the dignity and brutal honesty of Bauhaus that I like. No fake smile and then a shot in the back as you turn. Just an honest display of loathing and then a saber to the gut. Now THAT is class!

/LunaCity Tycoon (the artist formerly known as D)

this guy is lazy

2006-07-16T15:20:00.000+02:00

The blog will be inactive for a week if not my friends in the Shark-Tank return in full force and wreck havoc. It might be possible for me to update it during this week but possibly not.

Take care friends. Stay close to the Center Of Gravity!

/B

m87 and other great things...

2006-07-15T15:02:00.000+02:00

I am currently reading about the M87 galaxy. I have a morbid fascination with super massive Black Holes. Anyone else who share my interest in this? Hey, all Sci-Fi fans should worship the Einstein-Rosen Bridge. I do. And my wife!

Great things happen in the Collective right now. Writers are joining the think-tank and we receive a lot of support from fans telling us that they are very happy that we bring back Mutant Chronicles RPG from the land of the dead. We are very happy to have this opportunity.

Join the war effort! The darkest age are yet to come......have faith.

/B

war is coming and the COG Workshops

2006-07-13T17:28:00.000+02:00

I am receiving tons of e-mail about play testing the new Mutant Chronicles. We shall soon update the company homepage with information concerning this. But I will drop some quick info here for you who are interested.

We in COG Games believe in giving the fans (as we are ourselves) the chance and possibility to be a part of the development of this game. I am currently working (one among LOTS of things) with something called the COG Workshop. This is how you, the fan can be involved in the production process. By joining a Workshop you come to our think-tank and work with us for a day or two, telling us your opinion and what we do right and wrong. This makes you very important to us since in the end we make this game for you and we want you to be apart of the Collective, Hive or whatever we call it. We have a load of other ideas based on this process, the COG Workshop, but I will tell you later about this.

Are you interested to be an active part of the COG Conspiracy? Want to join the COG Workshops? Stay alert for info on the company website, war is coming!

matters of mortality

2006-07-12T23:07:00.000+02:00

I just talked to a friend of mine who is working in the military. He almost got killed today when his unit crashed with their CV9040B. He "only" got his elbow impaled with a sharp piece of metal. They were lucky they got an experienced driver or else he would have been killed. Probably. Close enough though.

Tomorrow I might discuss something important. Now. I give you my concern for a friend.

/B

reclaiming the bloody blogg

2006-07-12T19:44:00.000+02:00

I am back. Under the sun you begin to think. Burning, boiling and getting cancer. I burn, boil and protect my ass with sunblock. We burn under the sun as the world burns around us. I am back and thank my crew for the massive blogging. Up your COG!

/B

Some reconition...

2006-07-12T17:58:00.000+02:00

I've seen some people have raised their heads from their Symmetry infested Character Sheets in reconition of the comming MC. Mostly online... at Rpg.net for example.

This is good and its nice for us to see some intrest still exist for this relic amongst rpg's. People at forums and blog (thats you guys) are often a buld short of a lighthouse if you catch my drift but still... nice to see some intrest.

We've made some progess in the last few days. Just today the rules for the (highly missunderstood) Corporate part of the game got cracked like an egg... and then we made an omelett. Jokes and word gymnastics aside, we made some intresting progress over the last few days. It makes perfect sense... is it not cheap and borderline schiczofrenic to say that every aspect of life in the MC universe is influenced or outright governed by (neo) Capitalism and then not set up understandable rules for how that is done?

Character generations got a fair smack-in-the-face today to. If you ask me generating characters was fun in old MC. But at about the 3 character generated the muse of the list of "Special events" had come and gone.
Generating characters should be fun, not to hard, not left to chance and should inspire you to want to take on a role (namely your character). It should also be free enough so you can choose to play a Hussar in Bauhaus ceveral time without playing the same character. It should also be bound by rules in a way hat enables, more that disables, you character.
For those of you set to playtest MC, we can say that as soon as we have a definitive draft on character generation on paper we can take this baby for a test ride as there already is a working combatsystem ready.

fade
to
black

/Lovehead

Oh my God... The Sea of Lard

2006-07-07T12:16:00.000+02:00

Hi all.
In the absence of Bröms I will blogg here for a while.

In this, my first blogg posting, I will address one of the most fundamental questions fans of Mutant Chronicles might have namely the following .- What will be new in the new mutant Chronicles rpg?:

The New Mutant Chronicle RPG will expand and deepen the world of MC.
When I say expand on the old MC we will add a number of new ways to play the game – its not just “pick your special forces type and go”. We want to give people the opportunity to play a game of personal horror, a game of religious mystery, a high octane corporate game and a game of military stratego.
When I say deepen we will present players with the opportunity to play a more intelligent game, conflict wise, character wise and an plot wise. We wont rob old fans of the shoot’em up, hack don’t zombies and mo don’t razids type of game. We will however give everyone a few new ways to play the game.

Of course we will give the world of MC a new and stronger persona. With that we will give more detail to the Mega Corporations, make the darkness a darker feel, take a look on what actually happens to mankind (your character) when we move out into the solar system and start living in Mega Cities. What has the near extinction of the First war against the symmetry left mankind with?

The new MC will have a working always evolving metaplot. Events will be on a timeline and the story and the world may always be further evolved.

In additions to all this we will explain some of the logical gaps of old MC (what is symmetry, why do people use swords when there are Mega chargers, interplanetary travel, hi-tech and so forth).As clear as my view of MC is I can understand that my blogging will leave you with more questions that you started with.

edit:bröms

/Lovehead

Business the Mutant Chronicles way

2006-07-06T23:27:00.000+02:00

So Big B is on vacation to a tropical island paradise. Hmmm...well, atleast an island paradise...or rather...an island. With rocks on it. So I took this opportunity to write a little something about a completely new aspect of Mutant Chronicles: A rule system for running a business. The idea is that this set of rules is going to be as well designed as the combat system. The Mutant Chronicles setting is one of total capitalism. Business is not just part of everyones life in the solar system: Business is life in the solar system. So early in the development of the RPG we felt that the business side of the game should be more than just a couple of rolls with the dice. This system is beginning to take shape and the aim is to be able to play a business setting as a small freelance operation or a bigger company with the same set of rules.

How'd ya like them apples?

/D

on war and blogg you bloody

2006-07-04T18:25:00.000+02:00

I have a dream! It is called ”On War” and the title are stolen from Clausewitz book. I want this book to be a massive piece describing warfare in the world of MC. My dream is 400 pages long and filled with facts, equipment and mobile artillery units from every corporation and the Symmetry. It will be HARDCORE. Don’t you dream of knowing how Bauhaus perform offensive and defensive operations or why they always deploy gas? I know it is my wet dream to give you this because it is exactly what I would like to have myself.

I leave for a short holiday now but I think some other guys from the think-tank will blogg you bloody!

/B

...wielding the blade of the Symmetry

2006-07-03T18:12:00.000+02:00

Today the think-tank entered the Citadels of Semai. This was not as disturbing as when we handled the ones of Muawhije but at the same time much more interesting. We are handling these two Apostles in a new way compared to the previous editions. As I mentioned before, so is the human mind extra susceptible to the emissions of Muawhije. Today I want to mention the Citadels of Semai and the infestation of institutions.

Infestation of Institutions is how Semai primarily attack humanity in the war between the Symmetry and our reality. The frequency of Semai found, through cross-contamination that humanity tend to systemize and mechanize for optimal production effect. This is what Semai plays on. We are targeted by our own greed. The very machinery of the Megacorporations is his weapon. The very fundament of mankind is the blade of the Symmetry. This is the machinery of Semai, this is the fate of mankind.

Rumors tell of a Will to change the very foundation of the Megacorporations and evolve into something else. If this would be true, then the entire structure of mans existence would change. The world wouldn’t be the same as before.

Warning! We are working with a concept here and might change it completely before the release :) But you already knew that, didn’t you?

/B

am I evil?

2006-07-02T17:01:00.000+02:00

A fan asked me yesterday if we are keeping the huge shoulder pads and the real bright colors in the new Mutant Chronicles game. I felt bad for a second to give him the answer of “no we are not keeping them”, since we are fans of MC and we know how important you are to us. Fans are everything. But are we really doing you a favor by releasing the same MC-RPG again? I believe that our vision of MC is great since we are original fans, so dedicated to this that we fight for the right to publish this game again. We fought for the license a year before there where any talk about a movie and all the other merchandise. I think that is why we won the competition against other major rpg-companies. We are fans who do this for the love of the setting and with the respect for the original concept but with a vision to make MC something more. MC is so much more than the original game gave us. We have a vision that Paradox liked and they are the guys who originally gave us all this game.

Join the COG Conspiracy today!

Thanx robert for inspiring this message...Cheers!

/B

3rd Corporate Wars and the COG Conspiracy

2006-07-01T18:40:00.000+02:00

This is another gasmask from Alex but the main difference here is that is not only a filter for cleaning the air but this one holds a connection to a tank of oxygen. This mask is intended to be used in environments that is completely hostile or don’t have any air to be filtered. Examples of this are different types of Special Forces who specialize in surgical strikes, deep in Symmetry territory. Others are combat divers and Courier Ship C.D.Forces (who might be forced to act in vacuum in case of hull breach).

Please take notice of the black “eyes” of this class of masks and the solid “faceplate” of the mask. This faceplate is actually a ceramic and offers a limited ballistic protection, primarily from shrapnel and small arms fire. The black eyes are licensed lenses from Mishima which are used to protect the eyes from sudden bursts of light.

……

It sometimes gets boring to talk about technical stuff and this is one such time. I planned to talk about gas, gasmasks and some improvised stuff but I have more interesting things to mention. I am very pleased that lot of old fans are hitting our homepage and contacting me (e-mail) and some of them are very eager to be a part of the Mutant Chronicles Experience/Collective. How can we join forces? How can I make you part of this if you are living in another country and on the other side of an ocean? My solution is that I am working with an idea called the COG Conspiracy.

Do you want to be a part of the 3rd Corporate Wars? Join us today!

/Bröms

...when the flesh burns

2006-06-30T21:05:00.000+02:00

In a world of gas there must be some kind of gasmasks to protect the combatants. This concept drawing from Alex shows a Cybertronics Monotron Enclosed-System headpiece with its thick black rubber.

This headpiece protects the entire head and neck and is part of the Cybertronics concept of "NO-exposure". It means that their protective suits cover the entire body, exposing nothing. This concept is from the experience of operations against the Symmetry and the often hazardous environments that their troops face.

/Bröms

madness and chemical warfare

2006-06-29T21:39:00.000+02:00

I think there is something very frightening about chemical warfare. If you ever been close to drowning? Or have you been strangled? I am a bad swimmer so I have missed the drowning part but I have actually been strangled. Ok, it was under controlled conditions when training MMA (Mixed Martial Arts, NHB) around -97 but the feeling is anyhow the same. It is very disturbing to not be able to breathe.

In the world of Mutant Chronicles there is gas, a lot of gas and other chemical agents with the purpose to extinguish life. Bauhaus for example, by standard use flanking deployment of gas in all offensive operations. They train their soldiers to fight and defend in a chemical environment. All other Corporations know that when war is coming and the enemy is Bauhaus, chemical warfare is guaranteed. They will use it and they will expect their enemies to use it. There is nothing in the future world of MC that tells the people that chemical warfare is morally wrong.

War is madness. Every session of combat in a chemical environment should use the Slayer song Chemical Warfare as a soundtrack!

Tomorrow there might be more chemical warfare thoughts....

/Bröms

Muawhije, emissions and your mind...

2006-06-29T08:49:00.000+02:00

We are working with a different approach on the way the Symmetry is manifesting Citadels. We actually is approaching the Symmetry (called Dark Symmetry before, remember?) and how it works in a new way. So what about the Citadels of Muawhije then?

When an area is struck by an emission of Muawhije then the reciprocal action is happening between the emission and the minds of the humans in the area. They, as a collective, become wielder of a fragmented part of the Muawhije Citadel and its Nefarite. Humans wielding this fragment feel an urge to leave what they are doing and gravitate to the other wielders of the fragments. When enough fragments/humans gather in a area, the Citadel can “join” and manifest the Symmetry of Muawhije. The effects of this will I talk about another time.

/Bröms

Why Muawhije is messing with my head....

2006-06-28T20:23:00.000+02:00

I have a major problem with the conceptualization of Muawhije. It messes with my head. Hey I am mad. Face it. We all are. Just that delving with the King of Madness just make us realize it.

We found some bad facts for the Brotherhood this morning in the Think-tank. Facts concerning the Citadelconcept of Muawhije. This was really disturbing my friends, for I found myself fearing and loving what the Think-tank gave birth to this morning.

Hey, one in the "tank" became a father yesterday! Should we name his son Muawhije? What do you think? Comment what Loveheads son should be named! If your name win I might send you a free MC-book when it is ready.

/Bröms - Creative Director

COG Blog is fact… not fiction!

2006-06-23T14:58:00.000+02:00

Hello friends of COG Games!

This is just a first check-in at The COG Blog. In the near future this – together with www.coggames.com – will be your number one source of information on all things COG related and especially the second coming of Mutant Chronicles (rpg).

So stay tuned and keep returning here for interaction and you'll be able to play a part in the making of this incredible project!

Sincerely,

Bröms
Member of COG Games Thinktank