Season 2 Patch Notes: Gears of Fall
Guns with chainsaws. Locust Hordes. The fight for humanity.
Welcome to the new season of Damage Per Second!
When I started this Substack a few months ago, I wasn’t sure what it would morph into. I knew that it would take on its own identity after time went by and I focused on what I wanted this to become. I threw a mix of things at the wall for the first Season and found that it all was enjoyable to write. But, I wanted there to be a common theme for every 3 months. It allows me to fully dive into a series or topic related to what this whole thing is.
At its core, DPS is a place dedicated to video game novels and Star Wars novels. I take side streets here and there but it’s all related in some way. I believe that both of these formats produce amazing content that people may otherwise dismiss due to the topics. I’ve found that some of the best sci-fi and fantasy writers live in this sphere and there is cross pollination. It has been a healthy and rewarding place to live in these last few months and I’m just excited for all the content down the line to highlight these authors and books that give me joy.
In a way, running this Substack is a way to nurture the child version of myself and feed them what has always made me/them happy. I round it out with my professional nature and apply my business-like approach to my writing and we have a pretty mature combo. Every week I get to share a post that has made me proud. If you haven’t read my wrap up of the last 3 months, you can read it here.
So, what are we looking at for the next 3 months?
Gears of War
Gears of War is a franchise I got into late. I started playing Gears right around the time Gears of War 3 came out (2011) and then went back and played the previous installments. I have played Gears 4 and 5 and enjoyed them though, as we know, nothing quite tops the original trilogy. Oh, and Judgement is excellent and not talked about nearly enough. If I have time, I’ll revisit Judgement.
I never had read the novels, either. There are a substantial number of them. By my count there are 5 novels by Karen Traviss and 3 others by different authors. There are also the comics which I will try to get a hold of.
What I wasn’t aware of is how much lore there is built into the Gears of War franchise and like any good sci-fi opera, the rotating and familiar cast of characters play into every aspect of the heroes we have come to know and love.
On top of that, the fascist and brutal reign of the COG over the world of Gears is a complicated one. It’s easy to say: Locust is bad/COG is good but the COG is not always doing the right thing and the books explore that.
So for this season I will be delving into the first 5 books of Gears of War and then at the end I will be interviewing Karen Traviss about her contributions to the series. If you have been reading along for a bit now, I am a fan of Tranviss. She gave us the Republic Commando series for Star Wars (as well as other SW novels) and The Kilo 5 Trilogy for Halo. I can’t wait to ask her all about Gears and pick apart her brain on the franchise. It goes without saying that Traviss agreeing to talk to me was a huge win and I am honored.
Outside of Traviss, I will also be talking to Jerry Oltion about the Unreal novels that were published in the late 90s. Unreal is/was one of my favorite games (if not just for the multiplayer) and there is a weird history with the publication of the adapted novels. I was able to get my hands on the books thanks to Jerry. The books are impossible to find in 2023.
I’ve also started work on a podcast. As of right now, I do not have any content up but plan on adding within the next few weeks. I want to use the space for conversations with friends and authors about topics related or adjacent to the Substack.
I plan on doing a video interview with Jerry Oltion on the Unreal books. I am also planning in October to talk to my good friend
about her KickStarter project.Here is the calendar of scheduled content.
Oct. 6th - Gears of War Aspho Fields: Bernie Mataki
Oct. 13th - Movie Night: Silent Hill
Oct. 20th - Dead Space: 15 Year Retrospective
Oct. 27th - Star Wars Death Troopers
Nov. 2nd - Gears of War Jacinto’s Remnant
Nov 10th - The Oral History of the Unreal Novels
Nov. 17th - Gears of War Anvil Gate
Nov. 24 - Gears of War 2: 15 Year Retrospective
Dec. 1st - Gears of War Coalition's End
Dec 8th - Gears of War The Slab
Dec 15th - Gears of War 3: Replay
Dec. 22nd - Karen Traviss Interview
Dec 29th - Season Wrap Up
I will be writing posts outside of this but this is my list of dedicated content coming within the next 3 months.
Thank you all so much for supporting me and reading all the nerdy things I have to talk about. <3