Writings and Films by P. R. O'Leary

I have a posted a new short film on my Youtube channel.

I have always been intrigued by found photos. I’ve been collecting them whenever I can. Antique stores, garage sales, estate auctions. Each photo shows a record of an instant. With no other information it’s fun to try to interpret that instant from years or decades in the future.

Found is created using actual photos, but the stories are entirely my own.

We should never forget the art of the past. Or, at least, the crazy and weird pop- and non-pop culture ephemera that people have created over time.

To that end I’ll be digitizing my collection of 8mm, 16mm, vhs, and laserdisc oddities that I haven’t been able to find online already.

You can find them on my Youtube Channel. There are two playlists so far and more to come:

TV and film Rarities

8mm Found Footage

Dread has a great concept. It’s a horror RPG by Epidiah Ravachol where you pull blocks from a tower to perform actions. If you tower falls, you die. Pulling from an increasingly unstable tower is a great mechanic that simulates the escalating tension of the story.

I’ve played it a few times and I figured out that I prefer to run it faster, deadlier, and with a little twist to keep players more engaged after they die.

To see how that can be accomplished check out the video below. It contains several rules modifications that you can use as options to add some twists to a standard game of Dread.

Cut down the 13 question character creation system and instead focus on a the smallest amount of questions that accomplish two goals:

• Giving the player a character concept to work with
• Giving the character a reason to engage with the story

Hack #2: Speed up the game

I think 4+ hours is too long. Sure, a slow-burn sense of dread is really great if you can pull it off. But the mechanics are too simple and it takes too long to get the ball rolling. Playing a shorter 1-1.5 hour game really lets you ratchet up the tension and keep it up.

Hack #3: Make it Deadlier

Use the most unstable block tower you can possibly find. Barring that, pull more blocks before starting the game and after each player dies. Here is the one featured in the video:

Tower and photography by Val Ballerini (Through a Cracked Lens)

Hack #4: My favorite!

You’ll have to watch the video for this one. I’ll just say that it has to do with the dead players messing with the living while they are trying to pull blocks.

For more gaming related materials check out the Games tab at the top of this page.

I’ve made a few short films in the past, but it’s been a long time since I picked up a camera. Until recently, that is.

A few weeks ago I decided to set up my Youtube channel and post regular videos. Some short films will be forthcoming, but for now I’ve been posting various things that wouldn’t quite be considered films.

I broke them into categories:

Visual Dystopia

• A catch-all for the random weird videos that I created and will continue to create. You never know what you are going to find!

Gaming

• Reviews and actual plays of various story games, board games, and table top games

Patrick’s Antiques

• I have been collecting weird things for years. This is where I get a chance to show some of them off.

Grandma Stories

• My grandma is a cool old lady and she has stories to tell! Here is where you get to hear some of them.

Prose

• Readings of my writings worthy of reading.

Other?!?

• I have no idea what is here. Don’t go here.

And of course, you can always check out my Short Films at this playlist, or click on the link above.

I’ll keep you all updated on this site, but if you want to get regular updates you can subscribe to the channel here.

I created a video that shows Homer Simpson explaining the rules to the King of Tokyo board game. The clip is taken from one of the best episodes of Treehouse of Horror, but I’m sure you know that.

A mash-up that few people will get, but I still find very funny.

I stole the idea from this review of the game.