dumnbunny

Hinterlands Who's Who

2008-05-02T00:41:50Z

When I was growing up, I loved watching those Hinterlands Who's Who shorts the NFB produced. I don't remember this one, though ...

The things kids watch these days ...

2008-04-12T15:23:26Z

So I was watching some TV show with my daughter this morning, something with a talking coconut, reflecting on the silly, awful shows kids watch these days. They're not nearly as good as the shows my generation watched when we were kids.

Then I hit Youtube and found a few clips of some of the shows I used to watch, such as this gem ...

Hey, I was nine when I watched this!

...

Don't you judge me.

Random observation re: Internet pissing contests

2008-03-03T07:43:41Z

When two people engage in an Internet pissing contest, the outcome is rarely one winner and one loser, but rather two losers who stink of piss.

Also, the reason I don't post in, or even read, many threads in many forums.

The things I do for coffee ...

2007-12-31T03:20:26Z

... I'll never understand.

So the heating element in my coffee maker broke. It stopped heating up the water, the water wouldn't flow, and it wouldn't warm the carafe. It going to be a few days before I get out to the mall to buy a new one, so I tried to just go without coffee.

Not too well. I wound up taking the basket off my old coffee maker, removing the valve and spring, and balancing it on top of the carafe. Eh, it works well enough. I pour hot water into the grounds from a kettle, and it cools pretty quickly. I wind up nuking every cup after the first.

Hehe, my nerd test results

2007-09-04T03:05:40Z

Edited to add:

For comparison, here's my wife's (earthrowan) results from taking that test:

And yet, somehow we make it work ;) .

40

2007-08-24T23:45:36Z

I turned 40 yesterday, and I'm feeling pretty good about it.

My career, which had pretty much stalled in a global IT megacorp, has taken a quantum leap forward. I have a much better work environment, better pay, better opportunities. My family is living in a much better home in a smaller, nice city. And I've dropped about 20, 30 pounds, too.

I can't recall when I last felt this content with my life and my future.

Lethbridge Bound

2007-07-02T16:05:08Z

Posted in hopes there's someone who reads this who is familiar with Lethbridge, or knows someone who is:

I just accepted a role as a web developer, so my family and I are moving to Lethbridge. Unfortunately, I haven't been to Lethbridge in something like three decades, so I have no idea what the different areas are like. If someone could give me some advice on nice neighbourhoods, or any other advice on renting and living in Lethbridge, that would be greatly appreciated.

To get a little more specific, we've been doing a fair bit of searching on-line, and we're wondering what the area around 20th St N and 8a Ave N is like.

Mika Brzezinski is my hero

2007-07-02T16:00:49Z

The best quote from this clip: "Why are you such a journalist?" I assume he said it with a bit of tounge-in-cheek, but it was still priceless.

Philosophical Films

2007-06-14T00:51:05Z

Found this interesting site when I was randomly browsing around the web, Philosophical Films at the University of Tennessee at Martin website. It provides brief reviews of a number of thought-provoking films, as well as discussion questions.

Role Search

2007-06-12T06:07:24Z

Well, break time is over. Now it's time for me to start searching for a new software development role. So far, so good. I already have people contacting me, making inquiries as to my availability, and referring me to IT managers they know.

I've also decided to finally get my SCJP (for the non-geeks, that's a Java programming certification). I subscribed to one of the most recommended practice tests, and I'm getting results around 90%, so I'm feeling pretty good about how the actual test is going to go. After that, I'll pick up SCWCD and SCBCD (for the non-geeks, those are certifications related to programming web sites in Java).

Gaming, it's not just for Windows, anymore

2007-06-12T06:00:22Z

Blizzard has been simultaneously releasing their games for both Windows and Mac for a number of years now. It's good to see a couple large players in the industry, EA and id, joining Blizzard on the Mac bandwagon. It's a good sign of the platform's rising popularity.

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=16458

Laid Off

2007-05-05T06:18:51Z

I was working from home the other day when my manager called me into the office. He needed to meet with me face-to-face, and couldn't even give me a hint over the phone. So, ok, I head down there and he tells me to brace myself, that he has some really devastating news. As of today that moment I was laid off.

Heh, the funny part was my manager was more upset than I was. When he started with the company, I helped him out, giving him advice and earning his respect. He figured the company was losing a valuable asset, but ... well, there's sound business reasons behind this, bean-counting reasons, that I really can't go into.

I told him he could calm down, that I was sad, but not resentful, and not the least bit worried. In fact, I'm excited about this. I feel a sense of freedom, of great opportunity. I have enough cash on hand that I have no immediate worries about supporting my family and I. In fact, my immediate plan is to take a couple weeks to do not much of anything, just depressurize, regenerate, and refocus.

And, uh, for those who read all these posts this evening, I apologize for the LJ posting dump. I'm trying to get caught up on a few things that I've put off due to working too much -- no longer an issue :D .

New Computers

2007-05-05T06:09:13Z

My wife and I picked up new computers. Before moving into software development, I spent about 9 years supporting a grand total of something like twenty thousand Windows PCs. I've also owned several of them myself. After all that, I decided to pick up Macs this time around. Specifically, the 17" 2.0 GHz dual-core iMacs.

I had been avoiding them in the past for a couple reasons. First, there was the much higher hardware costs. Second, I wouldn't have been able to run all the software I wanted to run, mainly games. These days, the hardware price is comparable with a PC, and with Boot Camp, I can run any game my hardware will handle.

But there's another factor. My oldest friend purchased a Mac around the same time I purchased my first PC. About a decade later, I was ready to mothball my fourth PC, and he was still doing desktop publishing on his Mac.

So, I made the switch, and I couldn't be happier. I've never been quite this satisfied with a computer purchase. There was a bit of a learning curve, but not much of one. My family and I climbed most of that curve the evening we bought the iMacs.

Group Folded and SotC Seed

2007-05-05T05:56:48Z

Well, my Friday evening group has folded. I'm a little saddened by this, but ah well. I may be leaving town at some point in the not too distant future anyways, so this may be for the best.

So here's the seed of an idea I had for the next SotC adventure. I'll get to it in the near future when I get a group going again where ever I land. I'll flesh it out more at that time.

I'm picturing a large dragon strafing New York, a large mechanical dragon. Of course, there's a mad-man at the controls in the dragons head. I'm also thinking maybe groups of henchmen flying much smaller mechanical dragons. Air piracy! And for a home base, a moutain aerie, high above the clouds. Of course, this just screams out for someone with a flying/piloting schtick.

Johnny Dorado, International Gambler

2007-02-15T21:20:05Z

Johnny Dorado, International Gambler

Phase 1

Johnny ran away from home a young age to live on the road with his “shiftless, good-for-nothing” Uncle Pete. His uncle had noted young Johnny’s gifts for games of chance after teaching him poker while visiting one Christmas. After his uncle was given the bums rush by his enraged father, Johnny decided to follow. He had no interest in following in his father footsteps in a Virginia coalmine, and his uncle lived comfortably.

Over the next several years, Johnny learned cards and other games of chance from a master. He also learned grifting, his uncle teaching him how to take advantage of the greed of others.

Aspects: A taste for the good life, Rootless

Phase 2
During the early years of the war, Johnny, a regular fixture at the casinos in the French Riviera, was recruited into French intelligence and the Century Club by the same man. He spent the rest of the war mostly in casinos in neutral countries, spying on German officers who were gambling there, learning what he could from them, and passing it along to French intelligence. He also used his guile to plant false information, leading the Kaiser’s officers to terrible mistakes, ruining more than one career.

Aspects: Cool head, Enemy: former General Friedrich Gruenewald.

Phase 3
Johnny Dorado and … the Curse of Fufua Mtu
Johnny Dorado walked away from a private, high stakes game with a wallet full of cash, and a small wooden box filled with some sort of powder. A desperate, drunk and slightly deranged man had wagered it and lost. Johnny walked away from that game, and death followed with him. He quickly discovers the deadly lengths someone will go to in order to possess the box, desperate measures that only begin with murder. Can Johnny unravel the mystery of the box and the secret of the powder it contains? Or is this finally it for Johnny?

Aspects: “I’ve been dead. It ain’t so bad.”, Indebted to Penda Kamau.

Phase 4

Aspects:

Phase 5

Aspects:

Skills
Superb: Gambling
Great: Rapport, Deceit
Good: Empathy, Guns, Resolve
Fair: Fists, Empathy, Intimidation, Resources
Average: Athletics, Drive, Endurance, Investigation, Mysteries

Stunts
Gambling: Winnings, Players’ Club, Gambling Buddy

Deceit: The Honest Lie

Rapport: International

Inspirations
The inspirations for this one are kind of vague. Kind of Brett Maverick, touch of Charles Wells, bit of Wednesday from American Gods, and I suppose a nod towards Bond.

Movie quote meme

2006-12-28T07:03:11Z

When there's no more room in hell, the bunnies will walk the earth.

Which movie was this quote from?

Oh, yeah!

Eduardo Martinez, El Padre

2006-12-20T20:16:21Z

Eduardo Martinez, El Padre

Phase 1
Eduardo was born into a poor, deeply devout family in rural Mexico. His beloved uncle, Jorge, was the local priest, responsible for a large, mostly farming area. To help the family out, Eduardo would often accompany his uncle when he made his rounds to minister to those who couldn't make it to mass.

As they crossed a dusty yard towards the farmhouse, the sun setting behind them, his uncle reminded him to be respectful. They were calling on a family that had sent for him in desperation, claiming their infant child was possessed. "It is just colic or a bad cough, or something like that. Possession ... it just doesn't happen. But you will not mock them. I will minister to them, calm their fears. You will be respectful, yes?"

"Yes. Uncle?"

Jorge Martinez stopped with his hand on the slightly open door. There was fear in his nephews voice. He turned to reassure him, and stopped when he saw how pale he had grown. He was trembling.

"What's wrong?"

"There is something very bad here. We need to leave. Please!"

His uncle sighed and smiled. "Don't be silly, Eduardo. It is only colic." He tousled his nephew's hair and pushed open the door ...

"... madre del dios ..."

Aspects: "I have looked long into the Abyss", Lost Uncle Jorge

Phase 2
Eduardo knew how his "gift" might be viewed, so he tried to keep it secret. He tried and failed. Perhaps it was blind luck, perhaps events were "guided", but either way, he was very fortunate that the visiting Bishop who put the pieces together and figured out Eduardo's secret had knowledge of certain Vatican programs.

Eduardo was sent out of his rural home, passed along until he reached Vatican City. It was there he was taught how to use his gifts as a covert Vatican operative. And just in time. The Great War was brutally inhumane and evil abounded, from Hell, from between the stars, from Earth's incomprehensibly distant past and it's distant future, and good old fashioned human evil.

Aspects: "Vaya ... con Dios", Vatican covert operative

Phase 3
El Padre and ... Judgment
The secret records of the Vatican record the life of an 18th century Vatican operative and demon hunter who disappeared while on a mission in rural France. What became of him and his pistol was a mystery. Of special interest was his pistol, Judgment, specially constructed and blessed, deadly dangerous to any evil thing in it's sights. Over the centuries, many had sought the gun, some who's motives were less than pure.

While in France, Martinez found a tantalizing clue as to the lost hunters last resting place. But he's not the only one to pick up on this clue, and now he's in a desperate race against those who will stop at nothing to get their hand on ... Judgment.

Aspects: Judgement, Ruthless

Phase 4

Aspects:

Phase 5

Aspects:

Skills
Superb: Mysteries
Great: Investigation, Resolve
Good: Empathy, Intimidation, Rapport
Fair: Athletics, Contacting, Deceit, Endurance
Average: Academics, Alertness, Fists, Resources, Weapons

Stunts
Mysteries: Personal Artifact*, Psychic, Words on the Wind
Resolve: Inner Strength, Still Standing

*Judgment (Personal Artifact): Looking at a casual glance like an 18th century double-barreled flintlock pistol, Judgment is no ordinary pistol. It is crafted from cold-wrought iron and white oak, with holy prayers inscribed upon the barrels. It does not fire balls of lead; indeed, the barrels are sealed off with silver. Instead, it fires balls of pure Holiness which pass harmlessly through physical objects and the innocent, shredding not the flesh and bone of those evil, but their souls. It can only be wielded by those gifted with being able to establish a mystical connection with the weapon.

Improvements: Blessed, Alternate Usage: Fired using Mysteries, Special Effect: Holy bullets.

Inspirations
There's a bit of Monsignor Martinez in here, a bit of Hellboy, a bit of Sylvia from Brotherhood of the Wolf, and a bit of John Constantine. Oh, and a smattering of Lovecraft. The gun idea came originally from one of my players, Ben, with some inspiration from Hellboy's Good Samaritan and the Colt from Supernatural.

Notes
Feel free to comment on this, make suggestions or constructive criticisms. I may tweak it a bit; I'm not absolutely 100% happy with the Aspects, myself.

My SotC Project/Challenge: 28 Characters

2006-12-19T23:01:29Z

When discussing SotC with the players, one thing I've pointed out is that there are no throw-away skills. A character could have any one of the skills as Superb, be built around that, and rock. The authors provided a set of stunts for each skill and, as I mentioned in a previous entry, copious advice on a skill-by-skill basis on how to use those skills to make the character interesting.

So, here's my project for the next month. I'll be taking the list of 28 skills and creating a character built around each one. It'll be a good exercise for me to get to know the system in depth. I'll be posting the characters on my LJ, and updating this list with links to the entries.

Academics
Alertness
Art
Athletics
Burglary
Contacting
Deceit
Drive
Empathy
Endurance
Engineering
Fists
Gambling: Johnny Dorado, International Gambler
Guns
Intimidation
Investigation
Leadership
Might
Mysteries: Eduardo Martinez, El Padre
Pilot
Rapport
Resolve
Resources
Science
Sleight
Stealth
Survival
Weapons

Update: Dec 20, linked to character I did up for Mysteries, Eduardo Martinez, El Padre.

Update: Feb 15, had the worst cold I've had in many years, which took the wind out of my sails even after I got over it. Anyways, I'm diving back into my gaming ~~habit~~ hobby, and this project. I'll be adding a link to the Gambling character momentarily.

More SotC Schtick

2006-12-19T22:48:25Z

It's occurred to me that there can be an issue with certain combinations of schticks in a group. A player can invest heavily into her character's schtick, through picking the appropriate skill as Superb, picking up two or three (or more!) stunts to support it, and having a handful of aspects supporting it as well. What happens when the schticks are fairly diverse?

For example, say you have a group with a player who's character's Superb skill is Pilot, another with Driving, and a third with Survival. In each case, they've selected stunts to support this Superb skill; the pilot has a Personal Aircraft, the driver has a Custom Ride, and the survivor, going for a bronco-busting cowboy theme, has a Hidalgo-esque Animal Companion. A fourth player has picked Fists as her character's Superb skill, with supporting stunts.

So, how do we give time to each character's schtick, the plane, the car and the horse, how do you give each character a chance to shine? The fourth character is easy; just try having a single session of a pulp game without fists flying! Giving time to that schtick is almost effortless. Making it interesting is another issue ...

Of course, the first answer is "talk with your group." I intend to, but beyond that, what ideas could the the GM bring to the discussion? Here's a couple different approaches.

A Big Ol' Shoehorn Made of Pulp
Pulp gives a lot of license to create contrived situations. Of course there's some situation in this adventure that really calls for someone with a plane. Of course there's an incident that just screams for someone with a fast horse. And, of course, there's a car chase.

I'll present this as a suggestion, and while it isn't my favoured approach, I'd be cool with it. The problem is that it could become a little too contrived, even for pulp:

Announcer: We now return to "Knightboat: the Crime-Solving Boat".
Michael: Faster, Knightboat! We gotta catch those starfish poachers.
Knightboat: You don't have to yell, Michael, I'm all around you.
Michael: Oh, no! They're headed for land. We'll never catch them now.
Knightboat: Incorrect. Look! A canal.
Homer: Go, Knightboat, go!
Bart: Oh, every week there's a canal.
Lisa: Or an inlet.
Bart: Or a fjord.
Homer: Quiet! I will not hear another word against the boat.

Round Robin
There's a couple components to this. The general idea is to run adventures where the focus alternates such that those with specialized schticks each get a turn to shine. That is, the Pilot shines this week, next week the Driver, and the Survivor the week following. Perhaps not that formally, but that's the general idea. (For those keeping score at home, yes I have shamelessly stolen this idea from PTA's spotlight episode concept.) When it's that players turn, there's a strong but not exclusive focus on her character.

The other component is a reminder to the players that their characters are not entirely their schtick, that their characters have other aspects (no pun intended), such as the Great skills. Even though in tonight adventure there's a strong emphasis on the Pilot's piloting skills and stunts, there's opportunities for the Driver's character to shine through use of her Contacting or Gambling skills, or something of that nature.

Hmmm, as I type this out, I'm liking this idea in general, and not just in the case of tightly focussed characters. I'll have to chew on this some.

These two ideas are not mutually exclusive. There could be somewhere between round robin adventures room to put a shoe-horned adventure.

What's Your 1920's Name?

2006-12-12T22:55:39Z

Your 1920's Name is:

Madison Dee

What's Your 1920's Name?

More Thoughts on Spirit of the Century

2006-12-07T19:55:38Z

Shtick Protection
Something I've noticed with SotC, something I never really grasped with FATE, is how the skill pyramid tightly focuses a character. With SotC, you get one and only one skill at Superb, forcing you to ask "what is my character best at, what is her thing, her shtick?"

It then follows that this is a useful tool for shtick protection (more commonly known as niche protection, but I like shtick better when talking about SotC). In fact, I've give my players the following guideline (not hard-and-fast rule): try not to give your character the same Superb skill as another player's character. If you really have to, consider carefully the other character's Great skills, and pay special attention to their stunts.

Pulp Love
While I'm on the topic of guidelines, one of my players asked if I wanted to stick to physical and social skills and stunts, or if he could have a more mystical character.

Manys a time when I've come up with some idea for a game in a different genre, something a little over the top, and thought to myself, "Hmmm, I'd better tone that down." With the pulp genre, I'm more likely to think "Hmmm, that's only a little over the top. I'd better kick that puppy up a few notches." Yeah, I love that about pulp.

So, I told the player to go nuts.

Thoughts on Spirit of the Centry

2006-12-06T19:22:58Z

I thought I'd post a few of the thoughts I've had while prepping for an upcoming SotC game.

SotC neatly solves a couple problems I've had with prior games.

In CoC (which I dearly love), I've always had a problem with things like the Library Use roll. There's the much talked about problem with failing the Library Use roll, missing the crucial clue, and then the world is destroyed. But it's also always struck me as odd that someone skilled in doing research in a library, someone familiar with the various resources available, could fail. Given sufficient time, success should be pretty much automatic. (I also had a problem with the time it takes to read a mythos book. It's always seemed both too long and too short to me. But that's a subject for another post.)

And this is the approach taken with SotC. The Academics skill can be used for research, and so long as the library the character is using is sufficient, your character will find the information, its just a matter of time. And the GM can use this time factor to good effect. Can the character finish his research before the cultists find him?

When I played James Bond (way back in the day, and another game I dearly love), I felt compelled to try to grab as many Bondian gadgets as possible. I just had no idea what was coming up, and what gadgets would be handy. The problem is that in the movies, when Q handed Bond some new toy, you just knew that later in the movie it would be just the right gadget to have. As a player in an RPG, I was at a disadvantage compared to the writer of a Bond flick.

With SotC, in addition to the Personal Gadget stunt which allows you to define some signature gadget your character always has, you can take the Universal Gadget stunt. Universal Gadgets are less impressive than Personal Gadget, but they can be defined on the fly; "Hey, I have just the thing we need!" The gadget is then "stuck" in that form for the rest of the adventure, after which it resets.

So, was it worth it?

2006-11-24T23:22:11Z

So I have my hardcover copy of Spirit of the Century in my hot little hands. Back in the first week of September when I placed my pre-order, I had to hold my breath a bit. It was 50 bones US, plus another 15 for shipping-and-handling. That's about 73, 74 bucks Canadian. Then when it showed up, Canada Post wanted $8.32 CAD, GST plus about 5 bucks fee for collecting the GST. [insert Canada Post rant here]. So, all together it was a smidge over 80 bucks Canadian.

Having pre-ordered, I've had the PDF in my hands for awhile now, and print-outs of some sections, but to hold the actual book in my hands ... it's a thing of beauty. It's a 411 page love letter from Donoghue, Hicks and Balsera to the world of pulp. At the same time, I'm struck by the professionalism. Not content with a nice ToC and extensive index, the authors also added extensive cross-referencing throughout the book, greatly enhancing the ease-of-use.

So, was it worth it? Totally, without reservation. That 80 bucks will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment for myself and my group. And that's just counting the actual SotC play. Over and above that, there is a fraking gold-mine of advice in this book. The advice on running the game, the advice on running an improv game, the advice on taking each individual skill and turn it from a blah skill check into something that leaps up and smacks you in the face with 50 kilos of awesome ... I've been running games for a couple decades now, and SotC is a book that will make me a better GM no matter what game I'm running.

Second Session of DRYH

2006-09-27T06:58:35Z

We played out second session last Friday. Having learned a few valuable lessons from the previous week, how did this week go?

Much better. We had an opportunity to talk before the game began (advatage of finding players at work ), and really solidify our understanding. We talked about what we felt were the two biggest disconnects from the first game.

First, he was looking for my plot, and expected his characters goals to be a side issue. That's been cleared up, and he now expects his characters actions driven by his goals to be the plot.

Second, he was thinking "first level D&D character, someone who can take on a kobold, maybe" and expecting his character to be weak. That's also been cleared up, and he expects a pretty potent character, but one who needs to exercise some care in how he uses that power.

We also talked about directorial power, that he can create locations and NPCs and set up scenes. That's not something he's used to in his previous gaming, but he was keen to get into it.

Last night's game went very well. In the first game, he ran from a single clockwork cop. In last night's game, he gave up sneaking around highschool, walked into what seemed to be a receptionists office, and simply asked to see Mother When.

This took me by surprise. When he asked Mother When for a book from her library, I figured she wouldn't be interested in a book about an old man. What interests her is new students. Ok, she asks him to bring her three students to enroll in her school, and she wasn't particular as to how. "I'll raise them to be fine young women." He did it, in what we both thought was a creepy scene.

We talked briefly about it, and it turns out his character doesn't see the locals as "people" or even real in any meaningful way. It will be interesting to see where this winds up. I'm going to be introducing bangs in the next game to explore this view point.

Overall, he took control of the plot, started taking action and moving his character along towards his goals. He also created an NPC out of whole cloth, an NPC who became quite pivotal in last night's session.

I pushed more conflicts at him, more rolling was done, and we actually wound up making use of the depair/hope coin economy mechanics (amoung the clever mechanics of DRYH, this stands out as especially clever; more on this in a moment). Last game, I had one Coin of Despair which I never used. This game, I had two Coins, spent them giving the player two Coins of Hope, which he made use of.

The Coin mechanic is very clever. It encourages soft-hearted GMs to throw Pain and lots of it at the PCs, earn Coins of Despair, and then spend those Coins to make life hard for the PCs. If they don't, the players won't get Coins of Hope.

Lessons Learned Running a D&D Player Through DRYH

2006-09-27T06:56:20Z

Two Friday's ago evening, I ran a game of Don't Rest Your Head for one player. I discuss the set up in this post.

The session had it's moments, and overall it was fun. The setting is every evocative leading to some nice scenes, and the mechanics worked very well. For instance, at one point Leon uses his Wierd Science madness talent to come up with a ray-gun to blast some nightmare's minions. Deciding how many madness dice to use was very smooth; how powerful do you want your gun to be, and how much do you wish to risk by making it that reality-bendingly powerful?

However, there were some problems with the session, and the cause of the problems was me.

In talking with the player about the session, and doing some thinking about it on my own, I've come away with a number of lessons learned, things to do better next time. It's worth noting before I go into details that the player's only previous RPG experience was with D&D and Star Wars, something I should have taken into consideration.

After escaping from the gun-man (by going out a window into Mad City and down the fire escape), the game kind of wandered aimlessly. When Leon went to a cafe to collect his thoughts, I had another Awake join him at his table and provide him with a few tidbits of information. I wanted to give the player a better idea of possible things to do.

Leon wound up at the Bazaar, bartered for some information and started following up on it. Around this time I realized that I needed to be pressing him more, throwing more conflicts and challenges his way. What we wound up with was a kind of Mad City travelogue, where Leon poked his nose into various nightmare's realms and then high-tailed it out of there.

Here's where I had another realization: I haven't given the player a proper impression of his characters power, that he wasn't just a dusty professor, he was a dusty professor who was Awake and able to bend reality. He has some potency. So I cornered him with three minions, giving him no way out. Dice were thrown, and when the dust settled Leon had handily beaten the minions (and wounded a number of locals; pain dominated).

We decided to wrap it up at this point, and during our after-game conversation I found out that the player had no real idea of what he was supposed to do, what his goals were. He was waiting for a plot-hook (he quipped "Where's the quest giver?", a WoW reference). So I talked about the trajectory, the line drawn between "What just happend?" and "What's my path?", extending beyond to the end of the character's story. I hadn't made this clear to him before the game began, that his character's goals, his character's story wasn't some side-line that he persues while following my main plot. It is the main plot.

So, lessons learned:

I should have taken the player's previous experience into consideration when prepping for the game, and done some more prep-work. A bit more "scaffolding" was needed, I think.
I should have spent more time talking with the player about the game, his character's goals, his character's abilities. Mostly the goals. And I probably should have specifically mentioned things he could do to persue those goals.
I should have poured it on, brought a lot more pressure to bear on the character.