Edit: This post was imported from Point of Play, my gaming blog, which I’ve collapsed into this one.

Sunday night we got together to make up characters and talk a little more about the game. It started out a little slowly, but picked up speed as everybody saw how simple it was and people started offering suggestions to each other. We came out with the following protagonists:

Sam Holloway, the Oasis chief of security. Holloway is a workaholic dealing with a failed marriage, a violent temper, and a coke problem. His ex-wife, Juanita, didn’t show up in the pilot (which I’ll cover in another post) but almost certainly will appear soon. Holloway’s issue is Self-Destruction and is played by Rob.

Andrew Worcester, a roulette dealer in the casino. Andrew’s wife died about six months ago after a lingering illness that nearly bankrupted him and left him the sole parent of a 14-year-old daughter who resents having to move from the family home to a small apartment. Andrew has a degree in mathematics, but right now the Oasis is the best job he can manage. He’s trying to prove to himself and to his daughter that he can be a good father, so we classified his Issue as Self-Worth. Jake plays this protagonist.

Kitty Conway, a reporter for an as-yet-unspecified newspaper. Kitty lives in the shadow of her father, a veteran newspaperman in Las Vegas. She’s out to prove that she’s got what it takes to break big stories and doesn’t have to trade on the Conway name. Her Issue is also Self-Worth, and she’s played by Bonita.

Stone Thompson, an agent of the Nevada Gaming Commission assigned to the Oasis. Thompson is an anal-retentive, by-the-book, squeaky-clean, perfectionist control freak. He’s here to make sure that everything in this casino is on the level. He’s got an old military buddy on the police force who’s been compromised somehow by the mob, but Thompson’s loyal to his friends. His Issue is Control-Obsession, and Ryan insisted on the name “Stone.”

Rae Fannin is a fresh-faced, determined woman in her mid-20s. She is an agent employed by the Gaming Commission and has recently moved to Las Vegas for her first assignment: undercover as a cocktail waitress at the newly reopened Oasis. Her new job is her lifeline: the recent move and apparent choice of employment dismays her mother greatly, and although her on again/off again boyfriend (also a Gaming Commission employee) understands her situation entirely, he’s also been transferred to Atlantic City. Rae’s do-gooder nature is bound to cause her problems in the bureacracy of the system, as well as her on-site contact, Stone Thompson. Her issue is Ambition, and she’s played by Deirdra. [character blurb supplied by Deirdra. Thanks Deir!]

We established that the casino has been shut down for several months for some reason. We didn’t establish exactly what, but we tossed out some ideas. I think it’s going to come out in play that Something Big was behind the shutdown. The pilot episode starts with the casino Grand Reopening.

Rob pushed for every episode to either start with or include Holloway throwing somebody out of the casino. I love continuity stuff like that and everybody else thought it was good too, so we’re almost certain to throw that in.

We talked about sets that we’d use and had some trouble coming up with them. Rather than worry too much over it, we just threw out a few suggestions and decided we’d come up with the rest on the spot.

We’d originally struggled a little on The Big Idea for the show, but sometime last week I had a moment of inspiration that tied everything together. Unlike the Real Vegas, our Vegas is corrupt and the Mafia has a piece of every pie except this one, but they want in on the action. The Oasis is the one legitimate joint in a crooked town, but will it remain that way?