July 20, 2009: Superfluous O!

GURPS Classic: IOU! We all know the joke. "What does the O stand for?" Well, maybe that's the wrong question to ask. Perhaps it's of a "what is the O saying" sort of situation. "What is the O doing?" "Is the O a threat to us?" "Where did they get that O from, anyway?" "Hey, didn't I meet that O at a party once in Peoria?"

Whatever that O is doing in there, I assure you that the product is only enhanced by it. It adds that layer of mystery needed for any good book about the weird and wonderful. If this was as cut and dried as "GURPS: Going to College with Space Aliens," you wouldn't buy the book. You'd think, "Oh my, that's a terrible title, and they're terrible people for using it! How dreadful! Come, let us away from this, that we might rid outselves of its aura of failure." See? You gotta have the mysterious O, or cultured people will scorn you!

So we embrace you, oh O. You are the key to our successful business strategy. Without you, IOU would be little more than a very silly book featuring very silly art, and would never reach it's ful potential! Why, it might even be . . . normal! Perish the thought. (. . . and then go buy the book!)

-- Fox Barrett