mind_of_richard

N. Robin Crossby, the creator of Hârn and HârnMaster, died.

I was never a fan of the game, but was always a fan of the setting. Hârn was a map lovers dream, as well as good example of world building.

This year sucks for geeks.

Rogue Games is not a d20 publisher.

There is something in the air.

Rogue Games has released their second card game -- :16! In addition Rogue Games is doing something different -- they are giving it away for free.

Drawing inspiration from the cult of personality surrounding today's celebrity, :16 is a fast paced card game for 2 to 4 players. Players compete against each other to gain fame and increase their celebrity status. By using your fame, you are able to spin rumors against your fellow players all in the attempt to make the most of your celebrity status.

:16 is a card game that Rogue Games believes in, but are unsure what the reaction to it will be. What we have decided to do is offer a free prototype of the game. This game has been tested and is ready for play. What we hope you do is play it and let us know what you think.

Unlike other playtests, there is no need to sign any Non Disclosure Agreements, swear blood oaths of secrecy, or anything else. All you need to do is visit the Rogue Games website, and download a copy of the game. Upon doing this you have you very own copy of the prototype. As a prototype, there are no art, but the cards and rules are laid out and ready to play. Not only is this your chance to play a complete game for free, but you get a chance to peak at the design process.

Everything you need to play the game is in this PDF. The cards have been designed to work with Avery 5390™ Name Badge Insert Refills. Simply print the cards out on them, separate and you are all set to play. Heck, you do not even need to print the cards out on Avery 5390™ Name Badge Insert Refills. All we want you to do is play the game.

To learn more about the game, or to download the Open Beta Playtest, visit www.rogue-games.net.

Last September I pre-ordered a Wii Fit. Word on the street is that this is going to be a huge hit for the House Mario Built. In fact, Amazon has sold out of all their stock, and I am seeing the Fit go for $180. When I pre-ordered I got locked in with a lower price, and with Super Saver Shipping, my cost for the Fit is going to be lower than retail. Last night I got the email it shipped.

Total geek news, I admit. Still Nintendo has shown more and more that they are going for something different with the Wii. The Fit, I feel is one more example of this.

BTW, been playing No More Heroes a lot over the last few weeks. Really a great game.

I am worn out.

The only thing of note to report is that I finished Super Mario Galaxy, including the Quest for the Purple Coins. I got a 100% on the game.

So far, for me, this has been the best game released on the Wii to date.

I am not worn out due to Mario, I am worn out due to the day job. I am just dragging now. I need a break.

As of last night we have went live with the Encyclopedia Galactica.

Over the weeks and months to come this will grow larger and contain more information. Point your browser to http://www.rogue-games.net/galactica.html and take a look.

I unplugged last night from everything.

No Internet.

No writing. Nothing.

I pretty much sat in my chair, read and thought.

I thought about gaming, game design, my love affair with this hobby, and more importantly the event of watching my childhood Gods die.

Three deaths hit me the hardest before yesterday: Steve Gerber, Tom Snyder, and Lloyd Alexander. When I wrote in those posts that I was gutted, I was. Those three individuals were such a large part of my life. I grew up as a Army Brat and I found myself in new towns on a regular basis. Military children, in order to survive, look for things to latch on to. We do so in order to survive the sudden changes that being a military child entails.

No one, and no creation, helped me too survive more than Dungeons & Dragons. It was my doorway into a place I could call home. As my physical surroundings changed, the surroundings of my imagination was constant. It was this constant that enabled me to deal with each new move--which always happened in the summer the day after school got out--without having friends.

It was my in. My way to meet new friends at each new "hometown" I found myself in. More than that, it was Dungeons & Dragons that kindled a raging fire of curiosity leading to my life long love affair with reading. The first time I picked up those strange dice as a impressionable eight-year old I was hooked. More than being hooked on games and gaming, I was hooked on reading. I wanted to know more about history and the fiction influencing a game I loved.

Back in those days what we knew about Gygax was what we read in the pages of Dragon and the forwards of the hardcover D&D books. When you are young, and when you live in a age without the ready access to the Internet, the stories that are known now, did not exist. Rereading his old "Sorceror's Scroll" columns last night, I was struck with the passion he had for this game and this hobby. This passion, did not diminish with age.

When exactly I knew I wanted to design games, I cannot tell you. Yet, it was the likes of Gygax, Arneson, Bledsow and the rest of the "Old Guard," that showed me you could design games. So design I did. It was my hobby, much like my friends (who I did meet after settling in a new "hometown") who liked to fish, play baseball, collect baseball cards, and the like. For me games and game design were my hobby. The bulk of those early games were done for my, and my friends, enjoyment.

"You cannot design games as a job," my parents liked to tell me seemingly forever. Hell, when I had to go through the interview process to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout, one of the adults asked me what I wanted to do as an adult. My response was simple. "I want to design games." In return I got blank stares, and told I was being silly. I refused to listen to this. I am glad I didn't. It is my love of this hobby, that drove me, and still drives me to this day.

I have been lucky in many ways.

I use to work for Dave Arneson and got to talk with him and learn from him. I also got to meet some of the original Blackmoor players. I have meet a lot of people who I consider to be friends because of gaming. I got the bug to design games. I got the crazy idea to form my own company with James. All of this I owe to Gygax, because if it was not for him, this hobby, that we know and love, would not be possible.

One of my most prized gaming possessions is a GenCon 1985 program book signed by him. Through the years, and with every move, this book has been with me. As I purged the library and game library before each move, it is the works of Gygax that I have kept.

What is the mark of Gygax's transcendence?

When non-gamers and non-geeks knew who he was and knew what he did. Though Ariana does not game, she is the wife of a gamer, and she knew how the passing of Gygax was going to hit me. My in-laws, whose only concept of gaming is traditional board games like Monopoly, knew who Gygax was. Hell, as I write this, Tony Kornheiser talks about the passing of Gygax on his morning radio show.

Gygax, was a giant.

Period.

His influence reverberates through the culture. James Wallis said it best, when he wrote:

Now, at last, we can forget all the crap he did later. Even if he only had one moment of genius, it’s such a moment of such genius that it instantly elevates him into the very highest echelons of game-design greatness. His work built not one but two industries—how quickly would computer games have moved out of the arcade without the likes of Colossal Cave?—a genre, and a language of shared experience in fantastic worlds shared by hundreds of millions of people.

Gygax.

Few people can be known just by one name.

More than that, Gygax showed us how to harness the power of the imagination and forge worlds that exist only within the mind's eye.

I am gutted.

E. Gary Gygax is dead.

I cannot even begin to process this right now. I am really stunned.

I am trying to put into words how important the works of Gygax was too me, but I cannot.

I cannot accept this.

To the gamers out there.

Remember F.A.T.A.L.?

(click here for an epic review of this game.)

Guess who has a copy of the PDF?

Go on, guess.

Yes, I have a copy.

Yes, I plan on reading it.

Actually, attempt to read it.

Why?

I am curious, I have just finished reading The World of Synnibarr and its' only supplement.

I am also a glutton for punishment.

The rumors and mythology that surrounds this game is legendary. It always provokes endless discussion on RPG.net's forums.

So I am going to read it.

Wish me luck.

Just so you think we are only selling a PDF, here are the first shots of the print version. I got this baby delivered to me last night. It is coming.



So it exists. :)

I have made my love for the Wii known for awhile. One of the games I have been looking forward to getting my hands on is Super Smash Brothers. The game was delayed, but is now back on track. It is coming out in Japan this week. Someone has leaked the opening movie to the web. Seeing this, I want this game even more.

Rogue Games is pleased to announce that their next roleplaying game, Thousand Suns is now available for pre-orders through Indy Press Revolution.

Those ordering the book, receive a copy of the rulebook as a PDF free of charge. To order your copy, and get the PDF, you can click here.

Thousand Suns is due to hit stores mid-February, and will be supported both online and in print.

If you are wondering what our next game is like, or, you cannot wait to start playing now, then head over to IPR and get your copy today!

Thank you for choosing Pan Galactic Spacelines. We know you have many choices when it comes to interstellar travel and we appreciate your choice in us.

As we near the jump gates, and to make your voyage a little easier, we are beaming to your HUD a copy of the Thousand Suns Basics.

Once we make jump, we will begin the dinner service.

Once again thank you for choosing Pan Galactic Spacelines, and we hope you enjoy the flight.

Now it can be told.

Coming May 2008, your questions are answered.

Colonial Gothic: Secrets

They hide in the shadows of the hallows. They lurk in the alleys of New York. They slink along the docks of Charleston. What are they?

Secrets.

From societies, to hidden magic, secrets beat through the veins of the colonies.

Some may think they know everything that has transpired in the colonies, but they are wrong. There are dark things afoot. There are those with vengeance in their heart who seek to unleash it. There are creatures prowling the shadows awaiting to entangle the unsuspecting in their maws. There is evil flowing in the wind.

Secrets.

Secret history. Secret plots. Secret agendas.

These are the secrets of Colonial Gothic.

All is revealed May 2008.

Colonial Gothic: Secrets
120 pages, b&w, softcover
RGG 1710, $12.99

New content is up at the New World Almanack. I cleared out my notebook of notes about the thirteen original colonies. Some of it is a bit rough, but I took all of this straight from my notes. When I have time, I will go back and add more information to it.

Next week, will be another update which will talk about what colonists from the three regions are like. Basically info on attitudes and the what not.

Now a little info on Book 2. Here is what the book will contain:

Chapter 1: Independence

* The Colonies
* The Native View of the Revolution
* The Shadows
* The Revolution

Chapter 2: Shot Heard Round the World

* Florida
* Louisiana
* The Caribbean
* Canada

Chapter 3: Heroic Life

* Skills
* Animal Totems
* Actions
* Books and their Use

Chapter 4: Secret Societies

* What the title says. :)

Chapter 5: Alchemy and Magic

* My favorite chapter

Chapter 6: Bestiary

The book will be out in May, and goes into layout next month. The title of the book is Colonial Gothic: Secrets. Following the release of this book will be a third book coming out in August of this year.

There you go.

I have been playing this:

What do I think of this game?

Perfection.

As good as any Mario game I have played. Far better than Zelda (which I love btw).

Super Mario Galaxy is perfection.

And yes, I am still writing, but when I am not writing, I am playing this game.

I got two packages in the mail yesterday.

The first one was my copy of Delta Green Eyes Only.

The second was my copies of Raven C.S. McCracken's The World Of Synnibarr and Raven C.S. McCracken's The Ultimate Adventurer's Guide.

Yes, I am serious.

Yes, I know the McCracken books do not compare to the greatness that is Delta Green Eyes Only. Yet, I am a gamer and the price was too good to pass up for Synnibarr. What is interesting is that these two purchases mark the first gaming purchase I have made in some time (the other was buying Victoriana 2nd Edition at this past GenCon). I do not know what that says about me.

When I get through reading them I will let you know what I think.

Watch it. This is indescribable.

Small update over at the New World Almanack.

What does it deal with?

Items of Significance.

There is some foreshadowing going on.