People wander in and out of the gaming industry all the time. For instance, this year at Gen Con, I ran into Matt Grau (formerly of Steve Jackson Games) and Nic Jequier (formerly of XID Creative), neither of whom I’d seen in years, and I had a wonderful time catching up with them.
Here’s a blast from the past that comes from a direction I would never have guessed. Mark Rein-Hagen (formerly of White Wolf, and the creator of the World of Darkness) is now married, has a child, and lives in Georgia.
No, not the state of Georgia, where White Wolf is based. The nation of Georgia, which is currently enmeshed in a struggle with Russia. When the recent conflict broke out, Mark set up a new website (SOSGeorgia.org) to tell the world about what he could see happening in Georgia.
Stop by the site and take a look at a nation in crisis, funneled through the perspective of a writer and game designer who’s married into it. It’s well worth it.
My pal John Wick has a funny video he’s made up from a series of photos he took at Gen Con. Most of these feature people at the show posing with John’s plush avatar Bear.
I show up in the first photo, less than 20 seconds in. Stick around and watch the whole thing for fun and to see how many people you recognize.
My friends at Patch Products are looking for a product designer. They make all sorts of cool things, including games, toys, coloring books, puzzles, and foam sports balls, and they’re best known for games like TriBond, which they sold to Mattel last year. They have a great benefits package, including an on-site gym and on-site day care. Best of all, the job is right here in beautiful Beloit, Wisconsin.
If you’re interested in the job and have any questions about Patch or Beloit, just let me know. I’m always happy to shill for my favorite companies and bring good people to the area.
I turned 40 earlier this month, and over my enfeebled objections, my lovely wife has decided to throw a 40th birthday party for me this Saturday. If you’re a local friend and haven’t yet gotten an invitation, it means my impending senility has robbed me of access to your contact details. Pop me one of those newfangled e-mails the kids are all using these days, and I’ll correct that oversight so you can come and help me wash away the pain and the horror of my encroaching mortality.
Jeremy Jones (who must be tired of talking with me by now) has another interview with me posted on FlamesRising.com. This one covers the details of shared-world writing and what it’s like to get paid to play in someone else’s sandbox.
As always, I had a great time chatting with hosts Christian Lindke and Bill Cunningham. The talk ranged over a wide range of topics, from the Mutant Chronicles and Brave New World movies to the Blood Bowl novels and comics and the various computer games on which I’m working. We also wax philosophic about the state of the gaming industry, the fate of the RPG market, and the state of terror and politics.
Here’s the official graphic for this year’s silver ENnies. Shiny!
I took home less than 1% of one of these for my essay in Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Now to figure out which piece I get. I think one of the pips on the 6-face of the die would be cool.
I suspect there’s a 1d100 (or 1d%) table around here somewhere… Oh, I’ll just use the book’s table of contents!
As a reminder, I’ll be on Geekerati Radio this Monday, August 25, starting at 9 PM my (Central) time and 7 PM their (Pacific) time. The call-in number is (646) 478-5041. If you’re available, be sure to give us a ring to inspire the chat!
Glenn McDonald, whom I met briefly at Gen Con, writes for the Raleigh-Durham News & Observer. In the issue dated August 22, 2008, he has a kind article about the show, which includes a note about how local Jason Morningstar’s Grey Ranks won (or at least tied for) the Diana Jones Award. It features a short quote from me about how wonderful Jason’s game is.
That’s right, it was a tie. The committee doesn’t particularly like ties, of course. No one does. But in this case we had a clear and solid split between two equally and well-deserving items. So the tie stands!
Congratulations to both Wolf and Jason! Their work truly is excellent.
It’s not an accident. It’s not Goldfarb being flip. He did it once and gave a clever apology, then did it again a month later. I’m going to assume he’s a smart guy who knows what he’s doing.
So what’s he doing?
In the minds of some people (notably the Religious Right), “Dungeons & Dragons player” is a codeword for “Satanist.” This works much in the way that “no litmus test for judges” actually means “picking pro-life judges.”
In this case, Goldfarb uses this misconception about gamers as a wide brush with which he can tar anyone he likes. Pro-Obama bloggers? Satanists. Editors of the New York Times? Satanists.
The mad brilliance of this, of course, is that if the people against McCain are with Satan, then just who is with McCain?
The fine folks at Geekerati Radio (the podcast linked with Christian Lindke’s pop culture blog Cinerati) apparently didn’t learn their lesson when they interviewed me last year. They’ve asked me to appear on their show once more!
Tune in on Monday night, August 25, at 7 PM Pacific Time (9 PM Central for me), listen live, and call in with questions, please! You can always listen in later, of course, but this is your chance to put me on the spot and ask me questions about anything in front of the collective ears of the entire internet.
Jeremy Jones, who sometimes comments around here, recently interviewed me for Kobold Quarterly, the magazine published by fellow Alliterate and all-round good guy Wolfgang Baur. For me, the highlight of the interview is the all-too-kind quote my pal John Kovalic gave Jeremy for the article. Go ahead and read it, wipe your eyes at the raw emotion, and then come back here.
Here’s the ironic part about the quote. In it, John answers Jeremy’s question about whether or not I’m the Nicest Guy in Gaming. (A scurrilous rumor at best.) John’s response deferentially leaves the title to me, but the sheer quality of it proves that John is actually far more deserving.
I chatted with Ken Hite about it at Gen Con, and there’s no longer any doubt. John is the undisputed king!
(And I’m having him write blurbs for anything else I ever do.)
Normally, I steer wide of GAMA politics these days. However, three of my good friends—Hal Mangold (of Green Ronin), Michelle Nephew (of Atlas Games), and Paul Tevis (of Have Games, Will Travel)—were elected to the GAMA board at Gen Con. Condolences Congratulations to all three!
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