We had a good 2008 here at Casa Forbeck, for which we’re happy and grateful. Whoever you are, wherever you may be, I hope you had a wonderful year and—either way—that you have an even better one ahead in 2009.
Dec 312008
Top 1d4 Reasons Why Santa Must Be a Gamer
- He’s surrounded by munchkins he calls “elves.” (Come on. Real elves [4E: eladrin] are much taller, specialize in more than “toy magic,” and are wicked with a bow.)
- Collects magic items and mounts. (A bag of holding [for the toys] and a sleigh of flying, plus eight flying reindeer led by a boss reindeer with a glowing, red nose.)
- He only gets out once a year, but he stays out all night long talking about paladins. (Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good knight!)
- He’s a fat white man with a beard—and he likes it that way!
Happy holidays to you all, and may those lumps in the bottom of your stocking be dice rather than coal!
Dec 212008
My latest essay, “Noncompulsive Writing,” is now up at Storytellers Unplugged. It’s about how I motivate myself to write when I rarely find that just can’t do without it. Stop by and give it a read!
Dec 182008
Will Hindmarch‘s latest in his series of excellent articles on The Lord of the Rings Online has been posted to the game’s website. “Hero’s Guide to Zelem-melek” takes you on a guided tour of one of the coolest parts of Moria.
I edit many of these articles, so I know how much sweat Will puts into every bit of his work. He always impresses me with the great screenshots he gets. This is much harder to do than you might think. Just try grabbing a well-framed image with everything you need in it—characters, monsters, UI, etc.—at just the right moment.
There should be a proper name for this sort of activity, which we’re only going to see more of in the future. I suggest “screentography,” if only because it’s less of a mouthful than “screenshotography.”
Anyone else have better suggestions? I’d love to hear them.
Dec 112008
I have a lot of games, and not enough room for them all. It makes me sad to know they’re stuffed away in boxes in my attic like refugees from the Island of Misfit Toys that came just this close to being useful and then failed. I want them to find good homes with gamers who will play with them and give them the attention they deserve.
That’s where you might be able to help.
With the able and eager assistance of Marty, my eldest son, I’m going to start listing all sorts of games and other stuff on eBay on a regular basis. I’m setting the bids low with no reserves because this isn’t about making money.
Well, I won’t toss the money away, and Marty is getting a cut. All right, it’s not all about the money. It’s more about finding happy and loving homes for my long-neglected games.
So, if you’re interested, or if you suspect you know someone who might be, be sure to check out my eBay page to see what’s up. Or glance at the snazzy new eBay widget page here on my site for some fancy browsing.
If you have any requests for particular items you suspect I might have, just let me know. And if you care to have me deface a perfectly good book, autographs (as always) are free and available upon request. I’ll even sign things I didn’t write! And Marty and I will keep putting up games and more until the attic is bare—at least until we fill it up again.
Dec 092008
Infogrames (now known under the name Atari, which it purchased a few years back) just announced that it bought Cryptic Studios. This means that Champions fans can stop worrying about how the game might get finished in this challenging economy. It also means that my pal Jack Emmert (and hopefully my other friends at Cryptic) will be wearing a very big grin for Christmas.
Dec 092008
Will Hindmarch‘s latest article about The Lord of the Rings Online, “Hero’s Guide to the Foundations of Stone,” is now up. Will’s words (which I edited) and screenshots capture one of the strangest and deepest parts of the new Mines of Moria expansion. Be sure to check it out.
Dec 092008
Lousy winter weather here in southern Wisconsin has the entire Forbeck family stuck at home together today. (My wife’s a school social worker, and her school cancelled classes today too.) I skipped my Alliterates meeting last night to avoid it, but it tracked me down and socked me in just the same. Days like this, I’m extra glad I don’t have to drive to work.
It all looks very pretty and makes me happy to be inside—at least until I have to go out and clear the driveway, but that won’t be until after the snow slows down a bit this evening.
Dec 082008
If you can read French, check out the latest page of Mademoiselle Blok. On the final panel, you’ll see a very odd superhero wearing a T-shirt for my Brave New World RPG. If you can’t get the page to load, try switching your language on the site to French. The English translations are still about five pages behind.
Vincent Demons, a big fan of Brave New World, is the director of publication of Foolstrip, the site that publishes Mademoiselle Blok, among a number of other free-to-read comics. He suggested that writer and artist Eva C. include the tip of the hat to the game.
Thanks much to both Vincent and Eva for making my day.
I’ve just received my assignment for the upcoming Family Games: The 100 Best, the family-friendly sequel to last year’s Hobby Games: The 100 Best. For those not in the know, the award-winning original featured 100 essays from 100 top game designers, each writing about one of his or her favorite games. (Mine covered Space Hulk.)
I’m not yet supposed to tell you what game I’m tackling this time around, but I can reveal certain other details about the project. My pal Jim Lowder once again helms the book, serving as its editor and (more importantly) writer wrangler. My compadres at Green Ronin step forward once more as the brave and proud publishers.
Instead of “hobby games,” this volume focuses on games that have proven their appeal to a wider audience—and that haven’t already been seen in the first book. However, many of the writers—over half, perhaps well over—who made the first book such a gem will reprise their efforts for Family Games: The 100 Best. Plus, my longtime friend Mike Gray (the senior director of product acquisition at Hasbro) will pen the forward, while my more recent friend Wil Wheaton (come on, you know who Wil is) will bring it all to a resounding end with the afterword.
I don’t have any hard details, but I suspect you’ll be able to get your hands on the book sometime in 2009, perhaps in time for the summer convention season. I may be writing one entry, but I really can’t wait to read the other 99.
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