Voting Video

My step-cousin Theresa just sent me a link to “Don’t Vote,” the best public service announcement ever. It’s hilarious. Not safe for work or kids, but funny and true.

Some states close voter registration as early as this Saturday. (In Wisconsin, we can walk in and register on the day of the election, but it’s easier if you set it up ahead of time to avoid any challenges.) If you haven’t registered yet, get going on it. You don’t have to make up your mind about your candidates or referenda yet, but if you don’t register, you lose the chance to chip in your vote on November 4. Go now.

Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #4 Out Tomorrow!

BBKC_04_A.jpgYes, it’s a big week for releases here in Casa Forbeck. Tomorrow (October 1) sees the release of Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #4. In this issue, the Bad Bay Hackers take on the Chaos All-Stars with all the resultant tentancular mayhem you’d expect from such a matchup. Lads does his now-traditional great job of translating my words into art–or so I believe in my heart, although I’ve not actually seen any of it yet. Expect to find me in a store tomorrow, looking for my first glimpse of the interior pages too!

BBKC_04_B.jpgI’m told that issue #5 is already off to the printer too, which means this warped and twisted tale should wrap up soon. I’ll be sorry to see it all come to an end, but I hope you enjoy the story as a whole once you get to read it all. It’s been a great ride for me.

LOTRO Articles

I’ve been playing around with a lot of different MMOs lately. Here’s one reason why.

A new, ongoing series of web articles about The Lord of the Rings Online started appearing yesterday on the game’s official website. The always excellent Will Hindmarch wrote the first, “Hero’s Guide to Hollin Gate,” under my editorial management. These should appear every week for the foreseeable future, with Will and I chipping in our efforts every other week. Be sure to check them out!

Mutant Chronicles on Sale!

mccover.jpgToday’s the big day. My novelization of the Mutant Chronicles film is officially on sale! Run on down to your friendly local bookseller and pick up a copy of your very own–or download an eBook version from your favorite online purveyor of such marvels.

As I’ve said here before, I had a wonderful time working on this book. Fred Malmberg, Jay Zetterberg Leslie Buhler, Leigh Stone, and Thommy Wojciechowski at Paradox were, as ever, a true pleasure to work with, and the same goes for Keith Clayton and Sue Moe, my excellent editors at Del Rey.

The film’s not out here in North America yet, so this is your best chance to get your hands on the story and picture it in your head instead. If you’re still on the fence, check out this short excerpt for a free taste of the whole dish.

Dansky on Game Writing

Over on Storytellers Unplugged, my pal Rich Dansky recently posted “Young Industry My Sweet Patootie, You Goldurn Whippersnappers.” It’s an excellent essay on the challenges of writing for video games and why it continues to be hard to do well even after decades of such games on the market. The excuse, of course, is that video games are a relatively young medium–which is true, when compared to things like books–but Rich chews right through that chestnut to get to the truth beneath.

Games of All Kinds

My friend Jesse Scoble has an excellent article up at Gameplaywright.com about the “Pixels to Paper” panel held at this past summer’s Gen Con. The panel featured my pals Jack Emmert (of Cryptic Studios) and Ed Stark and Dave Williams (of Red 5 Studios) talking about both video games and tabletop games and what they can learn from each other. Jesse does a fantastic job of encapsulating the event, and if you’re interested in any kind of game development it’s worth a read.

Citizens of Virtue

Today I stumbled across a website that’s just too damned funny: Citizens of Virtue. At first, it looks like your standard right-wing, evangelical Christian site, but you dig a little deeper and see that it’s actually a finely crafted satire. The add for Passionix–the drug for correcting rampant hormones in teenagers–should be enough of a tip-off for anyone.

This is, of course, part of a new ARG designed by a pack of geniuses I’m proud to call friends. I don’t know much more about the game than what’s on the site, but I can’t wait to find out.

Influences

Cinerati asked a number of creatives: “Was there a particular book (or television show, or film) that you read (or watched) as a child that inspired you into your current career?” Check out the responses from Susan Palwick, Richard Scott Nokes, Dale Launer, David Chute, and me.