Computer Games

I’m doing more work on computer games than paper games these days. Unfortunately, these projects have long development cycles, sometimes more than two years, and I’m under strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that clamp down tight on what I’m allowed to say about them. However, I can tell you that I recently wrapped up work on projects for both Ubisoft and Atari.

I had a great time on both gigs. Helping create computer games differs from working on tabletop games or writing fiction, but there’s a good deal of crossover too. Not too many writers understand the requirements of writing for games, so that’s given me a leg up, and I’ve found it to be a fun and exciting challenge. With luck, I’ll get to do more of this same kind of work soon, and with patience you should be able to play with it.

Kane on Film

ICv2.com reports that the Solomon Kane film should start production in May. Kane is one of Robert E. Howard‘s better-known heroes, although they all shiver in the long shadow of Conan. I’m looking forward to this movies, as well as to the roleplaying game being produced at my old company, Pinnacle Entertainment. Pinnacle’s CEO and my old pal, Shane Hensely, loves Kane, and I’m sure this news thrills him too.

Cold Days

Today, here in Wisconsin, it’s so cold that the schools are closed. Our high is predicted to be a balmy 2° F, but right now at 10 AM, it’s —7° with a wind-chill factor that makes it feel like —25°. The hair in my nostrils, which is about the only part of me that’s exposed when I go out outside, starts to freeze within seconds.

I don’t suppose it’s any coincidence that the two latest novels I bought are The Crook Factoryby Dan Simmons and A Salty Piece of Landby Jimmy Buffett, as both are set in tropical climes. I haven’t been to such places in years, although I have plans for this spring. It can’t come soon enough.

Thanks to my pal Rich Dansky for alerting me to the existence of the first. Dan Simmons writing a novel about Hemingway chasing Nazis around Cuba during WWII? How did I miss that? Hemingway’s one of my favorite writers, and Simmons writes the way I want to when I grow up–should that ever happen.

Wonder Spot to Close

Rich Dansky also points out to me (he’s a trove of information) that the Wonder Spot in Lake Delton, Wisconsin, is going to close after 59 years of trapping tourists in its strange and wonderful gravity storms. (There’s a Jimmy Buffett reference in there for those paying attention.) I hit more than one of these strange Mystery Spots during family road trips as a kid. They’re fun in a cheesy way, which is perfectly appropriate for an attraction near a hotbed of resorts in the middle of Wisconsin. Adios to the Wonder.

The Angell Box

My friend Rich Dakan points me to what may be the coolest H. P. Lovecraft item ever: the Angell Box. It’s a box of printed props straight out of Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” lovingly reproduced from the story’s text. It’s far from cheap, but it comes with a resounding recommendation from Greg Stafford that says it all.

On the IGDA Board

I recently joined the just-formed board of the Madison chapter of the International Game Developers Association. Together with Eric Francksen, Norb Rozek, and my old Human Head boss Tim Gerritsen, we’re ready to take on the world–or at least Wisconsin.

At the same time, I’m helping edit the quarterly newsletter for the IGDA Writers SIG. It seems like no matter what field I find myself in, there are always cool people hoping to work together to make things happen.

Good-Bye Gen Con So Cal

Gen Con So Cal has been cancelled. For details, see the official press release and my pal Peter Adkison’s open letter about the decision.

I’m sad to see the convention go away. I made it out to the first two and had a wonderful time, but Peter’s an astute businessman. If a part of your business is losing money and there’s no new plan to turn it around despite four years of trying to do just that, then it’s time to cull it.

Word had it that Peter and his team had hoped to turn Gen Con So Cal into a replacement (at least partially) for the radically altered E3. Apparently that didn’t work out.

Still, there’s a silver lining here. Now that the Gen Con staff isn’t spending time and money trying to prop up So Cal, it can concentrate on building Gen Con (the original, in Indianapolis) instead. Anything that makes my favorite four days of the year better, I’m all for, even if it means no other Gen Cons in the US again.