The 49th Patron

Yesterday was the deadline for Wolfgang Baur‘s grand experiment in roleplaying game design funding. The Open Design concept models itself on the old system of patronage in which a creator gathers one or more people interested in paying for the work and then collaborates with them on producing the creation. In this case, Wolf needed one more patron to pitch in so he could green-light the project. Otherwise, he’d end up giving everyone their money back and calling it a day.

Never one to leave a fellow Alliterate holding a bag of great ideas, I chipped in the last little bit. I’d only hesitated so long because I know I’ll probably never have a chance to run the adventure. I’m interested enough in the experiment, though, and in supporting Wolf’s grand ideas, that I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t wither on the vine for lack of a single, last donor.

This made me the 49th patron.

It’s already shaping up to be a lot of fun. It’s wild to be involved in helping direct the creation of an adventure with so many other people–and yet have someone of Wolf’s caliber doing all the heavy lifting.

Wallis Walking

Gaming industry legend and good friend James Wallis has launched a blog. Unlike many blogs, though, this one has a distinct and ambitious purpose. To raise money for Cancerbackup (a support organization for people with cancer and their families), James proposes to walk the entire 120 miles of the Pilgrim’s Way.

Chaucer wrote about the people on this same trail across southern England, from Winchester to Canterbury, in The Canterbury Tales. James plans to make his trip with the same sort of navigational aids that Chaucer’s pilgrims would have had back in the 14th century: none.

This includes no maps.

By way of his regular blog posts, you can join James in his picaresque quest. Or if you’re in the neighborhood and so inclined, you can even walk with him for a ways. Either way, this is sure to be an adventure to remember, even vicariously.

Plus, it’s all for a good cause near to James’s heart. I’m making my donation today.

Scheduling

My summer convention schedule is ramping up. I’d love to see many of you this summer, so if you’re going to be at any of the following events, be sure to hunt me down and say hi.

July 13—15, I’m the guest of honor at Protospiel in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is an unusual convention in that it’s meant as a place for aspiring game designers to show their prototypes and get good, solid feedback. I’m looking forward to playing lots of pre-published gems. I have one seminar at the show, “Freelance Game Design,” from 1 PM to 2 PM on Saturday, July 15.

July 20—22, I’ll be at Comic-Con in San Diego. My first event is on Friday, July 21, at 11:30 AM in Room 1B. It’s a seminar called “Competing for the Young Adult Mind with Words and Pictures.” The fabulous Maryelizabeth Hart (of Mysterious Galaxy fame) moderates the panel, and I’ll try to keep up with her and Holly Black (game-industry refugee and Spiderwick Chronicles author), Shane Berryhill (Chance Fortune), Tony DiTerlizzi (adventure gaming artist who illustrated the Spiderwick Chronicles and–get this–created the cover to the upcoming Peter Pan in Scarlet), Tim Eldred (adventure gaming artist and author of Grease Monkey) , and Anne Ursu (author of The Cronus Chronicles). We’ll have a group signing after that from 12:30 to 1:30 PM.

On July 22, at 11 AM, I’m moderating “Getting Published in Gaming” in Room 24A. The brave souls joining me include Jamie Chambers (of Margaret Weis Productions), Phil Lacefield (of Paizo), Lee Hammock (freelance game designer), Tony Parker (freelance artist), Jeff Tidball (of Atlas Games), Seth Johnson (of WizKids), Christopher Appel (freelance artist), and fellow Alliterates member Stan! (of Upper Deck).

Later that day, I’ll be signing books at the Wizards of the Coast booth from 3:00 to 3:30 PM.

July 29, I’m a guest at Games Day Chicago. I’ll be at the Black Library booth most of the day, happy to sign anything that comes my way. I may help out with a seminar too.

August 10—13, I’m a guest of honor at Gen Con Indy–my 25th summer Gen Con in a row! I don’t have a list of my GoH seminars yet, but I’m already scheduled to sign at the Wizards of the Coast booth at 11 AM on August 10. I’ll also be in the Authors’ Alley with fellow Eberron authors Keith Baker, Ed Bolme, and Tim Waggoner at 3 PM on August 10 and 4 PM on August 12.

Whew! I’m tired just typing all that out.

Happy Fourth!

Here’s wishing a happy Fourth of July to everyone out there, particularly if you’re in the USA or an American abroad. May your evening be filled with fireworks!

Origins Awards Results Posted

The ever-reliable GamingReport.com posted the results of the Origins Awards, which were presented at a ceremony in Columbus, OH, last night. Congratulations to all the winners!

I didn’t make it to Origins this year. The summer gets packed with conventions of all kinds, and I can only make it to so many of them and still get my work done and see my family. Other shows had stronger pulls this year, so I’m home instead, missing my friends, but enjoying my time with my wife and kids.

Prey Goes Gold!

Prey, the fantastic first-person shooter game from my old employers at Human Head Studios, has officially gone gold. This marks the end of a five-year-long development cycle and a triumph for many good friends.

I downloaded the game’s demo the first day it was up, and I played through the whole thing soon after. It’s even better than I remember it when I used to play around with it in the Human Head offices. Of course, they’ve had a year and a half since then to polish it to a gleaming shine, and it shows. This is quality gaming at its best, and I’ll be standing in line to get my copy the day it ships.

Dungeon Crawling

For all you computer/video game fans out there, what’s your favorite dungeon crawler? I’m looking for the latest and greatest. Thanks!

Superhero Handbooks

Here’s something for fans of both comic books and the Worst Case Scenarios Survival Handbook. Quirk Books has The Batman Handbook and The Superman Handbook. Be sure to click on the “View an interior spread of this book” links to bask in these books’ full glory.

The duotone artwork and layout reminds me of the interiors of the DC Heroes Roleplaying Game that Mayfair Games published back in the mid-80s. In college, I spent one summer running around Chicago and Milwaukee, playing demos for which Mayfair paid me cash and expenses, spreading the gospel of Greg Gorden’s logarithmic system.

Anyhow, these are too funny. I hope I spot some copies floating around Comic-Con next month. If so, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist snatching them up.