On a recent episode of The Colbert Report, show host (and confessed ex-roleplayer) Stephen Colbert tells us about his D&D character and what impact the advent of D&D Online may have on our society. It’s hilarious.
Origins Awards Nominations Announced
The Origins Awards nominations were announced at the GAMA Trade Show this past week. See the full list after the break. Congratulations to all the nominees!
(Things I worked on didn’t receive any nominations this year, but that’s not too surprising as I had little in the way of games come out last year. Also, the fiction category (in which I had several releases) apparently got cut due to “insufficient submissions.”)
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GTS 2006 Report
I made it back from the GAMA Trade Show (GTS) late Wednesday night, while the show still raged on in Las Vegas. For those who are interested, you can read the details of my trip after the break.
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GTS Moving
The GAMA Trade Show will no longer be held at the Riviera. Next year, it’ll be at Bally’s instead, and a month later in the year to boot. Perhaps not too coincidentally, this moves it away from the inaugural Games Expo, which will be held in Las Vegas also, near GTS’s traditional dates, but at the SouthCoast.
See the full press release after the break.
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State of the Freelancing Industry
The latest issue (#169) of Comics & Games Retailer, a trade magazine for two tightly bound industries, concentrates on the state of the gaming industry. Along with the regular doom and gloom, editor James Mishler commissioned an article from me about how the industry looks from a freelancer’s point of view.
The answer in short: confused but hopeful, with an option to go to PDF publishing if traditional work-for-hire isn’t working for you. Pick up a copy if you want the long version, please.
Dennis Mize Dies
Dennis Mize, one of the first two sculptors at (legendary and now defunct miniatures company) Ral Partha, died this week. He also created gorgeous figures for Dark Sword Miniatures, Reaper Miniatures, and others. The Miniatures Page has an excellent memorial post about him.
I never knew Dennis, but like anyone who starting gaming in the ’80s, I appreciated his work. He’ll be missed.
Battle Dice Adds Organized Play
At the GAMA Trade Show, Playmates introduced a full organized play system for Marvel Heroes Battle Dice. Toymania has the press release.
Marvel Battle Dice: The Comic!
The latest run of the Marvel Heroes Battle Dice starter set contains a free mini-comic written by Todd Degazo and illustrated by Ron Lim. Apparently it wasn’t ready for the first wave, but it comes free with the set now, for no additional price.
Ron drew many of the cards for the WildStorms CCG I co-designed. Although I may have never met him, it’s cool to think we’re working on another great project again.
For me, though, the best part of the comic is seeing Spider-Man and the Human Torch actually playing Battle Dice in one scene. As a long-time Spider-Man fan, I never thought I’d see him playing one of my games.
Blasts from My Past
Getting ready to attend my 20th high school reunion (and to drool over the just-announced Mutant Chronicles Collectible Miniatures Game from Eric Lang and Fantasy Flight) has made me a bit nostalgic. To see if you’re on the same wavelength with me, I present two amazing bits of clever webbery:
- Star Wars: A New Hope (abridged) set to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” The way the images sync up perfectly with the song is brilliant.
- A tour through the arcade games of my youth, set to Van Halen’s “Jump.” See how many of the games you can recognize.
Back from GTS
Got in late last night. Still recovering and plowing through e-mail. Had a great time. Saw and made many wonderful friends. Left my voice in Vegas. More soon.