The Game Crafter is a new site that promises to bring print on demand (POD) to board and card games. The prices aren’t great for big runs, of course, but they’re perfect for prototypes or for testing out ideas. I mean, $6.28 (plus shipping, I presume) to have a single deck of custom cards printed for a prototype is wonderful.
I may have to give this a crack soon. If so, I’ll let you know how it goes.
(Hat tip to Raph Koster for pointing it out.)
While writing a bio for my essay for Hobby Games: The 100 Best, I realized that I’ve been working full-time as an author and game designer since I graduated from college in 1989, twenty years ago. It really doesn’t seem like I’ve been at it that long, but that’s likely because I enjoy doing it so much. In lots of ways, I still feel like I’m learning new things and taking on new challenges all the time, and that keeps me engaged and fresh in a way that I suspect working a regular job would not.
I’ve not ever had a full-time job outside of games. When I was younger I drove pizza, bagged groceries, worked a phone bank for the University of Michigan, and even managed a pizza place once a week. I worked as a course assistant for Eric Rabkin’s Science Fiction and Fantasy courses at Michigan, which wound up teaching me even more than when I took the courses while I was in school.
I had a series of short-lived jobs too. I worked one long night as a security guard at the University of Michigan Medical School and had to go poking through the gross anatomy lab with a flashlight in the dark. I was a bellhop at the Ocean Key House in Key West for two weeks. I never even showed up for the first day of work selling steak knives.
I’ve been a freelancer for most of that 20 years. I spent four years as the president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group after co-founding it with Shane Hensley. I ran the adventure gaming division–and served as the sole employee in that part of the company–at Human Head Studios for just under two years. But I still freelanced for other companies while in both of those positions.
[Edit: Forgot to mention the six-month internship I worked at Games Workshop when I was fresh out of college.]Today, I’m a confirmed freelancer. I make more money this way and have far more freedom. I get to work on new and different things all the time. And honestly, I have a ball.
So, thanks! Thanks to all of you who make this possible. From the editors and creative directors who hire me all the way through to the readers and players who buy my stuff, thanks for a fantastic 20 years. As much hard work and fun as I’ve put into this haphazard excuse of a career, I could not have done it without you. Meeting and becoming friends with many of you has been one of the best parts of it all.
Here’s hoping the next 20 years will be just as amazing–and that you’ll be along for the ride.
The Fandom Association of Central Texas (FACT) is holding an auction to help author and game designer (and longtime pal) Aaron Allston with his staggering medical bills. As you might remember, Aaron suffered a heart attack in March and underwent emergency quadruple bypass surgery. This saved his life, and he’s now on the road to recovery.
Unfortunately, like many freelancers (and a staggering portion of Americans in general), Aaron has no health insurance. He’s determined to stick it through and pay off the debt, but for that he needs help. That’s where the auction comes in.
If you can make it to the fundraiser, please do. Otherwise, please consider donating something to it or contributing directly to Aaron’s medical fund.
Ann and I just got back from seeing Fountains of Wayne perform at Studio M, in the basement of 105.5 FM in Madison. I won the tickets in a random drawing on Monday and arranged for babysitting right away. We drove up to the station and got there on time and enjoyed a couple free beers courtesy of the Capital Brewery, which sponsors these events.
The band played a short set interspersed with interview questions, and they rocked. They even answered my smart-ass question about how much of an influence Michael Jackson had on them by confessing they sometimes used a riff from “Beat It” in their concerts. They went on to say though, that Jackson had undoubtedly had a huge influence on many muscians. Just not them.
It turns out that their bassist, Adam Schlesinger, wrote a bunch of the songs for “A Colbert Christmas.” This fact catapulted my respect for them even higher.
Afterward, we headed over to Westfield Comics and then to the Frugal Muse to gorge ourselves on comics and used books. From there, we ran to Sa-Bai Thong for a fantastic Thai dinner and then raced home to put the kids to bed. We had a wonderful time, and the whole day served as a perfect reminder of how great a city Madison is. I love living in Beloit, but one of the greatest things about it is how close it is to places like Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago too.
In the excellent Kobold Quarterly (run by Alliterate pal Wolfgang Baur), Jeremy Jones (who sometimes pops by here to comment) interviews Bruce Cordell (another Alliterate!). Bruce consistently does some of the best design work for D&D, so if you’re into the game, run (don’t walk) over to check out what he has to say.
Yesterday’s Beloit Daily News had a short article about the Together We Read celebration at the Beloit Public Library on June 20. The photo that accompanies the article shows all five of my kids sitting in the front row of a story reading. From left to right, Pat’s the one in the green shirt (partially obscured by the reader), then Helen, Nick, Marty, and Ken. Ann brought them there, but I was still in the final throes of finishing Guild Wars: Fall of Ascalon at the time.
At Gen Con, the big event for me is Matt Forbeck’s Brave New World: Experience the Revolution. At 4 PM on August 14, the Reactor 88 Studios folks show off the progress they’ve made with their finished proof-of-concept piece for a Brave New World feature film. This multimedia event also features a live concert by Makeshift Prodigy. (ENT0904588)
The event starts at 4 PM in the Grand Ballroom II & III in the Westin. It’s free, although I recommend you get a ticket beforehand to guarantee entry. Makeshift Prodigy is one of Chicago’s hottest new bands, and they rock. Hit their website and check out their music (under the “Media” tab), especially the track “Revolution,” which figures large in the show.
At 2 PM on August 15, we’ll return to the scene of the crime for Matt Forbeck’s Brave New World: Revolution Feature Film Q & A: A seminar with the Reactor 88 Studios folks. I’ll be there, along with many members of the cast and crew, to discuss the film and how it’s coming along. (FLM0904589)
Tell all your friends and spread the word far and wide! The guys at Reactor 88 and Makeshift Prodigy have put a ton of work into this event, and I’d love to have a huge crowd there to enjoy the show.
My favorite time of year is coming up soon: Gen Con (August 13—16)
I’m an Industry Insider Guest of Honor at my favorite show once again, and my schedule is packed. All of the seminars are in Room 212 of the Indianapolis Convention Center unless otherwise noted. All events (except for the VIG mixer) are free, although you must have a Gen Con badge to attend, and I recommend getting a ticket for each if you can, especially for the Friday afternoon concert.
I’m planning to be at Comic-Con this summer, from July 23—26. Anyone else out there going to be there? At the moment, I have one panel planned:
FRIDAY, JULY 24
3:00-4:30 Scribe Awards/Media Tie-in Writers Panel – third annual presentation of the International Association of Media-Tie-in Writers (IAMTW) “Scribe” awards, honoring such notable franchises as CSI, Criminal Minds, The X-Files, Star Trek, Stargate, Star Wars and Dr. Who. Followed by a panel of nominees, including James Rollins (Indiana Jones), Matt Forbeck (Mutant Chronicles), Bob Greenberger (Hellboy), Keith R. A. DeCandido (Farscape), Stacia Deutsch (Dark Knight), Nathan Long (Warhammer), Tod Goldberg (Burn Notice). With moderators Lee Goldberg (Monk) and Max Allan Collins (GI JOE). Room 4.
I hope to see you there!
I just finished reading This Is Not a Game, the latest novel from Walter Jon Williams, and honestly I’m surprised the book hasn’t gotten more buzz among the circles in which I hang. For one, Walter is one of the original generation of cyberpunks. (His big breakout book was Hardwired, back in 1986. I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel with him at the World Fantasy Convention in Madison, WI, a few years back, and I took the opportunity to let him know how much I’d enjoyed that book.)
For two, Walter’s a tabletop gamer. He wrote a Hardwired supplement for R. Talsorian’s Cyberpunk roleplaying game, and he’s a part of the legendary RPG group that’s included George RR Martin and Roger Zelazny, among many other talented writers.
For three, he’s been involved alternate reality games (ARGs) too. He worked on Last Call Poker, the ARG designed to promote the Western video game Gun.
This Is Not a Game is a modern-day thriller about a woman who designs ARGs for a living. In it, reality and ARGs blur together in exciting and innovative ways. Walter’s not the first to tread this ground–Charles Stross did a great job of working ARGs and MMOs into his Halting State, for instance–but Walter knows a lot about the inner workings of such games, and he puts it all on display here. It makes for an intriguing read and hopefully introduces a lot more people to how powerful these sorts of games can be. If you’re interested in such things, be sure to pick it up.