Gen Con Emerges from Bankruptcy

According to a press release on its website, the bankruptcy court has approved Gen Con‘s reorganization plan, and it’s now emerged from Chapter 11.

Woot! I’m thrilled for Peter Adkison, Adrian Swartout, and my other friends at the company. This means that the current team will remain in place and that the show will go on this summer.

As part of the declaration, the court also rejected the hostile takeover offer from the Gen Con Acquisition Group, which never did publicly name any of its investors. My friend Anthony Gallela revealed himself as the person who would run the new operation if the takeover succeeded, but that was it. While I’m disappointed for Anthony, I can’t help but feel that keeping Gen Con in Peter’s hands is the right choice, and I’m glad the bankruptcy court saw it that way.

Anyhow, you can be sure I’ll be at the show this summer, and I hope to see you there too!

Politics, My Dad, and Saying No

My father, who was appointed a Rock County circuit court judge last January, just found out that he’s going to have an easy time with his first actual campaign for the elected seat: He’s running unopposed.

This is the kind of election that families of candidates root for. Very low stress.

I actually considered running for the school board here in Beloit this year. A number of people asked me to, and I do hope to someday be able to serve my hometown in some direct fashion. However, the kids are still just a bit too young and the demands on my time too stringent for me to be more than a warm body in any such position–and that just wouldn’t do.

I’m not always good at saying no to things that interest me. I sometimes overbook my time that way, but most of my projects only run for stints of a few months. A seat on the school board comes with a three-year term, and I don’t think I could sustain a super-crunch time for that long without serious repercussions.

Still, it would have been cool to run for a seat at the same time as my father. The yard signs alone would have been worth it.

IGDA Game Design SIG

The IGDA just launched a new Game Design Special Interest Group (SIG), which I joined right away. It focuses on the actual design aspect of games, as opposed to programming, art, writing, and so on.

The SIG welcomes people working or studying both video games and tabletop games. It’s young and still finding its footing, of course, but if you fall under its remit, consider contacting the Google group‘s owner Sande Chen for admission to the group.

Break Time Is Over

Tonight is effectively the last night of Winter Break. Although the kids don’t go back to school until Monday, that makes Sunday night a school night–and therefore tonight the last break night. It’s been a busy, fun couple of weeks, but I’ve not gotten as much work done as I’d hoped.

I love having the kids around–maybe too much. They’re just so much more fun than work, and the pull between the two urges (Fun, Involved Dad vs. Responsible, Unavailable-at-the-Moment Dad) can sometimes stretch me thin. (Although not all that thin, given the numerous baskets of goodies our neighbors have dropped by. Have I mentioned I love our new neighborhood?)

Anyhow, I’m working late to try to get back on track. Looking at the schedule, I see a jam-packed start to the new year. In a time during which many people are out of work, this is a problem I’m happy to have, but I’m determined to solve it despite that.

Here’s hoping you all had great holidays too and that there’s a better 2009 ahead for us all.

Autographed BNW Books on eBay

My pal Phil Lacefield is clearing out his closets, and he’s put up a four-book set of Brave New World roleplaying game titles up on eBay. At his kind request, I’ll be happy to autograph them for the lucky winner.

The set includes the core Brave New World rulebook, Ravaged Planet, Defiants, and Glory Days. That’s four of the best books of the whole series. If you’re at all looking to pick these up, be sure to check out the auction. If you win, I’ll deface the books with my pen in the fashion you request.

Happy New Year!

We had a good 2008 here at Casa Forbeck, for which we’re happy and grateful. Whoever you are, wherever you may be, I hope you had a wonderful year and–either way–that you have an even better one ahead in 2009.

Four from Forbeck: Why Santa Must Be a Gamer

Top 1d4 Reasons Why Santa Must Be a Gamer

  1. He’s surrounded by munchkins he calls “elves.” (Come on. Real elves [4E: eladrin] are much taller, specialize in more than “toy magic,” and are wicked with a bow.)
  2. Collects magic items and mounts. (A bag of holding [for the toys] and a sleigh of flying, plus eight flying reindeer led by a boss reindeer with a glowing, red nose.)
  3. He only gets out once a year, but he stays out all night long talking about paladins. (Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good knight!)
  4. He’s a fat white man with a beard–and he likes it that way!

Happy holidays to you all, and may those lumps in the bottom of your stocking be dice rather than coal!

LOTRO Screentography

Will Hindmarch‘s latest in his series of excellent articles on The Lord of the Rings Online has been posted to the game’s website. “Hero’s Guide to Zelem-melek” takes you on a guided tour of one of the coolest parts of Moria.

I edit many of these articles, so I know how much sweat Will puts into every bit of his work. He always impresses me with the great screenshots he gets. This is much harder to do than you might think. Just try grabbing a well-framed image with everything you need in it–characters, monsters, UI, etc.–at just the right moment.

There should be a proper name for this sort of activity, which we’re only going to see more of in the future. I suggest “screentography,” if only because it’s less of a mouthful than “screenshotography.”

Anyone else have better suggestions? I’d love to hear them.

eBay, Baby!

I have a lot of games, and not enough room for them all. It makes me sad to know they’re stuffed away in boxes in my attic like refugees from the Island of Misfit Toys that came just this close to being useful and then failed. I want them to find good homes with gamers who will play with them and give them the attention they deserve.

That’s where you might be able to help.

With the able and eager assistance of Marty, my eldest son, I’m going to start listing all sorts of games and other stuff on eBay on a regular basis. I’m setting the bids low with no reserves because this isn’t about making money.

Well, I won’t toss the money away, and Marty is getting a cut. All right, it’s not all about the money. It’s more about finding happy and loving homes for my long-neglected games.

So, if you’re interested, or if you suspect you know someone who might be, be sure to check out my eBay page to see what’s up. Or glance at the snazzy new eBay widget page here on my site for some fancy browsing.

If you have any requests for particular items you suspect I might have, just let me know. And if you care to have me deface a perfectly good book, autographs (as always) are free and available upon request. I’ll even sign things I didn’t write! And Marty and I will keep putting up games and more until the attic is bare–at least until we fill it up again.