Month: November 2006

Childlike Wonder

November 10, 2006
Game HistoryGamesOne-Page Games
7 Comments

I told you I had a surprise coming for you guys in the mail.

Sandworm, Pages 1 and 2.

Sandworm, Page 3.

I actually managed to dig up a copy of the original article that inspired my series of One-Page Games. This article is from The Rainbow Magazine, August 1986 issue. It is over twenty years old.

There are two old magazines that I absolutely adore and will pick up copies anytime I can find them. They are The Rainbow and The Space Gamer. And the reason I like both of them is because of the attitude they conveyed.

The readers and editors of The Rainbow were all in a state of fascination – “Look at this! This is a computer we can own! How cool is that! I wonder what I can make it do…”

The readers and editors of The Space Gamer were the same way, amazed at the stories they could tell and the fun they could have with roleplaying.

In both magazines you get a sense of childlike wonder as people explored these previously unexplored continents – one in the mind and the other in silicon.

I miss that attitude. I haven’t seen it in a long, long time. It has been replaced by cynicism and curmudgeonism. And that makes me sad.

When Steve Jackson Games started their magazine Pyramid I was hoping to see a little of that attitude come back, but I was disappointed. The feel of Pyramid was slick and professional; the attitude was almost that of people telling an inside joke – yes, we love games, but we don’t…love-love games, because that would be really dorky. Especially since we’re all over thirty now.

That’s not to say that Pyramid wasn’t an excellent magazine – it is. I was a subscriber for over three years and enjoyed reading it very much. I’m just saying that the attitude is different.

And on the video gaming side…do you remember the first game that you absolutely obsessed over? The one you simply could not stop playing? The one you could barely drag yourself away from to go to school or work, and would instantly resume playing once you got home?

I’ve had several games like that. One of them was Civilization. Another was Doom. Tie Fighter was another. And so was Fallout.

When is the last time a game made you feel like that?

This is why I adored Oblivion so much – it was the first time in years that I felt I could just fall into a game and live there for a while, forgetting everything else (well, after the chilluns were in bed, of course). But before Oblivion I’d have to go back years, practically to the Golden Age, to find a game like that.

Is the games? Or is it me?

Have I lost my own childlike wonder? I’d like to think I haven’t…

Well, I love-love games. Truly. With all my heart. Yes, that makes me a geek. And a dork. And a knucklehead mcspazatron.

This is me. I am Gabe in this comic. Except that, you know, I’ve never actually put a game down my pants.

I still think it’s incredibly awesome that video games exist and I get to play them, and I hope I never lose that feeling. I also need to get better at game development so I can make more of my own games, in an effort to help other people feel the same way.

Sniff…I love you all, guys! I love you all!

Do Your Civic Duty!

November 7, 2006
Games
5 Comments

I shouldn’t have to say this. You should be responsible enough to know.

But it’s absolutely vital that everyone get out there and buy Guitar Hero 2 today.

Make your voice heard! Do it for Democracy!

Name That Game 7!

November 6, 2006
Name That Game!
5 Comments

Okay, this one really honestly should be tough.

I know, I know, I’ve said it before. “Got a toughie for ya!” And then someone identifies it within a few seconds.

But honestly, I’m the only person I know of who ever played this game, which is a shame because it was awesome.

Wow, lookit all the pretty buttons.

Click the image for a full-sized screenshot.

Name and developer, please. Can’t offer you a shout-out any more…sorry. I know! I’ll be your best friend!

Woohoo for Wynne!

November 6, 2006
Cool PeopleGame DesignGames
1 Comment

My friend Wynne McLaughlin got mentioned in our local paper! You might remember Wynne as the Source of All Snark in Hit & Myth; now he’s a writer/designer for NCSoft, working on Tabula Rasa.

Go, Wynne! Go, Wynne!

Video Blogs On Hiatus

November 5, 2006
Cool PeopleGamesVideo Blogs
2 Comments

Rather than just let them fade away, I’m going to officially put the video blogs on hiatus. There are a couple reasons for this.

First, since I got sick about two weeks ago my energy level has been kind of low and I’ve had this chronic cough…not good for talking.

Second, WonderMellon recently commented that when I started doing my video blogs it felt like my other projects were beginning to suffer. That’s true…it’s just amazing how much time it takes to do a video blog. It’ll take me three to four hours just to get fifteen minutes up on the web, and that’s time I could have spent much more effectively on a One-Page Game or Planitia.

Third…well, it’s getting kind of forced. The video blog I was planning to do this weekend was going to talk about high-level versus low-level story, which is something everybody is probably already familiar with…and I’m not really sure what my point was going to be.

The video blogs (or some other video feature) will return when I feel like I’ve got something to say and I’m well enough to say it (cough) without coughing (cough) all the way through (cough) it.

(cough)

First Character

November 4, 2006
Cool PeopleRole Playing
6 Comments

Last night my older daughter made her first D&D character, a female human chaotic good cleric named Yue.

They grow up so fast…sniff…I promised myself I wouldn’t cry…

Actually, she expressed interest in trying out “real” D&D recently (although this technically isn’t her first experience with the D&D system since she’s a huge Neverwinter Nights fan). Since I didn’t have a copy of the most recent rules I opted for the D&D Basic Game, which I purchased at a local Toys R Us.

We played through the first very short programmed adventure with a precreated character and she really enjoyed it. Wizards of the Coast went ahead and integrated the D&D miniatures game into the basic rules, so the basic game we bought came with a whole bunch of plastic miniatures and mapboards. She had no trouble picking up the rules and she thoroughly enjoyed bashing some kobold brains out.

Ah, kobolds…I remember when I…sniff…no, must be strong!

But she didn’t like any of the pregenerated characters and wanted to make her own, so she cracked open the advanced rulebook, which has character creation rules for the four basic classes (fighter, rogue, cleric and sorceror) and the four basic races (human, elf, dwarf and halfling).

Then she sat at the table for about two hours voluntarily reading and doing math. God I love paper and pencil RPGs!

Now, overall the quality of the D&D Basic Game is quite high, but in the player section of the advanced rulebook there is one vital omission…nowhere does it tell you what your starting Armor Class is! There are tons of rules about how to modify your starting AC based on your race, your Dexterity score and your armor, but nowhere in the book do they tell you that your base AC is 10! That seems like a weird omission. That one stymied us for a bit…I knew in previous versions that the starting AC was 10 but I didn’t know if it was still the case. I was able to look at the pregenerated characters and figure out from them that base AC was still 10, and she was finally able to finish her character.

Who will probably go on her first adventure tonight!

For the record:

Name: Yue
Race: Human
Class: Cleric
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Deity: Pelor

Ability Scores:
STR: 16 +3
DEX: 14 +2
CON: 15 +2
INT: 12 +1
WIS: 17 +3
CHA: 16 +3

Saving Throws:
Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 16
Will: 18

Skills:
Diplomacy: d20
Hide: d20
Listen: d20
Move Silently: d20
Search: d20
Spot: d20+2

Combat Stats:
HP: 13
AC: 14
To-Hit: d20+3
Damage: d8+3
Initiative: 12

Feats:
Iron Will
Toughness

Spells:
Detect Magic
Light
Read Magic
Bless
Cure Light Wounds (heals d8+2)
Cure Light Wounds (heals d8+2)

Equipment:
Holy Symbol
Morningstar
Leather Armor

One Page Game #3: Quad Force!

November 3, 2006
Cool PeopleOne-Page Games
0 Comment

Well, not exactly one-page. Tom’s game turned out to be about 2.5 pages in length, but you will not believe how cool it is. It’s basically a little Zelda clone in 3D, with an overworld and four (count them, FOUR!) dungeons to explore, each one with its own tricks and traps.

Head on over to his site for the code and the executable. Be sure to read the readme, or you’ll probably have trouble figuring out what is going on.

The Order of the Stick

November 3, 2006
Cool PeopleGamesRole Playing
2 Comments

The Order of the Stick is a webcomic that has been running for about three years now. (And I just found out about it from Rob Fermier’s blog – thanks, Rob!) It started out as just a simple “make fun of the rules of D&D” comic – and it did its job very well. But as I read it, I was surprised to watch it grow out of that and into a pretty darn good general action/adventure/comedy comic set firmly inside the D&D universe.

One of the great things about The Order of the Stick is that all the characters know they are characters in a role playing game, but the entire story is told from their perspective – we never see the players who are presumably playing the characters or the GM who is presumably running the campaign. The characters all know how the D&D rules work and they know their own stats. They continually talk about failing Spot checks, rolling natural 20s and what Feats they should take for their next level. And the author, Rich Burlew, seems to know a whole lot about D&D. A whole lot. Reading the comic can actually help you figure out how some rules (like attacks of opportunity) work.

The other great thing about The Order of the Stick is that it’s drawn in a stick-figure style. This is great because it goes a long way to covering up the unbelievability of how RPGs are played – it doesn’t seem that weird when a character one hit point away from death is healed back up to full hit points instantly because all that really happens is that the red mark on his chest disappears and he stands up. If the toon were more realistic, it would actually be less believable. This is very, very important. The other benefit of the stick figure style is that Rich can give us a full page on every update which allows him to tell really big stories – and tell them he does!

The only downside is that I’d rate the strip PG-13 for violence, adult language and adult situations. So I’m not letting my daughter read it quite yet. But if you’re old enough and would like to read a great fantasy adventure comic, you really should give it a shot.

Name That Game 6!

November 1, 2006
Name That Game!
6 Comments

Here comes a new challenger!

Hmm...it could be a racing game...

Again, I have no idea how hard this one is. This is actually one of my favorite games and I wish it would get the 3D sequel it deserves.

Click the image above to get a full-sized screenshot.

Name and developer, please.