A couple of months ago, I purchased this awesome board game from Fantasy Flight, Mansions of Madness. “Mansions” is an H.P. Lovecraft (Cthulhu) themed game where you play the role of investigators. One player will be the “Keeper” to direct the story and progress the plot. It’s a great synergy of table-top RPG and boardgames and me and my buddies, love it!
Anyways, the boxed set came with a lot of unpainted minis. So I decided to try and paint them….
Posted in Blogging, General, Musings, Toys 
Tags: board games, D&D, mansions of madness, miniature, minis, painting
Surfacescapes Demo Walkthrough from Surfacescapes on Vimeo.
They say that Technology improves things. But purist gamers eventually will prefer old pen-and-paper favorites such as Dungeons and Dragons played the traditional way – with dice, pencils, graphing paper and miniatures.
In this age of hi-tech, the new Microsoft Surface will change everything. Watch the video above on how we will be playing traditional pen-and-paper games using new technology.
It’ll make every nerd drool! (count me in)… Peace!
I remember back in the old days when me and my old group of tabletop-RPG friends would debate about whether or not MMORPGs are complimentary to traditional pen-and-paper. Most pen-and-paper hobbyists would classify themselves as ”purists” of the gaming revolution and would look at MMORPGs as something vile.
Our debates back then would focus on topics such as how immersive MMORPGs can be, how dull and boring they are (since they are “linear” in a way). Some of my friends would argue that MMORPGs are the onset of technology. It is perfectly natural for gaming to adhere to the rapid gains in technology and the internet.
This debate still lingers on on forums and some blogs, let’s try to list down a few of the finer points. That, after the break…
The much anticipated Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition was launched last June 7, 2008 with Wizards of the Coast, official publishers of game declaring that day as “Game Day”. A special game day website was made by WotC so that fans and players can hook up with one another to try out the new ed of D&D.
Without D&D, none of this MMORPG or fantasy gaming would have existed. Also, being an old vet of pen-and-paper RPGs, I’m quite excited about the launch too, having heard that the 4th Ed takes D&D gaming into the virtual and online environment with such tools as the D&D Insider.
After the break, I’ll show you what’s new in D&D 4th Ed and also a special video feature by G4TV with an interview with head designer and WotC R&D Director Bill Slaviseck.
Today, the gaming community mourns the loss of one of the true legends and pillars of the industry.
E. Gary Gygax, co-creator of the Dungeons and Dragons pen-and-paper Role Playing Game, the thing that started the RPG revolution (both traditional and online) has passed away March 4, 2008. Mr. Gygax passed away peacefully at his home. He was 69 years old.
There is a current obituary at the D&D site.
I had the pleasure of chatting and meeting Gary at the 1997 GenCon. I will try to find that old photo and post it soon. He was a good man and my idol. He even signed my original D&D Player’s Handbook.
You will be missed, sir.
Thank you for starting something that is only limited by our imaginations.
UPDATED (Mar 8, 2008): Some related tributes and links
Geek is chic!
Yeah, baby! Geekiness rocks… as the video below will attest. Fear of Girls is a short documentary about Doug and Ryan, two geeks who are into pen-and-paper RPG (like yours truly) as they share their sentiments about sex, girls, life and even social norms.
Join Doug and Ryan in their wacky adventures. Enjoy!
“True love is just a +2 Bastard Sword away”
More details after the jump.
There has been an age-old debate between table-top RPG purists (D&D players like me) vs. MMORPG players. The most common accusation is that online games and MMORPGs have killed the hobby which, ironically, started the RPG revolution into the online arena.
Now, being one of those veterans of the pen-and-paper hobby and now directly involved in the MMORPG industry, it’s hard for me to take a direct stand on the issue. When I encounter threads in the gaming groups I am involved with, I always say that MMORPGs complement the pen-and-paper industry. Online gaming just solved the problem on “preparation” and finding a schedule and a venue where a group of friends can gather every week “physically”
I used to run a lot of pen-and-paper campaigns during the 80’s and the 90’s. In fact, here’s an old site of my Forgotten Realms campaign, “Winter’s Twilight”. At any rate, Wizards of the Coast has announced the release of the new D&D 4th Edition rules scheduled for May 2008.
But that’s not all, WOTC is also releasing a new system called D&D Insider which melds pan-and-paper into a pseudo-online experience. Check out the video below
More about 4TH Ed and Insider after the jump…
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