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Category : Gaming | Tags : entertainment rpg dnd dungeons and dragons games |
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Category : Gaming | Tags : entertainment rpg dnd dungeons and dragons games |
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Each time we record, we watch a video or find a picture to get us in the mood for the episode. It doesn’t always have anything to do with the episode, but frames our minds, so we’re going to share so you can be appropriately framed as well.
Good, Bad, Wintry Mix
Our rating scale is:
Nominees:
The Good:
Wintry Mix:
Bad:
Can’t even Review:
Nominees:
Good:
Wintry Mix:
Bad:
Good:
Wintry Mix:
Bad:
News:
1. Reminder: The Brilliant Gameologists are leading 3 seminars at GenCon! If you’re going, you won’t want to miss it.
Gamers in the Press: Blogs, Podcasts, and Print at GenCon
http://www.pulpgamer.com/gencon/
Discuss this episode on our Message Boards in THIS thread!
Warning: This episode is tagged Explicit and is Not Work Safe. It is intended for adult audiences.
Standard Podcasts [78:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (220)Each time we record, we watch a video or find a picture to get us in the mood for the episode. It doesn’t always have anything to do with the episode, but frames our minds, so we’re going to share so you can be appropriately framed as well.
4 Steps in the 12 step Healing Process
Strategies for healing a diseased group, or to build cohesion in an already healthy group 1. Choosing the Right Game
Side conversation:
The 4 roles in D&D 4e compared with the 4 Ninja Turtles:
2. Making a Cohesive Character
3. Running the Game so everyone plays nicely
4. Playing the Game so everyone gets along
1. Reminder: The Brilliant Gameologists are leading 3 seminars at GenCon! If you’re going, you won’t want to miss it. Gamers in the Press: Blogs, Podcasts, and Print at GenCon
http://www.pulpgamer.com/gencon/
2. We are slowly but surely joining the full ranks of Web 2.0. Check out Meg’s Twitter.
Discuss this episode on our Message Boards in THIS thread!
Warning: This episode is tagged Explicit and is Not Work Safe. It is intended for adult audiences.
Standard Podcasts [63:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (331)Each time we record, we watch a video or find a picture to get us in the mood for the episode. It doesn’t always have anything to do with the episode, but frames our minds, so we’re going to share so you can be appropriately framed as well.
Gamers in the Press: Blogs, Podcasts, and Print at GenCon
http://www.pulpgamer.com/gencon/
Standard Podcasts [66:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (314)This is a Bonus Episode which is fancy talk for “The dogs ate the shownotes so we can’t do our normal episode so we totally wung this”.
Is wung a word? Winged?
In this episode we discuss Gaming at Conventions. Well, that and a LOT of just banter. (This is what we’re like when we are just hanging out but this time happened to have a mic capturing it all. And only Josh had been drinking! Also, the dog did actually chew through Meg’s headphone cord so the whole experience was fairly surreal and much less organized.) NEWS ITEM: Brilliant Gameologists chosen to lead GenCon seminars
PROMO: (A real one!) Gamers in the Press- Blogs, Podcasts, and Print Seminars (http://www.pulpgamer.com/gencon/)
The Gameologists will help organize JiffyCon Lowell- November 8, 2008 @ Middlesex Community College, Lowell, MA.
Independent Insurgency Podcast from Rob Bohl
Standard Podcasts [57:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (303)Nerd Up!
In this episode we look at the peritextual elements of quite a few books– all of the things that aren’t the content– and how they relate to the feel of the book and our impressions about it.
D&D 4th Edition- The standard in gaming. Hardcover, 8.5×11 inches. 4th Edition’s difference is that the 3 books come in a handy-dandy sleeve.
Hero 5th Edition Revised- The same shape as D&D but text-book thick.
Burning Wheel- 5×7 and softcover. Still has same number of pages as D&D, but they are mini pages. Makes the book much more portable.
Savage Worlds: Explorer’s Edition- Also softcover, but a bit longer and wider than Burning Wheel (which means neat, orderly shelving will be screwy).
Star Wars Saga- A square. Made to fit on bookstore’s shelves.
Rifts- Pretty picture, shows action, clear title, publisher, and author, and of course, boobies.
Paranoia XP- comical, funny, bright colors and the back cover entirely in the style of Paranoia. Draws in new people but also provides a callback to previous players.
The Savage World of Solomon Kane- Only a few words, but great illustration and the glossy and matte finish make Meg happy.
Cover opened to see front and back together
Dread- Extremely simple but sets the stage beautifully. A bloody thumbprint? What’s not to love?
Burning Wheel- Red on Red. Hard to see, confusing, boring. Doesn’t say anything about the game.
The Trail of Cthulhu - Green on green, but spooky, mysterious
GURPS: Alpha Century- cover of book is cover of Sid Meier’s video game. Good marketing if you like the video game (which we did).
First few pages of a book before the content actually starts. Can include publication information, credits, acknowledgments, table of contents, and introduction
Spirit of the Century- has fun with the credits
Grimm- Pastedown and Flyleaf are at least red. Introduction WAY too long (download full introduction).
Deadlands Reloaded- Personal acknowledgments, Font in table of contents very appropriate and there is “white space” so text doesn’t feel claustrophobic. Introduction is a old-timely newspaper format. Back Cover
Dark Heresy, Warhammer 40,000- Pastedown and Flyleaf show an illustration of a star map
Are illustrations confined in a border to make it feel like you are looking as an voyeur, or do the touch the edge of the page to draw you in?
Deadlands Reloaded- full bleed
d20 Future- Standard. Page number in border (on side)
GURPS- Transhuman Space- Dark border with white boxes with text. Dark borders give it a space theme.
Grimm (download of first chapter)- Very appropriate, very approprite. Page numbers in spider body and intricate
Expeditious Retreat: Magical Society of Ecology and Culture and Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition- Old timey paper feel to border.
Cyberspace. Almost whole book in table or chart. Lower corner of each page gives extra material to book in terms of a year-by-year timeline.
Nightbane- Very first thing in book is a warning to prevent claims of Satanism.
Earthdawn- All peritextual elements completely vanilla (written in 1995) except two full pages of punch-out cardstock cards.
Pictures in books should show you things you may play, things you may fight or goals or ideas you may have as well as set the stage for the book. The feel also needs to be consistent throughout. The media used can change, but don’t mix styles!
D&D 4th Edition- Player’s Handbook has detailed pictures of the types of characters you are going to play (Person), the Dungeon Master’s Guide shows places you will go (Place), and the Monster Manual shows the things you are going to fight (Things).
Mutants and Masterminds- Very comic book feel to illustrations, some complete with speech bubbles. Very consistent throughout.
Dark Heresy, Warhammer 40,000- Extremely detailed, dark, gritty illustrations.
Rifts- almost entirely black and white inking. Art very evocative of the world, but not enough of it and the color plates in the middle of the book don’t match.
Serenity- Beautiful cover, but almost all of “illustrations” are screen caps from the movie. Says not, “We’re trying to adapt the movie” but “We’re trying to make the movie.” Borders are good except top of every page says “Serenity the Role Playing Game”. Seems too self-congratulatory and constantly reminds us it is “official“.
Star Wars Saga- nice mix of screencaps and illustrations, but again, too much of a mix of styles.
Standard Podcasts [79:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (304)The BG’s review BSG in the last of our full Origin’s review series.
Battlestar Galactica is published by Margaret Weis Productions.
Our rating scale is:
Fair warning: we are not fans. At all. This episode is part review, part bullshit, and part GenCon stories. Listen at your own risk!
Discuss this episode on our Message Boards in THIS thread!
Standard Podcasts [28:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (367)In our 3rd full Origin’s Review, we look at Firefly Games’ Faery’s Tale Deluxe.
We had a lot of issues with this book. I feel it works as a structured “let’s pretend” for kids, but the concept wasn’t clear. To say that this could be for adults misses the mark.
It has some use though, so we gave it a 10 on our rating scale:
Discuss this episode on our Message Boards in THIS thread!
Standard Podcasts [15:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (252)In the second full Origin’s review episode, we take a look at the Savage World of Solomon Kane.
http://www.peginc.com/games.html
We love this one and hope it wins the Origin’s Award for best new RPG. It’s a 1 on the rating scale because this is a complete book of a game which could be a long-term campaign and it’s really interesting:
Discuss this episode on our Message Boards in THIS thread!
Standard Podcasts [17:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (322)This is the first of our full Origins’ Awards Reviews– we’ll release 1 review per day to complete the series!
In this episode we review Grimm, published by Fantasy Flight Games.
We give this a “3″ on our rating scale:
This game would be a ton of fun for a few one shots or to pick up when you’re normal game is sidetracked for a couple of weeks. Very interesting concepts, great flavor, good production values– a good book overall. The lack of clarity and that everything is written in text blocks (I mean everything- there is not a single formula or chart in the book that says “Attack = Scrap vs Defense -> Inflict Wounds”) is insanely frustrating, but other than that, it’s a good book.
Standard Podcasts [27:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (253)In this episode we cover the brighter side of life with min/maxing. We open with what gaming, day-to-day life, and god would be like if non min-maxed and then go into why it is advantageous to have a min/maxer as a fellow player, to have one as a player when you are GM’ing, and to be one yourself. We have an enlightening PSA from Josh and then finish with the 12 (or 4 or 20) different types of min/maxers.
Standard Podcasts [48:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (427)
