Perhaps you've heard of Zak Smith. He is an artist, writer and game designer who has written/designed the excellent game supplement called Vornheim: The Complete City Kit. He has also done porn, and plays D&D with a group of porn actors, models, strippers and a hairdresser. You may remember when I wrote about them before over at this post. Today I talked with Zak for one of my Dorkland! Roundtables. It was a good chat/discussion/interview. Whatever you want to call them. One of the things that I like about Zak is that he is a man of opinions but he goes beyond just stating opinions and tries to back up what he says with facts and information.
More than a few people get upset because Zak has done porn, because he games with people who do porn, because he has a blog called D&D With Pornstars. People shouldn't be afraid of sex and sexuality, or think that all forms of entertainment has to be safe, sanitized and polite to all ages. There is plenty of room in gaming for people with all sorts of backgrounds, genders, orientations and races. It is OK to want things to be a little grown up too, and to want to game differently than you might have when you were 13.
You should check out the videos of Zak and his friends gaming. They are fun to watch, and they have a group of people who are having a lot of fun gaming. There's a bit of strong language in them (and my YouTube video above) so I wouldn't suggest watching them at work. People say that we need more people in gaming, and sometimes I even agree with that idea. I think that one way to do that is to show different people, outside of the conventional stereotypes of gaming, having fun at table top gaming. I think this group is as good of an example as any others. They kick ass, take names and have fun. Who cares about their jobs?
I had a good time talking with Zak, and I hope that you enjoy this interview. My standard Thumper rule is in place for this post. If you can't say anything nice about the people, don't say anything at all. I will delete people for being a dick. You're more than welcome to be a dick on the internet, you just don't get to do it on my blog. There's plenty of other virtual real estate out there if you want to do that.
More than a few people get upset because Zak has done porn, because he games with people who do porn, because he has a blog called D&D With Pornstars. People shouldn't be afraid of sex and sexuality, or think that all forms of entertainment has to be safe, sanitized and polite to all ages. There is plenty of room in gaming for people with all sorts of backgrounds, genders, orientations and races. It is OK to want things to be a little grown up too, and to want to game differently than you might have when you were 13.
You should check out the videos of Zak and his friends gaming. They are fun to watch, and they have a group of people who are having a lot of fun gaming. There's a bit of strong language in them (and my YouTube video above) so I wouldn't suggest watching them at work. People say that we need more people in gaming, and sometimes I even agree with that idea. I think that one way to do that is to show different people, outside of the conventional stereotypes of gaming, having fun at table top gaming. I think this group is as good of an example as any others. They kick ass, take names and have fun. Who cares about their jobs?
I had a good time talking with Zak, and I hope that you enjoy this interview. My standard Thumper rule is in place for this post. If you can't say anything nice about the people, don't say anything at all. I will delete people for being a dick. You're more than welcome to be a dick on the internet, you just don't get to do it on my blog. There's plenty of other virtual real estate out there if you want to do that.