Friday, August 22, 2008
2008 Diana Jones Award Goes To "Grey Ranks" and Wolfgang Baur
Annual Award 'For Excellence in Gaming' Locked in Second-Ever Tie
Indianapolis, 14th August—The 2008 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming has been given to two winners: Grey Ranks (a roleplaying game by Jason Morningstar, published by Bully Pulpit Games) and Wolfgang Baur and his Open Design business model. This is the second time the awards committee has locked into a tie over the winners in its eight years. The winners were announced at a ceremony packed with games industry professionals, from designers to publishers and distributors, held at Jillian’s in Indianapolis at 9 PM on Wednesday 13th August, the day before the opening of the games convention Gen Con Indianapolis.
Jason Morningstar’s roleplaying game of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, Grey Ranks, commands attention for many reasons, but it deserves highest marks for two factors. First, it is a game of inexorable tragedy, sacrifice, coming-of-age, mortality, and self-destruction. These truly mature literary themes are almost unexplored in gaming of any sort, and virtually unseen in roleplaying. If gaming is to approach the other arts in depth and richness, it will be games like Grey Ranks that make such an approach possible. Second, its emotional grid mechanic anchors a solid, powerful rules design that drives such themes home in play. Jason Morningstar has not created a game that lazily appropriates the historical horror at its heart, he has created rules that reveal that horror, rules that re-create that horror in its players’ hearts and minds. Aristotle said that all true tragedy must end in terror and pity. It’s hard to believe that Aristotle never played Grey Ranks.
Open Design began as an experiment in funding the development of roleplaying game supplements. Wolfgang Baur—a highly respected, long-time Dungeons & Dragons editor and designer for TSR and then Wizards of the Coast—went back hundreds of years to dig up the concept of patronage, add a few modern twists to it, and apply it to the problem. He posts a project and publicizes it along with a monetary threshold. When the funding his patrons chip in reaches that threshold, he starts on the project in earnest. Baur supplements his exemplary work by letting his patrons suggest various directions for each project and then allowing them to look over this shoulder as he works. Each project becomes a master-level class on adventure design for those privileged to be a part of it.
Also shortlisted for the Diana Jones Award this year were the Canon Puncture podcast, the Child’s Play charity, the Come Out and Play festival, and Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media edited by Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip-Fruin by (MIT Press).
Previous winners of the Diana Jones Award include Peter Adkison, former CEO of Wizards of the Coast; Jordan Weisman, former CEO of FASA and Wizkids; the games Sorcerer, Nobilis, My Life with Master and Ticket to Ride; the game supplement The Great Pendragon Campaign; and the generosity of the charity auctions at Irish games conventions.
A fuller description of the history of the Diana Jones Award and its extraordinary trophy, plus details of all the previous winners and shortlists, can be found at the award’s website: www.dianajonesaward.org
More information
For more information on the award, please contact the designated public representatives of the Diana Jones Committee:
Matt Forbeck: matt@forbeck.com
James Wallis: james@erstwhile.demon.co.uk
Indianapolis, 14th August—The 2008 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming has been given to two winners: Grey Ranks (a roleplaying game by Jason Morningstar, published by Bully Pulpit Games) and Wolfgang Baur and his Open Design business model. This is the second time the awards committee has locked into a tie over the winners in its eight years. The winners were announced at a ceremony packed with games industry professionals, from designers to publishers and distributors, held at Jillian’s in Indianapolis at 9 PM on Wednesday 13th August, the day before the opening of the games convention Gen Con Indianapolis.
Jason Morningstar’s roleplaying game of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, Grey Ranks, commands attention for many reasons, but it deserves highest marks for two factors. First, it is a game of inexorable tragedy, sacrifice, coming-of-age, mortality, and self-destruction. These truly mature literary themes are almost unexplored in gaming of any sort, and virtually unseen in roleplaying. If gaming is to approach the other arts in depth and richness, it will be games like Grey Ranks that make such an approach possible. Second, its emotional grid mechanic anchors a solid, powerful rules design that drives such themes home in play. Jason Morningstar has not created a game that lazily appropriates the historical horror at its heart, he has created rules that reveal that horror, rules that re-create that horror in its players’ hearts and minds. Aristotle said that all true tragedy must end in terror and pity. It’s hard to believe that Aristotle never played Grey Ranks.
Open Design began as an experiment in funding the development of roleplaying game supplements. Wolfgang Baur—a highly respected, long-time Dungeons & Dragons editor and designer for TSR and then Wizards of the Coast—went back hundreds of years to dig up the concept of patronage, add a few modern twists to it, and apply it to the problem. He posts a project and publicizes it along with a monetary threshold. When the funding his patrons chip in reaches that threshold, he starts on the project in earnest. Baur supplements his exemplary work by letting his patrons suggest various directions for each project and then allowing them to look over this shoulder as he works. Each project becomes a master-level class on adventure design for those privileged to be a part of it.
Also shortlisted for the Diana Jones Award this year were the Canon Puncture podcast, the Child’s Play charity, the Come Out and Play festival, and Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media edited by Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip-Fruin by (MIT Press).
Previous winners of the Diana Jones Award include Peter Adkison, former CEO of Wizards of the Coast; Jordan Weisman, former CEO of FASA and Wizkids; the games Sorcerer, Nobilis, My Life with Master and Ticket to Ride; the game supplement The Great Pendragon Campaign; and the generosity of the charity auctions at Irish games conventions.
A fuller description of the history of the Diana Jones Award and its extraordinary trophy, plus details of all the previous winners and shortlists, can be found at the award’s website: www.dianajonesaward.org
More information
For more information on the award, please contact the designated public representatives of the Diana Jones Committee:
Matt Forbeck: matt@forbeck.com
James Wallis: james@erstwhile.demon.co.uk
Reinventing Smallvile with Soulder & Peterson
For the past seven seasons, the team of Al Gough and Miles Millar has been the guiding force behind 'Smallville,' the show they created, based on the Superman characters of DC Comics. At the end of last season they, along with actors Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk, left the show to pursue other endeavors. Stepping into the role of showrunners for the latest and possibly final season of 'Smallville' will be four familiar faces to fans of the show: Kelly Souder, Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, and Brian Peterson. Between the foursome, they’ve written over one hundred episodes and have been part of the Smallville' family since season two.
Talking To Guy Davis
An artist’s artist, Guy Davis’ detailed, atmospheric work has adorned many acclaimed projects, including Sandman Mystery Theatre, Baker Street, The Nevermen and of course his long run as artist on BPRD at Dark Horse.
But many fans consider his best work on his creator-owned series The Marquis. The violent and disturbing tale of Vol de Galle, a demon-hunter in the time of the Inquisition, who finds himself with the ability to see the real demons surrounding him. But the Marquis’ quest threatens his own sanity, and leads him into ever greater depths of darkness, including one of the most disturbing visions of Hell seen in comics or any medium.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Hive Five: Five Best FTP Clients
Whether you do you work on the web, run a home FTP server, or you just prefer a quick download from time to time, a solid, full-featured FTP client can be lifesaver. You've got tons of options--both free and shareware--for your FTP needs, so finding the right FTP client can be difficult. On Tuesday you shared your favorite FTP clients, and today we're back with the five most popular choices. Read on for a detailed look at the five best FTP clients for your money, then cast your vote for the app you like best.
Tampa Bay (FLA) Area Gamers
I started a group like this in Cleveland, and it was pretty successful for me (and others of course) to meet other gamers in the area. I figured that starting a system / setting / group agnostic list might serve the same purpose in the Tampa area. We'll see.
Are you a role-player in the Tampa bay area? Join up and find other gamers.
Are you a role-player in the Tampa bay area? Join up and find other gamers.
This is a networking group for role-players in the Tampa Bay area (including but not limited to Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach and many others) who want a method for finding other gamers and coming together with gaming groups.
Tampa Bay Gamers will organize meet and greet events that will allow gamers to meet each other in non-gaming situations so that they can see if other gamers would be a good fit for their campaigns and style of play.
Since this group is about meeting with other gamers and having discussion about play, it is preferred that members have their group settings so that they will receive some form of email notices from the group. Remember, you only get out of a group like this what you put into it so active membership is a plus!
Braunstein: the Roots of Roleplaying Games
In 2005 I was standing near the registration booths at GenCon, flipping through the event catalog while the posse debated where to go first. I had already scoured the listings online, but as I glanced across the pages I spotted a word I had somehow missed before: Braunstein.
I knew what Braunstein was (sort of) so I dragged my whole crew to the far, far outer reaches of the con, to a seminar in a very quiet room with very few attendants. And we sat, and we listened.
What did I know that made me drag them all that way?
I knew that Braunstein was the world’s first roleplaying game. Ever.
Most gamers have never heard of Braunstein. Sad but true. In the hierarchy of self-awareness you’ll find the circle of gamers who know what D&D is (a very, very large circle), then inside of that is the circle of gamers who know what Greyhawk is (large but smaller), and inside that the circle who knows what Blackmoor is (smaller still). And then in the very center, vanishingly small, are the people who’ve heard of Braunstein. Which is a pity, because Braunstein is the granddaddy of them all.
The Legion At 50: Paul Levitz Interview
In his role as president and publisher of DC Comics, Paul Levitz would know a thing or two about the Legion of Super-Heroes. The team of super-powered teens from 1,000 years in the future has been an important group of characters for DC Comics since it was introduced in 1958 and is the focus of this week's Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds event.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wizards Announces New Organizational Alignment
Wizards of the Coast today announced new organizational alignment to focus on key growth strategies for core brands.
'As a company, we will continue to be the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer,' said Greg Leeds, President of Wizards of the Coast. 'Re-aligning resources ensures we achieve this goal for our most powerful brands.'
While restructuring results in some job eliminations, Wizards of the Coast is actively recruiting to fill open positions in multiple areas of the company.
'Organizational change is always difficult on those impacted,' said Leeds. 'But we will take great care in the transition, and continue to invest in the growth of the business, specifically innovation for our Magic and Dungeons & Dragons fans.'
Thailand says it will deport Glitter to Britain
Thai immigration police said on Wednesday they would deport shamed glam rocker Gary Glitter to London 'as soon as possible' despite his claims of health problems preventing him from flying.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, flew to Bangkok on Tuesday, having been kicked out of Vietnam at the end of nearly three years in jail for child sex abuse.
He refused to board an onward flight to London, claiming ear and heart problems, but Thai police said they were not convinced.
'We are barring entry to Paul Francis Gadd and will be deporting him to his home country, England, unconditionally and even if he does not wish to board the plane,' police said in a statement.
'We are now waiting to return him to England as soon as possible.'
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