Heavy Gear to Return to Roleplaying

Dream Pod 9 and Steve Jackson Games announced an agreement today for a new line of roleplaying products based on DP9's best-selling Heavy Gear.

'The world of Heavy Gear was always intended to support multiple gaming formats,' said Robert Dubois, Licensing Manager for Dream Pod 9. 'We've focused our efforts on the miniatures line, with Heavy Gear Blitz! We are overjoyed that a publisher with the experience of Steve Jackson Games is interested in continuing the RPG material.'

The line will launch with a new edition of Heavy Gear, bringing the Silhouette mechanics to their fourth edition. This core game will contain everything needed to create characters and roleplay in the world of Heavy Gear. Further releases will update Heavy Gear's best-known places and personalities, bringing the story up to date with the miniatures line. New releases will explore military hardware, locations, factions, and the whole universe in greater detail than ever before. The line will primarily be released in PDF via e23.

Paul Levitz: DC Comics and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Indicia fans will have noticed a new symbol popping up in the fine print of some DC comics in recent weeks, a green emblem proclaiming compliance with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. (Okay, I concede that it may be overstating things to call anyone an indicia fan, but we know some of our readers pay attention to every aspect of our publications.) It’s a good thing, and a useful example of how one person’s focus on an issue can move a large company.

Alison Gill, DC’s Vice President-Manufacturing, is a woman of strong passions: her love of comics led her from the tiny London offices of Marvel U.K. in the 1980s to running production for Marvel Comics in New York, and then uptown to our digs almost a decade ago. Along the way she had to relegate her passion for soccer and find an American sport that could give her a comparable outlet. It’s only a rumor that she personally ripped the seats out of the Montreal Canadians arena that now decorate her office, but however they got there, it’s evidence of serious hockey fandom. She picked up a husband from her Marvel service (like so many of us who found our spouses at the office), and a pack of friends who gathered recently to toast her birthday in the Village. As our manufacturing has grown steadily more complex, with increasingly varied print formats, more rapid turnaround requirements to keep titles in print, overseas plants put to work on DC Direct and some hardcover titles, and rapid cost escalation of raw materials, she’s had plenty to do. But Alison can always find time to talk about paper.

In the past year, she’s had major victories in improving the karma of our company. After years of investigation, negotiation and experimentation, she was able to switch a number of our kids’ titles to a recycled newsprint paper stock, made from 85% post consumer waste and most of the Vertigo line to a recycled hibrite paper that is made from 40% post-consumer waste. And now, she’s in the process of getting our titles to conform to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, a program that ensures that participating forest harvesters, paper manufacturers, printers and publishers are using paper which comes from forests that are being managed in a sustainable way -that is, harvested and replanted in a way that ensures they will be there for the future, without damage to the forest’s ecological balance (at least as best it’s currently understood). While many people at DC and our parent companies are committed to environmental issues, this progress is largely Alison’s own. She reacted to concerns raised by environmental activists, did the homework, and found the way to move DC to a better standard of behavior. We still have a long way to go, but she’s working on it…

Superman to Return Again, But Eviler

A darker Superman. Yes, that is the recipe for success that eluded "Superman Returns."

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov indicated the studio intends to explore the darker side of superheroes in future films based on DC Comics properties, also owned by Time Warner. Prompted by the success of Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel 'The Dark Knight,' which he credits to the profoundly grim tone of the film, Robinov told WSJ’s Lauren A.E. Schucker, 'We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it. That goes for the company's Superman franchise as well.'

The Ultimate Mashup Link Collection

Compiled by Simon Iddol, this page is nothing but links to mashups sites, artists and other general information you might (or might not) need. A great starting point for those interested in learning more about this musical style.

Bert and Ernie: Gangsta Trippin'

BootieSL

Tonight I'll be playing a mashup set at the Parkade club in Second Life as part of the BootieSL bimonthly event. In addition to a DJ playing a mashup set in world, we also feature a live feed from BootieSF the first club in the world dedicated to mashups.

While it is still subject to change, this is the playlist that I am putting together for tonight:

1. World Famous Audio Hacker - A Clear And Present Danger (Copyright Terrorism Intro) (0:59)
2. DJ Schmolli - Mash Me Amadeus (Falco vs. Nelly vs. Luniz vs. Mozart vs. Run-DMC vs. Others) (5:52)
3. DJ Danger Mouse - Justify My Thug (4:12)
4. DJ Zebra - Black Horse and Souljacker (KT Tunstall vs. The Eels) (3:37)
5. DJ Y alias JY - Duffy Train Running (Duffy vs. Doobie Brothers) (4:17)
6. Butch Vig - Sanctuary's Over (4:17)
7. Overdub - Come As The Starlight (Nirvana vs The Superman Lovers) (3:57)
8. The Illuminoids - Solta O Space Frango Woman (Wolfmother vs. MSTRKRFT vs. Bonde Do Role vs. Deep Purple) (3:26)
9. Dj Topcat - The Safety Booty (Bubba Sparxxx vs. Men Without Hats) (4:55)
10. DJ Lobsterdust - Black Acieed (3:03)
11. DJ Smash - Wild Rock Music! (Steppenwolf vs. Apollo 440 vs. Madonna vs. Ike & Tina Turner) (4:07)
12. DJ Moule - Bohemian Thunder (Dandy Warhols vs. AC/DC vs. B-52's) (3:21)
13. DJ Schmolli - Roadhouse Metal (Metallica vs. The Doors) (4:02)
14. DJ Moule - 303 is TNT (AC/DC vs. Fatboy Slim vs. Daft Punk vs. James Brown) (4:58)
15. DJ Peaking - Warning, Rush Where It's At (Big Audio Dynamite Vs. Beck Vs. Green Day) (4:45)
16. Immuzikation - Fish Tacos (Immuzikation ExtraTartarBlend [Coldplay vs. Weezer vs. Cut Copy vs. The Blow vs. M.I.A. vs. Reading Rainbow]) (5:37)
17. Icky - Drive Mashed Watch Bond (2:47)
18. Soundhog - (Are You Gonna Be My) Dirrty Girrl? (Jet vs. Christina Aguilera) (4:07)
19. Carty - Boogie Woogie Candyman (Christina Aguilera vs The Andrews Sisters) [3FM Edit] (4:18)
20. DJ John Mash-Up - Rockin Down The House with Rum & Coca Cola (Andrews Sisters vs MI 7) (4:37)
21. A plus D - Heart Of Puppini (Puppini Sisters vs. Blondie) (2:47)
22. Dr. Waumiau - Where's your URAQT Austin Powers (Quincy Jones vs. M.I.A. vs. Basement Jaxx) (3:57)
23. Loo & Placido - What About Brixton? (4:26)
24. Aggro1 - Superstition Freak (Stevie Wonder vs. Wired All Wrong) (3:24)
25. Loo & Placido - DJ Love Affair (3:52)
26. World Famous Audio Hacker - Can't Cash You Out Of My Head (4:09)
27. Wax Audio - Stayin' Alive In The Wall (Bee Gees vs. Pink Floyd) (3:16)
28. DJ BC - Hustle! (Van McCoy vs. Rick Ross) (4:42)
29. DJ Clive$ter - Pump Up The Convoy (C.W. McCall vs. MARRS) (4:22)
30. The Celebrity Murder Party - We Want Robot Titties (P-Funk vs The Trucks vs Vampire Sound Inc vs Kraftwerk)


If you play Second Life, you can find Parkade here. BootieSL goes from 7pm SLT until 3am SLT.

Portishead and Chuck D

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

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.