One of the main reasons I haven’t put out many updates in the last week or so was due to being in Canberra for Phenomenon. Overall, I had a good time. As usual, the con was held at Daramalan College, which was close to the amenities of Dickson shops and all the takeaway Asian you can stomach, and the classrooms with ceiling heaters that made some sessions seem as though they were set in ovens.
Click over for a review of the games we played.
Following on from the Prologue last week, here is the first proper episode of GOLD. It is two years on, and the team lost the championships. They’re only weeks away from reclaiming their title, but with Jonathan injured, does Richard have what it takes to whip the team into shape?
This is a great series, and I think it’s important to support media aimed at the gaming community, so please visit the website and watch the show. It’s available on the web, as well as by podcast [iTunes]. GOLD is independently produced, so if you can spare a little money, consider clicking on their donate button.
GOLD is an online series about a professional roleplaying team, preparing for the upcoming Goblins & Gold championships. The newly appointed team captain, Richard Wright is learning that stardom and leadership are two different things, while the former captain, Jonathan Drake is recovering from an injury that has sidelined him from the competition. Meanwhile, the hobby itself is under threat from dwindling spectator interest, and the British team begins planning their fourth consecutive gold medal.
I’ll be embedding these videos weekly until we catch up with the monthly release schedule. We start with the prologue, which is set two years before the rest of the series.
This is a great series, and I think it’s important to support media aimed at the gaming community, so please visit the website and watch the show. It’s available on the web, as well as by podcast [iTunes]. GOLD is independently produced, so if you can spare a little money, consider clicking on their donate button.
It’s been a while since I did a con report. Admittedly, I was an organiser for SYDCON 08, but I still could have written something. Anyway, other than providing the IT services, I was largely left to play games at this year’s EYECON. For the first time in ages, I played only freeforms (oh, and a LARP — you can’t have everything). I’ll review them in a second.
I want to acknowledge the hard work of all the game designers (whether or not I played your game), and my colleagues in the SRGA. As a secondary organiser, much of my work was done weeks before people started registering for games. Props go to everybody who did all the running around, lost hours of sleep, and nearly went insane due to everyone else’s “special” requests. You guys know who you are, so give yourselves a pat on the back and get some sleep.
Before reading further, be warned that I may not be able to avoid spoiling these games. In the event that you may want to play them in the future, you may not want to read my review.
Through liberal use of StumbleUpon, I found the “When we play the game, it has this cover” thread on Story Games. The basic idea is for the participants to produce covers for the RPG books they use as though they advertise the way their group plays.
I was particularly amused by Graham’s entries for the Esoterrorists and Trail of Cthulhu.
If I were to do one, it would probably be for Dragonlance. A human cleric argues with a half-elven woman. A number of other people stand around looking bored, obviously waiting for the two to resolve their differences. Over it all, a dragon breathes fire that is about to engulf the group.