Posts Tagged ‘Games’

Just sent off an article for Ragnarok a group of desert countries for Wessex Games’ Strange Tydes.  Along with details of each nations navy there are also new ship options including Lateen Rigging, naptha projectors and early cannons.

The last bit of work tonight was to draw a map to go with the article.  I modelled it as a terrain in Vue and rendered it from a high angle.  I took the render into Expression and used it as the basis for the map…

My 7th Sea feature review was my first article for Valkyrie. Its one of my favourite games of all time. At university I took a course on fire relating to building design. So when I was talking to a ‘zine (that I don’t think ever appeared) about 7th Sea articles and they were planning other articles about a major fire it seemed an interesting subject for me to tackle. I wrote it, sent it off and I can’t find any record of hearing about it (or the ‘zine) again. Shortly afterward AEG pulled their support from the game. So 6000 words on 7th Sea and fire sat unused on my computer.

Earlier this week a thread on the Fraternity of Shadows website started about city fires on the Domain of Dread. It reminded me of the 7th Sea article and I’ve begun converting it, where appropriate, to Ravenloft. The Ravenloft version isn’t all ready yet but I thought I’d post the 7th Sea original tonight with the first part of the Ravenloft adaptation with d20 crunch following as I find time.

In The Danger of Difficulty Despair – With Graphs I talked about the risk of a game suffering from boring encounters if the difficulty progression was always identical.  I showed, with the aid of graphs, how linear encounter difficulty combined with character improvement at the end of each adventure could create a universe which sees the player characters improve but never lets them experience the improvement.  I’ll come back to that problem in a future post.  First I’m going to suggest a few alternative difficulty variations that can be used for adventures.

To quickly recap the linear difficulty encounter adventure is an adventure where a series of encounters occur starting with an easy one and building up to a harder one.  The difficulty of each encounter is roughly similar.

Capability and Linear Difficulty (blue vertical lines represent the end of adventures)

A common variation on this is the Swooping difficulty adventure where the difficulty starts out at a level, drops down and then rises for the climax.  My notes included a mention of the “extreme” swoops favoured by one of the DMs we played with who used a lot of very easy encounters and then towards the end things got really tough.

Swooping Difficulty (blue vertical lines represent the end of adventures)

Extreme Swooping Difficulty (blue vertical lines represent the end of adventures)

Another type of progression happens in dungeons built of areas (which may be levels) where several encounters of similar difficulty are grouped together followed by an area with harder difficulty and so on till the final, climactic encounter.

Stepped Dungeon Style Difficulty (blue vertical lines represent the end of adventures)

Last time I said I’d talk about one of the worst games I ever played in.  I’d played in games run by the DM responsible before and he was usually pretty good.  Then came his experimental phase.  First a game where he let two of us generate nominally evil (really just not good) characters and then decided he wanted only the cleanest of clean characters.

Then came what I think can be best described as his attempt at a game combining psychedelic elements from 60s TV shows, American film musicals and Dungeons and Dragons.  He topped that strange combination off with difficulty so varied that I think it can be best described by this graph…

If you've read this far already you shouldn't need any explanation for this graph

It was just as frustrating for the players as the linear progression of difficulty.  Here the frustration came from the feeling that the world didn’t make sense.  It might be “realistic” but it lacked drama.  Players never knew when to heal and when to use their limited use abilities until it was too late.  We suspected there was a lot of dice fudging by the Dungeon Master going on so we didn’t get wiped out.  We stuck with the game for about five sessions and then, to our relief, it came to an (unsatisfying) end.

Years ago I was asked for a set of rules for the game Beetle and the other day I got an email asking if I still had them.  So tonight I’ve posted them into my games section along with the rules for Dice Poker, Tiddley-Winks Football and Tiddley-Winks which I found sitting around on my hard drive with them.

• @KimKnox SpaceFluffin aX da univers, On d Starship Enterprise under Capt Knox. SFin aX da univers, 1ly goin fwd cauz we cnt fnd reverse. in reply to KimKnox #
• @KimKnox lol It was in my head messing up my editing so I thought I’d share it in reply to KimKnox #
• Doubt they ment this for working out comparative value of money stolen at different famous robberies http://bit.ly/c8VC6 #
• A good days editing almost got a complete piece to send off. Now a little light relaxation before bed… #
• listening to “Johnny Clegg & Savuka – One (Hu)’ Man One Vote” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b1stj #
• listening to “Tasmin Archer – Lords of the New Church” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b1t4h #
• listening to “nik kershaw one world” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b1tkw #
• @guardiantech G-Force http://bit.ly/HyvGW but Bruckheimer’s got a short memory Cats&Dogs did spy pets 8 yrs ago in reply to guardiantech #
• listening to “Billy Bragg – Moving The Goalposts” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2qox #
• listening to “Ofra Haza Im Nin Alu” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2r4a #
• Haggis invented in England? http://bit.ly/1olEv5 Doesn’t really matter its Scottish now.
  Just glad I’m not in a meeting with the SAA today. #
• listening to “Sisters of Mercy – Temple of Love ’92″ ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2uo7 #
• @jearle Looks like there might be something fishy going on http://bit.ly/4hyQyv in reply to jearle #
• listening to “Nickel Creek- Hanging by a thread” ♫ http://blip.fm/~b2wmr #
• RT @criticalhits criticalhitsTop 10 Comic Book Cities from Architects Journal http://is.gd/20FDx #
• 2 Sites updated without a hitch RT wordpressWordPress 2.8.3: http://bit.ly/Qf1Cx #
• Akismet 227 : Spammers 0 #
• @very_true_thing I’ve no fish knife hang up but I did buy ice cream spoons on Sat so I can get the last of the jam out of jars – go with age in reply to very_true_thing #
• @very_true_thing It gets worse they do long handled melon spoons too. Is there a market for CDGs (Collectable Dinnerservice Games)? in reply to very_true_thing #
• RT @DanDiplo Is this the best programming related song ever? http://bit.ly/InfF0 #
• @very_true_thing I’ve seen grapefruit knives but never tomato knives – does that mean those are an Ultra rare or just a Promo? in reply to very_true_thing #
• Will you click unfollow, Oh ethereal twit spammers, By autumn? #poem #
• Back from round trip to London to see client. Liverpool a lot warmer. #
• What fuels US sitcom writers? Sort of a RT of @KenLevine http://bit.ly/aqBxN #
• What (if anything) should we read into it if Clarkson is hit by a meteorite now? #
• RT @richeym: @DanDiplo @impworks He does have a way with lyrics. Probably has the best zombie-related song too: http://bit.ly/9j3Ih #
• Is this cartoon the best comment on Bingoo deal? http://bit.ly/H8CGY #
• Quantum physics announcement on the Tube yesterday “Please use all entrances to enter the station” Are passengers wavicles? #
• Is it me or does aquiavic’s comment on my blog make no sense or is it some new sort of weird spam? http://bit.ly/3Shlg #
• Just saw a picture listed on a stock photo site described as “London Sky line 1970s”. Just one thing – when was the Gerkin built? lol #
• For the spec that just went in the recycling bin ♫ http://blip.fm/~b8xmf #
• RT: mediaguardian Twitter’s Evan Williams grilled on Demi Moore in Newsnight interview: http://bit.ly/3NNDTz [The claws come out at the end] #
• RIP John Hughes http://bit.ly/tTBGs ♫ http://blip.fm/~ba1cq #
• @KimKnox You did but don’t worry – I just saw a twitterer who posted the same tweet every 5 minutes for a day… in reply to KimKnox #
• RT @jearle Dear Tony Carter, You don’t get it, you’re an idiot. KTHXBYE. #
• RT @guardianweekly American word introduced into the office – neatnik: a person overly obsessed with tidiness, particularly IN the office #
• @KimKnox Or you didn’t and I saw it on your RSS feed lol.Too many ways to keep up these days.Should just turn everything off once a week. #
• RT @guardiantech: Twist in the tale of questioning spam http://bit.ly/sR5mq #
• RT @guardiantech: Charlie’s Angles: Why can’t local government and open source be friends? http://bit.ly/KPOVY #

• RT @wordpress: WordPress 2.8.2: http://bit.ly/12nm2b #
• Just added myself to the http://wefollow.com twitter directory under: #writer #vue #rpg #
• @SJGames Superfluous O! http://bit.ly/pEDf just after I read the Two Ronnies missing hose http://bit.ly/1p9Wp4 Conspiracy or coincidence lol #
• @DanDiplo lol and incomplete XSLT parsers used to make them very (how can I put it politely) interesting. And variables that don't vary… in reply to DanDiplo #
• A new John Lewis stock pot of slow cooked spicy black-eye beans ment dinner plans were easy http://bit.ly/XpcCS #recipe #food #
• 2 Sites updated without a hitch RT @wordpress WordPress 2.8.2: http://bit.ly/12nm2b #
• @KimKnox They're working hard analysing this to death. A fashion expert focuses on the boots not being done up right has too much spare time in reply to KimKnox #
• @KimKnox Better Paul than Joe who gave me a harsh stare at the deli shelf in M&S on two Sats. I've better things to do than stalk him. in reply to KimKnox #
• @KimKnox lol He was disguised by a forest of facial hair. I guess for a role: would have been a fire hazard on masterchef in reply to KimKnox #
• And Serif Software call me again. At least this time they handled my lack of interest and my not playing along with their script OK. #
• @AlphaComplex Enjoyed the posts but Posting way too often = No follow No more #
• Anyone know if there's a thesaurus of hashtags that are in use? #
• Posted a bit from an old, funny Valkyrie article on how #rpg characters go through doors http://bit.ly/9mmUs #
• @very_true_thing You're right – a few of those games are post Valkyrie I just keep adding to it if I think of a good new one #
• RT @severdia: #joomla 1.5.13 released – upgrade immediately http://bit.ly/25blLU #
• RT @MonteJCook Here's another game site that I enjoy: http://www.gnomestew.com/ #
• @jearle it may be arbitrary but if it make you happy who am I to knock it lol. Congratulations on 1000 followers in reply to jearle #
• @jearle I miss Valkyrie, with all its odd little production difficulties, sometimes. Always sad I never got to do a SLA Industries piece. in reply to jearle #
• @jearle Not really a surprise. It wasn't just Nightfall: Jay told me the slush pile of SLA fan articles could have filled its own mag in reply to jearle #
• @jearle Your stuff every time – helped yours were lots better lol. in reply to jearle #
• @jearle Jay used to worry about being seen as the official SLA rag with an article an issue. He'd email me for funny, grit free articles. in reply to jearle #
• @KimKnox Gratz. 9/10 for cover cheese picture although at least its not Casu Marzu in reply to KimKnox #
• @alyankovic Polka Your Eyes Out but a medley could be even better… #
• Yeh. Vue 8 Announced. Well it will be soon. #

I’ve posted an updated excerpt from an article I wrote for Valkyrie Magazine issue 25: Open the Door on how characters go through doors in different games.

Back in August 2007 I posted a set of Miniature Victorian and Edwardian Posters which at the time didn’t really seem to get a lot of downloads or get any feedback. When I rebuilt the impworks website I almost left them out and the file got moved round late compared to some of the python scripts and what I thought were more popular pages.

A few days later I got a very nice, polite e-mail from a gentleman in Germany asking where the posters were because users on his gaming forums were asking for them. He also asked if I had anymore similar sets. I fixed the problem and I’m pleasantly surprised at the level of downloads the posters have been getting. So by way of a thank you for bringing the problem to my attention I’ve posted two more sets that I’d found the pictures for but never created the PDFs for.

This time there are a total of 130 different advertising posters from the pulp era covering dates from the 1920s and 1930s. A few may be from as late as the 1950s but I can’t be sure. I’ve split them roughly into US destinations and the rest of the world because there were roughly 60ish in each category and a sheet of Avery labels has space for 65. Hopefully they’ll be of some use to someone. You can download them, or download the original Victorian set, from my new Miniature Posters page.

Issue 53 of Ragnarok, the Society of Fantasy and Science Fiction Wargamings magazine, is out now and includes an article by me – When Ants Attack – for use with the game Tusk.

This issue, and the last three back issues are also now available from Wargames Vault as PDFs.

As I get older one thing that annoys me more and more is the quantity of what passes for journalism. The rise of editorial over actual reporting. The need to have a journalist at the scene of the event to give a live report to camera and have a nice chat with the studio where a recorded piece with more information used to do quite nicely. Especially when the journalist is standing on a bridge over the motorway reporting on a predicted snow storm that may trap motorists (and presumably the journalist and their crew) on the motorway or reporting from the edge of an outbreak of foot and mouth. Or in its most vile incarnation reporting from outside the home of the victim of an act of crime when they probably want to be left alone.

Today’s story to get my goat comes from the BBC: Hordes greet Warcraft expansion followed by ‘Addicted’ to Warcraft?. What follows is an amended version of my comment on that post.

From Jazz to Horror Comics through Rock and Roll to Dungeons and Dragons then Computer Games and now Online Gaming the press has found an ideal target for writing stories like this one. They appeal to a wide readership either horrified by the harm to kid or kids who are offended by the inaccuracies and broad brush descriptions. I sometimes wonder if such accusations were leveled even earlier against the Waltz, Orchestral music, printing or maybe cave painting?

Yes I’m one of the people who’s enjoyed some (not all) of these and for 20 years found the claims made about them to have little in common with my experience of any of the activities.

Over the years professionals in various fields and concerned pressure groups (some eventually shown to have hidden agendas to push, political campaigns to start rolling or books to promote) have provided studies of the damage figures are quoted levels of addiction, cost or suicide. I wouldn’t mind so much but usually the figures start to fall apart when a back of the envelope calculation is carried out.

Take this story as an example: 11 million registered players for World of Warcraft. 10-15% become addicted. That equates to 1.1-1.65million addicts worldwide. I’ll leave it to others to draw their own conclusions from those figures. If this were a real addiction on a par with the addiction to, say Cocaine, wouldn’t there have been more than 2000 people waiting for the midnight sale? I don’t see a horde of Warcraft destroyed souls wandering the streets begging for the £8.99 a month subscription. Nor do I see a large number of older people whose lives have been ruined by their rock and roll habit from their youth.

Maybe an interesting article would consider the widespread use by journalists of the word addiction. Then place this addiction in the context of a spectrum of addictions from illegal drug use through alcohol and tobacco on to football and people who regularly buy books, magazines and go to their local library. Finally you could look at how journalists are addicts to writing articles about addictions.