I was reading through a discussion on Paizo’s message boards that grew out of a post linking to our coverage of the panel with Mike Mearls at Origins, and one discussion in particular caught my eye. Several people began to discuss the amount of content provided in the 4E core books vs. the amount provided in the 3.5 core books, which I think is a funny comparison to begin with because you’re looking at a revised edition in relation to a whole new edition; naturally, things are going to be more polished and meaty in the revision because it’s based on existing material. I’d say it would definitely be more relevant to compare the 4E core books to the original 3rd Edition ones, but then you could also get into a huge argument over how much of the content that was provided in 3rd Edition was actually usable/functional, which I think would lead to some more interesting comparison also.
The discussions quickly jumped on the obvious fact that there is less fluff presented in the 4th Edition core books, in comparison to previous editions, and many feel that the amount of fluff has been decreasing over time as the game progresses through various editions. The question this brings up to me, is this a bad thing? Your gut reaction is most likely, “YES! Without fluff the game is just like every other game!” However, when you really think about it, do the progressing editions of the game really change that much of the fluff that goes along with the game? Read the rest
Dr. Reiner Knizia, one of the best known and most successful boardgame designers, was one of the Guests of Honor at Origins this year. I showed up to one of his panels, entitled “Creation of a Successful Game”, a few minutes late due to late night D&D the evening before. When I arrived, he had already gone past his introduction and started into his powerpoint presentation. That’s OK, because I already knew who he was!
Here’s a transcription from my notes. As before, this is not verbatim, just my notes on his session. Taking notes proved more tricky than I expected since I had to do them on my PDA (my laptop deciding not to work that morning), the door to the event was quite loud, and there was a very loud demo shouting every few minutes downstairs.
All that out of the way, how do you create a successful game? Read the rest
The mind behind Buffy and Firefly, the Actors behind Captain Tightpants and Doogie Howser, and god knows who else, have come together to bring the internet a free mini-series.
Well, free at first. Go to www.drhorrible.com on July 15th for Act 1, 17th for Act 2, and 19th for Act 3. They will remain free until the 20th, when the series will come down and be made available to download for “nominal fee” and eventually be release on dvd, with I quote “the finest and bravest extras in all the land”.
There’s more the the reasons behind this mini, so check out DrHorrible.com. Read Joss’ letter, and as he says, do what we do best. Spread the Word.
Well, another Origins has come and gone. As with the past two years, I focused on press coverage and hanging out with friends moreso than playing games. However, I did still manage to hit the big games I wanted to play.
Gaming
North Star Games was one of the first booths I hit at the show, and picked up my copy of Say Anything (gratis, in exchange for the secrets of the Select-O-Matic 5000 technology.) I’m very glad to see this game out, and in addition to playing at the booth with some friends, I also played a few games back in my hotel room late at night. I’ve had a blast with it, and I hope it does as well for them as Wits & Wagers did. The only potential issue is that “Your Mom” tends to be the best answer for most questions. Read the rest
I’m sure I’m one of the last bloggers to report on this, but Diablo 3 is coming. There’s both a cinematic trailer and gameplay trailer up to drool over.
Finally, some sad news: Michael Turner passed away at the age of 37. One of the most sought-after comic cover illustrators out there and creator of the series Fathom, his talent and popularity cannot be denied. He will be missed.
Player: “What did you say about foreplay and fornication?” DM: “I said it was FULL PLATE of FORTIFICATION.”
Congratulations Happy Turtle! We will be in touch shortly. Thanks to everyone who contributed and voted!
This week we return to Inquisitions as normal, and with our D&D games starting back up now, I’ve realized that I haven’t gotten together with friends in a while to play some good old board games! After discussing briefly with Joshx0rfz, he expressed the concern that he doesn’t enjoy playing board games anymore.
I know that we’ve done a poll like this one before, but it’s good to update it every now and then to see what types of games our audience likes the most, and which they don’t really play.
On Saturday of Origins, I peeled myself out of bed after a long night hanging out and gaming to attend the panel run by Mike Mearls. It was nearly all questions and answers, and even ran a half an hour past when it was supposed to let out.
Mike started with introducing himself, saying that he joined Wizards in September of 2005. When he first got there, he did not know fourth edition was in the works, but had his suspicions. Then one day he was called into an office (where he thought he was going to get into trouble for something) but instead was let in on ORCUS, the codename for 4e.
After a few more discussions about working at Wizards, the floor was opened to any and all questions. (Both the questions and answers are paraphrased.)
Q: Why is there a limit of 1 action point per encounter?
A: It happened because of play testing. If the players found out that they had to kill a dragon at the end of a dungeon, they’d save up all their action points (and even get into additional fights) to unload on the dragon. Then every player’s turn went: “daily, action point, encounter power.” If you think of a game of D&D like a movie, this would look ridiculous. Mearls cited the Luke vs. Vader fight as an example of a fight that wouldn’t work like that. Same with fighting Sauron. Read the rest
On the final day of Origins 2008, I sit down for a short interview with Mike Mearls, lead developer of 4e D&D. We talk about the game’s release, some DMing tips, older adventures, and much more.
(Quick note: I ended up moving the voice recorder at the beginning of the interview, so it sounds like crap to start. If anyone out there is good with cleaning up audio and wants to help, lemme know.)
I stopped by the Kenzer & Company booth to admire the setup for the new Western RPG Aces & Eights. Steve at the booth offered an indepth explanation of the game, and explains how it supports different styles of play, from minis combat to resource management to gambling to Al Swearengen.
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I was reading through a discussion on Paizo’s message boards that grew out of a post linking to our coverage of the panel with Mike Mearls at Origins, and one discussion in particular caught my eye. Several people began to discuss the amount of content provided in the 4E core books vs. the amount provided in the 3.5 core books, which I think is a funny comparison to begin with because you’re looking at a revised edition in relation to a whole new edition; naturally, things are going to be more polished and meaty in the revision because it’s based on existing material. I’d say it would definitely be more relevant to compare the 4E core books to the original 3rd Edition ones, but then you could also get into a huge argument over how much of the content that was provided in 3rd Edition was actually usable/functional, which I think would lead to some more interesting comparison also.
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