Critical Hits Podcast #9: Actual Play with James Wyatt
During GenCon 2008, Bartoneus, ChattyDM, GamingSteve, and myself had the privilege to be in a D&D session run by James Wyatt, author of the DMG (who we interviewed later on in the con- this is the game we referenced at the beginning of the interview.)
It was a straightforward dungeon delve, with Wyatt starting the game by asking us questions to let us shape our quest. Of course, being bloggers, we didn’t exactly take everything seriously. At the beginning of the game, we told him that we would easily be as funny as the Penny Arcade guys.
We managed to record the first encounter, plus some of the second. After the recorder died, we took out the hobgoblins, but then were defeated by the hag in the room. What followed was an awesome impromptu skill challenge, negotiating with the hag to save our miserable lives. And just when we had reached an agreement… we had to go. But still, the whole thing was a blast, and I hope by listening to the recording that you are able to experience part of what it’s like to play with a celebrity DM.
Critical Hits Podcast #9 (40 MB, approximiately an hour and a half long)
Critical Hits Podcast #8: Interview with Rob Heinsoo
Again at GenCon 2008, we spoke with Rob Heinsoo, one of the writers of the Player’s Handbook and lead designer of D&D 4e. (We previously spoke to him at D&D XP.) To start, Rob asked if he could ask US questions, which we were happy to oblige. Then, when we get to ask the questions, we talk about reception of 4e, his work on Oriental Adventures and similar (including mention of sequel books to class supplements like Arcane Power 2), minions (getting deadlier and saucier), dealing with errata (some bigger fixes coming), and the product that he’d really like to work on but can’t.
Critical Hits Podcast #7: Interview with James Wyatt
At GenCon 2008, we sat down (well, he sat down and we stood) and interviewed James Wyatt, Story Lead for D&D and primary author of the DMG. We talk about the game he ran for us (full report to come later), writing the DMG, his upcoming projects (Eberron Campaign Setting, Eberron Player’s Guide, and Player’s Handbook 2), the implied setting for D&D 4e, building your campaign world, his campaign idea about a Conan-esque/Fool Wolf-esque setting for D&D, and we manage to squeeze a plug in at the very end.
Critical Hits Podcast #6: Interview with Mike Mearls
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.)
Critical Hits Podcast #5: Steve from Kenzer & Co explains Aces & Eights
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.
Some pictures of the game, including components referenced in the explanation, after the jump: [Read the rest of this article]
Critical Hits Podcast #4: Lucas from FFG explains Mutant Chronicles CMG
My introduction to the exhibit hall, and I stop by the Fantasy Flight Games booth.
Pictures to go along with the podcast: [Read the rest of this article]
Critical Hits Podcast #3: Luke of North Star Games explains Say Anything
Say Anything is the new party game release from North Star Games. Luke explains how to play the game, and we hear the first sample round.
More pictures of a Say Anything game in progress: [Read the rest of this article]
Critical Hits Podcast #2: Valerie Putman explains Dominion
Dominion is a new card game coming out from Rio Grande Games, but is still in prototype form at the show. This was a highly praised game at this year’s Gathering and is generating quite a lot of early buzz- and for good reason. I’ll give a more indepth preview later, but for now, here’s Valerie Putman (developer of Dominion and Boardgamenews Columnist) explaining the rules.
And if that hasn’t satisfied enough of your curiousity, Dale Yu (the other developer) and Valerie posted a preview on Boardgamenews.
Critical Hits Podcast #1: Origins Travel Day
Hear my sultry voice describe the difficulties in finding a place to sleep in Columbus in this very first Critical Hits podcast!
Today is literally my first experiments with doing podcast/audio. When I have more time I’ll see about doing the iTunes subscription and all that jazz. For now, it seemed like a quick way to deliver content from the show floor. Love podcasts? Hate them? Let me know- it really will make a difference on whether the experiments continue or not.
