Archive for September, 2007

Episode 04 - Eric Wiener Interview

In The Digital Front - Episode 04 we have an interview with Eric Wiener of Paradigm Concepts, Inc. Recorded at Dragon’s Lair Games, a local gaming store in South Florida, Eric talks about the company’s performance at the Summer shows, tells us about PCI’s entry into, and current business in, the e-distributed gaming market, what this market means for a mainly print company, and how it affects a retail store. After the interview, Daniel shares some thoughts on various points brought up during the interview, and introduces our first product reviews by Mark Gedak. Please feel free to discuss this episode on our forums or call our voicemail line at 206-350-4441. Links:

Posted on 26th September 2007
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[Grand Tour] The Siren Call of Cool (after Ryan’s episode on Master Plan)

Originally posted at Master Mines. 

So I’m coming back to the design of Grand Tour slowly after a (practially) 3-month hiatus, and I’m already running into a bit of a problem.

Grand Tour is a weird concept in that, while I have the theme down, I am still struggling with figuring out the meat of the game. In essence, right now, it is nothing more than a glorified storytelling session with a Travel theme limitation. I’m not saying that’s bad, but I can’t say that it is good either; at least it doesn’t feel good to me yet.

While at Gen Con I got into a couple of games (aside from all the ones I had a chance to look at/through), one of them being Primetime Adventures (the Star Wars Episode LV game run by Judd). I LOVED that game. I read it on the flight up to Indy, and while it sounded cool, it didn’t make much sense. Once I played it, though, it really zinged for me, and the very simple card-based mechanics really impressed me as a quick way to handle conflicts. The fact that it uses cards appeals to me too, because one of the design restrictions I have decided to work under is that the game needs to be travel-friendly, and cards are something that are cheap, can be packed away easily in a backpack and are available virtually everywhere in the world.

Cut to later, when I start thinking about Grand Tour again - now I can’t get out of my head the card-based mechanic of PTA as a very viable way to handle conflict between Travelers in Grand Tour. In essence, Grand Tour has become in my mind this very specialized thematic hack of PTA that can be played with the same rules. That sounds cool at first glance, but I am double-guessing myself here thinking, am I just taking the easy way out? I mean, this wouldn’t even count as system hacking; it’s be PTA with a thematic template on top.

I’m not necessarily opossed to Grand Tour being a system hack of PTA, but I don’t necessarily want to go for that option right off the bat without exploring other choices. For that, however, I need to better define what I want my game to be like, and about, which will be my next step.

It’s good to be back.

Posted on 25th September 2007
Under: Game Design, Gaming | No Comments »

Happy Rosh Hashanah 5768!

Jewish stuff at ChaiSpace!
Jewish stuff at ChaiSpace!
In Hebrew or in English, the message’s the same. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life and Prosperity, be it spiritual, physical or financial. Have a wonderful new year, full of happiness, blessings and sweetness, and may this be the year of Redemption.

Posted on 12th September 2007
Under: Editorials, Religion | 1 Comment »

Episode 03 - Gareth-Michael Skarka Interview

In The Digital Front - Episode 03 we have an interview with Gareth-Michael Skarka of Adamant Entertainment. Recorded at Gen Con Indy 2007, Gareth tells us a bit about Adamant Entertainment, its various product lines, what’s coming down the pike, and his thoughts on the e-distributed gaming market, present and future. After the interview, Daniel shares some thoughts on the possibilities of the PDF format and what he’d like to see more of; reads five news items from various publishers; and teases the next episode’s guest and topic. Please feel free to discuss this episode on our forums or call our voicemail line at 206-350-4441. Links:

Posted on 11th September 2007
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Tentative Plans for a 4th Edition World

Though at the moment it is still too early to really know what our plans at Highmoon Media Productions will be once the D&D 4th Edition SRD is released, we can tell you a couple of things that have more or less been decided upon already. Barring any unforseen circumstances, HMP will continue to support d20 SRD-based products via the OGL (and maybe a possible new d20 System License). We like d20–in fact, we like it a lot–and look forward to tinkering around with this new iteration of the d20 rules. Whether we will convert all our current products to 4e is what remains to be seen, however. The Liber Sodalitas line will most likely see a conversion to the new rules, as will Targum Magazine and the Terra Mythica line. Bardic Lore is on hiatus at the moment, and it is unknown when that will end, if at all (4e or not). The DaVinci Labs line is going on hiatus at the moment, awaiting either news of a new Modern SRD release, or the release of the Modern 2.0 rules being developed by Charles Rice of RPG Objects, whichever comes first and/or rocks the most. We do, however, have a couple of d20 Modern-based products, and a new system-independent product line from Bret Boyd, coming soon. The MonkeyGod adventures will, with almost complete certainty, not be converted to the new rules system; they simply would take too much work and time. So unless we have an overwhelming response to this announcement, these will remain as 3.0/3.5 adventures (we are, however, open to fan-made conversions, if there is enough interest), though we have no intention of taking them off the market. The biggest announcement we have to make at this moment is that we have discussed the possibility of (and received agreeable feedback on) publishing a 4e version of From Stone to Steel, MonkeyGod’s encyclopedia of weapons and armors throughout the ages. Beyond the interest in doing an update to that fantastic book, nothing has been decided as we set about finding the layout files, rearranging some things, and preparing for when the rules are released and we can begin the process of conversion. We’ll look at printing and distribution a bit further down the line. If you want to see this project happen, please be sure to let us know via a comment on the blog post, the forums or by email/contact form. As new plans are solidifed, we’ll let you all know what’s going on with HMP as 4e approaches.

Posted on 11th September 2007
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Protected: Recovery

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Posted on 10th September 2007
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Protected: Surgery

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Posted on 10th September 2007
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TGT Promo 2

Here is a 1:20 minute version of the promo for The Gamer Traveler, showing the difference between a regular guy as a tour guide and The Gamer Traveler as a tour guide. This one will become the basis for a whole campaign as I replace the bit about the Colosseum with other iconic sites.  ) Enjoy. Share This

Posted on 6th September 2007
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Episode 02 - OGL/d20 Panel at Gen Con

Breaking format just a little, The Digital Front - Episode 02 brings you the OGL/d20 Panel held by Wizards of the Coast at Gen Con. This panel was held Friday, August 17, at 6:00 pm, immediately after the closing of the Exhibit Hall, meaning a lot of publishers were either not present or arrived late. The panel, hosted by Scott Rouse and Bill Slavicek, was meant to discuss the issue of the OGL and d20 Licenses under the newly-announced 4th Edition D&D, though it was more of a townhall meeting as WotC admitted they did not have a clear idea yet and wanted to hear opinions. The audio file is long, almost an hour and a half, but given the small amount of publishers that made it, we thought it a good idea to distribute the recording as widely as possible. Special thanks go to Zachry Ashmore of The Groovecast podcast for recording the panel as a favor to Daniel. Please feel free to discuss this episode on our forums or call our voicemail line at 206-350-4441.

Posted on 5th September 2007
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