Monday, May 30, 2016

James Ward: Game Writer and Designer, Creator of Metamorphosis Alpha & Gamma World.

I expect that most of my readers are well aware of James Ward's impact on our hobby.  When it comes to the early history of Role Playing Games, there's probably very few people outside of the OSR community that acknowledge the contributions of anyone but Gary Gygax, and to a lesser degree, Dave Arneson. While their contributions are obviously immense, there was a number of other people whose creative genius helped the hobby to take off like wild fire. They were part of a community of designers, writers, and artists, most of whom were working for Gary Gygax at TSR in the late 70s and early 80s, and Mr. Ward was one of those creative geniuses. 

When James suggested to Gary Gygax that a sci-fi RPG should be created, Gary suggested James go for it, and so he did. Metamorphosis Alpha, the first sci-fi RPG ever created was released by TSR in 1976. It's been in print in a variety several editions for a many years. Then two years ago Goodman Games re-released the 1st edition of MA in a hardcover edition that is a loving tribute to the game that also covers it's development and early history. Goodman Games continues to develop and release new material for MA with James and Goodman's own stable of creative geniuses.

Gods, Demi-Gods, and Heroes (coauthored with Rob Kuntz) for D&D published by TSR in 1976. Then in 1980 TSR released his Deities and Demigods (again with Kuntz). I owned these two back in the day, but the first game I came in contact with written by James was Gamma World, first published in 1978. I think it was the 3rd printing of the 1st edition that I owned. 

The list of James' other contributions to the hobby is long. He's designed board games and collectible card games. He's written for Marvel and DC, and he's had numerous novels published. In 1989 he was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame. 

James' game books, and those of his colleagues, are infinitely more expansive than just their mere word count. For me and my friends in the early 80s, the pages of these volumes were like magic carpets that transported us to places that felt more real than movies, novels, or comics ever could. Back then I never imagined that I might one day have the chance to interview the author of those books, and I consider myself very fortunate that James agreed to participate. Thanks, James! Thanks for the interview, and an especially huge thank you for everything you've given to the hobby! I look forward to finally making it to Gary Con next year and so I can meet you in person (and maybe play in one of your game sessions!!!!). And Happy Birthday! (Albeit, a bit late). James celebrated his 65th birthday last week.

Favorite Toys

What were your favorite toys during child hood? Like, the TOP 3 TOYS of all time and pick your favorite of these toys. What is it about any of these toys you most identified with? What made this so special? How did you play/enjoy this toy? (shared or solo play).

James: 1 – Six inch tall green army guys
My father was a lifer in the army. We moved to the state of Washington during the Cuban Missile Crises as the army troops from Washington moved to Florida in case Cuba had to be invaded. Military talk encouraged me to think about military toys and this was before the time of G. I. Joe. I had tanks and canons and lots of military toys. My younger brother was 18 months younger than I was. We shared in the military battles we dreamed up with those toys. 

2 – Robby the Robot battery toy
Forbidden Planet came out in the movies when I was 2. I have a distinct memory of the Christmas tree that year having a Robby the Robot Toy. I sure wish I had that box and toy now. No one but me could play with Robbie. 

3 – Raj the plush toy tiger
When I was young I had lots of nightmares of me falling from a great height and I would wake up screaming. My wise mother bought me Raj the plush tiger and explained to me that he would guard me from harm. I never had a nightmare after Raj started sleeping with me every night. I never played with Raj, he was only there to protect me at night. 


Favorite Films and TV

What were your favorite films or TV during childhood and what age were you for each favorite? What did you identify with about these shows? Do you think these shows had an influence on the adult you? 

James: 
Forbidden Planet
Time Machine
Mysterious Island 

In Forbidden Planet I wanted to fight the monsters of the Id before I even knew what the Id was. 
In the Time Machine the idea of going into the future was a fascinating idea and still is. 
In the Disney movie the idea of exploring an odd island filled with wondrous things was especially interesting to me. 

All of those shows were filled with adventure. Those and others encouraged me to read a lot and find adventures from science fiction with Tom Swift in fifth grade to the Hardy Boys through 8th grade. 


Imaginary Worlds

Think about playtime, did you create games or imaginary worlds as a child? If so, please describe an important original game or play world you enjoyed.

James: Whatever the current TV show or movie I saw was the background for adventures. I can remember the Buck Rogers cliff hangers with Buster Crabb and the Rocket Man series at the movies. Flash Gordon and the evil Ming was fun to imagine. 


Play Community

As a child how did you feel about how you fit in with the rest of the world or community or friends? Like, were you very social or did you prefer spending time alone? Your environment, was it rural or urban? Were siblings a big part of your playtime? Did adults interact with you in game play, and if so was it structured play (sports, scouting, clubs, etc.) or free form? 

James: My brother and I ignored real life back in the day. As soon as we could we were out the back door of the house and putting our selves in the pits of Mongo or the super cities of the Han. We didn’t really fantasize when the other neighbor kids started playing with us. In those days we did the games of children like four-square, jump rope, baseball, and dodge ball. My younger brother Larry got in the games early, but when I was in 6th grade we had my brother Mark and I generally just babysat him in the summers. Adults in those days just called us into the house for meals and to wash up. 


Playtime Impact on Adult Games

Do you have any thoughts about any aspects of your childhood playtime that might have influenced your passion for RPGs? Have you ever intentionally incorporated memories of childhood playtime into game work you have created as an adult?

James: I have a reputation for writing good science fiction as I designed the first science fiction RPG in Metamorphosis Alpha and the first apocalypse RPG in Gamma World. I know all of those Flash Gordon, Rocket Man, and Buck Rogers series gave me fun inspiration for doing RPGs. 


Desert Island Media

What are the top 10 things you would want to have on a deserted island - music recordings - films - books - TV shows - comics - games - or toys? 

James: Hmmmmm, I’m not putting down any survival gear, even though those types of items would fill my list. Other things would include: 
The Complete Works of Shakespeare
A powered computer with a hefty memory of games
The complete works of Robert Heinlein
A Star Trek powered replicator
A Julie Newmar robot
A dome house with the amenities
All of the James Bond CDs and a powered cd player
A large screen powered TV
An exercise machine. 

Notes:
Metamorphosis Alpha: http://www.metamorphosisalpha.net/Site/Welcome.html
Goodman Games edition of Metamorphosis Alpha: http://www.goodman-games.com/store-MA.html
James Ward Board Game Geek Page:  https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/1832/james-m-ward
James, Crusader Journals available on Drive Thru RPGhttp://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?x=0&y=0&author=James%20Ward

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Barry Blatt: RPG Game Writer, Amateur Historian, Blogger, Retired Professional Clown


Barry age 20.
Barry Blatt is the first GM I had played with since 1982. His England Upturn'd campaign is slated to be released this week by Lamentations of the Flame Princess (May 24th, if all goes well). After reading posts from his play testers back in 2014, who were all gushing over his campaign, I knew this was something I had to play. I jumped on the chance as soon as I became aware that Barry would be running more sessions. That campaign started in December 2014, and despite a few breaks, we were still playing weekly games earlier this year. Unfortunately, the last couple of months of play were difficult to schedule for members and our sessions ended in Feb, but I hope we get back to the game soon. We had finished with the material from England Upturn'd and started exploring a confusing, yet exciting turn within the game world that I don't feel comfortable discussing in case (hopefully) this is a new project Barry is working on for publication.

One of many exciting aspects of this English Civil War era work is how Barry has created what I guess can be termed 'sub-classes' from the political alignments and religious affiliations of mid 1600s English society. This includes rules for additional magic that can be performed by those of particular persuasions. Roundheads, Ranters, Diggers...if these don't make sense to you now, they will, and you'll be just as blown away as I was with how well Barry collected, wrote, and presented this material (and I think what I've read wasn't even the finished edits). This is a tough, gritty campaign. It was full of perplexing twists, and surprises. I found myself seriously frightened with suspense quite a few times, like when Christian Goodlucke, my 17 year old female character hid in an abandoned church while something (won't spoil it but these things are creepy as hell) searched for her outside. I lamented the capture of the sullen Abel Fell, my first character, then the whole party rejoiced as he was found and rescued, only to meet his demise shortly after at the epicenter of an event, the magnitude of which is too staggering to imagine.

Barry is the perfect author for a historical based campaign like this, the guy seriously knows his stuff. I had assumed for months that he was a historian or university professor. I think everybody thought he was. I was surprised to find out he wasn't. As for his GM skills, Barry is outrageously awesome! I've talked to another member about this and he overwhelmingly agrees. Barry plays out all his NPCs so easily and convincingly. He should be an actor too, well, he was a professional clown.

Barry, Thank you for participating in Appendix N Happy Meal. And THANK YOU for all the work you've done on England Upturn'd, I'm excited about it's release this week and I hope we can get together again online sometime soon.

Favourite Toys

What were your favorite toys during child hood? Like, the TOP 3 TOYS of all time and pick your favorite of these toys. What is it about any of these toys you most identified with? What made this so special? How did you play/enjoy this toy? (shared or solo play).

Barry: i. My telescope. I was a nerd, a serious nerd. I did astronomy. The telescope I had was pretty weak and next to useless, but I spied on the moon with it, spotted the four biggest moons of Jupiter and on a very clear night (not many of them in my hometown in the UK) I once saw the rings of Saturn. It was best at doing sunspots though, focusing an image on a postcard on which I'd fill in the spots with a felt tip pen, watching them cross the disc of the sun and seeing the patterns change from day to day. 149 million kilometres from my bedroom to the sun and I could see it all happening. 

ii. My geology hammer. Did I mention I was a nerd? Other kids took buckets and spades to the seaside, I took a geology hammer and a field guide to invertebrate fossils and spent many happy hours clambering over rocks and scaling cliffs, splitting slates and belting limestones and scaring my mum to death. Found a crinoid once, not a particularly good one, but it made a change from fragmentary trilobites and ammonites and ancient wormcasts.

iii. More conventionally nerdy was my model soldier collection. My thing was Napoleonics, I even cast my own tin soldiers, again scaring the crap out of my mum by melting alloy on the hob at home and churning out regiments. I wasn't that good at painting them, and the detail on the tin ones was bit lacking anyway, but I did my best to copy the uniforms depicted in the books I borrowed from the local library. I'd battle my friends in endless re-runs of the Waterloo campaign, Quatre Bras, Ligny and the main event itself, plus bits of the Peninsular War and the invasion of Russia.

Favourite Films & TV

What were your favorite films or TV during childhood and what age were you for each favorite? What did you identify with about these shows? Do you think these shows had an influence on the adult you? 

Barry: i. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. What's not to like? As an eight year old the whole set up of silly ker-niggits, killer rabbits and Gilliam animations was just marvellous. I don't know if I identified with anything in particular, but did shout 'NI!' at a good many people in the school playground. Influence on the adult me? I still love Monty Python of course and it certainly somewhat influenced my efforts at being a stand up comedian, the charity pantomimes I put on and my generally stupid sense of humour.

ii. Dr Who. John Pertwee was the doc in the first shows I remember, followed by Tom Baker. Foppish English eccentrics vs 'orrible planet mangling monsters from outer space armed only with a screwdriver and being a smart arse. I think I identified with the smart arsery more than anything else, I was after all the only kid in my class who could spell Ordovician, had dug up a Crinoid and could tell you what a Solar Cycle was. Not sure this influenced me as an adult though for a while in my late teens and early twenties I did have Tom Bakerish hair and a silly hat. Don't like most of the 'New Who' though. The adult me has little patience with yawning plot-holes and special effects laid on thick to cover lack of story and weak scripts.

iii. Open University. When I was a kid the Open University still broadcast early in the morning and late at night on BBC2. My dad was doing an OU degree and had to watch those relating to his course, but I watched the lot - lectures on Biochemistry, the history of the Enlightenment, Topology, Renaissance Art, Shakespeare, all sorts. This definitely influenced me as an adult. It gave me a good few years headstart on all of my peers in pretty much any school subject you could care to name since I was imbibing university lectures while at Primary School and I still marmalise all comers at Trivial Pursuit and pub quizzes since I still have a brain chock full of peculiar factoids.

Favourite Books

Barry: Before I discovered D&D I had already read pretty much everything by Tolkein and Michael Moorcock, most things by Fritz Leiber, and some HP Lovecraft and RE Howard, plus Rider Haggard, Andre Norton, Arthur C Clarke and wedge of other fantasy and sci-fi. My dad is a very clever guy but has pretty bad dyslexia; he learned to read late and even now his written English is pretty basic and barely grammatical. When he realised I was getting the gist of reading at four he was overjoyed and told me I could read any book in the house, so I did, including his sci-fi collection, his university textbooks and the collected works of Graham Greene and DH Lawrence he'd got form the book club and never finished himself. Not sure he really meant those last two, they were pretty eye opening stuff for a wee kid. 

So naturally I ended up writing myself, starting my first sci fi novel at seven, stuff about an alien invasion of Earth. I wouldn't say that outside that writing I really did much imaginary play other than with my toy soldiers where I was of course the Duke of Wellington and/or Napoleon, blasting bits of turn-of-the-nineteenth century Europe to bits.

I did invent my own wargames coming up with a near future game set in earth orbit (board had a lot of concentric circles and manoeuvring from one orbit to another to get the drop on enemies) but it wasn't much good. I also had a map of Europe on which I played out the Napoleonic Wars on a massive scale, but only against myself. My friends just weren't as into the idea as I was at the time, though in our teens they kind of caught up and we spent a lot of time on such classics as Kingmaker, Apocalypse, Divine Right and Squad Leader.

Play Community

As a child how did you feel about how you fit in with the rest of the world or community or friends? Like, were you very social or did you prefer spending time alone? Your environment, was it rural or urban? Were siblings a big part of your playtime? Did adults interact with you in game play, and if so was it structured play (sports, scouting, clubs, etc.) or free form? 

Barry: I lived in a grotty small industrial town which consisted of three housing estates and chemical factory. I never joined the scouts or anything like that and I only had a few close friends. We did explore the local area as far as we could without falling into some kind of toxic waste or getting mown down on the M25 motorway. There were lots of chalk pits and half-abandoned mental hospital that was as creepy as it sounds. 

Adults left us pretty much to our own devices most of the time, the only interaction I can think of was me and my friends dragging our long suffering mothers round the various big museums and galleries in London where we (especially me) would baffle them with explanations of evolutionary theory in the Natural History Museum, the history of ancient Assyria and Egypt in the British Museum and what Dadaism was all about in the Tate Gallery (Open University!). I did spend a lot of time alone with my scientific doodads, and reading and writing. I had pretty much zilch to do with my sister. She thought I was barmy then and still thinks so now. She never inherited the 'nerd gene' or whatever it was that I had and rarely picked up a book. My brother is ten years younger than me and though I led him the first few steps into nerdery when I was still at home introducing him to D&D (though he preferred Warhammer 40K) he never really went the whole hog.

Playtime Impact on Adult Games

Do you have any thoughts about any aspects of your childhood playtime that might have influenced your passion for RPGs? Have you ever intentionally incorporated memories of childhood playtime into game work you have created as an adult?

Barry: Of course there are plenty of aspects of childhood play that influence RPGing now. It was then I started to pick up the knowledge of science and history and love of learning about such that continued through my teens and into adulthood. I had the urge to write, to get what was in my imagination down on paper though it is far easier to do this through the half-way house RPGs where you can leave everything barely sketched out and let the rest of the players fill in the gaps as and when needed than writing a novel of your own. Still never finished a proper novel, and I don't think I ever will.

None of the stuff I actually did as a kid has really made it into any RPG material, though a lot of the things I read have. But then I never really did much, there just wasn't the opportunity where I lived, it was a boring dump I left with zero regrets when I was 18 and hated going back to. Fortunately all my family have left the area too so I'll never have to, it's just a sign on a railway station on the line out of London where you don't open the windows in case the wind is blowing the wrong way and you get the stench of what is left of the old works coming in. 

Desert Island Media

What are the top 10 things you would want to have on a deserted island - music recordings - films - books - TV shows - comics - games - or toys? 

1 The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. A short novel with a miraculous amount of good stuff packed in and an admirably goofy sense of humour about the essential tragedy of it all.
2. Richard II -  the BBC Hollow Crown version. Fantastically acted version of one of Shakespeare's lesser known history plays.
3. The Pursuit of the Millennium by Norman Cohn. My favourite history book, charting the millennialist peasant movements of 1000-1600AD in all their loopy glory.
4. The World Turned Upside Down by David Hill. My second favourite history book, the history of religious and political radicals of the English Civil War and subsequent Commonwealth
5. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Lovely fantasy/sci-fi with lots of erudite little corners.
6. Ran dir Yukio Kurosawa. Samurai do King Lear. A bit OTT, but I like it.
7. Mother Sky by Can. A psychedelic classic from their 1970 album 'Soundtracks'.
8. La Mystere de Voix Bulgares, a collection of Bulgarian choral music that sends shivers down your spine
9. Laxdaela Saga - fantastic Icelandic saga, be nice to have a book on Icelandic to go with it; if I'm on a desert island I might as well learn to read it in the original language.
10. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick. I love loads of his novels (The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, The Man in the High Castle, Ubik etc.) but this is my favourite. 


Notes:
Barry's Blog - Expanding Universe: http://expanduniver.blogspot.com/
England Upturn'd: An extraordinary adventure set in England on the eve of the British Civil War. Available May 24th, 2016, from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. http://www.lotfp.com/store/

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Kasimir Urbanski (aka RPG Pundit): Game Designer, Writer, Blogger, and RPGsite Owner.

Unlike everyone else I've interviewed so far for this blog, I didn't really know much about Kasimir. Sure, he's a prolific, high profile RPG Blogger. Yes, he has authored several volumes of RPG material, most notably, Dark Albion, which was coauthored with Dominique Cruzet. But, I didn't even know his real name until I started writing this introduction. I didn't know he is the owner of RPGsite before writing this introduction. I did know he was a controversial figure within our community, but not to what extent. Really, the only two things I knew about him, besides his blog and books, are: 1) He has publicized his involvement in Ritual Magick on his blog; a subject that I have a strong interest in, and 2) through his blog and his comments and posts on G+ and forums, Kasimir mixes his political and social views with his game author presence and because of that, (and because I'm guilty of political posts in my game feed too), he and I have butted heads online numerous times. I don't support his politics or social views and I don't believe that many folks within my circles share his opinions either. I realized that this may be a problem for some of my readers, and after a google search for this introduction, I'm even more keenly aware of this now.

So, if that's the case, if I find Kasimir's online persona to be abrasive (as he probably finds mine), why would I chose to interview him? Well, for the same reasons I'm conducting and sharing all of the other interviews I'm doing. I'm interested in the early developmental common ground between the people who contribute to, share with, and play in this hobby. I want to explore the person and their play style before they began interacting with the social world of adults and developing beliefs and personal ideologies, even though I realize that reminiscing about childhood is still influenced to some degree by our adult mindset. Hopefully, the spirit of these interviews is what you, my readers, will focus on. 

I thank Kasimir for participating in this interview. Due to our previous exchanges I honestly thought he would not respond to me. But, instead, Kasimir now holds the title for the quickest return rate for an Appendix N Happy Meal interview completion so far. 

Favorite Toys

What were your favorite toys during child hood? Like, the TOP 3 TOYS of all time and pick your favorite of these toys. What is it about any of these toys you most identified with? What made this so special? How did you play/enjoy this toy? (shared or solo play).

Kasimir: Hard to say in terms of one specific thing, but probably from the age of around 7 onward it would be Star Wars actions figures. I had all the collections as each movie came out. And of course for a young boy playing with action figures is a kind of proto-roleplaying.  I would later also add GIJoes and DC Super Heroes to that collection (as well as a couple of random outliers; anything that was that same size, basically), and there was a lot of cross-story weirdness going on in my play.  With friends or by myself, I could play for hours.
I'll note that I pretty well stopped playing with action figures cold-turkey when I discovered RPGs.  It was an instant transition. Unlike a lot of geeks, I have never kept on collecting these or any other sorts of toys. 

Favorite Films and TV

What were your favorite films or TV during childhood and what age were you for each favorite? What did you identify with about these shows? Do you think these shows had an influence on the adult you? 

Kasimir: I think, looking at it from today, Battlestar and V are very cheesy, Star Trek has a few moments of greatness (STII & STVI, mostly) but are otherwise pretty vapid from a literary perspective, and only Star Wars has a real quality as high literature (that is, as Myth, on par with Arthurian Legends or the like).  So fortunately, unlike a lot of my fellow gamers, I grew out of the erroneous idea that science-fiction is really super smart and much more intellectually worthy as a pursuit than westerns or spy novels or harlequin romances.  I was somehow (lucky mix of natural perception, and good education) spared from an adulthood of reading hundreds of c-grade Trek or Forgotten Realms or most of the rest of fantasy or sci-fi fiction of today, which is absolute garbage. But Star Trek & TNG I think taught me optimism and some fairly high 'classical liberal' ideals, and as a kid Spock taught me to admire logic (though, like many geeks, probably a little too much for my own good; I grew out of that, a lot of other geeks haven't). V I think helped teach me a lesson about not taking people at their words or falling for things that look good, and to distrust promises of utopia coming from smiling assholes with guns (which is to say, government).  Han Solo and Starbuck were clearly enormous influences on me as a model for masculinity: not so much Starbuck's womanizing, but the idea of being your own person, of not taking orders from anyone involuntarily, of being irreverent to 'proper' behavior, but ready to fight for things that matter. And having a sense of humor. 
Finally, the Force was probably one of the very early influences on my eventual forays into the occult.  This idea that there was this thing, around you and in you, that with training you can use to do awesome things, it kind of stuck with me.  At some level, even though I always liked Han much more than Luke, I guess I wanted to be a Jedi.  Maybe that's why I didn't like Luke, he always seemed to do it so badly!

Imaginary Worlds

Think about playtime, did you create games or imaginary worlds as a child? If so, please describe an important original game or play world you enjoyed.

Kasimir: Yes, I created elaborate and ongoing worlds over hours and days of play with action figures, for myself and with friends. Likewise, in schoolyard play; I don't know how much of that kids still do but obviously since I was a schoolboy just as Star Wars was coming out, recess in those early grades seemed to always consist of what could only be called a massive ongoing LARP. I seem to recall having created some original characters and all (it's pretty hazy, as some really serious amount of investigative drug use in my grad-studies years leaves things kind of a blur), but for the most part we played canon characters.  I tended to be Solo when we played star wars, & Spock when we played star trek.

Play Community

As a child how did you feel about how you fit in with the rest of the world or community or friends? Like, were you very social or did you prefer spending time alone? Your environment, was it rural or urban? Were siblings a big part of your playtime? Did adults interact with you in game play, and if so was it structured play (sports, scouting, clubs, etc.) or free form? 

Kasimir: I grew up with a mix of world travelling and period of relative stability.  My childhood up to around adolescence was fairly social, in part because of moving and how that required either becoming a complete loner or being able to make new friends. Because of language and culture barriers at times I guess there were parts where I felt like an outsider because I literally was one. So I think I learned how to interact both in groups and on my own.  I don't remember in that period of childhood being particularly lonely, and I had a lot of friends, but I was also equally content playing alone.  I generally lived in large cities, but there was a brief period of living in a smaller town, which instilled in me a lifelong love of large cities. After around age 11 I spent the rest of my basic education in the same place, when the more complex world of puberty started coming along I ran into some problems with socializing for the typical nerd reason: I thought INT was the most important ability score and CHA was a worthless dump stat.  It took me several years to figure that out and stop being a fucking nerd, and learn proper (mature) social interaction. I think that maybe having traveled and having experienced different cultures let me figure that out though, rather than get stuck as an outsider like so many other nerds.
I had (eventually) three younger siblings, but there was an over 10-year age range among us, and the only one remotely close to my age (3.5 years younger) was a girl, and not particularly interesting to play with. Not because she was a girl, I did have some friends who were girls, but because she was very much a girly-girl and not into boy stuff.  There wasn't really very much adult interaction in terms of game play; I didn't belong to any sport teams or scouting.

Playtime Impact on Adult Games

Do you have any thoughts about any aspects of your childhood playtime that might have influenced your passion for RPGs? Have you ever intentionally incorporated memories of childhood playtime into game work you have created as an adult?

Kasimir: I certainly haven't consciously integrated any childhood experiences into my RPG design, though I'm sure that there's some incidentals involved.  Certainly, all my RPG play and design is 'deep-immersion' and that was very much how I remember doing my make believe/action figures as a child too.  So I've been into Immersion my whole life, I guess. 

Desert Island Media

What are the top 10 things you would want to have on a deserted island - music recordings - films - books - TV shows - comics - games - or toys? 

Kasimir: Not one book I would want to have on a desert Island would be an RPG book. At least not if 10 was all I had to choose from. And that's even assuming that "survival books" or "how to build a raft and/or radio to get the fuck off this island" manuals don't count. Nor do I think even one of them would be a fantasy or sci-fi book. If it was movies (what would I even watch them with?!) I think Star Trek II might just make the cut.
I think geek culture is way too self-important, and thinks too much of its own media.


Notes:
Kasimir's Blog: http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
Kasimir's Books on Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=305461
Dark Albion: http://www.lulu.com/shop/dominique-crouzet-and-rpgpundit/dark-albion-the-rose-war/hardcover/product-22249379.html

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Harley Stroh: Game Writer for Goodman Games, Skateboarder, Blogger

I think everybody has a favorite Harley Stroh DCC RPG Adventure. Hands down, mine is Peril on the Purple Planet, it touches on everything that I love about fantasy. It reaches into my youthful introduction to Swords and Planets Fantasy literature when I was 14 years old. Lin Carter, Alan Burt Akers, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and John Norman filled that summer between freshman and sophomore years of high school. I spent those summer days sitting on the docks at my family's marina reading about the life and death struggles of Earth men transplanted to worlds that cared little for humans. Barsoom, Kregen, Callisto, Gor. Worlds populated by races and species that were stronger and smarter than us. Worlds where you survived by resourcefulness, courage, and skill with a weapon. It was your spirit that determined your survival, not your degree or bank account. 

I was addicted to those worlds back then and a couple years ago I started to revisit them. When Goodman Games announced Harley's Purple Planet adventure, I was over the moon about it. And MAN! did Harley and company deliver! Awesome, awesome stuff. Reading the modules in the boxed set fills me with the same excitement I felt 40 years ago sitting along the lazy summer river of my youth. I can't wait for Harley's next offering, which I believe touches on another passion of mine from way back when...We'll have to wait and see. Harley, thank you, Sir, for sparking my Planetary Adventure imagination all over again and giving the 14 year old who still lives inside of me a place to run wild. 2 Thumbs up, Bro!


Favorite Toys


What were your favorite toys during child hood? Like, the TOP 3 TOYS of all time and pick your favorite of these toys. What is it about any of these toys you most identified with? 

Harley: 
GI Joes, He-Man figures. But all were eclipsed when I found D&D at the age of 8. 
I was / am very much a kid who spent all his time daydreaming. These provided a structure to build daydreams on. 

I grew up on a ranch where our nearest “neighbors” were 5 miles or more away. Nearest friends were a half hour drive. I ran a lot of D&D for myself, or for my little brother. Once we could drive, we’d play with folks in town. 


Favorite Films and TV

What were your favorite films or TV during childhood and what age were you for each favorite? What did you identify with about these shows? Do you think these shows had an influence on the adult you? 

Harley: 
Our TV was run off a car battery that we had to disconnect from a VW bug and carry into the house, so we didn’t catch a lot of TV. That said: The Sting; Beastmaster; Ladyhawke. 

The Sting was great because the intelligent guys win. Beastmaster had cool animals (who doesn’t want a panther?). Ladyhawke had Mouse, the little guy who wins in the end.  

Influences from the Beastmaster temple, and the Ladyhawke dungeons are still in my writing today. And I’m still yearning to be intelligent. 

Imaginary Worlds

Think about playtime, did you create games or imaginary worlds as a child? If so, please describe an important original game or play world you enjoyed.

Harley: 
Constantly. Ragnarok was my first campaign world, written for my little brother. It was a fantasy- science fiction mix, with terrible rules for beating up androids.  


Play Community

As a child how did you feel about how you fit in with the rest of the world or community or friends? Like, were you very social or did you prefer spending time alone? 

Harley: 
Apart from family life, I spent most my time alone. Super shy, preferring imaginary worlds to the real one. I was the kid eating lunch alone in the Yearbook Room, so I could write on the computer.   

Desert Island Media

What are the top 10 things you would want to have on a deserted island - music recordings - films - books - TV shows - comics - games - or toys? 

Harley: 
That’s all passive, static. Read it one hundred times and it won’t change. If I’m stuck on an island I need tools for creating my own entertainment, something alive. So an unlimited supply of pencils and paper would be a good place to start. 

Notes: 
Harley's Blog - Choose Death: http://choosedeath.blogspot.com/
Goodman Games:: http://goodman-games.com/ 
Peril on the Purple Planet: http://www.goodman-games.com/5085preview.html

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Edgar Johnson: Game Writer, Blogger, Social Games Researcher

Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad zine, work for Perils on the Purple Planet, bonus adventure for Bride of the Black Manse, Against the Atomic Overlord and more...Doctor Edgar Johnson III's RPG authorship credits are mighty impressive deeds. His academic credits ain't too shabby either. He's a Professor of Communication Studies with a B.A. in Sociology and a Ph.D. in Communication Studies. Besides teaching, he's also currently applying his academic background to study and research into the social aspects of gaming. I'm super excited about the completion of this project  In fact, when I first thought about doing this blog, Edgar immediately came to mind because of the survey's he was collecting a couple years ago for his research.

Through our online friendship on G+ I think we've both discovered a lot of common ground. I've been looking forward to meeting him in person but my travel plans get squashed every time the chance for our paths to cross presents itself. Hopefully, because of an upcoming event we're both scheduled to attend,  I'll finally meet him, his wife and daughter real soon. Edgar, thanx for taking the time to do this interview, Man.

And, for a glimpse of how I REALLY feel about Edgar's writing, you can check out this post from my other blog, Necropants'd. Edgar's work was featured in the blog's inaugural post back in August of 2014.

Favorite Toys

What were your favorite toys during child hood? Like, the TOP 3 TOYS of all time and pick your favorite of these toys. What is it about any of these toys you most identified with? What made this so special? How did you play/enjoy this toy? (shared or solo play).

Some Oddities about Growing Up Poor

This is a difficult question to answer. When I was growing up, and especially between the ages of 5 and 12, my family was dirt poor. As a result I had toys, but the ones I valued the most weren't necessarily the ones I wanted the most. So, for example, what I really wanted was things like GI Joe dolls (the one with the submarine and the kung fu grip) and Star Wars stuff, but I never got it. I wanted those because then I could play "pretend" games with them. That said, though, I did have some things that were my faves:

My Bike
I lived in Atlanta most of that time of my life, but in a lot of different places in and around there. My bike was my way to get around, yes, but it also gave me a chance to do some crazy (and probably dangerous) shit. We'd pretend to be Evel Knievel and Dukes of Hazzard and stuff like that. Jumping from earth and wooden ramps. I broke a frame on one of my bikes and had to get it welded because of that kind of thing.

Bikes were about freedom. We had a lot of it back then. I literally could leave my house without telling my parents anything about where I was going, and come back pretty much when I wanted to, usually afternoon/dinnertime. Later, as a teen, I often wouldn't come home at all, but that's another story. I'd have to say that my bikes were my best toy.

My Stuffed Animals
I had a collection of all kinds of stuffed animals, some of which I got for presents and some of which I got as hand-me-downs from my mom's sisters (she had six of those), two of whom were not much older than I. They were about pretending. My brother and I would do all kinds of stuff with them. I loved those things, and had to repair a fair share of them, usually with things like modeling glue and masking tape, because I didn't know how to sew at that time. Funny thing about me was that I never really thought about asking my mom to do it for me. We were always very independent that way.

I think that came from my early years. We lived out in the country (rural Georgia) when I was really young, between the ages of about 2 and 5 (when my parents divorced, and my dad became a criminal for some years). Back then we lived on five acres near my dad's business partner. They built two houses, one for each family. It was me, my brother, my mom and dad, and the other family and their two boys. So we spent a LOT of time outside, playing in the woods and generally raising hell. And remember, we were really, really young, but we had forests and streams and hills and all that. I remember when a tornado took down a bunch of trees near the house. The roots got ripped out, so there were these holes/hollows where they used to be. Playing under those was a blast. I think that's where I developed my love of digging and building forts and that kind of thing. Which led to…

The Fort
My step-dad had spent some years working with my uncle, the carpenter (that's how he met my mom), and later he worked at West Lumber, on Buford Highway, near Atlanta. Six days a week, 10 or so hours a day. His boss was a take-no-excuses kind of guy. As hard as it was, one benefit was that he got to take scrap/irregular lumber for free. So he managed to accumulate enough to build a fort in the backyard of one of our many houses (we moved a LOT). It was two stories high, with a ladder on the outside. No walls, just platforms. My stepdad put up the framing and my brother and I had to do the floors. We even built some primitive siege engines. My uncle was a carpenter, and my brother and I spent a lot of time on jobsites, because we couldn't afford daycare or babysitters. I learned to make stuff during those years. I still do a lot of stuff like that. We used to have wars with the kid on the next street over. Those guys were assholes, and their family was kinda white trash (not that we weren't, but my parents were hippies, not rednecks). At one point I remember throwing a brick at one of them, and (luckily) missing his head by about six inches. We were fucking crazy. I loved that fort, though. It was a cool thing.

Reading
I also should tell you that it was in this period (probably in 1978) when I first started getting really, really into reading books. I don't include them in my toys, because most of them were library books. I loved fantasy stuff, and my step-dad was a real fan of science fiction and horror, so that's where I caught that bug. A lot of those influences came from a very short period between about 1978 and 1980 (ages 9 to 11). It's also important to note that my folks didn't restrict my reading. I read everything in the house, and that included stuff like National Lampoon and my step-dad's collection of underground comics, and I even read Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut when I was about… 11 I think. It had pictures in it. I remember that.

Those were really important years for the development of my love of stories and gaming. It was about this time (1979) that I got into D&D, and got the Holmes Basic set. My friend, Eric, though, was a rich kid. His dad worked on the Alaska pipeline. He had everything, and sometimes I went to the mall with him and his mom. She kind of took pity on me and bought me some miniatures one time. That was really cool.


Favorite Films and TV

What were your favorite films or TV during childhood and what age were you for each favorite? What did you identify with about these shows? Do you think these shows had an influence on the adult you? 

Edgar: I loved Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers. Those were on one of the UHF stations every afternoon after school. I think I liked those because they were different and weird. Same thing with Ultra Man and Land of the Giants. I also dug Dukes of Hazzard and BJ and the Bear (It was the South, so naturally this was The Shit for kids like me). That is to say, there were a lot of shows I liked on TV at that time, but I guess that’s mainly because they were stories, and I was really into good stories. I started writing about this time, as well. Oh, and I saw Harold and Maude on my 10th birthday. It made a big impression on me.

Imaginary Worlds

Think about playtime, did you create games or imaginary worlds as a child? If so, please describe an important original game or play world you enjoyed.

Edgar: I've talked a little bit about this, above, but there was something I did that I will always remember. One of the books I discovered was by some dude named Zoltan, and was a book of magic. My mom was sort of in a New Age-y sort of period of her life (which would go on for some more years). So I built sort of a hideout in my closet, using big cardboard boxes and crayons and stuff, and read the magic book. I don't know what happened to that book, but I do remember it leading to me being interested in the occult and, later, things like astral projection and the movie Altered States.

My imaginings were always also about having a private place to be. I'm a really territorial person to this day. I didn't have much that was mine, but jealously guarded it, and had a place that was mine, as well. That comes, I think, from after my mom's divorce, when we stayed with various friends and family for about three or so years, and I never really had a place of my own. After the age of 11, when my brother and I no longer shared a room, I made that place my bedroom. Now, it's my office at home.

But yeah, almost all of my playtime as a kid (and now, I suppose) was about imagining a world other than the one I was living in, because the one I was living in didn't really satisfy. It was meager and kind of dreary, both because of poverty and because I didn't have a lot of friends. We moved around a lot, for one thing, which made it difficult to keep friends. My brother and I also were going to school out-of-district, using a friend of my mom's address. So, I never had much of a chance to bring friends from school home to my place. If I did, we might get kicked out of the Good School, and have to go back to the shitty, dangerous one. We left that one when I was nine years old, because my parents busted me stealing their weed. I was hanging out with a rough crowd, and I think it really freaked my mom out. So, I went from having friends to having pretty much me and my brother, and those guys we fought with, and this kid Eric who was 15 and nerdy as fuck. He's the guy I talked about, earlier.

Play Community

As a child how did you feel about how you fit in with the rest of the world or community or friends? Like, were you very social or did you prefer spending time alone? Your environment, was it rural or urban? Were siblings a big part of your playtime? Did adults interact with you in game play, and if so was it structured play (sports, scouting, clubs, etc.) or free form? 

Edgar: I never really fit in very well, as I'm pretty sure you've figured out from some of what I've written already. I was a lonely, nerdy kid by the time I was about 10 or so. Later, I discovered metal and then punk rock. That's when I was able to say "fuck you" to most of the assholes who thought I was a dick. Even now I'm kind of a recluse, and tend to spend a lot of time at my house. People come here, and I feed them. Seeing me out and about is a rare thing for the most part.

My family was really tight—Us against the world, for serious—but my mom and step-dad weren't really into the whole parental thing. So almost all of the stuff I did was really independent of them, except for weekend outings to go swimming at Lake Lanier, and camping and stuff like that. So, my play time was, like I said, kind of solitary.

I used to read a lot, and got into music between the ages of 8 and 12. I liked the Monkees from their TV show, and from my parents I learned to like the Beatles and the Kinks, and then later, on my own, I got into Ozzy and AC DC, and then Judas Priest. When I was 14 it was punk rock and Frank Zappa. Now I listen to all kinds of shit, but mostly metal, because it's most amenable to gaming, I think. But that's the kind of stuff I did—things I could do on my own. My brother and I did play together some, but mostly because there was nobody else to play with.

Playtime Impact on Adult Games

Do you have any thoughts about any aspects of your childhood playtime that might have influenced your passion for RPGs? Have you ever intentionally incorporated memories of childhood playtime into game work you have created as an adult?


Edgar: I think some of the stuff I mentioned earlier applies to this question. Mostly it was just reading and playing pretend games.

Desert Island Media

What are the top 10 things you would want to have on a deserted island - music recordings - films - books - TV shows - comics - games - or toys? 

Edgar: Man, I really hate questions like this. It's like asking somebody which of their children they'd leave behind. But, right now, it'd be the following:

A good hat for my little, bald head. I hate the sun, and burn easily.
A good chef's knife. I do a lot of cooking.
My DCC RPG rulebook.
My extensive collection of dice.
Some good mechanical pencils and refills, and Pilot G2 pens and spare ink cartridges.
Notebooks.
Glen Cook's Black Company novels.
Music: Black Sabbath, Motorhead, High on Fire, Blood Ceremony, Christian Mistress, Zappa—as much as I could bring.
I don't think that any movies or TV or comics would come into the picture. It would be all music and gaming stuff, and maybe a few books.

Notes:
Edgar's Game Blog: http://revdoctoredj.blogspot.com/
Edgar's Work with Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad: http://www.kickassistan.net/p/metal-gods-of-ur-hadad-zine.html
Edgar's Work For Goodman Games Can Be Found Here (Purple Planet): http://www.goodman-games.com/5085preview.html
And Here, Against the Atomic Overlord: http://www.goodman-games.com/5088preview.html