GenCon Findings — 2011
This past weekend I attended GenCon, the major gaming convention in the US. As usual, I am looking for interesting and unusual roleplaying games, especially ones that have elements of hypnosis or mind control as part of the character designs or in the opposition. This year, I found three such games.
“Dungeons & Dragons” — The Hypnotic Side
When Dave Arneson showed Gary Gygax the new game he and his friends were playing, it probably didn’t occurr to either that they were on the brink of creating not only a new game but an entirely new type of game, resulting in a revolutionary new gaming industry.
Dave Arneson took the traditional miniature game, where miniatures represented groups of individuals and started using them to represent individuals. He also added the elements of character classes and experience levels, allowing for character specialization and growith. This was a revolution, in that players could project themselves into the character, developing them over time and play. Since both he and Gary Gygax were avid minature ship game players, he shjowed Gary his game and together they created Dungeons & Dragons.
A Mesmer Update — GuildWars
“GuildWars”
History: In 2005 I won a copy of the online game GuildWars without really wanting it. Therefore, I didn’t examine the game for a month or so, figuring I didn’t have time for an online game, but the box artwork and some of the things I saw about it online convinced me to take a further look. Little did I realize what I was going to get myself in to.
“Pomegranites Full and Fine” by Don Bassingthwaite
[amtap book:isbn=156504889X]
Set in the Toronto of White Wolf’s original “World of Darkness” game campaign world, this novel is of two women, one struggling to forget her violent past and one trying to escape her violent present. The fact that the first, Tango, is a Faerie Changeling who is pressed into searching for her kidnapped friend ( and fellow Changeling ) Riley while the second, Miranda, is a Sabbat Vampire involved with a Satanic cult leader complicates things.
