Interview 16: Ron Edwards on The Forge’s Winter Phase

Posted in Interview, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on November 22nd, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

When Ron Edwards announced posted on The Forge that the site would be entering it’s “winter phase” there was a bit of a hullabaloo about just what exactly that would mean for the site. I quickly shot Ron an email asking if he’d like to take some time to discuss what this all meant, and the general perception of The Forge on the internet as a whole. What followed was a fascinating conversation about identity politics, the economics of small-press gaming, and the difficulties of communication on the Internet. Enjoy!

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Tags: 3rd Coast Games, Action Castle, , Battletech, Bliss Stage, Brennan Taylor, , , Champions, Chicagoland Games, , Des Moines Social Club, Diana Jones Awards, Dogs in the Vineyard, FAFSA, games Workshop, GNS, Greg Stolze, , Hero System, Houses of the Blooded, Indie Press Revolution, Irish Charity Auctions, Iron Tyrants, , Jonathan Tweet, , Kevin Siembieda, Legend of the Five Rings, Lion Rampant, Metagaming Concepts, Naked Went the Gamer, Origins Award, Over the Edge, Pendragon, Peter Atkinson, , Robin D. Laws, , RPG.net, Ryan Dancey, , Steve Jackson, Story-games, The Forge, The Gaming Outpost, The Meese Comission, The Podgecast, Universalis, , Wizard

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Discussion Episode 21: Abandoning Games Round-table

Posted in Discussions, Non-Actual Play, Round Table, RPG Only on July 25th, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

During our interview with Vincent Baker, he agreed to tell us about a secret project in exchange for a promise to have him back on to discuss the topic of abandoning games. With GenCon right around the corner, this seemed like a great time to hold up our end of the bargain. We grabbed two of Vincent’s good friends Joshua A.C. Newman and Robert Bohl to join us in this discussion since, well, none of us here at The Walking Eye have designed, let alone abandoned, a game before. Kevin moderated as these three discussed the different aspects of abandoning games: how difficult it can be, what you can learn from it, and how to know when to let an idea go.

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Tags: Acts of Evil, , Beowulf, DreamNation, Fantasy Heartbreakers, GameChef, , , Jared Sorensen, Joshua AC Newman, Kagematsu, , Key Parties, Misspent Youth, Myers-Briggs Personality Test, Otherkind, Paul Czege, PAX East, Prime Time Adventures, Psi-Run, Robert Bohl, , Shock: Social Science Fiction, Tannith Lee, The 20x20 Room, The Dark Crystal, The Dragon Killer, Under the Bed,

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Interview 14: Jared Sorensen

Posted in FreeMarket, Interview, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on July 14th, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

After a few speedbumps we were finally able to get together with Jared Sorensen to discuss our experiences with FreeMarket. The original plan was to interview both Jared and Luke, but sadly  due to some technical difficulties Luke could not join us. Things ended up working out really well, though, as CJ and Kevin got a chance to dig pretty deep into some of their concerns and questions about FreeMarket.

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Tags: Blade Runner, , , , , , , , Jared Sorensen, , , Luke Crane, , , , , , , , , ,

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Interview 13: Vincent Baker

Posted in Dogs in the Vineyard, In a Wicked Age, Interview, Non-Actual Play, Poison'd, RPG Only on April 17th, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

After running three of his games back-to-back-to-back, we were pretty excited to sit down with D. Vincent Baker to chat about our experiences. We spend some time talking about aspects of Dogs in the Vineyard, In a Wicked Age…, and Poison’d, as well as cover some of his basic design philosophies. Unfortunately our first attempt to conduct this interview met with some nasty technical difficulties. There are a couple references to the fact that this is the 2nd attempt, but we only got about 10 minutes in, so no worries, you didn’t miss anything. This interview was great fun, and we can’t wait to have Vincent on again to talk about abandoning games!

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Tags: , Brigham City, , Clinton R Nixon, DexCon, Dogs in the Vineyard, Dragon Magazine, Dread, Drew Baker, Duel of Wits, Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon, ed Healy, , GenCon, Graham Walmsley, GTAIV, Jack Vance, , Judd Karlman, Kill Puppies for Satan, Matt Snyder, Matt Wilson, Mechaton, No Country for Old Men, Oo! Let's Make a Game!, Poison'd, rec.games.frp.advocacy, ROCK OF TAHAMAAT SPACE TYRANT, , Storming the Wizard's Tower, Tanith Lee, The Cheap and Cheesy Fantasy Game, The Dragon Killer, The Forge, The Gaming Outpost, , True Blood, , Universalis, , Wicked Nights, Willow Pallacek, ZORK

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Interview 12: Willow Palecek

Posted in Interview, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on April 6th, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

Kevin sits down with Willow Palecek, writer of Escape from Tentacle City, Winner of the 2008 Game Chef Golden Katana that Shoots Smaller Katanas Award for Game That Looks Like it Was the Most Fun to Write. We talk about the core mechanics of the game, as well as what message, or lessons, could be learned from play.

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Tags: , Escape from Tentacle City, Fiasco, , Game Chef, Gen Con, George A. Romero, Grey Ranks, Hentai, , Kagematsu, Legendary Lives, Mark Adams, Mike Holmes, Other Worlds, Poison'd, , S/lay /w Me, Shaun of the Dead, Willow Palecek, Zombie Cinema

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Discussion Episode 17: Player & GM Authority

Posted in Discussions, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on March 14th, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

The crew sits down to discuss the big issue we’ve been avoiding for the entire time this podcast has been around: Player and GM Authority. We break down the different kinds of authority and cite examples of how different games use them. Then we discuss how the traditional model of authority (most of it being in the hands of the GM) can cause problems.

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Tags: , , , Capes, D&D, , Don't Rest Your Head, DOOM, , , Gary Gygax, GNS, Grey Ranks, , Knights of the Dinner Table, Marathon, , Polaris, Renato Romonda, , Rule Zero, , Shared Fantasy, , The Czege Principal, The Forge, , , Zombie Cinema

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Interview 11: Ron Edwards (Part Two)

Posted in Interview, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on February 15th, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

Here’s the 2nd half of Kevin’s interview with Ron Edwards.  In it we discuss the necessary skills and attitudes for approaching gaming, a breakdown of some of Kevin’s prior difficulties with Sorcerer, and finally some discussion on what The Forge is all about. Kevin does a fantastic job of sticking his foot in his mouth by comparing The Forge GenCon booth to a Scientology recruiting station. See how he backpedals! Awkward comparisons aside, I had a great time sitting down and talking with Ron. I look forward to seeing him again at Forge Midwest 2010!

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Tags: 7th Sea, Adept Press, Ars Magica, , , Cheech Wizard, Dogs in the Vineyard, Dust Devils, ed Healy, , , Jared Sorensen, Luke Crane, Mike Mearls, Mork Bode, Over the Edge, Paul Czege, , Prime Time Adventures, Richard Dawkins, Riddle of Steel, , , RPG.net, runequest, Shadow of Yesterday, Sorcerer, The Forge, The Last Supper, The moose in the City, Trollbabe, Vaugn Bode,

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Interview 10: Ron Edwards (Part One)

Posted in Interview, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on February 7th, 2010 by Kevin Weiser

While Kevin was over in Chicago to hang out with the Jank Cast he got a chance to sit down with Ron Edwards for an hour or three.  I’ve broken the interview down into two parts for ease of consumption. In this first part, we talk a bit about his inspirations for his new game S/Lay /w Me vis a vis early gaming history and the conservative crackdown on all things considered “obscene.” Then we move on to discuss how identity politics can interfere with system discussion, and then a bit about why and how he wrote Trollbabe. Stay tuned for part two!

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Tags: Andrea Dwarkin, B.A.D.D., Blackmoor, Boris Vallejo, Champions, Chivalry and Sorcery, CL Moore, Clyde Roher, Code of Unaris, Comics Code Authority, Conan the Barbarian, Dave Arneson, Dragonlance, Eastern Promises, Elric of Melnibone, Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Forge Midwest, Frank Frazetta, Gilbert Sheldon, , , Henry Kuttner, Heroes Unlimited, IPR, Jonathan Tweet, , Larry Elmore, Liz Danforth, Meese Report, Monte Cook, Moral Majority, Nine Worlds, Over the Edge, Prince Valiant, Robert Bohl, Robert Crumb, Robert Jordan, , S. Clay Wilson, S/lay /w Me, Scopes Monkey Trial, Skype, Sorcerer, , The Fantasy Trip, The Forge, The Jank Cast, The Pulling report, The Riddle of Steel, The Shadow of Yesterday, Tipper Gore, Trollbabe, Vampire: The Masquerade, , XDM, Zap Comics

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The Walking Eye Episode 13: GenCon Recap

Posted in Discussions, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on August 29th, 2009 by Kevin Weiser

Kevin sits down with CJ to regale him with tales of his exploits at GenCon. There are several games explained, and a fuzzy recollection of Kevin’s booze-soaked Saturday adventures at the Podcasters Meet and Greet.

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Tags: , A Penny for My Thoughts, Action Castle, All Games Considered, Amber, Annalise, Battletech, Bear Swarm, Brillian Gamologists, Carry: A, Carry: A Game About War, Christopher Moeller, Cold City, Diagonally Through the Woods, Do You Worship Cthulhu?, Dogs in the Vineyard, Dungeon Keeper, Dwarf Fortress, Emily Care Boss, Epidiah Ravichol, Escape from Tentacle City, Forge Midwest, Games on Demand, games Workshop, GenCon, Greggor Hutton, Have Games Will Travel, Hot War, Houses of the Blooded, How to Host a Dungeon, , Indie Pre, Indie Press Revolution, , Keith Senkowski, Master Plan Podcast, Mechwarrior, Michael A. Stackpole, Misery Bubblegum, Misspent Youth, Mouse Guard, My Life With Master, Narrative Control Podcast, Paul Czege, Paul Tevis, Podgecast, Polaris, Primetime A, Primetime Adventures, Pulp Gamer, Robert Bohl, , , S/lay /w Me, Sean Nittner, Shab, Shab-Al-Hiri Roach, Shock, Shooting the Moon, Siggraph, Spione, , Steve S. Long, Storn A. Cook, , The Forge, The Jank Cast, The Sons of Kryos, Theory from the Closet, Tony Dowler, Tony Lo, Tony Lower-Basch, Trapcast, Voice of the Revolution, Willow Palecek

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Forge Midwest 2009: Interview with Willow Palacek

Posted in Forge Midwest 2009, Interview, Non-Actual Play, RPG Only on August 5th, 2009 by Kevin Weiser

Our final interview from the heady days of Forge Midwest 2009 is a brief interview with Willow Palecek, Forge Midwest organizer and designer of the FATE-based RPG Awesome Adventures. We talk with Willow about why she made Awesome Adventures, how she got into roleplaying, and how Forge Midwest came to be in Madison instead of Chicago. It was nice talking to Willow and I can’t wait for next year’s Forge Midwest!

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Tags: Awesome Adventures, Blazing Rose, Carolyn Burg, Champions, D&D, Dust Devils, Escape from Tentacle City, , Hero Quest, Houses of the Blooded, John Woo, , Legend of the Five Rings, , Mouse Guard, , , Spirt of the Century, , Storming the Wizards Castle, The Forge, The Mountain Witch, , Voight-Kampff Test

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