Over 5854
people caught wasting company time here in the last seven days.
If you're a GURPS fan and don't check out e23's news page regularly, you've missed out on some interesting treats. At the end of last year, we started inviting GURPS authors to submit mini-articles for their supplements. Each "Designer's Note" is about 100 words -- the perfect length to share a bit of insider info, behind-the-scenes revelation, or other inspiration.
Here are Designer's Notes we've run so far:
Besides visiting e23's news page every day, you can sign up to have e23 news delivered via RSS or e-mail. Of course, that has the added benefit of keeping you in the loop of any other interesting e23 developments.
-- Steven Marsh
Warehouse 23 News: Miles to Go Before We Sleep
Over three hundred years in the making, and first mentioned in the Fnordian Prophecies, The Vorkosigan Saga Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game has been a long time coming. And now that it has arrived in our warehouse, it heralds a new age of enlightment, glory, and wonder! (Or, at the very least, no more jokes about how long Vorkosigan is taking.) Come over to the store and be part of history.
Today is the start of BoardGameGeek.Con, the annual gathering of gamers from BoardGameGeek.com. (If you're not familiar with the site, it's a fantastic resource for any fan of games of all types -- board, card, war, or roleplaying.)
We've got a demo team in place, showing off Zombie Dice, Cthulhu Dice, Nanuk, Revolution!, The Stars Are Right, and whatever else we can rope people into playing (like Top Secret Playtest Sets). There's also a small pile of various games that we can exchange for cash or plastic, including the first copies of Nanuk for sale anywhere.
While we will separate you from your money -- gladly! -- our primary focus is going to be teaching and playing games. If you're attending, stop by our area, and learn a new game!
Phil and SJ are also attending, but their attendance is more "vacation" than "convention appearance." In other words, they want to play games and leave the business side back in the office for a few days.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: e23: The Best Idea
Kenneth Hite writes a mean book. And that Robin Laws fellow? He's a pretty sharp guy to have behind a keyboard. Buying their books is a good idea. However, buying something they've collaborated on, like Trail of Cthulhu? That's the best idea.
November 18, 2009: Ultra-Rare Munchkin Item on Sale Today!
Later today, we'll be making an ultra-rare Munchkin item available on Warehouse 23. How rare? We've got just 30 -- that's it.
These items will be sold on a "first come, first served" basis. The first 30 orders will be processed based on the time stamp in our database. If a payment bounces, we'll move on to the next order.
So, what is this mysterious item? When will it become available? Follow us on Twitter (or watch our Twitter feed on the right hand side of the front page) to get hints and the "go buy now!" announcement!
-- Paul Chapman
Of the 3,100 or so files we offer through e23, only one contains the word "Turkey." That product would be Iron Stars: Southern Front. With Turkey Day nigh upon us, it seems only fitting that we point this out. Now that we have made this knowledge yours, it's up to you to put it to go use.
Get it? See, because it's called GURPS Spaceships 6: Mining and Industrial Spacecraft. It's . . . it's a mining pun. Heh? Well, it was funny in my head, at any rate. (Hm. Unfortunate turn of phrase there.)
So this book is all about breakin' and makin'. It's about going out into that inky nothingness and exploiting the ever-loving heck out of its mineral resources. Sure, it's not as glamorous as commanding a deep-space exploration vessel or piloting a snub fighter down the trench of a battlestation. On the other hand, nobody will be shooting at you. Always a plus, that.
Of course, that's not to say that nothing interesting will happen. Improperly secure one drive plate and you might just end up as the god of a race of highly evolved cat-people. Cool, huh? Or you might play pool with planets! That's pretty cool, too. Or you might get impregnated by an alternate-universe version of yourself! That would be . . . hm, that'd just be kinda weird.
-- Fox Barrett
Warehouse 23 News: e23: Tabletop Adventures Sale
If November gets any cheaper, we're not going to be able to afford it. Yet another one of our publishers is running a sale from now through the end of November. It's our friendly neighborhood Tabletop Adventures this time, and they've slapped a 20% discount on each and every one of their products. Take that, MSRP!
Fifteen years ago today, we started the Daily Illuminator to tell our online fans what we were up to on a (mostly) daily basis. It was an experiment, but it worked. It's still going strong today, which makes the Daily Illuminator one of the first blogs on the Internet! As far as we know, it's the oldest one that's still getting updated regularly. In the beginning you can see that we weren't even sure what to call it, since the term "weblog," let alone "blog," would not become widespread for years.
So, for 15 years, the DI has brought you product announcements, sneak peeks at games in development, convention reports, comings and goings of staff, general musings about the industry, and things we thought were just plain cool. So hop on over to the archives and take a stroll down memory lane, or find out what we were doing on your birthday back in the 20th century.
-- Jimmie Bragdon
Warehouse 23 News: e23: Why We All Can't Just Get Along
If games like For The Masses: Fantasy Mass Combat System prove anything, it's that "getting along" is way too boring. A "mass sewing circle" or "mass reasonable debate" game just isn't the same as beating up hordes of The Other Guys. There's probably a profound social commentary to be found in that thought, but we're far to busy selling you cool games to let that worry us. Now go beat some people up!
As promised, we've created a page for all the costumes from our Halloween Game Day. This year we had some excellent ones: Ben as Hamburgler, Alex as Rorschach, Justin as Sweeny Todd, and Jimmie as the Monster in the Darkness. But even the subtle ones were fun, from Will's monkey half-mask to Barbara's antenna. And SJ's freaky eyes . . . it was disconcerting to play a game across from those!
And play games we did! From Pandemic and Castle Panic to Incan Gold and Roll Through The Ages: Bronze Age, we gamers did what we do best. A ton of fun was had by all, and much sugar was consumed.
Now it's back to work -- at least until the Christmas Game Day!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: e23: Vork, Vork, Vork
Yes, even the Swedish Chef has the Vorkosigan Saga Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game. Why don't you?
November 14, 2009: Illuminated Site of the Week: Sun Of A Gun
Remember Rob Cockerham? We mentioned him back in January of 2003. He's the guy who wanted to become the super-shopper by having an army of "cloned" superstore buyers' cards all linked back to him.
Well, it turns out this guy doesn't have an "off" switch – he's always up to some prank or another. It all starts as good fun, but as the light sharpener project shows, eventually one goes mad with power. Now an evil super-genius, he turns his intellect to the task of destroying the world one stick of butter or can of cola at a time. See the many steps required to build such an awesome weapon, and tremble at the thought that if he ever figures out how to point it at the ground at midday, he can liquidate us all.
-- Suggested by Dr. Kromm
Warehouse 23 News: e23: Celestial Redecoration
Rocks floating through space are entirely too placid. If we as a species have learned anything, it's that we excel at making boring things more interesting. GURPS Spaceships 6: Mining and Industrial Spacecraft encourages you to go out into space, find something boring, and make it as interesting as possible. Oh, sure, you'll make some money while you're at it, but this is more about sprucing up asteroids. Really.
