Daily Illuminator

July 4, 2009: Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July!

Here in the States, this day traditionally involves outdoor grilling and pyrotechnics. So, have fun, but be safe!

Randy's Road Trip Update

Randy is spending part of his Fourth at Visions Cards and Games in Montgomery, AL, from 6-9pm. His trip is nearly complete!

July 3, 2009: Everything You Want To Know, Simplified

Nearly everyone knows Wikipedia, that treasure trove of knowledge occasionally corrupted by knuckleheads with more typing skill than sense. And we've all seen the various non-English versions on the http://www.wikipedia.org/ page.

Now there is the Simple English Wikipedia. Like traditional Wikipedia, anyone can add or edit articles; however, the guidelines restrict each article to the 1,000 most common and basic words in English. This avoidance of technical jargon and complex concepts makes the information resource perfect for children, or adults learning English as a second language.

As a huge fan of Wikipedia, I feel this is wonderful -- a tool for the generations who will have broadband before they develop their full vocabulary. However, as a cynic, I'm hoping that same generation quickly catches on to the fallibility of their fellow netizens.

-- Paul Chapman

Randy's Road Trip Update

Randy's back on the road! Today's another double-header, with his first stop in Louisville, KY, to hang out at The Louisville Game Shop from 2-5pm. From there, he'll head down I-65 to Nashville, TN, for some games at The Game Keep, from 8-11pm.

For Randy's complete itinerary, check out our Where's Randy? page.

July 2, 2009: It's Just A Scale Model

Of course, when the scale is "1:1" and the item is question is a mech -- specifically, a RX-78-2 Gundam -- "model" becomes completely insufficient to describe it.

Bandai has built the 18 meter tall structure in celebration of Mobile Suit Gundam's 30th anniversary. There's 15 huge lights inside it, and the head actually moves. Here's a YouTube video of it, and plenty of still pictures here, here, and here.

While I'm not the biggest Gundam fan in the world, I do love giant mechanical humanoids. And just the sheer scale of this puts it firmly in the "cool" category, no matter what your level of geek is (or your opinions of the original series, or the spinoffs).

It certainly sets the bar on 30th anniversary gifts. I wonder what a 1:1 scale model of an Ogre would cost?

-- Paul Chapman

July 1, 2009: CONvergence

CONvergence is a convention in the Minneapolis area that's been getting a lot of buzz among my group of geek friends. So, for my vacation, I'm combining visits with family and friends with a busman's holiday, and will be attending CONvergence. Other than attending a couple of panels to heckle friends, I don't have anything formal planned, so feel free to accost me if you see me and ask about our plans for Munchkin or anything else. (And I just might have some promo stuff to get rid of, or unreleased games to show off . . .)

-- Andrew Hackard

June 30, 2009: Call For Playtesters: GURPS Horror

The stars are right for another manifestation of that Unspeakable Evil, GURPS Horror! Penned by illuminatus Kenneth Hite, this grimoire reveals the arcane secrets of running a successful horror campaign. Extensive advice to players and GMs is key, but this is bolstered by a plethora of bone-snapping crunch that demands careful experimentation: monstrous abilities, statistics for a legion of dreadful Things, tools for fools who would hunt these Horrors, and enhanced rules for fear, madness, and Horrid Tumors.

When we last cast the bones, we learned that the stars would move into alignment on July 10 and remain that way until August 11. If you are a horror-steeped Adept of GURPS and available during that period, then we could use your help in the ritual circle. The only hard requirement is sufficient sacrifices to Plutus: Playtesters must be registered e23 customers who have spent more than $50 at e23 in the past 12 months.

Experience is always an asset in such grim matters, though! At minimum, the Whispering Voices expect you to be conversant with the GURPS Basic Set. Facility with theses on eldritch powers -- especially GURPS Powers and GURPS Thaumatology -- is another thing that They regard favorably. Familiarity with even older writings, particularly past incarnations of GURPS Horror, is also valuable. Finally, as there are so many creatures here, those who have previously demonstrated a gift for deciphering The Numbers That Describe The Beast (i.e., checking stats) will move to the top of the queue.

Prospective playtesters should e-mail jwilson@io.com with [GH] in the subject. Include your preferred e-mail address for the hermetic playtest mailing list, correct spelling of your name as it may appear in print (True Name optional), your e23 login name, and a few words on why we would want to be down a dark cellar with you: qualifications, experience, etc. relevant to horror gaming. Also tell us your favorite work of horror -- be it comic, film, novel, RPG, television show, or video game -- since 1999, as well as your favorite of all time. Information about preferred submission formatting is in the forum post for this playtest call.

-- Steven Marsh

June 29, 2009: We're Closed This Week!

We warned you this would happen -- we're all bugging out, taking some time before the con season, the heat, or the combination deplete our sanity points. Today, June 29, our office sits silent, and said silence will continue until Monday July 6 when we'll return to normal business hours.

Without our bright shining faces, no Warehouse 23 orders will be processed. Neither will we be able to return your email or phone call with our usual promptness -- sorry!

e23 will be automatically processing orders, but we won't be able to deal with any special requests or questions that arise.

And finally, as everyone knows from their own vacations, we'll likely be swamped when we get back into the office on the 6th. Emergencies will get dealt with as fast as possible, but there may be a slight delay before other, less on-fire issues are handled.

-- Paul Chapman

Also, Gladiators

(A brief interlude from Fox Barrett)

Normally, I get my own Daily Illuminator's worth of space to write this, but Paul has forced me to share this time around. And, if the product I'm here to hawk is any indication, the logical thing for me to do is fight Paul to the death over it. Lucky for him, I'm busy enjoying my vacation. (Also, I'm terribly lazy.)

So I'll cut this short. Go buy GURPS Martial Arts: Gladiators or be torn apart by lions.

Randy's Road Trip Update

This post is getting pretty long, so I'll be quick. Randy will be hitting two stores today: The Guard Tower in Columbus OH from 12-3pm, and Yottaquest from 6-9pm in Cincinnati. As always, see his complete itinerary at Where's Randy?

June 28, 2009: Hear Will Speak!

The GAMA Trade Show was waaay back in April, but with everything else going on, we forgot to mention the interview Will did with OgreCave. He chatted about Frag: Gold Edition, as well as upcoming releases The Stars Are Right and Revolution!

As everyone knows, Frag is currently available (Go! Buy!). Right now, both TSAR and Revolution! are on track for August releases, barring invasions by flying monkeys. Or rising R'lyeh.

Look for all three in our demo area at GenCon, Booth #1321 in the exhibit hall.

-- Paul Chapman

June 27, 2009: Get Hitched: Go Up A Level

Jason Bostick and Carolyn Isaacs, two of our loyal Men In Black, recently had a Munchkin-themed wedding. And here are the photos to prove it.

Congratulations to Jason and Car on the beginning of their married life, and our humblest thanks for letting us, even vicariously, be a part of it.

-- Andrew Hackard

June 26, 2009: Game Design Concepts

Kira pointed this one out: Game Design Concepts, an online course covering the process of making a game, from idea generation to prototyping to playtesting. The instructor is Ian Schreiber, who wrote Challenges for Game Designers, and has been teaching game design at Ohio University for a couple years.

The course has no registration fees except for the required text, but classes start next Monday, June 29. Interested, but don't have the time to commit? Most of the "lecture" will be occuring on the open blog, so anyone can follow along.

Since the office will be closed next week, I think I'll add the site to my Morning Coffee. Some topics in the syllabus look very interesting, especially "Critical vocabulary: what is a game?" and "Blindtesting techniques." Anything that facilitates better communication between designers sounds like a great idea to me, and you can never have too many tricks for testing your game.

-- Paul Chapman

June 25, 2009: The Conspiracy Returns

Deluxe Illuminati is on the boat and working its way toward store shelves. We recently moved Deluxe Illuminati to a new printer and the process ate a lot more time than we expected it to, which left this classic game out of print for far too long. Well, the end is now in sight and roughly 1,000 cases of Deluxe Illuminati should hit our warehouse in a week or two. I am sorry about the delay in getting this one back on store shelves, but we wanted to take our time and carefully check every component (this is the first time the new printer has run copies of the game for us).

Check with your local game store around mid-July for Deluxe Illuminati or, if you don't have a local store, you can grab a copy from Warehouse 23.

-- Phil Reed

June 24, 2009: Hey, Look: Origins!

Today, in Columbus Ohio, the Origins Game Fair kicks off. I won't be attending for the first time in a couple of years. I'm going to miss the awesome setups Duke Seifried always has on display, as well as the "cool" factor of walking up to the Big Bar on Two and seeing industry pros rubbing elbows with fans.

In my stead are Will and Randy. They'll be running Revolution!, The Stars Are Right, Frag Gold Edition, and much more, morning, noon, and night, wherever they can find a flat surface. (Actually, not so much in the morning. This is a game convention after all, so who would be awake and around?) One of them will find time to wear the Munchkin mascot suit; watch for oversized weapons and goofy dances.

If you play something you enjoy, but don't have a copy of, be sure to check out the wares at the Adventure Retail booth (#310). They've got our games piled high, but also fun stuff from Atlas Games, Fantasy Flight, and many more excellent publishers.

Have fun!

-- Paul Chapman

Randy's Road Trip Update

Tonight, Randy will be gaming at Krystal Keep in Dayton Ohio from 6-9pm. For Randy's complete itinerary, check out our Where's Randy? page.

June 23, 2009: Don't Forget! We're Closed Next Week!

As we mentioned before, Steve Jackson Games will be closed June 29 through July 3. This closure includes Warehouse 23 and e23.

(Orders for PDFs will continue to be automatically processed, of course.)

What's so important that we'd vanish for a week? Sanity, frankly. The summer convention season coincides with the push to get everything to the printer in time for the holidays. Also, we're in Texas, where "summer" indicates temperatures hot enough to fry eggs on surfaces you need to touch to get into your car. We need a moment to kick back before diving into one of the busiest times of our year.

Don't worry; we'll be thinking about you while we're gone.

-- Paul Chapman

Randy's Road Trip Update

Chicago Land Games is, thankfully, located in Chicago, Illinois. Otherwise, Randy and his trunk full of games would be pretty lost trying to find the place. He'll be there from 6-9pm tonight.

For Randy's complete itinerary, check out our Where's Randy? page.