tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82946194316664913812024-03-13T15:27:11.034-04:00Building Rome in a Day(because the zoo was out of monkeys and we don't have any typewriters)wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-72251142530467397022013-06-20T15:35:00.002-04:002013-06-20T15:37:21.299-04:00Building Rome In a Day moves to a new home<div style="font-family: ge_geek, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<i>I'm closing this blog and moving over to tumblr. The new address is <a href="http://wundergeek.tumblr.com/">wundergeek.tumblr.com</a> - shocking, I know.</i><br />
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'Cause here’s the thing. I never really liked Blogger. It was something I stayed with out of inertia. But the spam filtering is shit, and it’s not easy to share things, I've never really liked how it handles posting images, and let’s not forget that Blogger is just plain uncool. I hear that tumblr is what’s cool these days. What’s hip. What’s 23 skidoo. Or do the kids not say that anymore? I always forget.</div>
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<div style="font-family: ge_geek, Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 15px; margin-top: 15px; padding: 0px;">
Get off my lawn.</div>
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Anyway. My life has kind of exploded creatively, recently. I’m finishing up the manuscript of a book based on my other blog, <a href="http://gomakemeasandwich.wordpress.com/">Go Make Me a Sandwich</a>. I’m also involved in a project for White Wolf, working on a number of freelance illustration projects, and working to hopefully start selling some prints of geeky baby art.</div>
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Because who doesn’t love geeky baby art? Terrorists, that’s who. And if you don’t buy my geeky baby art, then the terrorists win, my friend. The terrorists win.</div>
wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-36063762811817753302013-06-09T20:18:00.006-04:002013-06-09T20:18:52.987-04:00State of the GeekI've become a lot more creatively active in the last year or so, despite the birth of my daughter last summer. Or, really, perhaps because of it. I haven't been very satisfied with my job, which is rather dead-end and low-paying, so I've been doing a fair bit of freelancing on the side to both make money and also flex my creative muscles.<br />
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I haven't been too great about posting about what I've been doing here though. And since I'm getting to the point where I want to increase my online artistic presence so I can start pursuing larger and more ambitious projects, I figure it's time to get diligent about what I've been up to in the last few months, and what's coming in the near future. So in the next week, expect several posts (I've been a busy bee) detailing what I've been up to. I'm excited to share it with you.<br />
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<h3>
First Thing's First:</h3>
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The Indiegogo for Thou Art But A Warrior was a success, raising $3602 - which was 400% of my initial funding goal. I'm very pleased to have gotten so much support for what I have always seen as a niche game. More importantly, I'm very pleased to have been able to finally realize my vision of an updated and properly produced book:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lUNmrWvYhEo/UbTnjH02NvI/AAAAAAAABMA/tmmiZ3kRF08/s1600/2013-02-28+21_17_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-lUNmrWvYhEo/UbTnjH02NvI/AAAAAAAABMA/tmmiZ3kRF08/s1600/2013-02-28+21_17_05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iUzuKc1AkaY/UbTnjHpLZ6I/AAAAAAAABL8/uSSvHPhuorQ/s1600/2013-02-28+21_17_43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-iUzuKc1AkaY/UbTnjHpLZ6I/AAAAAAAABL8/uSSvHPhuorQ/s1600/2013-02-28+21_17_43.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aD56631wK0Y/UbTnjg7_k5I/AAAAAAAABMM/TOV9RFFV4lc/s1600/2013-02-28+21_18_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-aD56631wK0Y/UbTnjg7_k5I/AAAAAAAABMM/TOV9RFFV4lc/s1600/2013-02-28+21_18_13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's very nice to finally have this off my list of things I want to do after three years of wanting to do it. And my new printer, 360 Digital, was excellent. Printers are generally loathesome and awful, but they did a great job and their service was wonderful.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
What else have I been up to?</h3>
I've been doing a lot of writing. I was lucky enough to have the chance to write a campaign setting for the English language release of <a href="http://www.tenra-rpg.com/">Tenra Bansho Zero</a> called Ruined Empires. I blogged about the thought process that went into <a href="http://www.gamingaswomen.com/posts/2013/02/thoughtful-game-development-does-not-preclude-awesome/">writing a feminist-friendly setting full of exciting material and grabby plot hooks</a> over on Gaming as Women if you'd like to read more about it. There's also some projects I'm working on that I can't talk about yet, but I'll be very excited to post here when I can. And of course, work continues on turning <a href="http://gomakemeasandwich.wordpress.com/">Go Make Me a Sandwich</a> into a book. I'm almost finished writing the last bonus chapter, but there's still an awful lot of layout work and editing to be done.<br />
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I've also been doing a lot of artwork. I finished the mural in my daughter's room - a year long project. I've also been doing some illustrations, including a geeky baby alphabet that I'm quite proud of. And lastly, I've been revamping my website - a huge undertaking in and of itself since I had, through some rather complicated circumstances, lost control of it for a while. But it's back now, and I hope to be selling artwork through <a href="http://www.browserbeware.com/">my website</a> before the end of the year.<br />
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More later, but for now I'll leave you with this as a teaser.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j2KOXJ5Ml2w/UbUa9IDULlI/AAAAAAAABMc/EPTNBhLaUNI/s1600/j_jedi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-j2KOXJ5Ml2w/UbUa9IDULlI/AAAAAAAABMc/EPTNBhLaUNI/s1600/j_jedi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-48385691692961999062012-12-22T13:54:00.001-05:002012-12-22T13:55:06.011-05:00New Cover by Claudia is finished!I've been meaning to blog about the progress of the campaign sooner; with 23 days left to go we're at $2340 - just $60 shy of the last stretch goal of $2400. I'm very, very pleased to have gotten this level of support with the crowdfunding, because I'm glad to have gotten the chance to really make backing this campaign worthwhile.<br />
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I'm also very pleased to have gotten a chance to work with the amazing Claudia Cangini. She pulled out all the stops in producing a new cover:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wcGnKcEkTpg/UNYAo8ZESqI/AAAAAAAABKw/dQm4qWbGUbc/s1600/TABAWcover7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-wcGnKcEkTpg/UNYAo8ZESqI/AAAAAAAABKw/dQm4qWbGUbc/s1600/TABAWcover7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art by Claudia Cangini, CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
She worked very hard to include reflect so many of the setting details in the cover. I love the rich patterning and colors. And I'm really happy with how the knight on the front cover turned out; it was very important to me that the cover feature a heroic-looking POC that didn't just look like "angry black dude". It would be easy to fall into stereotypical ways of depicting these characters, and that would just be the worst.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-20489060267681101022012-12-05T20:36:00.001-05:002012-12-05T20:37:31.586-05:00Wow! Time for a second stretch goal!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r61H239mQYE/UL_xYZcvvKI/AAAAAAAABJ0/JirQWKYB21I/s1600/update2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="48" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-r61H239mQYE/UL_xYZcvvKI/AAAAAAAABJ0/JirQWKYB21I/s1600/update2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm thrilled to have met the first stretch goal as of today! Claudia Cangini does amazing work and I absolutely can't wait to see what she will come up with. I've already started working with her and I hope to be able to showcase something before the campaign ends.<br />
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I'll admit that it's been decidedly strange hiring an artist to do an illustration for me, as usually the shoe is on the other foot. However, I'll admit that full color work is something of a weakness of mine - which is one of the big reasons why I chose to illustrate the new edition of Thou Art But A Warrior in black and white pencils. And stylistically, I think that Claudia's work will fit very well with the illustrations already done for the interior. So this is yet another reason to be grateful for this crowdfunding campaign; I wouldn't have been able to afford an artist of Claudia's caliber without it.<br />
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Of course, since the first stretch goal has been met, it's time to introduce a new stretch goal:<br />
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<h3>
<b>$1800: Set of 4 illustrated post cards with key phrase reference</b></h3>
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<h3>
<b></b></h3>
Polaris is a bit of a weird system in that you don't have your character sheet sitting in front of you, like you would with most games. Rather, it sits in the middle of the table for everyone to reference. And the beauty of the system is that it works pretty well, as there aren't a lot of things to look at on the character sheets - since they're more to define relationships between characters than anything else.<br />
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What I have found, however, is that it's very useful for each player to have a reference of what the key phrases that drive play are and when they can use them. I've played games where there has been one sheet sitting in the middle of the table, and it always involves a lot of passing things around. So I thought a neat incentive would be a set of 4 (the optimal number of players) cards with illustrations from the new edition on one side and a reference on the other:<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rYDDZYl_feU/UL_0dSBD6hI/AAAAAAAABKE/zlsqBfsr2Oc/s1600/postcard-previews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-rYDDZYl_feU/UL_0dSBD6hI/AAAAAAAABKE/zlsqBfsr2Oc/s1600/postcard-previews.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
I'm a big fan of crowdfunding models where stretch goals mean that everybody gets additional goodies! And with personal budgets a bit tighter because of the new baby, none of this would be possible without the support of campaign backers, so I really want to make this as awesome as possible for people who contribute to the campaign. Call it a thank you to people who are stepping up to contribute.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-77250204250585327482012-12-01T21:16:00.000-05:002012-12-01T21:17:18.671-05:00Campaign funded, 1st stretch goal announced!<span class="notranslate"></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HX9VhFCD8Gc/ULq4YADYTvI/AAAAAAAABJM/9S7WanBC8lM/s1600/update.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="48" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-HX9VhFCD8Gc/ULq4YADYTvI/AAAAAAAABJM/9S7WanBC8lM/s1600/update.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's hard to believe how quickly we met the initial funding goal. After talking about publishing a second edition for several years, I wasn't too anxious about raising enough money to fund printing a second edition - but I certainly didn't expect to meet my initial goal in just over twelve hours! I am immensely grateful to everyone who has helped me reach this point, and to everyone who has backed the campaign already. <br />
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But we've still got 44 days to go, so I thought I'd make things more exciting with a few stretch goals. The first of which being:<br />
<h3>
<i>$1500: New full-color cover by Claudia Cangini</i></h3>
<a href="http://www.claudiacangini.com/index.cfm?pageID=1" rel="nofollow">Claudia Cangini</a> is an amazingly talented artist who does absolutely beautiful work:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s2BKnBiYS-Q/ULq4QQ0x63I/AAAAAAAABJE/cRuQcHFlwoc/s1600/Claudia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/-s2BKnBiYS-Q/ULq4QQ0x63I/AAAAAAAABJE/cRuQcHFlwoc/s1600/Claudia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artwork used with permission, click for larger view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="notranslate"></span><br />
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</div>
<div>
If this campaign reaches the first stretch goal, I'm very excited
to announce that Claudia will be doing a new cover for the new edition.
Additionally, backers at the Caliph level will receive full-color prints
of Claudia's new artwork. Please help meet this goal, as Fred Hick's
gorgeous layout deserves an equally gorgeous cover!</div>
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Claudia has done some amazing artwork for some high-profile indie titles in the last few years, including the new edition of <a href="http://theunstore.com/index.php/unstore/game/4">Meguey Baker's 1001 Nights</a> and the Italian translation of <a href="http://www.narrattiva.it/catalogo/giochi/cani-nella-vigna/?lang=en">Dogs In the Vineyard</a>. While I had fun doing the interior illustrations, full-color work has always been something I have struggled with, and it's important to me to have as beautiful a book as possible. It's also important to me to help support other women working in the gaming industry.<br />
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I can't wait to meet this goal to see what she comes up with!wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-22220483189673902862012-11-30T11:50:00.001-05:002012-11-30T11:50:24.987-05:00Thou Art But A Warrior: Help support a new 2nd edition!After nearly three years of working on it off and on, the new revised edition of Thou Art But A Warrior is finished and ready to be published! And thanks to the generosity of Ben Lehman, the new edition contains not only the expansion rules, but also the core Polaris system rules. It also contains <a href="http://wundergeek.blogspot.ca/2010/08/more-illustrations-for-new-edition.html">the new illustrations that I blogged about previously</a>. (Um, very, very previously.)<br />
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<a href="http://igg.me/p/281214">The Indiegogo campaign</a> to fund a print run for the new book has now gone live.I'll be blogging here about the new edition, as well as progress toward the campaign goal and any stretch goals I might wind up putting forward. Please consider throwing a few dollars my way in order to help make this happen and to keep costs low for everyone.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-70028117811455969332010-11-03T14:08:00.001-04:002010-11-03T14:09:33.236-04:00Go Make Me A SandwichIt occurred to me I hadn't posted this over here yet. I've started a new blog about sexism in gaming called Go Make Me A Sandwich. You can check it out <a href="http://gomakemeasandwich.blogspot.com">over here</a>.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-16812790684337108192010-10-14T11:30:00.004-04:002010-10-14T14:21:06.850-04:00Sexism in Gaming: A list of linksAt GenCon this year, Simon Rogers asked if I was interested in writing an article about sexism in gaming for a new issue of <a href="http://www.pelgranepress.com/site/?page_id=45">See Page XX</a>. Sexism in gaming is a pretty huge topic, and I wound up taking a pretty narrow focus for the article. Initially, however, while I was trying to determine what direction to take the article, I amassed a pretty impressive list of links that I wanted to organize and make public.
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<br />So! Keep your eyes peeled for the new issue of <a href="http://www.pelgranepress.com/site/?page_id=45">See Page XX</a>. But in the mean time, here's some food for thought:
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Detailed Analysis of 300ish Covers of Dragon Magazine</span>
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<br /><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/gametime/19820.html">Part One of Seven (links to subsequent posts)</a>
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<br /><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/gametime/22433.html">Response from Editor of Dragon Magazine</a>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />The Infamous Quote By Jonathan Tweet About Evolutionary Psychology and Gaming</span>
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<br /><a href="http://jhkimrpg.livejournal.com/68900.html">John Kim's LiveJournal entry with the offending paragraph</a> (the original post has been removed)
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<br />A scientifically-minded response to Tweet that blows him out of the water: <a href="http://dovearrow.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/gaming-is-not-a-genetic-trait-part-i/">Gaming is Not a Genetic Trait, Part 1</a> and <a href="http://dovearrow.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/gaming-is-not-a-genetic-trait-part-ii/">Part 2</a>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Holy Shit, What the F*ck is Gamecrush.com??</span>
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<br />GameCrush.com: <a href="http://www.gamecrush.com/live/gc.live.html#page=fpd">Find a play date</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.bnet.com/blog/gadget-guy/news-flash-sex-sells-in-videogames-too/244">Explanation of GameCrush.com's business model</a>
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<br /><a href="http://kotaku.com/5499552/would-you-pay-women-to-play-xbox-games-with-you/gallery">Gallery of Porn-tacular GameCrush profile pics</a> (now with horrid comments!)
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sexual Harassment in Gaming (I can't believe this needs sub-headings)
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<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><u>Jade Raymond (Assassin's Creed) v. Something Awful</u></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
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<br /></span><span><a href="http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2007/11/19/the-trouble-with-jade/">Detailed explanation of chronology of harassment of Jade Raymond</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.gamegrep.com/news/6074-pornographic_image_represents_jade_raymond_provokes_ubisoft_legal_response/">Ubisoft's legal response and SA's response</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.gamersyde.com/forum_8_23843_1_en.html">Horrific "she had it coming" response</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.actiontrip.com/rei/comments_news.phtml?id=111707_2">Another awful "she had it coming"</a>
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<br /><a href="http://kippersmightypen.blogspot.com/2007/11/keywords-jade-raymond-comic-destructoid.html">Another "she had it coming" with actual comic excerpt</a> (NSFW)
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<br /><a href="http://m.blog.hu/id/iddqd/image/mred/csajok/jr/comic.gif">The full comic </a>(NSFW. Warning: It's pretty horrific.)
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<br /><a href="http://www.thebitbag.com/2007/11/20/artist-dave-cheung-responds-to-jade-raymond-drama/">Completely remorseless response by the comic's creator</a>
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<br /><a href="http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=630717">"Where's Jade?" forum thread afterward</a>
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<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><u>StarCraft II forum harassment</u></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
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<br /><span><a href="http://thehathorlegacy.com/sexual-harassment-for-female-players-in-starcraft2-thread/">Summary of harassment incident on Team Liquid's StarCraft II forum</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=147426">The actual thread</a> (you have to be logged in to view)
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<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><u>EA Fail: Sexual harassment as a promotion
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<br /></u></span><a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/07/ea-puts-sexual-bounty-on-the-heads-of-its-own-booth-babes.ars"><span>EA puts a sexual bounty on its booth babes' heads</span></a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.acidforblood.net/2009/08/convention-sexual-harassment-and-eafail.html">Good critique of dangers of this promotion</a>
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<br /><a href="http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15839&p=325295#p325295">"She had it coming" and rebuttal</a>
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<br /><a href="http://gaygamer.net/2009/07/update_runnerup_for_lust_conte.html">Guy who won a prize and declined it</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brinstar/3754109578/">EA's "apology" - since retracted</a>
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<br /><a href="http://whilenotfinished.theirisnetwork.org/2009/07/24/eafail-link-roundup/">EA Fail link roundup</a>
<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><u>
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<br /></u></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sexism in World of Warcraft</span>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 9"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:/Users/Scott/AppData/Local/Temp/msoclip1/04/clip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --></style><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ></span>
<br /><a href="http://geekfeminism.org/2010/08/05/i-don%E2%80%99t-see-your-problem-sexism-world-of-warcraft-and-geekery/">Awesome, awesome, awesome article about sexism in WoW</a>
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<br /><a href="http://paperclipchains.livejournal.com/101267.html">WoW Lore breakdown</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.wolfsheadonline.com/?p=1956#18b13">Claims of "reverse sexism" and forum comments by female anti-feminist</a>
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<br /><a href="http://wow-tng.org/showthread.php?t=17076">"Deal with it or don't play WoW"</a>
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<br /><a href="http://blog.shrub.com/archives/tekanji/2006-01-10_113">Trying (and failing) to have a conversation about sexism in gaming</a>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sexism in Game Ads</span>
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<br /><a href="http://blog.shrub.com/archives/tekanji/2005-08-14_32">Video games as women that beat you</a>
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<br /><a href="http://bustysuperherochick.blogspot.com/2008/11/busty-adventurer-chick.html">Discover the luscious hills and valleys of Rappelz</a> (and <a href="http://borderhouseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Screen-shot-2009-12-18-at-12.53.28-PM.png">here</a>, and <a href="http://images.mmosite.com/photo/2007/12/06/rappelz0420SdHj08A7.jpg">here</a>)(Maybe NSFW)
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<br /><a href="http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2009/07/how-not-to-advertise-on-the-internet.html">Awesome chronology of Evony ads</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.gossipgamers.com/evony-files-lawsuit-against-blogger-for-criticism/">Evony sues blogger for defamation over criticism of ads</a>
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<br /><a href="http://toblender.com/comic/how-to-get-gamers-exibit-a-evony-ad-campaign/">Amazing Evony ad spoofs</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.gamesradar.com/f/top-7-blatantly-sexist-game-advertisements/a-20091125155758818051/p-3">Most sexist game ads</a>
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<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Relevant Forum Threads
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<br /></span><span><a href="http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=2594&page=1">StoryGames: Is Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress sexist or not?</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=7475">StoryGames: Sex with chainsaws? Not sexist? Really?</a> (start with post #4)
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<br /><a href="http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=6909">StoryGames: Racism (and sexism to a lesser extent) in the 4E PHB</a> (turns into a bit of a shoutfest)
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<br /><a href="http://www.story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=476&page=1">StoryGames: Gender and gaming</a>
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<br /><a href="http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=12784&page=1">StoryGames: Why don't women play roleplaying games?</a> (actually quite positive)
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<br /><a href="http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=12325&page=1">StoryGames: What do you want to know about minorities in roleplaying games? </a>(not all that useful)
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<br /><a href="http://story-games.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=11337&page=1">StoryGames: Maid RPG</a> (quickly devolves into uselessness)
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<br /><a href="http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/25430561/Gender_violence_in_gaming?pg=3">D&D: Gender violence in gaming</a> (absolutely horrific)
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Statistics</span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001365.php">Nick Yee: WoW demographics - 2005</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.lolapps.com/blog.php">Men v. women in app gaming</a>
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<br /><a href="http://news.cnet.com/Women-outnumber-men-in-online-games,-survey-finds/2100-1043_3-6123172.html">Women outnumber men in online games</a>
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<br /><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2008.00428.x/full">EQII demographics</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp">Numbers of women in gaming</a>
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Women in game development</span>
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<br /></span><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news200736177.html">Sexism in game development</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brenda-brathwaite/women-in-games-from-famin_b_510928.html">Facebook gets women into game development</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.next-gen.biz/features/game-industrys-100-most-influential-women?page=0%2C1">100 most influential women in game development</a>
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<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Miscellaneous Articles</span>
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<br />BBC: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3016434.stm">Female Everquest avatars sell for less than male avatars</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.helium.com/items/955474-assessing-sexism-in-gaming-is-it-still-a-boys-world">Female characters in video games are designed to appeal to men</a>
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<br /><a href="http://theworldofmaxator.blogspot.com/2010/06/sexism-in-gaming.html">Sexism at E3</a>
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<br /><a href="http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/laserorgy/archive/2010/03/26/pax-east-day-one-penny-arcade-q-amp-a-the-quot-girls-amp-games-quot-panel.aspx">Excellent Breakdown of the fiasco at the PAX East Women in Gaming panel</a>
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<br /><a href="http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2007/05/the-naked-lady-cards-of-the-witcher-collect-them-all.ars">Collectible porn cards in The Witcher</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.fragdolls.com/">Frag Dolls</a>
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<br /><a href="http://cerise.theirisnetwork.org/archives/179">How D&D started a forum FOR women in gaming, closed it, and started another one to talk ABOUT women in gaming.</a>
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<br /><a href="http://cerise.theirisnetwork.org/archives/275">Female apologist for sexism and rebuttal</a>
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<br /><a href="http://derailingfordummies.com/">Derailing for Dummies</a>
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<br /><a href="http://benlehman.livejournal.com/203151.html">The One Girl in RPG comics</a><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news200736177.html"></a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brenda-brathwaite/women-in-games-from-famin_b_510928.html">Are D&D encounters sexist?</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/:%20http://www.destructoid.com/something-about-sex-sex-sells-but-who-s-buying--165755.phtml">Sex scenes in games</a>
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<br /><a href="http://hubpages.com/slide/Sex-Sells-Video-Games">Terrible article, but good photoset</a>
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<br /><a href="http://feature.mmosite.com/content/2008-08-12/20080812001204568.shtml">Converting chainmail bikinis to fully-clothed avatars that are still sexy</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/33357">Careers for girls</a>
<br />wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-85310023114101514872010-09-30T16:08:00.002-04:002010-09-30T16:10:40.183-04:00Not that you care, but...I updated the links list on the side there, since half of them were either abandoned or defunct.<br /><br />Also, I've started re-vamping Under The Sun - my Game Chef entry. Hopefully I'll have a more complete version to show off soon, though laying out Thou Art But A Warrior remains a priority.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-86194353718412752262010-09-20T14:26:00.002-04:002010-09-20T14:30:23.445-04:00Finished!So I just squeaked in under the deadline, but I finished my Game Chef game! I'm feeling pretty good about myself, since this is the third time I've attempted to do Game Chef but only the first time I've finished anything.<br /><br /><blockquote><b>Under the Sun</b><br />The good spirits have spoken. In order that the People are not entirely destroyed, your tribe must journey into the heart of the Deepest Desert to find the Promised Land – a land that until now was thought only to exist in myth and legend. Will you have the strength to survive?<br /></blockquote><br /><br />It's a super-rough draft, but <a href="https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AYFaHVmQnP2iZDl4NnZmM18xMjBnaHptcTVnZA&hl=en">you can find it here</a>. I'm going to give it a week or so of lying fallow and then I'm going to go back and start adding all the stuff that I didn't have time to add in for Game Chef.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-32358262120936105792010-09-16T16:07:00.002-04:002010-09-16T16:09:22.851-04:00Fiasco playset: GenConAfter I recovered from the sleep deprivation and mild insanity that always results from attending GenCon, it occured to me that GenCon would make a perfect playset. Think about it, tons of nerds with no sleep, lots of booze and/or caffeine, and easily-provoked nerd rage are just a fiasco waiting to happen. So here for your Fiasco enjoyment is <a href="https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4FaHVmQnP2iYTE0M2VlZDktNzgyNS00MzFlLWI1ZWItMWZiYmVjYTdjNjMx&hl=en">GenCon: The Worst Four Days In Gaming</a>.<br /><br />Big thanks to Travis Farber and Nick Frankenhauser for helping me playtest it. And thanks to Jason Morningstar for giving me excellent advice that helped me make this as terrible and awful as it could possibly be.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-883908011857158382010-09-13T09:42:00.003-04:002010-09-13T09:52:51.568-04:00Game Chef 2010: My entry<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TI4qW_g3vzI/AAAAAAAAAfI/pJo8LyHfnOw/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" border="1"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TI4qW_g3vzI/AAAAAAAAAfI/pJo8LyHfnOw/s400/Untitled-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516393168070229810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The ingredients this year instantly made me think of my time in Egypt. The Theme this year is Journey, and the 3 ingredients I'm working with are Edge, City, and Desert. This will be a game about a tribe of people on the edge of survival, trying to survive in the desert.<br /><br />My Game Chef Thread <a href="http://story-games.com/praxis/comments.php?DiscussionID=317">can be found here</a> if you're interested in following the contest.<br /></div></div>wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-19642683702510129342010-08-25T22:33:00.001-04:002010-08-25T22:34:43.935-04:00Thou Art But A Warrior - now a PDF!Hey folks! Thou Art But A Warrior is now for sale as a PDF! <a href="http://theunstore.com/index.php/unstore/game/95">Check it out!</a><br /><br />That is all.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-89780152980751592062010-08-19T08:21:00.002-04:002010-08-19T09:41:01.438-04:00More illustrations for the new edition:While the first draft of the revised edition is being edited, I've been working on doing illustrations for the new edition so that when the edits are finished I can go directly into laying out the book. (That's the theory, anyway. We'll see how that works out.)<br /><br />I've been pleased with the work I've done so far. I have to admit that I had put down the sketchbook several months ago because I was frustrated that I couldn't translate my knowledge of the human form to drawings that didn't look like cartoony shit. Six months or so seems to have broken down that particular block, for which I am very grateful. So far I have been very satisfied with the quality of what I have been producing. So without further ado...<br /><br />A character that will be referenced in the examples of play, a secret Christian within the emir's court.:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0il6IYukI/AAAAAAAAAek/k1j9vMf0_8A/s1600/secretxian-p.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0il6IYukI/AAAAAAAAAek/k1j9vMf0_8A/s400/secretxian-p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507095953998920258" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW)<br /></div><br />I have to admit, the inherent sexism of the setting was killing me. So when I found a way in the examples to have a woman in armor, I didn't even think twice. What she's wearing is a mish-mash of Christian and Muslim armor, which I had fun doing.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0ilGMTajI/AAAAAAAAAec/2Va8jFuFUMg/s1600/fatimaarmor-p.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0ilGMTajI/AAAAAAAAAec/2Va8jFuFUMg/s400/fatimaarmor-p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507095940056705586" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW)<br /></div><br />Because there is an Islamic angel, there also needs to be a Christian angel. I'm quite happy with this illustration - especially with the reflections cast by the halo and with the fact that the wings don't look like total crap.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0ik6Ox_KI/AAAAAAAAAeU/MN8W91CdHQU/s1600/xianangel-p.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0ik6Ox_KI/AAAAAAAAAeU/MN8W91CdHQU/s400/xianangel-p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507095936845872290" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(CLICK FOR LARGER)<br /></div><br />And, because Thou Art But A Warrior is, of course, a tragedy... (I showed it to Kit last night when I finished it. His response: "Well that's cheerful.") I actually really struggled with the composition/pose of this one.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0ikc1F6yI/AAAAAAAAAeM/XyCGxfhtxBM/s1600/deadvalerio-p.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 341px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TG0ikc1F6yI/AAAAAAAAAeM/XyCGxfhtxBM/s400/deadvalerio-p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507095928953498402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So that's proceeding well, even if I've decided to re-do the very first one that I drew. (The faces were just... weird.) My plan is to have eight illustrations, so that means I'm five eighths done! If I knuckle down, I should be able to finish by the end of next week as long as the inspiration continues to flow.<br /></div></div><br />I'm impatient for my software to get here. (It's now officially in the mail! Yippee!) I want to start laying out this thing!wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-68299039925089066252010-08-10T22:18:00.001-04:002010-08-10T22:19:52.847-04:00Sagefight.org<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TGIIlaKT83I/AAAAAAAAAeE/ijOy8llT0XM/s1600/sagefight.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TGIIlaKT83I/AAAAAAAAAeE/ijOy8llT0XM/s400/sagefight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503971133370921842" border="0" /></a><br /></div>wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-44031389632112849592010-07-29T11:28:00.005-04:002010-07-29T12:01:20.149-04:00New edition of Thou Art But A Warrior! (Plus updates on other projects)(Quick note: Yes I know my website is down. Again. It'll be back up soon.)<br /><br />It's been a while since I posted - I've been a busy, busy geek. Since it's been so long I thought I'd give an update on various projects that I'm working on. But first, my plans for the revised edition of...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thou Art But A Warrior</span><br /><br />I've mentioned a few places online that I'm working on a revised edition of Thou Art But A Warrior. The past few years, I've encountered some issues with play that have led me to want to make some changes. Also, sales have pretty much slowed to a small trickle, which I attribute to the fact that Thou Art But A Warrior is a supplement. $30 is a tough sell for a supplement and the base game in this economy.<br /><br />After some examination of my numbers, and looking back at my experience last year trying to sell Thou Art But A Warrior as part of Pirate Jenny, I've come to the conclusion that most of the people who own Polaris and are interested in Thou Art But A Warrior already own the supplement. For people who don't own Polaris, the price of both books is acting as a barrier. Ben has been kind enough to give me permission to release an edition of Thou Art But A Warrior that includes the Polaris system.<br /><br />This represents a substantial addition to the book, effectively doubling the amount of text. It required a lot of writing, and re-writing, and more re-writing, but I did finish a first draft and that draft is currently being edited by my long-suffering husband who I voluntell to help me with my projects for no pay. (I love you, sweetie!) Currently, it's too early to say what price point I will be targeting, but I can say that I would like to include color in the new edition if it's at all feasible. I can say that I plan on releasing the revised edition for the end of this year.<br /><br />As for the current book, there are a few print copies of Thou Art But A Warrior in stock. I plan on letting the book go out of print, which means once they're gone they're gone. My struggle to access a professional copy of Acrobat that will let me add bookmarks continues, but I have every intention to start selling PDFs once I have run out of books, and anybody that buys the unrevised PDF will receive a free copy of the revised supplement PDF once revisions are complete. At the very latest, I will have PDFs for sale around mid-August.<br /><br />Lastly, while the book is being edited, I've also been working hard on completely re-vamping the design of the book. When I published the first edition, I gave myself a month and a half to do the layout and all the illustrations. Considering that I laid the book out in Word, that wasn't nearly enough time. As a result, I wound up rushing the interior illustrations and I've never really been happy with the quality of the artwork. Since the interior design is changing anyhow, this is a good chance to re-work the illustrations for the new edition. I've already penciled two updates to existing illustrations in the book that I may or may not add color to digitally. (Experimentation is in order.)<br /><br />The first (graphite and white prismacolor on tan sketch paper):<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfVXrza7I/AAAAAAAAAdc/Z36us6Mmpg0/s1600/lovers-compare.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 336px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfVXrza7I/AAAAAAAAAdc/Z36us6Mmpg0/s400/lovers-compare.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499351809479895986" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />With the old illustration, I was super happy with how the fabrics and the swords came out, but I always hated the anatomy and the faces. I also thought the shading was kind of flat. I'm much more pleased with the new version.<br /><br />I also did a new drawing for the Islamic angel that appears as an illustration. Here's the old version.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfV1hFojI/AAAAAAAAAdk/mg2Kj3RfT6M/s1600/interior-angel2-p.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 355px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfV1hFojI/AAAAAAAAAdk/mg2Kj3RfT6M/s400/interior-angel2-p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499351817488015922" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Not bad. It was actually my favorite illustration from the previous edition, but I'm not crazy about the face or the wings. The drapery is nice in spots, like with the sash. But overall, I thought I could do much better if I had more time to do it right. Which is why I drew this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfWBw0rpI/AAAAAAAAAds/PZx3OdQ8TRg/s1600/Angel-p.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfWBw0rpI/AAAAAAAAAds/PZx3OdQ8TRg/s400/Angel-p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499351820775239314" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />MUCH better. The wings don't feel stiff, the shading is much more interesting with the hand as a light source, and the drapery looks much more natural. (Click to view a larger version. I'm very proud of the subtle shading.)<br /><br />So that's it for Thou Art But A Warrior. I think it's safe to say that things are proceeding well. I just hope I can get my hands on a copy of InDesign by the time that it's time to start doing layout!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And now, something completely different: A card game<br /><br /></span>I've been cheating on Black Sky lately. There are several problems that I'm not sure how to fix, so I'm letting it lie fallow for a while. In the mean time, I've been working on a silly card game about playing MMOs. I have to admit that the original idea came from <a href="http://cape-freak.blogspot.com/">Cape Freak</a>, but he's taking his MMO card game in more of a dungeoneering direction. So I decided to design the MMO card game that <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> wanted to play - game about MMO economies and screwing over your fellow player. I just finished the prototype deck yesterday:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfWpTtzzI/AAAAAAAAAd0/TraEzEdlqiE/s1600/DSCF7511.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfWpTtzzI/AAAAAAAAAd0/TraEzEdlqiE/s400/DSCF7511.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499351831390572338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfXFBOvuI/AAAAAAAAAd8/KTD3lXNXL4s/s1600/DSCF7512.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TFGfXFBOvuI/AAAAAAAAAd8/KTD3lXNXL4s/s400/DSCF7512.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499351838829231842" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Now I just need to give this baby a test run and see if it's any fun. I hope it will be fun, but who can tell?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">That novel I've been promising to write</span><br /><br />I've been working on this novel off and on for the last two years, obsessively outlining the plot and detailing all kinds of background information. Lately I started actually writing the damn thing. Currently, I'm ~15,000 words in - significantly further than when I attempted this thing last time.<br /><br />It's amusing that the valuable lesson I'm applying from having completed NaNoWriMo is that I'm giving myself permission to not write perfectly. I'm not writing at the break-neck, mind-numbing NaNoWriMo speed that results in huge volumes of crap, but I'm not spending two hours on four paragraphs either. That's what re-writes are for.<br /><br />I feel good about this. This is something I will finish. I just hope I don't take too long about it.<br /><br /><br />And that is all for now.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-61499613081849638022010-06-08T17:52:00.001-04:002010-06-08T17:53:49.818-04:00Tea Party: some commentaryMy struggle to acquire a copy of InDesign continues. I hope to God that I get it soon, because I did all of the layout for Tea Party in Word, which was enough to make me want to scratch my eyes out! I did eventually get it to look the way I wanted, but I wound up putting way more work into it than I should have.<br /><br />I blame Jason Morningstar for all of this. I wound up taking a look at an early draft of a Lady Blackbird hack of his called Death School. One of the characters reminded me of something I’ve always wanted to do with an RPG – have a character who got mechanical bonuses for offensively gratuitous uses of the American flag. I suggested this to Jason, and he used it, but then I couldn’t stop thinking about it.<br /><br />So I’m thinking about this, and then I hear a news story on NPR about the Tea Party, and I realized that I had to write a Lady Blackbird Hack about the Tea Party. (So, sorry, Jason. I liked my idea so much that I had to take it back. Oh well. It happens.)<br /><br />This was frustrating to me, as I had other creative things that I wanted to work on! But noooo… I couldn’t get Tea Party out of my head until I wrote it. So here it is, and it’s been posted on my website. Just for laughs, I’ve also re-posted <a href="http://www.browserbeware.com/Stab.pdf">STAB! STAB! STAB!!</a>, my original foray into satirical game design.<br /><br />I’m glad it’s done. Now back to other things.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-32998564423584104622010-06-08T17:50:00.003-04:002010-06-08T17:52:52.777-04:00This is Satire(Crossposted from Story-Games)<br /><br /><b>Tea Party</b><br />A Lady Blackbird Hack by Anna Kreider<br /><br /><blockquote>Despite decades of warnings from conservative visionaries like Ronald Reagan,<br />the creeping socialism propagated by the intelligista and the liberal media has<br />caused the collapse of American society as we know it. Under the crippling<br />double-burden of national debt and entitlement programs, the American dollar<br />has collapsed and everything is in chaos.<br /><br />The last of the Tea Party patriots have formed a stronghold in Nashville where<br />they have stockpiled food, weapons, and ammunition. But it won’t be long<br />before they are overrun by forces in league with the new socialist regime. It’s up<br />to you to make things right.</blockquote><br /><br />Free PDF here: http://www.browserbeware.com/TeaParty.pdf<br /><br />It amuses me to think that someone, some time will find this and not understand that this is satire.<br /><br />(Jeez. I guess there’s some kind of Lady Blackbird-hacking mania going around. Anyway, I blame Jason Morningstar for getting me started on this, and Graham Walmsley for encouraging me to finish. Thanks, guys. That was a week that I didn’t work on other projects at all.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-62356149594840846382010-06-08T14:12:00.003-04:002010-06-08T14:16:48.156-04:00Dear BP: In Case You ForgotDear, BP<br /><br />I know you've had a lot on your mind these past two months. I know that I have trouble remembering things when I get stressed out, so I thought I'd send you a friendly reminder. I hope the following helps you out:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6IcJhu9sI/AAAAAAAAAdU/vDBOFGcdr-g/s1600/water.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 172px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6IcJhu9sI/AAAAAAAAAdU/vDBOFGcdr-g/s400/water.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480467813731595970" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6Ib1WBi2I/AAAAAAAAAdM/tBh8Zd3yzUM/s1600/marsh.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 144px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6Ib1WBi2I/AAAAAAAAAdM/tBh8Zd3yzUM/s400/marsh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480467808313772898" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6IbYnh_cI/AAAAAAAAAdE/H9XlFkK_tew/s1600/dolphin.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 147px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6IbYnh_cI/AAAAAAAAAdE/H9XlFkK_tew/s400/dolphin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480467800602574274" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6IbF2WFfI/AAAAAAAAAc8/vTJFURD5gzk/s1600/pelican.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 175px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/TA6IbF2WFfI/AAAAAAAAAc8/vTJFURD5gzk/s400/pelican.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480467795564434930" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br />(All before photos taken by me in 2008. All after photos taken from the Associated Press)wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-2211757362921400912010-05-08T23:14:00.003-04:002010-05-08T23:20:15.058-04:00Now selling prints on ImageKindI've been wanting to sell my fine art photography for a while now, but the problem has always been finding a way to do it where I don't have to handle fulfillment; shipping from Canada to the US is problematic at best, and expensive to boot. The problem was finding a service where I could make more than a pittance on each print.<br /><br />Thankfully, I found ImageKind. They're owned by CafePress, and have very civilized pricing and payment options. And best of all, I don't have to worry about printing or shipping anything. Sold!<br /><br />I've uploaded selected prints of my fine art landscapes and wildlife photos, and I plan to put up selected illustrations for sale within the next little while. So please, <a href="http://Anna-Kreider.imagekind.com">go check it out</a>.<br /><br />[/crass plea for money]wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-73507258424919409402010-05-01T17:11:00.004-04:002010-05-01T18:03:24.210-04:00From start to finishI thought I'd document the creation of a finished piece that <a href="http://wundergeek.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-art-in-progress.html">I blogged about previously</a>. It wound up being an excellent example of how happy accidents can conspire to make art better. (WARNING: Photoshop jargon ahead)<br /><br />So after the last post, I attempted to clean up the lineart for the robot and insert him into the drawing. But I was very unhappy with how it was turning out. I decided that the old design of the robot was just to simple to mesh well with the intricacy of the rest of the piece. So I went back to the drawing board, re-designed the robot, and then put him into the drawing. And lo! It worked! Adding the myself and the margarita glass was quite easy after that.<br /><br />So, the finished lineart of the piece:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ29kTR7I/AAAAAAAAAcE/koWXaSszpqE/s1600/margarita-robot-lines.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ29kTR7I/AAAAAAAAAcE/koWXaSszpqE/s400/margarita-robot-lines.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466413217239746482" border="0" /></a><br /></div>I knew that I wanted the piece to be colored, but that I wanted something that was deliberately non-realistic. I had a vague notion that I wanted to do flat colors with a washed out color palette, so I started coloring. Several hours later, I had this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ3GPUbaI/AAAAAAAAAcM/Q8ojRzSwLE0/s1600/margarita-robot-color.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ3GPUbaI/AAAAAAAAAcM/Q8ojRzSwLE0/s400/margarita-robot-color.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466413219567660450" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />It was a good start, but the coloring didn't look quite finished. It looked too much like a coloring book, and didn't convey the dream-like quality that I was aiming for. I wanted to add some grungy textures underneath the color layer on a low opacity, to try to give it a foggy feel.<br /><br />So I dug up some textures (parchment, rust, and daguerreotype) and set out to make a texture layer. My goal was to create the texture layer UNDER the color layer at a low opacity, then set the color layer over it to multiply so that the texture would be seen faintly through the color layer. But instead, I wound up moving the texture layer OVER the color layer and wound up with this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ3sAYRII/AAAAAAAAAcU/klaolkHfliY/s1600/margarita-robot-p1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ3sAYRII/AAAAAAAAAcU/klaolkHfliY/s400/margarita-robot-p1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466413229705544834" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />This was awesome! I knew right away that this was closer to what I had been looking for. It captured very well the feeling of unreality that I wanted to convey. But I thought it might have been closer to black and white movie than to "dream-like". And I'll admit that after all that time spent painstakingly coloring in the color layer, I didn't want to just toss it out the window. So I set the color layer over the textures at 50% opacity with the blending set to overlay, which resulted in this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ38ix3nI/AAAAAAAAAcc/lX_Iv7_g_eo/s1600/margarita-robot-f1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yZ38ix3nI/AAAAAAAAAcc/lX_Iv7_g_eo/s400/margarita-robot-f1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466413234144796274" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Now I was stuck. Both the colored and non-colored versions were awesome! After a while, I came to the conclusion that the colored version was closer to what I had wanted. So I decided to make one last change and call it done; I had wanted the robot to be holding a light-pole, but it just looked like a metal bar of some sort. So I added a lamp, tweaked the blending a little bit to make sure there wasn't anything it was missing, and then saved this version:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yj33v1doI/AAAAAAAAAc0/FhQKJYkWjO0/s1600/margarita-robot-final.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S9yj33v1doI/AAAAAAAAAc0/FhQKJYkWjO0/s400/margarita-robot-final.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466424227973658242" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />This turned out to be so successful that I decided I definitely want to make a series of it. And since my dreams are so bizarre, if I start recording my dreams again I will have no shortage of material!<br /><br />It's going to be tough deciding which of my dreams to illustrate next. I've had a list of dreams that I've wanted to do this for for a long time. We'll see what happens when I start doing sketches for the next one.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-15878320683446630442010-04-08T22:22:00.003-04:002010-04-08T22:25:44.521-04:00New art in progressSo I've been working seriously on the margarita robot image that I mentioned in a previous post. I just thought I'd post a few screens of work in progress.<br /><br />Here's the finished lineart for the background:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S76Pq-f3vaI/AAAAAAAAAb0/FEGLBJQsxzw/s1600/margarita-robot-p1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S76Pq-f3vaI/AAAAAAAAAb0/FEGLBJQsxzw/s400/margarita-robot-p1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457957766913572258" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I started to sketch in the robot here:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S76PrANF1II/AAAAAAAAAb8/HB_GDj1mH5c/s1600/margarita-robot-p2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S76PrANF1II/AAAAAAAAAb8/HB_GDj1mH5c/s400/margarita-robot-p2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457957767371674754" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It took a few tries to get the positioning right, but I think it will look good once it's polished.<br /><br />More later!wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-32466876911818924692010-04-08T15:24:00.003-04:002010-04-08T16:07:55.602-04:00Brief updates<span style="font-weight: bold;">Website:</span> Browser Beware and the Tasty Bacon Games site are both back up and running, thanks to assistance from <a href="http://glyphpress.com/talk/">Joshua A.C. Newman</a>. (He rocks, go buy a copy of Shock:) There's a couple areas of Browser Beware that still need to be fixed, but it's 90% back up and running and will be fully restored in the next few days.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thou Art But A Warrior: </span>I'm about to do my third print run of Thou Art But A Warrior! Hooray! Unfortunately, because of how horrendous the service is with my old printer, I'll be switching to a new printer with slightly higher costs. This means I'll be raising the price a bit after I've sold out of copies from the current print run. More details on this once I've finalized the print run.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wundergeek Writes:</span> A bit of an analysis of my progress so far and future goals over on my other blog.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-68515537931832980492010-03-30T21:05:00.003-04:002010-03-30T21:11:16.485-04:00Recent workMy website is still down, I know. I'm waiting to get some help with it right now. So, still working on it.<br /><br />I've been sketching daily at work to get back into practice. Here's one result that turned out rather well:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S7KgRZiTp0I/AAAAAAAAAbk/0jpLR8g36lk/s1600/draenai.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S7KgRZiTp0I/AAAAAAAAAbk/0jpLR8g36lk/s400/draenai.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454598319472092994" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Something I'm finally starting to work on after wanting to for several years is a series of illustrations based on my dreams. Back in university, I was required to start a dream journal by a drawing teacher. This was when I discovered that my dreams are, apparently, far more peculiar than the average person's. Which, I suppose, bears out with me being far more peculiar than average in general.<br /><br />Anyhow, I feel like I've finally achieved enough skill in my drawing to really do this series justice. So the other night I did a preliminary sketch based on one of the dreams that has long been a favorite of mine: I dreamed an evil robot was going to destroy the city unless I could make it a good margarita.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S7KgRkEtY2I/AAAAAAAAAbs/RVOaPNn95qA/s1600/margarita-robot.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S7KgRkEtY2I/AAAAAAAAAbs/RVOaPNn95qA/s400/margarita-robot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454598322300740450" border="0" /></a></div><br />I like the face on the right-most robot the best, but the body on the middle robot is my favorite. So I'll probably switch heads on those two.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8294619431666491381.post-44336041907890082632010-03-25T20:24:00.003-04:002010-03-25T20:48:52.636-04:00Where the hell have I been???So I just wrapped up a one year volunteer gig as Chief Script Writer in charge of <s>herding cats</s> coordinating writers for a local amateur theater company known as <a href="http://www.fass.uwaterloo.ca/2010/">FASS</a>. It's a group affiliated with the University of Waterloo that writes and puts on a musical comedy each year. The show is in January, which meant that during November and December I was wrapping the script, and January I was busy rehearsing for the performance in February.<br /><br />But Anna, you say. It's now most of the way through March. Well, my time since then has been spent on three trips to Ohio, battling the plague, and recovering from a cracked rib. (Tae kwon do sparring accident, nothing sinister, I promise.)<br /><br />And now I've got a lot of catching up to do. So first thing's first.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes I know my website is down.</span><br /><br />My webhost went out of business in December and I somehow didn't get notified. I didn't really find out until we were about to go into production on the play, and I'm only getting to rectifying the situation now. I know, I know, bad me. But I hope to have something up no later than Easter - I'm making inquiries about new hosting right now.<br /><br />Secondly, I'm getting back in the swing of being creative. For the past year, I pretty much haven't done anything creative that wasn't script-writing; I just didn't have the creative energy to work on FASS and my own projects as well. Unfortunately, my drawing and writing skills are horribly horribly rusty. I have two different plans for this.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Getting back into writing form</span><br /><br />So I started another blog. It's rather embarassing as of yet, but it's a blog in which I will attempt to force myself to do writing daily. It hasn't happened yet - getting back in the groove is hard. But I'm hoping by mentioning it here that will make me feel a bit more accountable to the five of you weirdos who have actually followed this blog and to the ten or so of you who check in every several months or so.<br /><br />Anyway, here it is: <a href="http://wundergeek-writes.blogspot.com/">Wundergeek Writes</a>. Fair warning that I fully expect the things I post to suck for at least the next six months. I've had to do this before and I'm pretty familiar with how it goes. But the only way to get good again is to actually write, so I suppose I'd better get the pain of sucking over with now.<br /><br /><b>Getting back into drawing</b><br /><br />Drawing is a bit of a harder faucet to turn back on, since it's not so much a thing that you do as a way of thinking. I've found that when I sit down with my sketchbook, I have trouble of thinking of things to draw. So I've been visiting the <a href="http://conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39">Daily Sketch Group over on the ConceptArt.org forums</a> to mine old DSG topics for ideas of things to draw.<br /><br />It's been working out well, so far. I'm starting to get back into the groove. I even did an original sketch the other day. So I thought I'd at least post some of those here so there would be something concrete to show:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S6wDoghqaxI/AAAAAAAAAbc/AEEp2dWsW1o/s1600/owlgrub.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S6wDoghqaxI/AAAAAAAAAbc/AEEp2dWsW1o/s400/owlgrub.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452737243299605266" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Dude, the topic was "freaky looking creature that has the qualities of owl and grub". I kinda freaked myself out drawing it, which is why I draw an owlcat to make sure that owlgrub wouldn't get too uppity. Brr.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S6wDoJ4WYZI/AAAAAAAAAbU/zys3e26mUc4/s1600/valkyrie.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S6wDoJ4WYZI/AAAAAAAAAbU/zys3e26mUc4/s400/valkyrie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452737237220745618" border="0" /></a><br /></div>The Valkyrie is one of my favorite roleplaying characters ever. When I was playing her, I would draw her with a silver-age style costume - very skimpy and superhero-y. But I thought I'd try my hand at a more heroic and less scantily clad Valkyrie. I like how it turned out.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S6wDn_yxxTI/AAAAAAAAAbM/upknQ48BuZk/s1600/zombiesanta.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_g1t5HfNJ47o/S6wDn_yxxTI/AAAAAAAAAbM/upknQ48BuZk/s400/zombiesanta.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452737234513020210" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Zombie Santa! I had a lot of fun with zombie Santa here. I hope you can read my hastily scrawled notes.wundergeekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10217796560633063461noreply@blogger.com0