Artist Profile: Callie MacDonell

As we enter the third full day of the "The Good, the Bad and the Undead" Kickstarter at 85% funded, with less than $600 left to go, I think it's safe to say that a Western Action Horror featuring cowboys and vampires is an idea that has legs. People like it! Hell--that's why I'm writing it! I saw what the Fabled Lands guys were doing, and I liked it so much I wanted to join in.

Join the party on Kickstarter!

But this idea wouldn't be what it is without the magnificent art that brings it to life. You all know Jamie Thomson, and I've talked in a few places about who I am, but we haven't yet made space to talk about our wonderful artist, Callie MacDonell.

First, I want to say that I had a lot of trouble finding the right artist for this project. We talked to half a dozen artists, and many of them we even commissioned a piece or two from before it didn't work out for one reason or another. Just as I was ready to tear my hair out from frustration, Callie came along with the right skills and talent and agreed to join the team.

A stylized self-portrait by Callie MacDonell

Callie MacDonell is a professional artist and designer. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, where she works full time doing art, design, and video production for the mobile game company Kabam. She got her undergraduate degree in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institutes International Minnesota, and went on to get her graduate degree in concept art from The Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

She has a remarkable array of eclectic experience, having done animation, writing, illustrations, motion graphics, design, video production, and concept art. She was a character and environment concept artist for the short film Curpidgeon, where she worked along side Pixar Art Director, Anthony Cristov. She did design work at Marvel Comics, using Marvel artwork to design merchandise such as T-shirts, jackets, children's wear and the like. And she worked as a writer for a TV show pilot for FonCo Creative Company... but if she told you the name, she'd have to kill you ;)

Callie is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy movies, tv shows and literature. She loves art in all forms, but is especially excited by opportunities to work on sci fi and fantasy projects within the comic and animation industries. She is currently working on her own short animation for children, "Cat Walrus," about an exchange student who is a cat-walrus mix, and she's struggling because it's picture day at school and she's clumsy on land and has nothing to wear... it's adorable!

In her own words, she couldn’t be more excited to be working on The Good, The Bad, and The Undead! We're excited to have her :) The book wouldn't be the same without her vision bringing it to life.

Callie MacDonell painting her own self-portrait

If you like her work, check out more of it!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccmacdonellart
Deviant Art: http://calliemacdonell.daportfolio.com/about/

I'm going to interrupt my regularly scheduled programming to give a nod to this brilliant little game I found posted on http://norwegianstyle.wordpress.com/

Enjoy :)

SMALL TALK THE RPG

Posted on June 15, 2013 by olepeder under role-playing game, Role-playing poems

A conversational role playing game for 1-∞ players.

Characters: The player’s play themselves, so there’s no particular character set-up process.

Small talk is a game of conversation for its own sake. It’s a collaborative game. The reward is opening for deeper conversations, affirming relationships and avoiding silence.

It’s good practice to play the game with new acquaintances.

The game can last as short as a casual greeting or as long as it takes to get your hair cut at the hairdresser’s. Or the length of a taxi ride, as the case may be.

Some rules:

* Greet the other players in a friendly way.
* Try to keep the conversation upbeat and positive.
* Casual compliments are ok, but keep it superficial. Don’t get creepy.
* Try out some casual eye contact now and then, but don’t stare.
* Smile.
* Respect the other player’s personal space.
* Be polite and respectful.
* Find common ground. Be politely inquiring about the other player’s interests, and see if you can find some topic of conversation that will interest you both. Or that you can endure listening to.
* Ask open-ended follow-up questions starting with words like «how…» and «what…». Or make relevant statements.
* Share some stuff about yourself and your day, but don’t over-share. Don’t get into symptoms, diseases, sensitive subjects and extreme negativity.
* It’s ok to bitch and complain as long as you don’t do it about sensitive topics. The weather is a very good topic of conversation.
* Notice your surroundings. You can riff off of them for further conversational topics.
* Avoid sensitive subjects like religion, politics and sex. You can also drop death, divorce and diseases. You know what I mean.
* Humor is good. Just remember the taboo topics.

You can even play the game without anyone knowing you’re playing a game.

Interview with David Walters about Way of the Tiger

This week, I am pleased to bring you an interview with the esteemed David Walters, author of the Samurai's Apprentice series, as well as several other novels, including the fantasy novel City of Masks, set in an intriguing fantasy universe. He is now working on the Way of the Tiger re-release, which, if you are as eager to see as I am, you can support by visiting the Kickstarter page to claim your copy now.

I think you'll enjoy this interview as much as I did. David had some great insights to share with us!

Thanks for joining us today, David. I've heard a lot about the upcoming Way of the Tiger gamebooks (and the accompanying Kickstarter--congratulations by the way!) There's a lot of excitement about these books, so I'm really glad to have the chance to ask you a few questions.

First, I understand that books 1-6 are being re-released. I understand that's all that were created in the first place, is that correct?

Yes, there were six books released back in the 1980s that formed the Way of the Tiger series. More books were released that were set on Orb, but not as part of that particular ninja series.

Was there a plan, originally, to release more of them? I know with the Fabled Lands series, it was originally supposed to be 12 books, but only six were ever created. Is the same true of Way of the Tiger?

Yes, there were originally supposed to be more Way of the Tiger books in the series, but it didn't happen in the end. That is really for Mark Smith to cover, i have been sworn to secrecy or the ninja will come for me. Mark and Jamie did have a longer term vision for the main character Avenger.

This may be covering old ground, but what would you say sets Way of the Tiger apart, compared to other fantasy gamebooks?

Firstly the setting of Orb is richly detailed. The gods and the cities are very intricate and interesting, and it all feels real.

Secondly, you get to play as a ninja. Not only is this a fun character type to play, but you get to feel like you are a powerful character right from the outset, which is unusual. Grunt level enemies can simply be felled, and even powerful ones can be garrotted when their back is turned...

Thirdly, there were some wonderful characters in the series, really fleshed out from years of Mark's role playing game sessions. Fans to this day still talk about Foxglove, and characters such as Tyutchev who goes all the way back to Talisman of Death and appears in Way of the Tiger.

Finally the gamebook rules are wonderfully slick: simple but with depth. For example the combat felt like a martial arts fight: you can choose which martial arts move to use, whether you add your 'chi' inner force for extra damage, and also you can try to block counterattacks on you.

I understand Way of the Tiger is set in the world of Orb, the same world that the old book Talisman of Death was set in. Full disclosure: I LOVED Talisman of Death as a kid; that's basically the book that ignited my passion for gamebooks. Will there be any tie in to Talisman of Death, or are they in completely different parts of the world?

Talisman of Death was my first ever gamebook (same for others I know too), and it was set in the same world as Way of the Tiger. The Way of the Tiger series did not go to the city of Greyguilds like Talisman of Death, but you could interact with the same gods, classes and characters in both. For example you fight a monk of the Scarlet Mantis in Talisman of Death, and the same sect of monks play a key role in Way of the Tiger. Tyutchev, Cassandra and Thaum are in both series as well.

You'll just have to wait and see if book 7 of Way of the Tiger goes to Greyguilds.

Are there any other books set in the world of Orb that we should know about?

The Duelmaster series was set there, plus Coils of Hate and Falcon book 4. Orb is a big, detailed world and has hosted many gamebooks by the original authors. By supporting the Way of the Tiger series you may be able to convince the original authors it is worth re-releasing those, if not expanding them.

How much have you, as a contributing author, had a chance to further develop the world of Orb? Are you creating new material within that world, or was it already pretty well fleshed out before you got there?

I have set the prequel on the Island of Plenty on Orb, which is an island with a strong Japanese theme. This was visited by Avenger in the series before, but only in passing, so I have been able to really flesh it out from what we already knew and Mark's notes. You will be able to journey across the whole island in quite some detail, and on repeated play through can visit every city on the island.

Like the other books in the series, there is a strong story at the heart of the book, and because this is a prequel you can get to know (and interact with) old and new characters a lot more.

What would you say you love most about the world of Orb? Why should we go there?

There are lots of reasons, but as a fan and a writer I'm going to say the characters. There are some fabulous personalities there, and they really drive the story and make the world a more interesting place. These characters came out of thousands if hours of role playing in that world.

The gods are wonderfully complex too, and how the beliefs of the characters affect them is interesting and believable to me.

I understand Way of the Tiger has a very Far Eastern flavor, which is your specialty, as the author of the Samurai's Apprentice series. How does this series differ from your own works in Samurai's Apprentice? How is it similar?

My samurai work is based on the real world Edo period Japan. For Way of the Tiger I was able to bring all of the mythological elements to bear on the work that I could not use in the real world setting. The Japanese psyche has created some truly horrific monsters in their legends, and I've been able to tap into that for the Way of the Tiger prequel book, to use all that mythology I have come across in my research.

The similarity is you need to have a strong, interesting story, with complex characters and fast paced action. Although in the case of a gamebook you need to have multiple stories, and I've been able to see interesting facts and references in all kinds of areas, even the dead ends...

I've heard murmurings of a Way of the Tiger roleplaying game to be released as well, in addition to the gamebooks. Is that still in the works? Any updates?

The RPG is very much alive and progressing, hopefully out next year. I've written two adventures for it, and others in the team have been expanding the gods section and other areas from Mark's notes. For the RPG we have a whole history and geography for the Island of Plenty, which I was able to use for the prequel book. As well as the prequel being part of the gamebook series, it also links to the separate RPG adventures I wrote, so it forms a seamless whole. It all builds to the civil war we see in book 2 of the Way of the Tiger, and I give signs and portents all the way, and can show through different stories how it all builds to culminate at that point.

Anyone wanting more background on the setting of the prequel should consider the RPG as it will have all the source material in it.

If the Way of the Tiger RPG is happening, what would you say sets apart the Way of the Tiger RPG from other popular fantasy RPGs on the market today?

It has had Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson role playing in that world for 35+ years, building and refining the history and characters of the place. It also has a dozen or so quality gamebooks out there as source material, which are adored by fans to this day.

Finally, can you clarify exactly what your role is as a contributing author with the Way of the Tiger books? I understand you're involved with both the prequel and book 7, but I've heard different things about how much you'll be writing of each of these.

The prequel is written solely by me, under the strict supervision of Mark and Jamie. Book 7 is being co authored by all three of us. I'm equally excited about both!

Any word of whether there will be additional books beyond 7, and whether you may be involved in those?

The Kickstarter is clear in the stretch goals that the higher we reach the more able we are to look at producing more books. Jamie is an award winning author with his Dark Lord series, and Mark is the director of his own company, so they have to be sure that the demand is there first before they commit to more books in the series as their time really is at a premium.

As for me, I'd love to do at least one more Way of the Tiger gamebook. I do have an interesting idea for book 8... I have a lot of projects on though, and am in the fortunate position of turning work away, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm delighted to see that the Kickstarter has met it's core funding goal and is working on stretch goals. What's your favorite stretch goal of the ones still upcoming? What do you really hope we'll get to?

As a minimum I'd like to see us hit $35,000 so we can get the stretch goal of a map of Irsmuncast by famous fantasy author Leo Hartas. Irsmuncast is a highly political city full of intrigue and religious schism, so I'd love to see it get the beautiful map it deserves. In book 4 of Way of the Tiger you get to run the city, something of a first for a gamebook, really groundbreaking stuff for its day.

At higher pledge levels, there are even greater things to unlock.

For readers who haven't come across your works before, but would like to check out what else you've done, where would you suggest they start?

I'd recommend they give Samurai's Apprentice a go and see if you like it. It is a relatively quick read and it is available on Amazon for little over a dollar. There are plenty more books in that series if you do want more.

My other books cater to different settings, but all with a far eastern theme. City of Masks is set on a fantasy world, whereas Dragonwarrior: Tao of Shadow is set in the modern world and ancient China.

What do you have coming up next, after Way of the Tiger? Anything exciting we should be looking forward to?

I've completed the prequel, so there is Way of the Tiger book 7 and the role playing game.

I'm producing an exclusive print run of Samurai's Apprentice which will be illustrated, with a foreword and a new chapter. Look for this pre-Christmas.

I'm also writing Samurai's Apprentice 5 at the moment, likely due next year now.

Anything else you want to share with our readers?

It is nice to be important, but more important to be nice.

The Gamebooks World in Six Months

I've been mostly offline for a while now, so today I'm doing a quick look at what I've missed over the last six months or so. Edit: After compiling this list, I'm almost a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of awesome new stuff available for gamebook fans today. I'm pretty sure three years ago, we had no where near this selection! Enjoy :)

Fabled Lands LLP

The guys over at Fabled Lands did some great gamebooks back in the day, and many of those are being re-released. Here's some descriptions, often using the author's own words as portrayed in this blog post.

Heart of Ice is an apocalyptic road tale with "operatic sweep and pragmatically amoral heroes."
Down among the Dead Men "is an adventure with pirates, magic and the undead."
Necklace of Skulls takes readers through a Pre-Columbian underworld of dream-logic, set against a historical backdrop of the fall of Teotihuacan.
Once Upon a Time in Arabia is "a whirlwind of encounters with a 1001 Nights flavor."


Fabled Lands along with Megara Entertainment

The Way of the Tiger Kickstarter is a current project! The guys at Fabled Lands are collaborating with the elegant Megara Entertainment team and renowned ninjophile author David Walters to re-release all six of the original Way of the Tiger gamebooks, set in the oriental-flavored world of Orb, along with a brand new prequel and an original book 7 written by David Walters. The kickstarter is taking off, so make sure to get over there to grab yourself some stretch goals before the time's up!


Megara Entertainment

Arcana Agency: The Thief of Memories was in progress last I checked in. According to their website, it is now available for 35 Euros, including shipping worldwide. This is supposed to be a beautiful gamebook... I may go grab a copy myself.


Tin Man Games

Tin Man Games has been remarkably prolific, with new releases coming out regularly in a variety of series' and genres. Here's just a few:

Fighting Fantasy: These three titles re-invigorate the old Fighting Fantasy series, bringing some old favorites and one brand new adventure (Blood of the Zombies) to a digital platform at last.
Blood of the Zombies
House of Hell
The Forest of Doom

Gamebook Adventures
GA 8: Curse of the Assassin: Gamebook Adventures 8 takes us back to Orlandes to continue Tin Man Games' acclaimed fantasy series.

Other
Hex Boyfriends: A sequel in the same style as "Vampire Boyfriends," with humor and strange loves.
Trial of the Clone: The wildly successful first gamebook by SMBC author Zach Wienersmith, this comes with OPTIONAL VOICE NARRATION BY WIL WHEATON.

Forgotten Spell: An interactive fantasy set in the original world of Suidemor, with puzzles and magic. Looks very cool.

Judge Dredd: Countdown Sector 106
Les fils d'Uruzime: Apparently a lovecraftian horror in french. Who knew? Damn, I wish I spoke French.
La Bataille de la Drang: A gamebook about the Vietnam War, I think? It's in French. If you read French, please elaborate to me what this is about.

And those are only the ones available for Android! Like I said, Tin Man Games is making it happen.


Choice of Games

Choice of Games is another PROLIFIC producer of gamebook fiction. I won't list them all here because A) there's a lot, and B) I've had mixed satisfaction with the quality level of their works. But they're definitely worth checking out, and if you find some gems, please point me toward which ones I should read!

Among their roster you'll find works about superheros, vampires, ninjas, Renaissance Italy, Kung Fu, spaceships, aliens, ghosts, and lost mythology. Damn.



Other Goodies

There's so much else, I'll just name a few things here. If you want more, check out the very comprehensive news section of Fighting Fantazine (referenced below.)

To Be or Not To Be is apparently an interactive take on Shakespeare's Hamlet, by Ryan North. After a smashing success in the Kickstarter, it's now available on Amazon.

There's apparently a new movement of erotic gamebooks, which startles the innocent 12 year old inside of me who's still reading Fighting Fantasy books under the covers with a flashlight. But if you're interested, check out the author Amanda Clover on Amazon for a good start.

Fighting Fantazine has released its twelfth issue, including interviews with gamebook authors, news and updates, a couple articles on history and trivia of gamebooks, and one wholly original 206 page adventure, "Starhunt: Void Slavers" by Ian Brocklehurst, illustrated by Angela Salamaliki, all available absolutely free for just the trouble of clicking the link to download it.

Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction: As I've mentioned previously, the Windhammer competition is currently up and running, with 14 original gamebooks available for free. All you need to do to get involved is send an email to vote@arborell.com with your THREE favorites. Winners receive a cash prize, and publication with Tin Man Games!

Other Folks: Octo

It's easy, working hard plugging away on your own projects, to start feeling like you live and work and exist entirely in a bubble. But the thing is, first off, living in a bubble is boring, second, if you never leave your bubble, who's going to see the cool stuff you're doing there?

I've been noticing recently how much is going on in the world that is actually, genuinely really cool. I've been struggling with what to do with this blog, now that I have the Black Hat Writing blog up and running. One of the things I think I would like to do is just use this to occasionally highlight awesome stuff other people are doing in my area of RPGs, gamebooks, and the like.

(If you're reading this and you have something cool going on which you'd like me to take a look at and share, by all means, drop me a link!)

This week, I'd like to talk about...

Octo

Sometimes someone does something that's just awesome. Octo, http://aterribleidea.com/octo/, is a collection of eight original RPGs, each created on one page. It is purely analog; there's no .pdf and only 200 copies will ever be created. What's more: you can only acquire it by donating to a charity.

How cool is that?

The upcoming issue of Octo is "Games of Spring" and will be released in March. You can donate now to get an issue if you're interested. My ass is broke, otherwise I'd be doing it.

Check out the full description here: http://aterribleidea.com/octo/, with totally original, one-of-a-kind games by Filamena Young, Tracy Barnett, Niki Hammond, Jackson Tegu, Renee Knipe, Hannah Vietmeier, Robert Bruce and Ross Cowman.

At least one of these games is called Fish Story. You do the math.

Did I mention you can't buy this, you can only get it by donating to charity?

Wayne Densley: Chronicler of Arborell

Continuing with my next community highlight, this week I'd like to tip my hat to Wayne Densley, creator of the world of Arborell, along with accompanying fiction, gamebooks and materials, and host to the yearly Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction.

The Windhammer Prize has been a rallying point for the community since it's inception in 2008. I personally have entered twice, and won merit awards both times. I had always wanted to write gamebooks, but it was the Windhammer Prize which inspired me to actually get up off my rear end and do it. I have another horse in the race this year, and I encourage anyone out there who's like me and thinks about it, but hasn't actually done it yet, to join in and try your hand at writing a short gamebook too!

Wayne Densley is also the talented author of a truly sweeping series of fantasy gamebooks and novellas set in his original world of Arborell. I've read through all the ones that are currently available, and wish there were more. If you want to check out his stuff, I recommend starting with...

Windhammer, his first core novel-length gamebook. This is book one in the Windhammer series, telling of the Dwarvendim thief, Halokim Vesh, pulled from his cell in the moments before his execution to undertake a dangerous quest for powers he neither likes nor trusts.

Shards of Moonlight, a shorter adventure telling the story of a young hero's rite of passage, a difficult test that sends him into the ancient lands of his people. This is part 1 of the Jotun of the West series, which is a companion series to Earth and Stone, Book 2 of the core series. (See the chart.)

A Murder of Crows, second in the Jotun of the West series, tells of the hero from Shards of Moonlight as he sees his own father take the final steps into the next life.

The entire world of Arborell is lovingly built and detailed with Tolkein-esque precision and depth. There are myths, maps, novels, novellas, charts, language primers, glossaries, and more. I prefer to access it all through the Online Portal, where you can see what all is available online with a brief description of what it is. Go explore, and enjoy the fruits of Wayne Densley's rich imagination!

Last but not least, I'd like to mention again the Windhammer Prize. We really have Wayne to thank for this one. Over the last four years, some of the most innovative, fresh and exciting gamebooks published anywhere have appeared on Arborell.com as entries in the Windhammer Prize. It's been as good for the genre as anything else happening recently, giving the community something to rally around. I can't recommend strongly enough going to the Gamebook Archive to check out some of the excellent stories new writers have submitted.

Furthermore, submissions are currently open. Go check it out! If you're feeling adventurous, submit something of your own, or just keep an eye out for all the new gamebooks which will be published live on the 14th of September.

This year, there is an extra, special prize for the three winners: Tin Man Games has agreed to publish the winning entries in a compilation volume! If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.

Wayne, thanks again for bringing us all this great stuff. You are a pillar of the community. Good luck to everyone who is participating in the Windhammer Prize this year!

Highlight: Stuart Lloyd, Master of Gamebooks

Hi All,

So I've been thinking about what I'd like to do with this blog, and I've decided that one of the things I'd like to do is use this space to highlight other people in the space that have come to my attention, either through being remarkable contributors to the genre or just through being awesome people.

It's my pleasure to say that Stuart Lloyd is a bit of both. As one of the most active members of the gamebook community online, he is an avid enthusiast and a talented writer himself, being winner of the 2010 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction with his excellent adventure, Sharkbait's Revenge.

Stuart is currently working on several other projects, including a full-length gamebook, an entry for the 2012 Windhammer Prize, his weekly, "Gamebooks Update" newsletter, and a new, original RPG called Adventurer designed for supporting solo-adventures. As I've had the same idea myself a number of times, I personally, can't wait to see it :)

Stuart's blog, http://virtualfantasies.blogspot.com/, is also one of the best places to keep up on current activity in the Gamebook scene. He frequently posts about newcomers, new publications coming out, and new blogs showing up, along with reviews and articles about gamebooks, making his blog effectively a one-stop-shop for keeping up with everything gamebook.

To boot, he's an awesome, friendly dude. Say hi; no one on the internet will be nicer.

Stay tuned next week for a highlight of the Windhammer Prize and its architect, Wayne Densley, along with a look at Wayne's epic, ongoing gamebook series set in the original world of Arborell, a world of dark, sweeping fantasy.