talkin' about • Adam Jury

Interviewed on This Modern Death

Adam — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:07:29 +0000

I was interviewed on the modern horror/dark future gaming podcast This Modern Death recently, and the episode was just posted.

It’s about an hour, and we talk about all sorts of things: Shadowrun, Eclipse Phase, Paparazzi!, finger-painting, how I got into gaming, how I got into working in the game industry, the licensed property I’d like to work on the most, problems in the game industry, Tim Hortons, The Dresden Files RPG, poutine, the future of roleplaying, I poke fun at silly questions that gamers ask, and then turn right around and point out that there are a number of gamers who aren’t online and aren’t clued in to the latest trends and hot new games, and that they’re going to keep on trucking no matter what we say or do.

Thanks to Shaun, Kristin, and Randy at This Modern Death for having me!

Upgrade & Update

Adam — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:22:19 +0000

Just upgraded the blog to Wordpress 2.7—I’ve been playing with the beta version on a site I have in development, and it’s really great.

Personal-work-wise, I’ve been pretty busy with that new site, and hope to launch it early next year … I was hoping for this month, but that’s just not going to happen, with all my work on Eclipse Phase and Shadowrun this month, plus some freelance work. The personal project is a totally new one for me, and has nothing [well, very little] to do with gaming, so that’s pretty exciting.

I took a vacation at the end of November. I don’t think I mentioned that here; I went to Washington, DC, for Thanksgiving. I had a great time chilling out for a week.

Oh, and I bought a copy of Klavika Condensed this week. Isn’t it gorgeous? Watch for it in some upcoming Shadowrun projects.

And that concludes this life update and test post!

Found Items

Adam — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:34:17 +0000

I found this note inside the 3rd Edition “Book of Erotic Fantasy” in a Borders book store in Friendship Heights.

[I did not buy the book.]

Digital Grimoire for Shadowrun

Adam — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:24:27 +0000

We released our first small, PDF-only project for Shadowrun on Friday; an 18-page supplement that offers some magical expansions, new traditions, spells, adept powers, magical groups, etc.

It’s an interesting little book, and a fun experiment … I wrote the BCC text to be quite explicit about what you get with the book, so people don’t buy it expecting a dozen magical groups; nope, there are three, and the BCC tells you exactly which three. I think that’s the correct way to handle short projects like this. I think four bucks is an awesome price — if you use *one* thing in the PDF a few times in your game, you have your money’s worth. Compared to some PDF books that are two bucks for 4-6 pages, we might actually be a little underpriced, but we’ll see how things shake out during the experiment.

Digital Grimoire on BattleCorps.com

Digital Grimoire on DriveThruRPG.com

Virtual vs. Centralized Offices

Adam — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:45:57 +0000

Over on Shadowrun4.com, I just wrote about Virtual Office vs. Real Office. Some of my readers may find the topic interesting. Drop by and share your experiences or ask some questions!

Daily Blogging on Shadowrun4.com

Adam — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:49:32 +0000

Just a note that from now until November 24th, I’ve taken up the challenge of blogging, daily, about Shadowrun or Catalyst in general on Shadowrun4.com.

The latest Gen Con LLC updates

Adam — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:07:01 +0000

Trask over at Living Dice has posted the most recent news about Gen Con LLC’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing, including a nice summary and some of the documents themselves.

In short, Gen Con LLC has come up with a plan to pay back their debts, and the creditors have until the end of December to decide on whether to accept those terms. So, it’s likely that everyone will have to wait a few more months for further news.

For my previous posts on Lucasfilm’s lawsuit against Gen Con LLC and the Chapter 11 filing, please check the posts under the gencon tag.

Mur Lafferty on Creative Commons

Adam — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:50:47 +0000

Mur Lafferty’s most recent episode of I Should Be Writing has a nice summary of what Creative Commons is, what sort of projects have used it, and what you can use it for. The Creative Commons talk starts at roughly the 5:15 point of the podcast.

Bret Hart’s autobiography available in USA

Adam — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:23:08 +0000

Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling (or the Kindle Edition) is now available in the USA. I read the Canadian version when it was released last year, and it’s one of the finest books written about professional wrestling, and a great autobiography in its own right.

It’s a relatively large book [many wrestling fans describe it as "huge," but I wouldn't go that far], and Bret tells a great story, aided by his note-taking and audio-recordings from his decades in the wrestling business. Hart has always had a large opinion of himself, his wrestling abilities, and his place in the wrestling business, and that bleeds through the pages of this book; but he also lays bare his sins [largely as an adulterer, but also as an occasional drug user] in a way no well-respected wrestler has done before. Lifelong fans of the Hitman may question whether he was really someone to grow up idolizing.

And then there’s the Hart Family, torn apart by tragedy after tragedy: Owen Hart’s horrible death, the fall of Stampede Wrestling and Bruce’s struggles to keep it alive, the deaths of Brian Pillman and Davey Boy Smith, and the bitter family infighting. Like Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, Hitman leaves you in a place where you can’t help but think that the Hart family sacrificed far too much while becoming “Wrestling’s First Family.”

If you’re a wrestling fan, this book is a must-read — no other wrestling title has covered Stampede Wrestling and the 80s-90s World Wrestling Federation in the way that Bret Hart can. If you’re not a wrestling fan, Bret’s ego and his long-winded descriptions of his most famous matches may turn you off, but there is a great story in this title, well-told, beautiful and disgusting at the same time. Mick Foley’s Have a Nice Day! may have broken the door down for wrestling books, but Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling keeps them relevant.

I can’t resist throwing in my favorite quote from the book:

“I told Bruce [Hart] the spotlight needed to be on Owen [Hart] because Survivor Series would be the beginning of Owen’s heel turn on me. After I explained what everybody’s role would be, Bruce went right back to designing the match around himself, and I had to reprimand him in front of everyone. Shawn [Michaels] muttered to him, “If my brother was world champion and the best in the busines, I think I’d quit fucking arguing with him and start listening to him!” There was nothing Bruce could say in response to that. He shut up, but I could tell the reprimand stuck in this craw.

Paul Tevis ransoming 4 episodes of Have Games Will Travel

Adam — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:55:31 +0000

Game podasting demon Paul Tevis is currently using the ransom model to release 4 episodes of his podcast, Have Games Will Travel: For a Few Games More. These four episodes are already recorded and will be released once a week for a month if Paul reaches his very modest goal, using the Fundable pledging service.

I’ve listened to dozens — hundreds, probably — of Paul’s podcasts over the last few years, so it was a no-brainer to throw a few bucks down to support this effort.