What’s afoot, September edition: the last couple of months in games

Hey everyone! Apologies all round for missing this update last month – there was a lot on and I was a little too stretched to cover it all properly. That’s still the case, alas, so here are the major headlines from the last couple of months!

Gen Con 2014

Gen Con bills itself as “The Best 4 Days in Gaming”, and speaking from personal experience I can attest that it’s not a far-fetched claim. Of particular interest to us in library land is that we actually get the best five days in gaming: for the last few years, Gen Con has featured a trade day on the Wednesday before it starts (it normally runs Thursday to Sunday), with streams for retailers, teachers – and librarians. Having attended in 2011 with my partner (a primary teacher) we can vouch for two out of the three! It is an excellent professional development and networking opportunity. Plus you get early entry into the dealers’ hall on the following day… and given that Gen Con is the biggest tabletop gaming convention in the US (not the world – that honour goes to Essen Spiel – but with over 55,000 unique attendees, it’s pretty big), that’s kinda like getting early entry into BookExpo America… if it were twice the size.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition

Of particular interest at this year’s Gen Con was the official release of the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Honed in a massive public playtest over the last couple of years, the new edition is – to my eye, and based on a preliminary skim rather than a deep engagement with the rules – a solid distillation of the core elements of the game as it’s manifested over the past 40 years and 4 editions (though fans of each previous edition will not find the more outlying features from that edition; it’s very much about finding the unifying thread rather than the best individual elements), with a few nice modern design touches thrown in. It’s still basically a swords-and-sorcery adventure generator, of course!

Readers with keen memories may recall the discussion of the licensing shifts around previous editions of D&D in the Paizo sponsor profile. It’s not yet entirely clear how the third-party licensing will work for this edition, though the fact that this license isn’t yet available is already a departure of sorts from both 3rd and 4th editions (as is the fact that only the Player’s Handbook has been released – the other two “Core Rulebooks”, the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Monster Manual, come out later this year). However, they have already taken a novel step with the release of a freely reproducible “Basic Rules” document which contains enough rules material to start playing with typical builds of the four best-known classes in the game – fighter, rogue, cleric and wizard. While the material in this PDF is more generic and has fewer customisation options than experienced tabletop roleplayers would like, as an introduction to the basics of the game it works perfectly well. And its price point makes it viable for any library looking for an interesting activity… or, given the potentially endless stories the game enables, an ongoing series of activities.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this edition of the game (and the license for others to contribute to the ruleset) develops!

The ENnie Awards

ENworld.org is… hard to describe, actually. It’s the kind of sprawling undertaking – part community forum, part semi-official news site and gossip mill, part collective archive – that seems to spring up disproportionately often among gamer circles; the combination of tech-headedness and a proclivity towards user-creation seems to provide particularly fertile terrain for their growth. Since originally starting back in 1999 as an unofficial clearinghouse for news about 3rd edition D&D, it’s gone on to become all the above and more: most noticeably a publisher in its own right (with several substantial publications, both in print and electronic, under its belt now), and – from quite early on, starting online in 2001 and hosting at Gen Con since 2002 – the host of the premier awards in the English-speaking tabletop roleplaying game world, the ENnies.

In the table of nominees below (which was lifted from enworld.org’s announcement of nominees), the Silver Award recipient is bolded and the Gold Award recipient is bolded in red – yellow being too hard to read!

Best Adventure EPOCH: War Stories – Imaginary Empire Razor Coast: Heart of the Razor – Frog God Games Rise of the Drow – AAW GAMES LLC The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man – Arc Dream Publishing Trail of Cthulhu: Eternal Lies – Pelgrane Press Best Aid/Accessory Fate Dice – Eldritch Dice – Evil Hat Productions Kobold Guide to Magic – Kobold Press Noteboard – Pelgrane Press Numenera Creature Deck – Monte Cook Games, LLC Odyssey: The Complete Game Master’s Guide to Campaign Management – Engine Publishing Best Art, Interior Deadlands Noir – Pinnacle Entertainment Group Numenera Corebook – Monte Cook Games, LLC Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods – Paizo Publishing Shadowrun 5th Edition Core Rulebook – Catalyst Game Labs Shadows of Esteren Book 2 – Travels – Agate Editions Best Art, Cover Achtung! Cthulhu – Keeper’s Guide to the Secret War – Modiphius Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy RPG: Kings, Nations, and Gods – Privateer Press Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Mythic Adventures – Paizo Publishing Razor Coast – Frog God Games Shadowrun 5th Edition Core Rulebook – Catalyst Game Labs Best Blog Adventureaweek.com Dorkland! Gnome Stew The Illuminerdy The Other Side Best Cartography Deadlands Noir Map: New Orleans & Hexaco – Pinnacle Entertainment Group Map of the Flanaess – Anna B Meyer Fantasy Maps Numenera Corebook – Monte Cook Games, LLC Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Wrath of the Righteous Poster Map Folio – Paizo Publishing Razor Coast – Frog God Games Best Electronic Book Broken Earth (Savage Worlds) – Sneak Attack Press Corporia – Brabblemark Press FT 0 – Faerie Tales from Unlit Shores: Prince Charming, Reanimator – Purple Duck Games/4 Winds Fantasy Gaming Player’s Guide to Emerald City – Green Ronin Publishing Shaintar: Legends Unleashed – Evil Beagle Games Best Family Game Camp Myth: The RPG – Third Eye Games Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks – Modiphius Fate Accelerated Edition – Evil Hat Productions Hobbit Tales from the Green Dragon Inn – Cubicle 7 Entertainment Little Wizards – Crafty Games Best Free Product Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Quickstart – Chaosium Inc. Pathfinder Module: We Be Goblins Too! – Paizo Publishing Rocket Age – The Lost City of the Ancients – Cubicle 7 Entertainment A Spark In Fate Core – Genesis of Legend Publishing Super Powers Companion Villain Supplement – Pinnacle Entertainment Group Best Game 13th Age – Pelgrane Press Fate Core System – Evil Hat Productions Hillfolk – Pelgrane Press Numenera Corebook – Monte Cook Games, LLC tremulus – Reality Blurs Best Miniatures Product BattleTech: Alpha Strike – Catalyst Game Labs Pathfinder Battles: Wrath of the Righteous – WizKids Games/NECA Pathfinder Battles: Wrath of the Righteous Gargantuan Demon Lord Deskari – WizKids Games/NECA Weird Wars Rome Enemies of Rome Figure Flats – Pinnacle Entertainment Group Whisper & Venom Collector’s Set – Lesser Gnome Best Monster/Adversary Creature Decks: Creature Information Cards; 54 Aberrations & Magical Beasts – Inkwell Ideas Midgard Bestiary: 13th Age Roleplaying Game Compatible Edition – Kobold Press Monsters of Porphyra – Purple Duck Games/4 Winds Fantasy Gaming The Ninth World Bestiary – Monte Cook Games, LLC Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 4 – Paizo Publishing

Best Podcast All Games Considered Grim Dark Podcast Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Numenera: The Signal Transmissions from the Ninth World Best Production Values Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy RPG: Kings, Nations, and Gods – Privateer Press Numenera Corebook – Monte Cook Games, LLC Tenra Bansho Zero: Tales of Heaven and Earth – Kotodama Heavy Industries Trail of Cthulhu: Eternal Lies – Pelgrane Press Whisper & Venom Collector’s Set – Lesser Gnome Best RPG Related Product Complete Eternal Lies Suite – Pelgrane Press Dust and Mirrors: Music for Night’s Black Agents – Pelgrane Press Monsters of Legend – Midnight Syndicate Soundtrack Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set – Paizo Publishing Strange Tales of the Century – Evil Hat Productions Best Rules 13th Age – Pelgrane Press Fate Core System – Evil Hat Productions Hillfolk – Pelgrane Press Shaintar: Legends Arise – Evil Beagle Games tremulus – Reality Blurs Best Setting Deadlands Noir – Pinnacle Entertainment Group Numenera Corebook – Monte Cook Games, LLC Razor Coast – Frog God Games tremulus – Reality Blurs Warbirds – Outrider Studios Best Supplement Blood on the Snow: A DramaSystem Companion – Pelgrane Press Deadlands Noir Companion – Pinnacle Entertainment Group Fate System Toolkit – Evil Hat Productions Mutants & Masterminds: Power Profiles – Green Ronin Publishing Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Campaign – Paizo Publishing Best Software Cityographer – Inkwell Ideas Old School Monsters Database – Appbrewers.com Realm Works – Lone Wolf Development Roll20 – The Orr Group LLC Wild Card Creator – Journeyman Games Best Writing Achtung! Cthulhu – Keeper’s Guide to the Secret War – Modiphius Doctor Who RPG: The Third Doctor Sourcebook – Cubicle 7 Entertainment Numenera Corebook – Monte Cook Games, LLC Owl Hoot Trail – Pelgrane Press tremulus – Reality Blurs Best Website The Escapist Fate SRD RPG Geek See Page XX Tabletop Audio Product of the Year 13th Age – Pelgrane Press Achtung! Cthulhu – Keeper’s Guide to the Secret War – Modiphius Deadlands Noir – Pinnacle Entertainment Group Fate Core System – Evil Hat Productions Hillfolk – Pelgrane Press Numenera Corebook – Monte Cook Games, LLC Razor Coast – Frog God Games Shadowrun 5th Edition Core Rulebook – Catalyst Game Labs Trail of Cthulhu: Eternal Lies – Pelgrane Press tremulus – Reality Blurs   2014 Judges’ Spotlight Winners Hooper: Hobomancer Companion – Hex Games Kayra Keri Kupcu:  Deep Magic – Kobold Press Stacy Muth: Rocket Age RPG – Cubicle 7 Entertainment Jakub Nowosad: The Demolished Ones – Chronicle City/Rite Publishing Kurt Wiegel: Weird Wars Rome – Pinnacle Entertainment Group

PAX Prime and (vs.?) DragonCon

The other biggest gaming convention in the USA – this time focused on videogaming, though in reality both conventions feature plenty of overlap with each other’s focus – PAX Prime took over from E3 when that convention made the fatal decision to shift from being open to a general audience towards a more industry-insider event. This year it also expanded to four days, Friday 29 August – Monday 1 September, making it one of the major contestants for Gen Con’s “Best 4 days” title – and also placing it 100% in competition with (fellow contestant for best 4 days) general-geek-culture convention DragonCon, which ran on the exact same dates.

(Crowdfunded MMO-in-beta Shroud of the Avatar – Ultima creator Richard Garriott’s latest project – cunningly played up this rivalry by running a PvP test pitting players from the two conventions against each other. Despite being the smaller and nominally less game-focused convention, DragonCon won convincingly, 34 to 14.)

More news to cover, and all three conventions have received plenty of other coverage, so we’ll move on.

Microsoft buys Mojang (makers of Minecraft) for $2.5 billion. Yes, with a “b”.

You presumably know that Minecraft is kind of a big deal. It’s sold upwards of 33 million copies, and occupies a healthy chunk of the planet’s attention at any given time.

Even so, $2.5 billion seems like a lot. As a point of reference, Oculus, the folks who are likely to be bringing the world a whole new mode of interacting with technology and imagined worlds (they rekindled the push towards head-mounted virtual reality displays with their Kickstarted Rift device), were bought by Facebook not long ago for $2 billion – i.e. less than Mojang.

It seems a little excessive, especially since it can only be a matter of time before the next craze starts, right…? But, as many commentators before me have pointed out, what Microsoft has bought is not just the game, nor the company that made it (indeed, the founders of Mojang are all leaving), but the userbase. An audience – or, to a corporation, a market – of that size is a significant commodity. (An interesting word to apply to a collection of actual humans…)

Minecraft Hunger Games

Before anyone asks – we have no indication that this will have any effect on our plans for the Minecraft Hunger Games. Naturally, if there is any sign of anything changing, we will let you know! But barring the unforeseen, those of you who expressed a desire to participate should be hearing from the good folks at Ann Arbor District Library shortly – and those who have not yet registered should do so pronto – it’s not too late until we tell you it is!