OgreCave

I am deeply, deeply afraid.

Tired of the way all computer games and video games are the same? So is Ernest Adams, a game developer who’s worked for Bullfrog among other high-profile PC game companies. He’s taken the Dogme 95 rules that made a splash last year in the film world, and applied them to the computer game industry. The result is a great read, brought to our attention by Plastic, my second favorite weblog. The discussion is here.

Relics & Rituals,the new D&D3/D20 book from Sword & Sorcery Studios, lists a ton of magic items and spells. However, Sword & Sorcery intentionally doesn’t give prices for any of them (too world-specific). Since having the price of an item helps the DM decide how much treasure to award, “Irishman” has stepped up to organize some volunteer pricing. Here’s his recruiting notice:

If anyone wishes to help create the magic item price list for the Swords and Sorcery book, Relics and Rituals, and has the time to compute a page or two of the magic items values based on the rules in the Dungeon Masters Guide, please contact dharman07@yahoo.com.

The results will be posted on the Sword & Sorcery website.

Is that like jumbo shrimp? Nevermind.

The Mage Knight miniatures game will bring dragons into play this coming June. The Great Fire Dragon will be 6″ tall, have a 9″ wingspan, and four combat dials built into its 6″ base. The dragon’s point value will be scaleable, lending more playability to the figure. Expect to shell out $24.95 to own this baby.

After Wizards of the Coast announced their , it should come as no surprise that Decipher is now buying the company that runs the Star Trek Fan Club, FANtastic Media. Founders of both the Star Wars and Star Trek fan clubs, FANtastic Media will add to Decipher’s growing dominance of the Star Trek mythos (they currently own the rights to CCGs and RPGs based on the property). Warren Holland, CEO of Decipher, said “We will be announcing other exciting fan club licenses positioning FANtastic Media for substantial growth over the next several years.” Warp speed, Sulu?

In an agressive move, Games Unplugged is going monthly starting this month. Here’s a look ahead at what this year’s issues will contain. My previous place of employment, Gamers.com, was supposed to be part of this month’s Best gaming sites on the net, but given the massive layoffs, who knows? I’ll have to check on it.

• February ’01: Best gaming sites on the net
• March ’01: Will include a free deck of Warlords from AEG
• April ’01: 50 Most influential people in gaming
• May ’01: RPG and miniatures game design
• June ’01: Upcoming releases for Origins and GenCon
• July ’01: Richard Garfield’s secret upcoming game
• August ’01: D20 mania and a look at the OGL
• September ’01: Foreign games in the U.S.
• October ’01: Horror games special issue
• November ’01: Holiday shopping guide
• December ’01: Lord of the Rings Issue

Chaosium announced plans for the first supporting product for Dragon Lords of Melnibone, their D20 setting. Slaves of Fate places the adventurers on a Vilmirian slave ship as captives. After that, things get difficult. Slaves of Fate is scheduled for an April release.

I’m thinking “Action Man: The Collectible Dice Game.”

Yeah, it’s an old joke, but more “synergy” products are definitely in WotC’s future at this point… I’d say discuss amongst yourselves, but we have no message board. (And I must scream.)

Your favorite toy giant and mine, Hasbro, has announced additional layoffs of 100 more employees. This is in addition to the 750 employees they already laid off in December of last year. According to CEO Alan G. Hassenfeld, “We don’t want our bottom line dependent on the success of a blockbuster license.” The slowing sales of Furby, Pokemon and Star Wars was sited as the cause for the layoffs. Hasbro’s future emphasis will be on more “reliable” brands such as Tonka, Easy-Bake Oven and Play-Doh.

No word yet on what this might mean for Wizards of the Coast.

The official announcement of Decipher’s plans for the Lord of the Rings CCG went up on their site today. Decipher has the rights to make a card game for each movie in New Line’s trilogy, and they plan to take full advantage. There is mention of an electronic card game to compliment the traditional CCG. If the movies turn out as well as everyone hopes, get ready to shell out some cash for a variety of card decks and booster sets.