Something I love about being a gamer is the creative streak so often displayed by those around me. Nearly every gamer I know has some sort of creative endeavor underway - it's not always game-related, but it frequently is.
For example: In addition to this blog, I have one board game designed by myself that is nearly ready to prototype. Jointly with my wife, I've got an RPG setting and a card game underway. I've got a few other games in various states of completion.
When I find out about gamer side projects, I try to support them if I can. Here are a few efforts you may have missed that are worth checking out:
Todd Downing, the driving force behind Deep 7 writes screenplays, as well as acting and directing. His latest effort, Ordinary Angels, is now available.
Side note: I've very much enjoyed all of Deep 7's games. Their Red Dwarf RPG was particularly brilliant, and the two supplemental products (The AI Screen and the Series Sourcebook) were packed with usable ideas.
Meeple People have an extremely cool board-game focused store. They don't sell GAMES, but they sell shirts and stickers and meeples and ... let's just say it's a good thing I'm well aware of how much money I have.
GameInk just launched, as well. They make Gamer T-Shirts. Boardgamer T-Shirts, that is. And some of their launch designs are brilliant.
My buddy Wade has a podcast - Writing For Pay. He's already interviewed a couple of gamers and game-industry folks (and me, but I'll post about that when it goes up).
Do you know of any other side projects I shold be aware of?
Wherein Eric discusses Games, the Game Industry, Gamer Culture and anything else which catches his eye.
Eric, the only game of my own that I've ever put serious thought into was a game concept that came to me after reading Jared Diamond's Collapse, a book about why some societies succeed and others fail. I imagined something similar to Puerto Rico, with each player the head of a small island community in an island archipelago (spelling?). It would include resrouce management, trading (Sneding boats off to other players' islands for trades) and building options for one's own island. The catch was some sort of mechanism to slowly strangle the available resources as the game went on, with the goal to see who could survive the environmental catastrophe the longest.
ReplyDeleteI don't know... maybe the theme is too depressing.
Bri