T w e n t y S i d e d
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings CXIX:
Oops.”
DM of the Rings CXIX:
Rewarding Negative Behavior
This week I posted almost nothing, aside from the comics. I realize that for a majority of my current readers this site is “The Comic, plus some other stuff”, but I still think of it as “my blog, plus this comic I’m doing.” For me, this week was hopelessly lame, because I didn’t get any of my writing done. I still have about a dozen half-written posts waiting to be finished. (I’m finished with Prey, I’m playing D&D again, and I’m working my way through a new anime series, all of which I intend to write about. Eventually.)
And now that I’ve utterly failed in my blogging duties, I see that many, many new people are visiting site and clicking the everlovin’ crap out of the ads in the sidebar. (BTW: Thanks. Seriously. Profusely. You people are great. I hope you found something good.) I can’t explain this upsurge in traffic this month (more than double last month) during the time in the year when I usually see a lull in traffic. Visits usually slow down in summer, but instead traffic is going way up. To all of you who are new to the site, thanks for coming. Have a look around the archives, if you like, maybe read some of my “best of” posts. Maybe visit some of my friends over there in my blogroll. Or just wait for the next comic, if that’s more your style. That’s cool too. You know. Whatever.
I will say this: If I were to do another comic – and I’m not saying one way or another what I plan to do, since I don’t really know yet – it would not appear on this blog. It would get a domain or a blog of its own, because this arrangement is oddly lopsided.
Microsoft Surface
Via email from a friend:
Apparently this is a real ad, or a concept ad of some sort, to which some smart alec has added his own voiceover.
DM of the Rings CXVIII:
Descriptive Text is Sometimes Important
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings CXVIII:
Descriptive Text is Sometimes Important”
How to find a gaming group
Occasionally I get emails from people expressing interest in playing D&D. I’m pretty flattered that they would come to me for advice. Being well-connected to the hobby and being able to make fun of the hobby are two different things, and I have much more of the latter. I feel bad that I can’t help people more, particularly since many of them decided to try out roleplaying based on what they read here at the site.
The Fear the Boot podcast tackles this very subject this week. They are talking about gamers who have lost their existing group, but their advice works just as well for newcomers. I also stand by advice I gave a long time ago: Buy the two core D&D rulebooks – the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Player’s Handbook. Give them a read, and have a friend roll up a character “just to help you practice”. The dice are very appealing and the process of making up a character is a lot of fun. They are very likely to become hooked right then.
Browser Comparisons
As a follow-up to this morning’s post about Safari on Windows, here is what I’m seeing in various browsers:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Browser Comparisons”
DM of the Rings CXVII:
I Didn’t Know I Knew That
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “DM of the Rings CXVII:
I Didn’t Know I Knew That”
From The Archives:
Bowlercoaster
Two minutes of fun at the expense of a badly-run theme park.
The Disappointment Engine
No Man's Sky is a game seemingly engineered to create a cycle of anticipation and disappointment.
Batman: Arkham City
A look back at one of my favorite games. The gameplay was stellar, but the underlying story was clumsy and oddly constructed.
Gamers Aren’t Toxic
This is a horrible narrative that undermines the hobby through crass stereotypes. The hobby is vast, gamers come from all walks of life, and you shouldn't judge ANY group by its worst members.
Trekrospective
A look back at Star Trek, from the Original Series to the Abrams Reboot.
The Middle Ages
Would you have survived in the middle ages?
What is Vulkan?
What is this Vulkan stuff? A graphics engine? A game engine? A new flavor of breakfast cereal? And how is it supposed to make PC games better?
Please Help I Can’t Stop Playing Cities: Skylines
What makes this borderline indie title so much better than the AAA juggernauts that came before?
Quakecon 2012 Annotated
An interesting but technically dense talk about gaming technology. I translate it for the non-coders.
The Best of 2011
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2011.