MetaFilter posts tagged with RPG

You have survived another day!

catchingsignals — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:59 -0800

Elona Shooter - a fantastic castle-defence-shooter-RPG in Flash. Warning: insanely hard.

The Lurking Fear

Artw — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:13:44 -0800

Lovecraft 101: Get To Know The Master of Scifi-Horror. For more detailed insights into each of Lovecraft's tales in publication order you might want to follow the H.P.Lovecraft Literary Podcast. For another story-by-story guide to Lovecraft you might want to check out Kenneth Hite's Tour De Lovecraft (also available in expanded form as a book). China Mieville on Lovecraft and racism and a lecture at Treadwells by Archaeologist James Holloway which delves deep into Lovecraft and identity. The making of the Call of Cthulhu RPG. The making of Cthulhu (Hipsters! Ego! Madness!). Happy Halloween with H.P. Lovecraft!

It's like Drug Wars in the Wild Frontier!

schyler523 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:30:27 -0800

Friday Flash Fun: Frontier is an adventure RPG with an economic bent, very similar to Caravaneer. You travel from town to town dealing in the goods available in each town. Spend some of the money you make upgrading your transportation and your companions. You can choose to join one of the two guilds opposing each other, the Buccaneers and the Enforcers. If you join a guild there are quests to complete which move you up the ranks. If you want a simpler, less time consuming game, try Mad Virus.

Save vs. Obscurity

Scattercat — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:08:25 -0800

The Play-Generated Map and Document Archive: finally providing a place to put all those odd doodles, detailed maps, and character sketches that come out of your weekly gaming sessions. Complete with artistic interpretations of characters named "Stedfast," meticulously organized campaign notes, and anonymous stains, the archive takes the approach that gaming ephemera is a kind of folk art, and thus seeks to preserve it while some of it is still available in its original form. The site is almost completely user-generated, with materials scanned in and organized by donor. Click the "random image" link a few times, get nostalgic, and then come share gaming stories.

Today your destiny becomes fate!

FatherDagon — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:52:54 -0800

In a similar vein to Progress Quest, but (slightly) more interactive, is... Linear RPG. Prior micro-"RPG" post, with other fun ones to try.

"Magic missile!"

Artw — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:05:54 -0800

The New York Times profiles Jack Vance (but fails to mention Vancian Magic. (Curse you Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition!)

... Do not look to the horizon of the eye drops.

permafrost — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:44:08 -0800

Pictures from an epic Russian Fallout LARP. English translation via Google.

When Gravity Fails

Artw — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:24:45 -0800

Editor Marty Halpern looks back at the career of George Alec Effinger (part 1, part 2, part 3), a prolific author best known for his work set in the Budayeen, a walled city in a future Islamic state, teeming with gangsters, hustlers and transsexual prostitutes, many of them habitual users of plug in personality modules. The noirish tone and exotic technology of the Marîd Audran books (When Gravity Fails, A Fire In The Sun, The Exile Kiss) made Effinger one of the leading lights in the cyberpunk movie, and spawned a videogame - a rare attempt at a graphical adventure from Infocom - and an RPG setting. Sadly Effinger faded from prominence after that, and he suffered from a number of health and financial setbacks before passing away in 2002. His work has had somewhat of a resurgence in popularity of late, with the Marîd Audran books coming back into print in 2007, a long with a collection containing The Wolves of Memory, Effinger's personal favourite amongst his novels.

When I get to the custom weapons creation section, I will keep turning those pages.

Navelgazer — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:22:32 -0800

“I can't make anyone Jewish with a called shot.” “I cannot start the game pregnant.” “My medical supply bag will contain more than just a bone-saw and a bottle of whiskey.” “My halfling cannot take the flaw, 'Obsession: Ring of Invisibility.'” “Even if he was a paragon of humanity in his alternate dimension, Good Hitler is not an appropriate superhero concept.” “No more Crazy Ivans while I'm driving the AT-AT.” “I do not have to check before each adventure that my fellow adventurers are not doppelgangers, Cylons or pod people.” “'Everybody Wang Chung tonight' is not an acceptable use of the Mass Suggestion spell.” 1250 things Mr. Welch can no longer do during an RPG. (SLLJ)

true scientific realism on every page

mkultra — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:04:45 -0800

Encounter Critical is the awesomest Fantasy/Sci-Fi RPG to come out of an alternate 1979. Full list of game-related resources here (Yahoo group, reg req'd).

What will become of the Baron? Surely this time he will not escape.

TimeTravelSpeed — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:22:49 -0800

A man whose bravery and fame is matched only by his commitment to truth, the great Baron Münchhausen has permeated all artistic mediums of any worth: books (on-line and off), films (old and new), cartoons (french, english), an animated short film, an online graphic novel, even a game of role-playing -- if you are so despicable a person as to, for no other reason than the amusement of yourself and your fellows, slander the Baron's name with lies of your own invention. Though a similarly-named syndrome would falsely imply otherwise, he is an entirely honest man who exaggerates as little as he boasts, and as to the latter I have assurances from no less a personage than the Baron himself that his humility is without equal in the 7 earth continents, and 2 out of 3 of the moon's.

Flash Friday RPG

never used baby shoes — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:37:59 -0800

Flash Friday RPG Fun: Hands of War. Set in a kingdom in the midst of a civil war, choose the factions you support while re-assembling the Heartstone.

World Building

Artw — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:26:11 -0800

Interview with Jon Schindehette, senior art director at Wizards of the Coast for Dungeons and Dragons. See more fantasy art at his blog, ArtOrder.

Savage 2, Free Hybrid FPS/RPG/RTS

paradoxflow — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:18:03 -0800

Savage 2 is an innovative mix of first-person shooter, third-person action rpg, and real-time strategy. Teams consisting of 18 different classes, each with unique abilities, are divided in squads led by an officer, and under the direction of a single commander with a top down view of the action. Players must help their commander capture resources, advance their front line, and eventually destroy the enemy’s stronghold while accumulating experience and improving their abilities. Did I mention as of December 9th, it has become free to play? There is an optional pay to play component (a one time $9.99 payment for "prime membership"), but unlike some "free" games, it really isn't necessary to get the full experience or to be competitive. As an added bonus it is independently published, and runs on Mac and Linux as well as Windows based systems.

The Pups of War

Dipsomaniac — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 09:16:50 -0800

Sergeant Pen Farthing of the Royal Marines likes dogs. So he rescued some. Then he founded a charity to try to rescue the rest.

"just numbers on a piece of paper"

Kattullus — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:18:24 -0800

I do not want to spend too much time beating a dead war-horse, but your average D&D game consists of a group of white players acting out how their white characters encounter and destroy orcs and goblins, who are, as a race evil, uncivilized, and dark-skinned. To quote Steve Sumner’s essay again, “Unless played very carefully, Dungeons & Dragons could easily become a proxy race war, with your group filling the shoes of the noble white power crusaders seeking to extinguish any orc war bands or goblin villages they happened across.” I would argue with Sumner’s use of the phrase “could become,” and say that unless played very carefully, D&D usually becomes a proxy race war. Any adventurer knows that if you see an orc, you kill it. You don’t talk to it, you don’t ask what it’s doing there - you kill it, since it’s life is worth less than the treasure it carries and the experience points you’ll get from the kill. If filmed, your average D&D campaign would look something like Birth of a Nation set in Greyhawk.

- Race in Dungeons & Dragons by Chris van Dyke, a powerpoint talk given at Nerd Nite. Via Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog where there's a smart discussion going on about the essay.

Wow, Boogle. It looks brown and soft and it smells terrible. We’ve just got to get some of that!

Tehanu — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:15:30 -0800

Annotated playthrough of Torin's Passage. There are 12 videos so far. See also: Ways to die in the game, including the easter egg message you got if you made a hilarious but stupid choice at the end.

Mother 3 Fan Translation

painquale — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:35:17 -0800

Mother 3 fan translation completed. Earthbound (known as Mother 2 in Japan) is one of the most highly regarded RPGs for the Super Nintendo. The game suffered disappointing sales in America, but has since gained the status of a cult classic. A sequel, Mother 3, was released for the Game Boy Advance, but it has never been officially translated into English. After a long development, a fan translation patch has just been released. Trailer. You might recognize some of the settings and characters from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Cattlesnake!

The Tao that can be played is not the eternal Tao

ersatz — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:28:13 -0800

The Way is a 2D Japanese-style rpg you would do well to play if you are interested in the genre. It invests in characters, keeps you wanting to see what happens next and has one on one duels that are usually a part of the storyline. It's all fun and games until (your) blood gets spilt on the screen. First stop: Episode 1. Note that you can change the difficulty or disable (auto-win) the battles, the duels or the puzzles any time. Your character turns out stronger if you play the normal way. The Way was created by stretching RPG Maker's limits. There are custom backgrounds, a one-on-one duel system that is distinct from the normal battle system and a slightly different, yet altogether intuitive way of handling MP, equipment/level gaining and items. Keep in mind that appearances can deceive. The last three episodes are significantly bigger and more interesting than the first three. The first is a mere appetizer and when you reach the fourth chapter, you'll never turn back. Controls, Manual (.doc file), Music list.

Braunstein, the world's first role-playing game

Kattullus — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:50:52 -0800

Most gamers have never heard of Braunstein. Sad but true. In the hierarchy of self-awareness you’ll find the circle of gamers who know what D&D is (a very, very large circle), then inside of that is the circle of gamers who know what Greyhawk is (large but smaller), and inside that the circle who knows what Blackmoor is (smaller still). And then in the very center, vanishingly small, are the people who’ve heard of Braunstein. Which is a pity, because Braunstein is the granddaddy of them all.

Braunstein: the Roots of Roleplaying Games by Ben Robbins. The first role-playing game was run by soldier David Wesely in 1967, his group including none other than D&D co-creator Dave Arneson. This past GenCon Braunstein was revived! Here's what the players had to say. Handouts from an earlier Braunstein revival. David Wesely's post-game comments. [via Rob McDougall] David Wesely provides further background (posting as weseld1) including that his inspiration for introducing the figure of a "referee" (a.k.a. game master or dungeon master) came from Strategos, The American Game of War by Lt. Charles Adiel Lewis Totten. Rob McDougall tells the story of Totten. Wesely also mentions two books of game theory which had a great influence on him, one of which The Compleat Strategyst, was a bestseller put out by the RAND Corporation. Rob McDougall traces the history of roleplaying back to RAND.

Finally, there's a game that just is a database!

Smart Dalek — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:44:05 -0800

mySQLgame. Naturally, it's an alpha build. [via]

Mogadishu Madness

Surfin' Bird — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:18:29 -0800

Two Current correspondents are the first American journalists to venture into Mogadishu, Somalia after the infamous 1993 incident when two U.S. military Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by Somali militia. They film one of city street gun markets to show how easy it is to buy an AK-47, a machine gun or even RPG launcher. Their full-length video report Mogadishu Madness reveals the country under the self-proclaimed government of the Islamic Court Union, which was later overthrown with the help of the United Sates.

NRD of 19

Artw — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:41:53 -0800

Using OmniFocus to manage a 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons character sheet. Nerds. Dungeons and Dragons. Obsessive overuse of Mac software.

Infinite Oregano

Artw — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:13:44 -0800

If geeks talked about cookbooks the way they talk about RPG books, the results would not be pretty.

Conjuror or Barbarian?

chuckdarwin — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:47:03 -0800

Monster's Den: Book of Dread might be the best free dungeon crawl RPG on the web. If it ain't, it's damned close. Garin's site (just so this isn't a single link post).