Friday, January 31, 2014

2014: A Month in Review

So far this month I've:
  • ...completed a two-year project at my hospital that streamlines our electronic medical record system.
  • ...presented said project to our hospital council and earned a promotion.
  • ...had two game developers contact me to review their games.
  • ...been asked to assist on a new RPG development project.
  • ...was recommended to a new video game company for help with their character development.
  • ...been hired for and completed an editing/development project for Rogue Genius Games.
  • ...picked up three new freelance RPG development projects.
I couldn't be happier.

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Addendum, 1/31/14: I just finished the first meeting about a new RPG and I must say the system impressed me. It's midway through development so I can't elaborate, but the mechanics are sound, unique, and potentially far reaching; making it a Gateway Game for RPGs. What gamer doesn't want that?!?

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Happy Birthday Dungeons & Dragons


January 26th, 1974.

I've already written about some of my earliest experiences with the game that changed the world. I still run into people who don't even know that roleplaying games exist, much less understand how they could influence a life as passionately as they have mine. It's been 40 years since the hobby was invented, and 36 years since I experienced it for myself. There is little success I can't attribute to my time around the table. As I say on my About page:

"It teased my curiosity about the world, then pressured me to meet new people and share experiences with them. It fed my addiction to storytelling, compelled me to draw out people's emotions, gently manipulate them, then put them back in a way they would tell their friends about for years. It forced me to read about culture, and history, and mythology, and science, and religion, and forensics, and linguistics. It relentlessly bullied me into becoming a better writer and then pressured me to introduce it to other people. One game is even directly responsible for my ability to do math."

There will be scores of posts today about D&D and the positive influence it's had on the lives of those who've played. I'm honestly not sure I can add much more. RPGs are my life, personally and professionally. They form the foundation for my closest friendships and will be the tool I use to bond with and inspire my children and their friends (at least until they find their own outlets). If you want to know more about why I love games, and RPGs specifically, check out the Popular Posts on almost any of my blogs. I write about them all the time.

So all I can say today is, thank you Gary and Dave, for the incredible life I've lived. Happy Birthday, D&D.