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Note: Our print-on-demand program is currently on hold, but at this point our goals with that program once we restart it haven't changed much, so a lot of this column is still valid. I've tried to revise it to be current. Back in the old days, when dinosaurs ruled the world, roleplaying games...
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Way back in '90 or '91, White Wolf managed to make one heck of a name for itself in the industry with a pretty neat green book. There were a lot of things that went right with that book. For one, its cover was very compelling and evocative, standing out dramatically amidst all the other RPG books...
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This isn't a double-post, and Ethan hasn't suddenly grown long curly hair. The idea behind this column has always been that other developers would "guest star" in Behind the Lines, and a LiveJournal question about how Mind's Eye Theatre players differ from tabletop players allowed...
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Roleplaying games, particularly those with an attached setting, are an interesting breed of entertainment. Like all entertainment properties, they are faced with an interesting choice: how often do you change, and how much do you change, in order to best serve the needs of your audience? I may already...
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I've always enjoyed books that expand your vocabulary as you read them. Even as an adolescent, I liked Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series not because of the chintzy musical references (most of which I didn't get), but because he tended to use words I hadn't run across before. Then...
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There's a running joke in White Wolf that goes something like this: "You know how everyone has that little voice inside your head that tells you when not to say something? Mike (Chaney) is missing his." There was a list of "Things Chaney Is Not Allowed To Say Any More" posted...
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At White Wolf (and in fact at CCP NA in general), we do things a bit differently than many other places. Some of the office rules probably exist in other places, only they never had to be tested, like "don't post lolcat pictures to the office spam list." (This is a rule that evolved precisely...
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I've already talked about writing under the gun and having to do some speed-work on a book. So let's talk about the thing that makes you want to go and create RPG material in the first place and then deserts you when you need it most. That fickle mistress of any creative — inspiration. Albert...
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If I may, let's shift the scenery a bit, where valiant men and women ply their trade for coin and glory. It's harder work than it may seem at first, and your employers are terrible cruel taskmasters, but prove your skill here, and they'll remember your words until the day they die. These...
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RPGs are a peculiar animal. They're designed to be used as is, and yet there are few creatures in the "things people make for purchase" field that can be so readily disassembled, ransacked or pillaged for spare ideas or mechanics that are then riveted into another work. Sure, an artist...
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Eddy's Note: This was actually "Behind the Lines #8" on the LiveJournal, but the original #7 was promotional material for the Night Horrors series. From this point on, the WW Blog numbering will differ from the WW LJ numbering. Whoa, is it that time already? I swear, it's always a kick...
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This one's going to be a little metaphysical, maybe. I'm probably fooling myself when I say that, as I'm hardly qualified to talk intelligently about what is truly metaphysical, but anyway! Today we'll talk not about the nitty-gritty of rules or the systematic process of development,...
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One of the biggest issues in pretty much any industry is that magical balance of being able to do products quickly and not having to do products quickly. It's a pretty basic idea, really. You want to set yourself up so that you can respond quickly to a recently perceived demand or user feedback,...
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This week's topic is somewhat near and dear to my heart, but as anyone who read the Black Dog section of Subsidiaries knows, I did marry my art director. Ah, art. I love the stuff. To perfect that liberal arts major, I also have an art minor, somehow pulled off without actually (upon hindsight) having...
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I remember promising that I'd make the spinner up to select either "the pitch process" or "the math" to determine a column's subject. Let's give it a spin! Round and round it goes... "The math." Oh, nuts. Don't mind me, I'm just going to unplug my computer...