Gabriel tried his hand at running an update of a classic D&D adventure for a group of players for whom 4th Edition is God's edition, with grim results. They aren't familiar with the casual obliterations that characterize the old ways. They know that earlier systems were byzantine, because I have shown them fairly standard tables that used to be completely ordinary player knowledge and seen them recoil as though from a serpent. But older modules of the "meat grinder" variety, modules designed to punish the most devious players, represent something far outside their experience.

I really like games from Telltale, so there wasn't a tremendous amount of deliberation when they asked to use Tycho in their new Poker Game Thingy.  Tycho as a character is the straight man, generally speaking, so at a table with so many strong personalities he's generally just sort of happy to be there.  Unless he's losing.  I have a lot of experience with that branch of the dialogue; hopefully you'll fare better.    

We believe, like every cognizant being, that progenitors should arbitrate the media consumption of the organisms they create. In other words, parents should parent. One sees this sentiment everywhere. As an axiom, it's incredibly compact. As a life edict, especially for enthusiasts of interactive media, it's somewhat more complex.

It’s pretty obvious that Kinect is not for me. Chances are if you’re reading this it’s not for you either. Like Sony with the Move, Microsoft has decided to set their sights on those Wii loving casual gamers. The only difference is that while Sony has made at least some concessions to the hardcore it doesn’t seem like Microsoft has.

As per usual, Mega64 isn't afraid to tackle the tough issues.

Our experience with Kinect voice commands was odd, powerful, almost unsettling. This is incredibly interesting as a piece of technology, and as a means of instructing technology to do what we want it to. You will have a variety of experiences with this device, some of which are truly fascinating, some of which don't work entirely, and some of which will make you believe every terrible thing you have read on the Internet is true.

Intel is giving away a huge pile of Shank-related stuff, including literal copies of the game Shank for the PC, and you can get your share of the aforementioned by heading over here and "entering to win" (as they say).  

When you're first learning a wargame, you might fudge some stuff. Maybe every model isn't, for lack of a better term, "painted." A styrofoam cup might do double duty as a hillock. This usually happens until it drives somebody so nuts that they flip out and get crafty.

Today is the day to get out and vote...for your favorite new Penny Arcade comic! Just hit this link and vote for your favorite:

Our last offering is the Queen of Bells. I’ve had a few requests for a wallpaper of the last panel and I hate to disappoint.

A long time ago, I made a song in the game Jam Sessions called My Belruel. The song is more or less about falling in love with your in-game character, but it's part of a larger story framework that already has several more songs to its credit. It's somewhat elaborate, but given Gabriel's execution today on Queen of Bells I think we're up to it. Would you like to learn more about this young woman? It can be simply arranged.

In case you missed it yesterday I just wanted to re-post this.

Being the new kid is hard, being the new kid in a school full of aliens is harder. Tycho mentioned that this one could be the biggest thing we ever do and I think he’s right. My fantasy is to see Dreamworks, Disney or Nickelodeon make an animated feature or a Saturday morning cartoon out of this one. Who knows maybe they will see it and give me a call!

Today's idea: The New Kid. It was The New Kid that catalyzed this round of offerings, and I think that (under the right conditions) The New Kid as it is presently conceived could be the biggest thing we ever do. Agree? Disagree? One more concept to go; when the voting booth goes up, let us know.

We’ve done a lot of work for Bioware in the past and for Dragon Age 2 they actually had us create an in-game item. It’s a magical belt called Hindsight that automatically gains a resistance to whatever type of damage killed its last owner. So when wearing it you still die but the belt learns and the next person who wears it won’t die from the same thing. We made a motion comic explaining a bit about the history of the belt and you can check it out over on the DA site.