Ironwood Omnimedia

The DPnP press kit contains information and features on the upcoming Digital Pen n Paper software for the E-RPG system. It includes fact sheets, images, and screen shots.

Download it free at DriveThruRPG.Com!

This is a big week for me. First I am getting the big press pack for DPnP ready. More importantly, however, is that I will be recording my first official episode of Dungeons and Doritos with the good folks at The Nerdy Show. I’ll be running the game, and we will be using E-RPG rules. I am spending the week working on some software issues and transferring the characters from DnD rules to E-RPG. Furthermore, if all goes well, there may be some big news coming from there as well. And then there is…

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Yeah, I was scratching the edge of completion on the character generator, but I still haven’t crossed over. Some difficulties remain, but I am working on them. They all fall within two elements still not finished. However, today may mean the completion (finally) of one of them. The other hurdle is not past, but I have a way over it so it is only a matter of time. So the question you have been asking, a release date, will be…

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I have Guitar Hero 5 playing a custom set list of 95 songs or so in party play mode. Its not unlike listening to a playlist on an MP3 or media player except from time to time if I am so inspired by the song playing I can play along. Its a good mix of Pop, Classic Rock, Punk, and of course the Blues. Why is this important? It isn’t. I am simply giving you a bit of insight into today’s mood. I am feeling good. I got music jamming, I am actively grooving to it, even singing along (be glad you can’t hear it), and I got a huge chunk of code done this weekend. Finally, after months, load outs are DONE! So, I am feeling good. Frampton is playing “Do You Feel Like I Do” and if that feeling is good, and accomplished, with a touch of victory, then yes.

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So this weekend I had a great time. I got some more character sheet code done for the Character Manager. Furthermore, I got to run a game sessions for the guys at Nerdy Show. The session ran so well that, well…

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Yeah, yeah. Its been a while between posts. Too long in fact. There really is no reason except for the lack of progress up until last week. Furthermore, there is a new development coming along I can’t really divulge yet until some things are final. So, I am sorry for the silence, and the lack of any real news. However, there is some coming and I can’t wait to divulge it. As for progress, well I am happy to report that I have made some really large leaps and broken through a particularly challenging part of the character generator.

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I recently finished watching a documentary titled “Second Skin” (its streaming on Netflix so you can watch it online if you have Netflix). It was a pretty well made take on how social gaming has taken root in our culture. It dealt primarily with MMOs such as World of Warcraft and Everquest, but has some surprising relevancy across a greater spectrum. What I took from it was not new to me, but I would say my idea on the subject is a bit sharper for watching it.

There were several points in the piece that stuck with me pretty strongly. The first was a woman who lost her son to suicide. She found him dead at his computer with an MMO still playing on the screen. The second is the general group of MMO players represented as being a huge part of their lives and how they generally look like caricature gamers. In essence, pathetic social weirdoes that latch onto something not real. The last is how these games have actually benefitted people with disabilities who can enter these worlds and be something more fantastic than normal which is the absolute opposite of their reality.

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So I have had some major breakthroughs with DPnP in the past few weeks. Primarily, I have brought the XML back to it through some help from a friend of mine. I also had a huge epiphany in regards to handling Load Out management. Load outs were introduced with the Modern Sagas Beta. They basically came from the idea that a single static inventory sheet that listed only what I carried, but not when I carried it and what it did was more or less useless. What I decided to do was create inventory sheets that included all stats for equipped items and armor, as well as items kept in packs, worn on the body, etc. Furthermore, they are designed to be written for multiple loads. For instance, you have a light load out for travelling, which may include light armor, a lighter weapon, and a dagger or back up with everything else in a pack. However, you have a separate load out for heavy combat with heavier armor and weapons, perhaps a shield, and no packs for unnecessary weight. The difference is plain. When you are travelling you need to stay light, but also capable of quick variation. However, when you know you are going to engage in heavy fighting you pretty much know exactly what you need, and only those few things. Weapons and armor change based on situation. You can play with load out combinations, name them, and modify them away from the game. Then, when you come back to the game, you can easily and quickly pull up a load out sheet with your favorite configuration for that situation. Its all very easy to use on paper, but much more difficult to implement electronically. It has to have a very easy interface as well as provide a multitude of variations and information. As many PC and console gamers know, electronic inventory management is usually the most unlikeable aspects of most RPGs. Very few games have done this well, and fewer still would even work with my situation. I have designed and tried to code no less than six variations so far. I finally found one that worked.

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I am an avid NPR listener. I listen for about 2-3 hours a day while taking my daughter to and from school (she is in a magnet program so we have a way to travel). Earlier last week I listened to stories concerning a world AIDS organization’s difficulty in fighting the AIDS epidemic in Africa due largely to rape. This got me thinking. This is not the first time that the issue of War Rape has been brought to my attention. Honestly, the concept is disgusting and horrific to me. The overall idea is horrible, but what is worse is the way it is handled, and must be handled, by the victims. What suddenly occur ed to me is that we have, in general, ignored it. Now, I don’t mean we should be addressing it as a subject. What I mean is that we, as gamers and game developers, may want to have horror and horrific war like themes. However, I think we, in general, gloss over the true horror of humans at war. If anything we should not be ignoring what evil truly occurs. However, there is a line between being honest and exploitative. I hope that in my next sidetrack the issue is tackled and seen honestly and with the intent I explain here, meanwhile not opening the door for people to feel alright with doing work that is exploitative.

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Bite of the Lindworm

A Sidetrack Adventure

Diseased corpses mark the feeding grounds of a strange and terrible beast. However, while the dragon-like beast is a terror all its own, the true horror is its fatal bite. The desperate victims of the terrible beast fear a fate far worse than being eaten alive, as their own bodies waste away, delivering them into a painful and slow death.

Bite of the Lindworm is a sidetrack adventure that is designed to be played within a 2 to 4 hour game session. It includes the plot, creature and item statistics (for use with the E-RPG system) and full color scale combat maps. While the statistics are designed for the E-RPG system, the story, maps, and elements are easily incorporated into any game system set in a Fantasy of Sci-Fi world.

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