Thursday, January 12, 2012

Dungeonspiration: Thinking

I was toying with dropping this column at the start of the year, but due to some kind words from readers, I chose not to, and instead just slow it down to every other week.  We'll see.  I enjoy writing the articles.  I enjoy thinking about writing the articles.  But there is the problem - my thinking is gone all different recently.

Drawing is to blame - I'm sure.  I've been drawing a lot over the past few months - rekindling my love for making pictures - which was in it's height decades ago when I was first playing D&D.  Drawing uses vastly different parts of the brain that than a lot of different activities - oh - such as thinking in words about words you are going to type out in a blog.

It's been somewhat difficult to rectify the two - writing muscle and drawing muscle.  These images take me away from my standby form of communication.  But it's not that I'm idle.  I don't -not- think about gaming and blogging.  I just - I guess I just think about it visually.  It's been hard translate.  I guess that's the word.  One part of my brain has a tough time talking to another part of my brain.

But something interesting has been happening.  When I sit down and play D&D or Stars Without Numbers or Pathfinder or whatever, my imagination has become more vivid.  I see the game very vividly - maybe even more vividly that when I was a young pimpled punk clutching the blue Holmes and dreaming.  Even the bane of my imagination - mini skirmishes in Pathfinder - play in my mind in technicolor - not just on the gaming mat.

As I read stories now - the images in my head are wonderful.  I'm so happy that this has coincided with the Vayniris Anthology Project.  I've been reading the entries and hoo-boy - the descriptive power of these great authors is giving me some excellent TV in my head.  (Thanks guys, btw.)  

It's all very inspiring to me.  I want to be more descriptive in games - fill other players with wonderful pictures - not just as a DM - but as a fellow player.  I just kinda have to relearn how to connect both parts of my brain.  Perhaps some duct tape will help.

So, I don't know if this is inspiring or helpful at all - but here it is.  Oh, and before I go - I fixed up a progress sheet for Little Miss Skyrim up there, in case any of you are interested in the artistic process of some old dude who can't draw as well as he wants to, but is sure enough trying:



Have a wonderful day.

- Ark

Monday, January 9, 2012

Cognitive Dissonance

Is it weird that:

1) I wish WOTC the best of luck with 5e and am even interested in beta testing the game to help make it an even better game,

. . . but at the same time . . .

2) I hope that WOTC fails miserably with 5e and goes down in flames, creating such a sulfur-belching crater that no game companies will go anywhere near the name Dungeons and Dragons and we can finally let the poor thing rest in peace

???

- Ark

Thursday, January 5, 2012

What Happens When You Let The Demons Read Carcosa


Happy New Year!  I'll remember 2011 as the year I moved from a rather monotonous diet of 4e games in the RPGA to full fledged nostalgia overload with the OSR, through the conspicuous consumption of ancient role playing paraphernalia and glorious, glorious mass killing of PCs.

I also started blogging seriously (or not so seriously) about my old school gaming and the process of bringing my son into the fold.  This year I'm going to be putting more focus into drawing with the Rather Gamey comic.  I had a lot of fun drawing the My Little Pellatarrum mock comic for Erin Palette, so I figure I might as well stay the course.

So, Thursdays will now alternate between Dungeonspiration articles and the comic.  Hopefully - if things go right - I can graduate to TWO or maybe THREE panels per comic.  Woot!

(No actual correlation between the term 'comic' and the concept of 'humor' is implied.)

- Ark

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Who Do Dwarves Hate?



Members of the 'Sexy Elves for Axeless Dwarves' Charity Cheerleaders Squad, that's who.

Really, it was just an excuse to practice drawing a picture of an axe pulled tight across boobies.  Why?  Ummmmm . . . no idea.  Oh yeah - fun!  Yeah, that's it.  It was fun! :)

- Ark

Monday, January 2, 2012

Vayniris Anthology Project Update

I'd like to thank everyone for their great story submissions for the Vayniris Anthology Project.  We have some wonderful stuff here that I am reading through now.

We have a slight problem though . . .

There are not quite enough stories to flesh out a full anthology.  I know that there were other stories being worked on that were not completed by the end of the year.  As such, I'm going to extend the submission deadline to March 31st, 2012.  And if you are interested in submitting more than one story, please feel free.

I'd really like this project to be successful, and I'm sure a little time wouldn't hurt at all. :)

- Ark


Friday, December 30, 2011

New Moleskine

Check out the new Moleskine I got for Christmas.  I'm not sure whether to use it or frame it.


And yes, I've been dorking with the blogs template.  Things are changing.  It's not just your imagination. ;)

- Ark