In yet another sign of the Apocalypse, I visited www.white-wolf.com the other day. When the page loaded I was delighted to discover that they had been sold. The very next day my hopes were dashed like so much glass upon the rocks when they admitted it was just a hoax. What a cruel joke to play on not only me, but the countless gamers out there who are obsessed with White Wolf's games.
Still, I suppose there is one redeeming factor in all this. The hoax was designed as a publicity stunt to promote White Wolf's new game, Hunter: The Reckoning. As you can no doubt tell, I'm not a big fan of the World of Darkness, but this game has some potential. It's about time we had a game dedicated to killing off all those silly, posturing leeches. Sign me up, baby!
Ever wanted to be a playtester? How about one of those guys who demos games at tournaments and gaming stores? If so, then FASA is looking for you. The fun folks at FASA are currently taking applications from people who want to become part of their Marauders playtesting and demo team. My guess is that they are looking for folks to demo miniatures manufactured by subsidiary Ral Partha, as well as their relatively new Vor: The Maelstrom and Crimson Skies games. On the other hand, this is purely speculation. For details, hit up this link.
But wait! If FASA isn't your favorite company, try Games Workshop. The Outrider program at GW has a number of openings for people willing to do demos in a variety of locations throughout North America. People who are interested should e-mail hobbypromo@games-workshop.com. By the way, I have no idea how FASA goes about compensating its Marauders, but GW pays their Outriders in the form of gaming products.
I want Steve Jackson's job. It's not that I'm a real big fan of the games his company puts out, it's just that he has the coolest job in the world. I can't think of anything cooler than sitting around all day editing sourcebook manuscripts and deciding the direction of game universes. At any rate, Steve and Company have been up to their old tricks again (as if they ever stop). The long-anticipated GURPS Y2K hit stores just this week, along with a multiplayer chess game and Alternate Earths 2, also for GURPS. Hit up www.sjgames.com to keep up with all the latest craziness.
Where one company is spitting out products by the mouthful, another is losing them. As of August 27, Iron Crown Enterprises has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. ICE has had a very rocky history over the past couple decades, despite the fact that they were the publishers of the world's second highest selling RPG - Middle-earth. In addition to this restructuring move by the company, ICE will no longer be publishing the Middle-earth line of products. The Tolkien estate is taking the license for this product elsewhere, and ICE will now be relying on its original products to fill the void and get them back on their feet. You can expect things to be pretty quiet over in ICE's corner for at least the next few months.
Here's something interesting: I recently received a press release from Imaginaria, Inc. This until-now unheard-of company is working on a project called The Gryphon Tapestry, an interactive online game which you can play via your web browser. The game is built around puzzles and interaction between PC's and NPC's. Players can enjoy the game either alone or in groups and interact with whomever they choose. The game is still in pre-beta right now, so there isn't a whole lot of information available about it, but what I've seen looks pretty intriguing so far. For more information, visit The Gryphon Tapestry at their home page.
That's all the interesting stuff I dug up this time around. E-mail me if I missed something important, or if you would like something more about a particular game or company next time.
