Below are the most recent 5 friends' journal entries.

Friday, May 25th, 2012
velvet_sparrow	8:39a	It's A 50's Horrible Sci-Fi Come To Life! So I've got some Spring mystery volunteer plants coming up in my front yard... That's right, Triffids. I've got a nice ol' crop of Triffids coming along. If they start to make that weird trilling sound and walking around I'm outta here. Current Mood: anxious (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
princeofcairo	4:34p	Origins Comes Early This Year It does, it does! Origins, as an aghast look at my desk calendar reminds me, is just eight days away! Here, as far as the event grid on the website can tell me anyhow, is my seminar schedule for the show: Thursday, May 31 11:00 a.m.: History (Invented, Alternate, Dramatic, and Real) in Game Settings: When it comes to game worlds, the best-mapped with the thickest sourcebooks is good old Earth. From ancient astronauts to Nazi Mars colonies, starting with history lays foundations for even the wildest fantasy worlds. Kenneth Hite lays out some principles for using history in game settings, whether starting from scratch with fantasy or SF worlds, or pure historical gaming in the Wild West or WWII. What can you change for variety? What should you change for drama? Where should time travelers go to get a good deal on cinematic violence? (C212) 1:00 p.m.: Game Design Panel Discussion with James Ernest, Kenneth Hite, and Mike Selinker (C212) 4:00 p.m.: Fundamentals of Setting Design The setting -- be it a whole galaxy or a single palace -- helps define your game, your story, whether you're a game designer, a writer, or a GM. Designing a good setting helps you shape the experience you want; it can make the difference between a great game and a bunch of twisty passages all alike. This seminar takes setting design down to its fundamentals, and builds up from there. (C212) Saturday, June 2 11:00 a.m.: Game Design Panel Discussion with James Ernest, Mike Selinker, Kennith Hite, Peter Lee, and Chris Dupuis. (C212) 3:00 p.m.: Genre Emulation in Game Design How do you make a game feel like pulp, or like a martial-arts movie, or like a spaghetti Western? Recreating a genre experience in a game begins before the dice come out. This seminar examines ways to design genre feel into a game -- whether a whole RPG or just your campaign -- from the jump. (C212) When I'm not in C212, I'll be rambling around the Dealer's Room or maybe playing wargames with Doug Sun. I'm not sure where I'll make my base camp at just yet, so if you need a booth cat, leave me a chair! (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 17th, 2012
princeofcairo	5:01p	MisCon Geniality What do you mean, someone has surely made that joke already? Really? It's a good thing the pun is a ritual observance, then, and unlike its close cousin humor not actually dependent on originality or incongruity. Anyhow, here's my schedule for the mighty mighty MisCon, coming Memorial Day Weekend to Missoula, Montana, where I shall be Guest of Honor alongside Guest of Considerably Greater Honor George R.R. Martin. That's right. Me and the author of Fevre Dream, the great American vampire novel. Together again for the first time. Also, Artist GoH is Rob Carlos, and C.J. Cherryh and John Dalmas will be around, too. So come on out! Friday, May 25 3:00 - 3:50 PM: Meet Kenneth Hite Come meet Kenneth Hite, MisCon 26's Gaming Guest of Honor. Great Hall (Upstairs) 4:00 - 4:50 PM: Gaming Mishmash Pros and Guests: Bob Davis, Justin Farrington, Ryan Goble, Kenneth Hite (Moderator) You got Science Fiction in my Mythos! You got Humor in my Grimdark! Gamers love mashing up their favorite genres and games. Are there some that work better than others? The Cave (Downstairs) Saturday, May 26 10:00 - 10:50 AM: Pulp? What's That? Pros and Guests: Bob Davis, John Goff (Moderator), Kenneth Hite Pulp. You've seen the word thrown around in a thousand different contexts to define a thousand different things. What is Pulp and why can't we get enough of it? Upstairs Programming 2 (Sandbaggers Game Club Room) 11:00 - 11:50 AM: The House Always Wins Pros and Guests: Justin Farrington, John Goff, Kenneth Hite (Moderator), Sean O'Connor, Lee Shinabery Every group has their own house rules, what are yours? Where did they come from? Our panelists discuss their favorite house rules and ways to develop good ones of your own. The Dungeon Noon - 12:50 PM: The Elements of Horror Pros and Guests: Bob Davis, Kenneth Hite (Moderator), Jenna M. Pitman How do you create a sense of fear in your story, game, or film? Upstairs Programming 1 (259) 2:00 - 2:50 PM: Pixels or Player's Handbooks? Pros and Guests: Kenneth Hite (Moderator), CJ Ruby, Robert Thomson Online RPGs provide a lot of bells and whistles and are easily accessible for players. Can table top rpgs compete? Can these same technologies be used by traditional gamers to enhance tabletop games? Upstairs Programming 2 (Sandbaggers Game Club Room) Sunday, May 27 11:00 - 11:50 AM: Jumpin' the Tracks Pros and Guests: Justin Farrington, John Goff, Kenneth Hite, Lee Shinabery Everyone's had a game that went off the rails in wildly entertaining ways. Our panel of experts recount the worst trainwrecks in their gaming careers. The Cave (Downstairs) 3:00 - 3:50 PM: The Many Ways to Tell a Story Pros and Guests: Kenneth Hite, George R. R. Martin, Peter Orullian, Eldon Thompson Stories come in many shapes and sizes, from books to comics to games to television and movies. How is storytelling the same among these media, and how does it differ? What are the challenges unique to each? What makes a good book versus movie versus comic? Great Hall (Upstairs) *If the weather is nice, this panel will relocate to the BBQ Area* 5:00 - 5:50 PM: The Writing is on the Wall: The Future of Gaming Pros and Guests: John Goff, Kenneth Hite, Robert Thomson Our crack team of professional game writers and editors talk about the future of the tabletop role-playing industry. What does the future hold? The Cave (Downstairs) Monday, May 28 10:00 - 10:50 AM, Author Book Signing Pros and Guests: S. A. Bolich, Margaret Bonham, Patricia Briggs, C.J. Cherryh, John Dalmas, M. J. Engh, Steve Fahnestalk, Jane Fancher, Diana Pharaoh Francis, Deby Fredericks, James Glass, Kenneth Hite, Vicki Mitchell, Kevin Noel Olson, Peter Orullian, J.A. Pitts, Eldon Thompson, Josh Wagner Our authors will be on hand to have their work signed. All MisCon authors are invited. Fireside Noon - 12:50 PM, The Ocr Fitr: Editing for RPGs Pros and Guests: Kenneth Hite, Andrea Howe (Moderator), Connie Thomson Moderator: Andrea Howe Hey, typos hapen. But when a a transposed number can make or break a game, who works behind the scenes to make sure everything is where it shud be? Upstairs Programming 1 (259) (Comment on this)
velvet_sparrow	11:59a	Where IS That Pot Of Gold...? Yesterday we had a sudden, unexpected thunderstorm, and had a nice double rainbow to go with it! The view out in the front yard was quite different from the back: You can just see the secondary rainbow to the right of the main one. ...and the end ended in my chimney! And from the back yard: ...and once again, it ends on my house! Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Monday, May 14th, 2012
beatonna	11:35a	Mother's Day I made a comic for my mother yesterday, who has believed in my abilities longer and more fiercely than anyone else. You can find it here. (89 Comments |Comment on this)