The Guild Creator visits the Emerald City

(Image by Michael A. Robles)

 

A week ago, I did a review of The Guild.  Here's a photo I hijacked on Facebook of Guild creator, Felicia Day, being interviewed for a podcast by Shelly Mazzanoble and other members of Wizards of the Coast.  Miss Day will be one of the featured guests at the Emerald City Comicon this weekend.

 

Until the doors haven't opened yet at the  Washington State Convention Center, Miss Day was given a guided tour of the Wizards of the Coast facility:

(Image by Michael A. Robles)

Grue Cafe #6: Massively Effected

For you Mass Effect 3 fans, the Grew Crue discusses the good, the bad in the inane of the latest offering from Bioware.

From what Doc Ezra and Kim say, games like Mass Effect are more than just shoot 'em-ups.  They're rich in character development and even--romance.

For some of you computer gamers, this may be nothing new.  But to this table-top gamer, who's too prone to motion sickness to play most of these games, this was something that made me go "hmmm."

But judging by the pictures I've seen on line, like the one's I used for this post, I can certainly see the--romantic appeal.

The Grue Cafe #5: Top of the Table, Ma!

The Grue Crew is back with an end-of-year-holiday special.  This episode stars Rox of Spazhouse, Kim, Dom and Kevin Pettway, author of the webcomic Heroes of Lesser Earth.  I linked Kevin's site and it can be found under the On Line Comics tab.  I'm particularly interested in reading Kevin's work, because one of the characters is none other than my sister, Rox.

Meanwhile, back here on AfterChristmasSales Earth, the Grue Crew takes on the following issues:  Game Master (GM) techniques, character knowledge vs player knowledge, the pitfalls of on-line gaming and recommendations for newly released and upcoming games.  One clear favorite among the pack, at least with Kim, is Skyrim.

Grue Cafe #4: Random Damage

After nearly a year in suspended animation, the "Grue Crew" has returned to host their fourth podcast.

In this episode, Rox of Spazhouse, Kim, Dom and Doc Ezra discuss topics such as:  The decline of gaming at non-gaming conventions, "oldie-but-goodie" PC games that you can't play on systems more advanced than Windows 98; the good, the bad & the ugly game mechanics; and how to encourage people to role play instead of just rolling dice.

Remember to roll against your sanity level after listening "...to see if you lose another point."

The Grue Cafe Episode 3: Skype Falls, Everyone Dies

The "Grue Crew" is back! 

Actually, they've been back for three months, but somehow I missed their third episode before they went into Holiday hiatus.  New episodes should be forthcoming, so my New Year's Resolution will be to be more timely in my posting.

Anyway, back in October 2010, my sister "Rox of Spazhouse" and her co-host Kim were joined by Dom from Germany.  Despite technical difficulties with Skype, the trio managed to touch on the following topics: 

Dragoncon, role-playing games (RPGs) and the differences between German and American video games.

I listened to the podcast last week and I'm afraid I can't remember what the significance of the smoking pink flamingo is. 

Maybe it's Dragoncon thing.

But instead of wondering, feel free to listen in.  Enjoy!

http://www.needcoffee.com/2010/10/08/skype-falls-everyone-dies/

The Grue Cafe: Episode 2

(Image:  Rox's 1st Place Trophy for Role Playing in Dragoncon 97)

In Episode #2 of The Grue Cafe, my sister, "Rox of Spazhouse," is joined by her cohost, Kim along with Peter White to discuss the pros and cons of convention gaming:

http://www.needcoffee.com/2010/08/18/pros-cons-con-gaming/#comments

The "Grue Crew" has a slightly different take on gaming at conventions, because gaming is not the primary focus during events like Atlanta's Dragoncon, or our own Norwescon.  So it becomes a question of how much gaming do you want to do, versus other important happenings--like attending panels hosted by Kelly LeBrock, Summer Glau or Barbara Eden.  (See Dragoncon 2010's Guest List under Film & Television).

Dragoncon:

http://www.dragoncon.org/

Norwescon:

http://www.norwescon.org/

However, much of their advice can apply to wargame conventions as well--such as scheduling time to take care of personal hygiene.  Unfortunately, this seems to be a recurring theme, and a common bond among gamers of all types.  So please shower, or bathe regularly!  Your fellow gamers/attendees will appreciate that you did.

Premiere Podcast of "The Grue Cafe"

My sister, "Rox of Spazhouse," along with a couple of friends started a new gaming podcast called The Grue Cafe.  In this premiere episode, Character Creation, Rox, Kim and "Doc" Ezra discuss what drew them into the gaming hobby, what do they look for in a game and what game(s) are they playing now:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1ONAEY/www.needcoffee.com/2010/08/03/character-creation/

Rox is primarily a role-playing gamer, while Kim and Doc are into computer games, so most of the discussion centers on these gaming genres. 

The Grue Cafe is one of many entertaining podcasts that can be found on the Need Coffee dot com website, specializing in entertainment and pop culture, run by "Widge."  Their most famous (or is it "infamous?") podcasts is a program called Weekend Justice, which is posted every Friday.

http://www.needcoffee.com/