Friday, December 31, 2010

DiceCast Special Holiday Interview Episode

We close off 2010 and welcome in 2011 with an awesome selection of interviews, many of them with people who have never appeared on a podcast before.


Our first interview is with David Pulver, RPG freelance writer extraordinaire. Fans of GURPS® and Transhuman Space™ by Steve Jackson Games will know his work well. Pulver also revised Big Eyes, Small Mouth by Guardians Of Order for that game's second edition and also for that game's third edition, which was published by White Wolf. In this interview, Pulver talks about his background in games, writing, and about how he researches his technologically-oriented works. N.B. this interview was originally recorded for print and thus, little regard was made for sound quality; while we apologize for the poor sound quality, every step was taken to ensure Mr. Pulver's words were understandable and we are confident that what he had to say more than makes up for the audio.


Next up, we have a truly Foundational member of the roleplaying game pantheon, Marc Miller. As a founder and an original author for the celebrated Traveller roleplaying game and setting, Miller has left his mark on tens of thousands of worlds. In this interview, Miller discusses how Traveller was created and how he got started in game design. Marc Miller also expresses his heartfelt appreciation for his fans.


In the "blast from the past" department, we unearthed an old interview with Eric Gibson of the (now defunct) West End Games. Done back when Gibson had new plans to release the d6 System under the terms of the Open Gaming License, this interview offers a glimpse into what could have been for this much beloved roleplaying game. Gibson also speaks frankly about what happened with the Septimus RPG (now published by Precis Intermedia Games (PIG).


We include an interview with a volunteer from Geekfest Montreal, recorded at that convention's 2010 debut. This interview offers insight into what it takes to run a large, technology and game-themed multimedia event. N.B., a longer interview with the same person is available, in French, at our other podcast, Royale With Cheese.


This is followed by a brief interview with a volunteer from iMusee.org, a museum dedicated to the preservation of vintage personal computers. Their fascinating collection includes such specimens as an original NeXt computer and a "first edition" Apple Macintosh from 1984. This interview is also available in French on the Royale With Cheese podcast.


The last interview on this show is with Mitch Morris of the Ninjas vs. Pirates game company and the podcast by the same name. Morris talks about his theories of game design and his company's premier product, a card game called Shennanigans on the Eighth Sea.


We close the show with some thoughts on the events of 2010 and their implications for the hobby game industry and the professions of freelance writing and freelance art.


Links

  • David Pulver's home page. Transhuman Space.

  • Far Future Enterprises, Marc Miller's company for publishing his editions of Traveller. Mongoose Publishing Traveller page.

  • D6 System SRD. There is currently no official web site with the D6 System books available for sale or download or for the Septimus RPG.

  • Geekfest Montreal, and a longer interview in French.

  • iMusee.org, and a longer interview in French.

  • Ninjas vs. Pirates game company; purchase page for Shennanigans On The Eighth Sea. Ninjas vs. Pirates podcast.

  • Conjurations 2011

  • Other links