DiceCast™ Special Holiday Episode

In this special holiday episode, we review the year in gaming. Although 2009 was not as "lively" as 2008, there were still some notable developments. We note the loss of D&D^® co-creator Dave Arneson, the release of the third edition of Warhammer Fantasy™ Roleplaying, and the upset at the 2009 Origins Awards™ in which the Mouseguard™ RPG took the "Best RPG" award, rather than Dungeons & Dragons^® Fourth Edition.

The staff of Polymancer^®Studios, Inc. would like to take this opportunity to wish all the fans of DiceCast™, all the readers of our publications and newsletters, and the gaming public at large all the best for the holiday season and that they may have a healthy and productive 2010.

DiceCast™ Episode 7: An interview with Adam Jury

Adam Jury is the head of Media Design and Production at Catalyst Game Labs, publisher of Shadowrun™, Classic Battletech™, Cthulhutech™, and other fine products. He shares an insider's view on how things work behind the scenes at a successful game company. Adam Jury also shares some very helpful tips on how an aspiring freelance writer or artist can break into the industry.

We are introduced to Catalyst's newest offering, the RPG setting Eclipse Phase™. This sci fi setting allows players to play multiple characters and brings cyberwear and space travel to a new level. Rather than say too much here, we'll let Adam Jury explain more about Eclipse Phase in the 'cast.

Like last episode's interview with Jess Hartley, this interview was recorded on location at FanExpo Canada 2009. The sound quality reflects this, and parts of the interview are interrupted by the booming voice of an announcer who exhorts the convention attendees to leave and the exhibitors to reserve their booths for next year. Adam Jury took all this in stride and gave us a lively, informative, and illuminating interview. We decided to leave the extraneous sounds in for an authentic convention experience.

Links:

• Adam Jury's personal web site
  
• Catalyst Game Labs
  
• Eclipse Phase
  
• FanExpo Canada, a multimedia convention for fans of sci fi, horror, comics, gaming, and every other cool thing imaginable.
  

DiceCast™ Episode 6: An interview with Jess Hartley

In this episode, we interview renown RPG writer Jess Hartley, famous for her work with White Wolf. Jess discusses the role played by women in horror writing, freelancing, and her career in general.

We met up with Jess Hartley at FanExpo Canada in late August 2009. Please note that this is a live field recording of an interview done on location. Throughout the interview, you will hear such genuine convention sounds as an announcer on a loudspeaker instructing attendees to head tot he exit at closing time. While the sound quality is not up to studio standards, the atmosphere and the content of the interview itself make for an authentic and informative listening experience.

Links

• Jess Hartley's web site, includes a complete bibliography, updates about her current projects, and her "One Geek to Another" advice column.
  
• FanExpo Canada is a major convention, an annual multimedia event for fans of science fiction, horror, comic books, gaming, and many other fun things. it is held every August in Toronto, Canada.