Reminder: Western Cape Online Provincial Championships - 28 March 2020.

Even with the situation as it is, players may still participate in a Western Cape Championships (28  March 2020) to earn a spot in the national team - even if it is from the safety of home.

With President Cyril Ramaphosa via a nationally televised address on Sunday March 15, 2020 declaring coronavirus a national disaster, Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) has heeded to the call.

MSSA will thus be doing its first Online Provincial Championships on 28 March 2020.

MSSA's popular LAN Provincial Championships has thus not been replaced by this event, the LAN Championship has merely been delayed until the situation permits as, due to government regulation, no venue may have more than 100 people. Thus MSSA will relook at a date for the Western Cape LAN Championships.

MSSA's 1st Western Cape Online Provincial Championships, which will offer local players the opportunity to qualify for selection to the national squad and for the Protea Team that will attend IESF's World Championships to be held in Eilat in November 2020.

In order to participate, the majority of each team must consist of players who reside in Western Cape. However, in the case of players who play 1v1 games, only Western Cape residents are eligible to enter.

The championship shall be held on 28 March 2020.

Game titles to be played are:

TITLES	09H00	10H30	12H00	13H00	14H00	15H30
Paladins PC/PS4	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts	LUNCH	Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
FIFA'20	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2020	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
HearthStone	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
Street Fighter V	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
Clash Royal	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
Counter-Strike: GO	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
League of Legends (LoL)	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
DotA 2	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts
TEKKEN 7	Round 1 Starts	Round 2 Starts	Round 3 Starts		Round 4 Starts	Round 5 Starts

Tournament Structure:

As per the MSSA's rules, being:

• If less than six teams, the championship shall be a Round Robin Championship

• If 6 to 10 teams enter the championship there shall be four rounds as played to the Swiss System

• If 11 or more teams enter the championship there shall be five rounds as played to the Swiss System

Eligibility:

• Any team consisting of players who are Registered Players affiliated to a MSSA member club may enter.

• The majority of each team must consist of players who reside in Western Cape. 
• In the case of players who play 1v1 games, only Western Cape residents are eligible to enter.

Entry fee:

• Entry is R35.00 per Registered Player.

• Only fully-paid-up Registered Players may participate in this event.

Entries:

• Entries need to be submitted on or before 21 April 2020.

• The entry form may be downloaded from: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_AU53Shugmdfzgv4Bfw2aNdLll1ByPel0VQow8H5gzQ/edit#gid=287696184 and submitted to mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com

Medals:

Medals shall be handed over to winners at the next MSSA LAN that they attend. 

      MALE:

• PREMIER: Medals shall be awarded to the first three teams.

• UNDER 24: Medals shall be awarded to the first three teams that have not won a Premier medal and which are comprised entirely of students currently registered at any officially recognised University.

• SCHOLARS: Medals shall be awarded to the first three teams of learners currently registered at any officially recognised school, provided they have not received any Premier medals. 

        FEMALE:

• PREMIER: Medals shall be awarded to the first three teams.

• UNDER 24: Medals shall be awarded to the first three teams that have not won a Premier medal and which are comprised entirely of students currently registered at any officially recognised University.

• SCHOLARS: Medals shall be awarded to the first three teams of learners currently registered at any officially recognised school, provided they have not received any Premier medals.

Colours:

• Protea Colours: Only Players that are selected to represent South Africa in International Championships may earn National Colours if the Protea Colours Board's criteria are met.

• National Colours: All Players that win all of their Matches at a National Championship will earn National Colours.

• Provincial Colours: All Players that win all of their Matches at a Provincial Championship will earn Provincial Colours. All Players who score within the top 50% in a specific Period at a Provincial Championship, and who also score within the top 50% at a National Championship in the same period and in the same year, will earn Provincial Colours.

General:

• The championship shall be played on: 28 March 2020

• The first round will start at 09H00. Players shall be given 60 minutes to complete each round.

• The championship is accredited as being of the same status as a provincial championship. 

• The championship shall be used for the awarding of provincial colours;

• The championship shall be used for the awarding of medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in Premier, Under 24, and School categories;

• The championship shall be used for the ability to qualify for National Team Squad.

• All medals shall be awarded to the recipients at a MSSA LAN championships.

Umpires:

• Umpires may only be contacted over Skype on the day of competition. Any communication not on the Skype channel shall not be entered into.

Entries:

• All clubs must enter their teams via the Google Drive.

• To enter, the club must complete the Google Drive document. The entry form may be found on Google Drive. Clubss are to download the entry form, completed the downloaded form, and e-mail it to Mind Sports South Afica. 
• T
  he link for such form is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M07rv0ER9jqE25IqMNZqGlsUPqJaE_X2/edit#gid=1844490715

• Payment shall be effected before start of play.

Ladder:

• For games to count for the National Ladder, teams must advise the Umpires before the start of each match.

Shout casting:

• MSSA shall decide who may shout-cast the games.

• Anybody wishing to be appointed as a Shout-Caster must apply in writing tomindsportssa@iafrica.com

Also read:

• Selecting the national Protea teams for Mind Sports South Africa.
• The road to Eilat
• IESF announces first three titles for 12th World Championships
• Esports: MSSA's 24th Western Cape Provincial Championships - 28 and 29 March 2020.
• Board gaming: MSSA's 23rd Western Cape Championships - 23 & 24 March 2019
• Rankings: Clash Royale rankings
• Rankings: DotA 2 rankings
• Rankings: Rankings for the FIFA esports title.
• Rankings: First in Battle, first in rankings. (Paladins)
• Rankings: League of Legends rankings.
• Rankings: PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER (PES) rankings
• Rankings: Street Fighter V rankingsRankings: Tekken 7 rankings

People Behind The Meeples - Episode 212: Kennedy Goodkey

Welcome to People Behind the Meeples, a series of interviews with indie game designers.  Here you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the people who make the best games that you may or may not have heard of before.  If you'd like to be featured, head over to http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html and fill out the questionnaire! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples. Support me on Patreon!

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Name:	Kennedy Goodkey
Location:	Vancouver
Day Job:	I used to work in film. Nowadays I do data analysis for a major Canadian telecom.
Designing:	One to two years.
Blog:	I do but its not game relevant at this time
BGG:	HobbyistsorDabblers
Facebook:	Hobbyists or Dabblers
Twitter:	@hobdab
YouTube:	I do but its not game relevant at this time oh wait... how about a film I produced that is now available for free on YouTube? https://youtu.be/whW57js2XjA
Find my games at:	Best to reach out on Facebook and I can direct people to appropriate PnP or TTS locations (the picking are pretty slim right now)

Today's Interview is with:

Kennedy Goodkey
Interviewed on: 8/26/2019

This week's interview is with Kennedy Goodkey, an independent film director and screenwriter turned game designer. In addition to his involvement with several movies, Kennedy has been designing games for the past few years. Read on to learn more about Kennedy and his current projects!

Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.

How long have you been designing tabletop games?
One to two years.

Why did you start designing tabletop games?
I did it in my teens and 20s. Got busy for a few decades (the film industry is a time-intensive life), then got back to gaming as a Dad (and having left film)... and the bug struck again - in part because my daughter started getting into games with me, but also because I had a creative hole in my life where film once was.

What game or games are you currently working on?
I've got about 4 that are getting regular attention from me right now...

"The Queen Must Die" - a reversed dungeon crawl where the players are the Kobolds working together to save their warren and queen... except that whoever is "winning" at any given time wants the Queen to die, so they can rule.

"Drive" - a tile-laying race-game in the spirit of awesome/terrible films like The Cannonball Run and Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.

"Drop-Stix" - A dexterity game that turns the classic Pick-up-Sticks on it's head.

"Bishop, Baylies & the Baron" - A fast paced card game of aerial dog-fighting in WWI.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
Nope. But I have a good track record at design jams.

What is your day job?
As noted above, I used to work in film. Nowadays I do data analysis for a major Canadian telecom.

Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.

Where do you prefer to play games?
Anywhere there is a game. I get anxious when I leave the house without a deck of cards (I also do card magic) "just in case."

Who do you normally game with?
#1 - my daughter. I have 2 small groups of "the guys" who I play with at least once a month each. And I attend several open gaming nights - with various 'regulars' - sometimes with my daughter, and sometimes not.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
My #1 for close to a year now has been Root. I do like getting my games to the table too. The rest rotates based on whims that last weeks at a time.

And what snacks would you eat?
My daughter and I usually go out for "muffins and coffee" and games at least one morning per weekend. And "beer" is probably the most reliable staple of the other events.

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
I do. I'm pretty open to whatever - my tastes musically speaking are pretty broad. But... "the guys" ...we are collectively getting long ion the tooth - and there is a lot of "I can't hear clearly with too much background noise" ...so music is normally only pre/post game. :-(

What's your favorite FLGS?
RainCity Games in Vancouver. That's where everybody knows my name. And it's a block away from home.

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Fave... Well, Root. ...but Point Salad is making a hard play for that position over these past few weeks. Least favourite that I still enjoy... Pandemic is probably my all-time fave, but I've played-it-out. I do still like "playing" it... but that really means I sit and watch others play - 'cause I can't open my mouth without having an Alpha opinion about the situation. Worst game... I've probably deliberately forgotten. However, this past weekend my daughter and I took a game off the shelf of shame - Barcelona - and confirmed that our year-long resistance to playing it was WELL founded.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Being VERY specific - the way the infection deck is handled in Pandemic - adding a new card from the bottom and then reshuffling all that has already appeared together and putting it on top to go through again... it seems so pedestrian now all these years later, but DAMN - it's a simple piece of genius. Being considerably less specific... I'm a sucker for legacy games. Least favourite... well any of the 54(?) mechanics singled out on BGG have a place and time... but dice rolling really needs to earn it on my game table.

What's your favorite game that you just can't ever seem to get to the table?
I could probably say "Root" again, 'cause it doesn't get to the table anywhere near as often - or with as many players as I'd like. But... I'm going to cheat this question in another way... Dune. I owned an AH copy of it in the 80s and played it until it was hardly usable. I traded it, in all it's literally broken (yet complete) glory for a nearly mint copy of Supremacy with ALL expansions. That trade says all you need to know about either game, no? I'd been considering hand crafting a bespoke version [of Dune] for quite some time... but I'm glad that I won't have to... geez, almost any time now.

What styles of games do you play?
I like to play Board Games, Card Games, RPG Games, Video Games

Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design Board Games, Card Games

OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
No

You as a Designer
OK, now the bit that sets you apart from the typical gamer. Let's find out about you as a game designer.

When you design games, do you come up with a theme first and build the mechanics around that? Or do you come up with mechanics and then add a theme? Or something else?
Theme MOSTLY comes first. But there are exceptions.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
Yes. I've entered a few. The only ones I've won have been design jams though.

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
I could go top 3... in no particular order: Garfield, Daviau, Leacock. All for very different reasons... and the connection between Daviau and Leacock I will staunchly deny has anything to do with their partnership of note.

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
Tough to say. "The Queen Must Die" began life as a screenplay that I couldn't finish. Years later it popped into my mind and I thought - THATS A GAME! "Bishop, Baylies & the Baron" - I'd wanted to design a dogfighting game for quite some time (I've always been fascinated by the arithmancy of Ace of Aces) and at a game jam, it fit the constraints we were given, so a game was born.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
I go regularly to a design night at my FLGS. But I'll also post on Facebook or elsewhere that I'm looking for players when I want to go deep. I'll solo or play with my daughter too - for as much as that is worth. And I've uploaded "The Queen Must Die" to Tabletop Simulator, but haven't yet tried the on-line play test... but will soon.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
Yes. I really love the autonomy of working alone. I like trying my hand at all aspects - though I'm not really good enough at art or graphic design to do those at a level that could sell. I'm also not the greatest businessman. I have designed two games - probably two of my taughtest - with others, but even so I have a habit of running head of the pack at the slightest hint of foot-dragging. I'd love to have a dream-team partnership with a better artist and graphic designer than me, and someone with a better grasp of business.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
... I feel like I'm answering these questions ahead of when they are being asked! The business. Yeah, I co-produced a movie that sold to broadcast, theatrical and DVD (oddly in that order), but I hated every single step of the business part. I resist it and let my contempt for it get in the way of doing it efficiently at every step.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
I saw Star Wars on my 7th birthday. I left the theatre and said "I want to do THAT" - meaning making films. I did - though not Star Wars. So perhaps there is a Star Wars game in the future with my name on the box.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Don't stop. Keep doing it in the vacuum - a renaissance is coming.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
(Again this comes from film (and theatre).) Never toss an idea away entirely. No matter how dumb it seems, or how much it doesn't work in the current situation, you never know when it will be the key to something good. Don't dismiss something because it's impractical - it may seem weird and counter-intuitive, but in the right context it may be exactly what you need. Both those ideas are adjacent to one another. I have personal examples of both.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: Nothing as of yet.
Games that will soon be published are: Ditto.
This is what I have currently crowdfunding: See above re my taste for business.
Currently looking for a publisher I have: The Queen Must Die; Bishop, Baylies & the Baron Both are ready. I have plans to pitch both in October [2019].
I'm planning to crowdfund: :-)
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are: Pixie Dust; Drop-Stix
Games that I'm playtesting are: Drive; Pirates v. Robots v. Ninjas v. Zombies v. Lemmings
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Legacy version of a major license that I will NEVER get and that should probably never actually get a legacy treatment - but was fun to dev anyway. (It's a game about real-estate - yeah, that one.)
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are: Un-named Palace Intrigue - Hidden Identity game that I'd call "Love Letter" except...

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker's Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Yes, each of those and many others - Board Game Design Lab springs to mind

And the oddly personal, but harmless stuff…
OK, enough of the game stuff, let's find out what really makes you tick! These are the questions that I'm sure are on everyone's minds!

Star Trek or Star Wars? Coke or Pepsi? VHS or Betamax?
Star Wars, but only if I had to pick; Coke; VHS

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
We love music in our house. I still get the occasional call for help on film... for fun. And (largely due to having a wife with loads of insider experience) a lot of world travel.

What is something you learned in the last week?
The connection between Depeche Mode, Erasure and Yazoo. ...and here I THOUGHT I knew my 80s music trivia.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Punk / Post-Punk, Space (not specifically sci-fi - but at least as much about real world space exploration and astro-physics). Obviously Star Wars... but I really enjoy Nordic Noir too.

What was the last book you read?
Game Tek by Geoff Englestein

Do you play any musical instruments?
Yes.

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I paid for most of my university by touring Canada in a comedy troupe.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I paid for most of my university by touring Canada in a comedy troupe.

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
... no doubt I have one... it's just not springing to mind.

Who is your idol?
Joe Strummer, The Edge, David Brin, Trevor Linden

What would you do if you had a time machine?
I'd call my friend Keith five minutes earlier than I did on the day he died... so he wouldn't have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
I am an awful lot of both and not much of the middle.

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
The Flash has always been my favourite, so it'd probably be wrong to say Batman.

Have any pets?
A fish. (Sigh, apartment life.)

When the next asteroid hits Earth, causing the Yellowstone caldera to explode, California to fall into the ocean, the sea levels to rise, and the next ice age to set in, what current games or other pastimes do you think (or hope) will survive into the next era of human civilization? What do you hope is underneath that asteroid to be wiped out of the human consciousness forever?
As much as I have all manner of utopian ideals of what I wish the world was like, I kinda feel like people suck and so long as we are around, the worst aspects of human kind will always be there to be fought - so... nice idea, but I just don't kid myself anymore. I sure hope people keep playing hockey and curling. The ice age should about that.

If you'd like to send a shout out to anyone, anyone at all, here's your chance (I can't guarantee they'll read this though):
Hey Keith! Hope you're doing well. Miss the hell out of you still. Can you believe I'm older than you ever were?

Just a Bit More
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions! Is there anything else you'd like to tell my readers?

Geez... this is a lot of questions.

Curling. Once upon a time my Dad was one of the top 100 curlers in Canada. At that time, being one of the top 100 curlers in Canada pretty much meant you were one of the top 100 curlers in the world.

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Thank you for reading this People Behind the Meeples indie game designer interview! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples and if you'd like to be featured yourself, you can fill out the questionnaire here: http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html

Did you like this interview?  Please show your support: Support me on Patreon! Or click the heart at Board Game Links , like GJJ Games on Facebook , or follow on Twitter .  And be sure to check out my games on  Tabletop Generation.

Fuchsia Malaise Playtest Sessions

Last week, I ran three different sessions in my Cha'alt campaign.  This post will highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Session One

This was on Roll20, and it was kind of a disaster.  Every player seemed to be on a different page or possibly different book.

They arrived at the golden gates of A'agrybah, and learned a bit about the city and taxes.  Apparently, paying taxes is a fate worse than death because several PCs (one in particular) was preoccupied by imminent tax collection for the entire scenario.  Always looking for somewhere to hide his meager wealth so the tax man doesn't take a cut.

Another PC just stalked the guy afraid of taxes like a creepy ex-girlfriend.  It was weird.

A third PC wanted to go off completely on his own to the palace (the rest of the party was in the tavern making friends).  And when he got there, he wanted to speak directly to the King.  That didn't happen.  Instead, the PC talked to a servant and when that wasn't good enough, he attacked a royal guard.  The PC almost killed the guard, but reinforcements were called.  And when multiple guards eventually killed the PC, the player complained about poor dice rolls.  Really, dude?  You chalk that fate up to bad luck?  Wow, ok...

A fourth PC decided he would take down the biggest guy in the bar who had two companions sitting next to him.  That lasted a whole 2 rounds until the PC was skewered dead on the end of the barbarian's obsidian blade.

The fifth PC tried to make the most of his adventuring time.  I felt bad for him, since his party just collapsed under the weight of their own distraction or incompetence.

Session Two

Same set-up as before (also a Roll20 game), the PCs enter A'agrybah.  This time they enter the marketplace, find a guide, and get a tour... until a couple of thieves make off with their coin purses.

They track the thieves to a blind alley and combat takes place.  It's quite the battle, ending with the most murderhobo PC ripping the head off a thief when he was trying to run away.

It was fun, and everyone had a great time!

Each of those games lasted about 70 minutes, so there wasn't much time for anything else.

Session Three

This was face-to-face at my FLGS, and a blissful four-hours long.  I'd been waiting weeks for this game.  Crummy weather (ice and snow) almost ruined things, but luckily there was a window.

BTW, all three sessions used my Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 hack of both OSR and 5e.  FYI, the cleric isn't broken!  Not only does he allow the party to keep fighting past the 2nd encounter without having to rest for the day, he allows the wizard to keep casting spells (both during and between combats).

Patrick played a cleric moon-elf, Pat played a fighter blood-elf, Michael played another fighter blood-elf, and Steve played a sky-elf wizard (who became his own familiar).

Three of the four players ran through The Black Pyramid a couple months ago.  Instead of starting at 1st level, I suggested they make 3rd level characters and rolled on that d100 past event random table from How To Game Master Like A Fucking Boss.

I introduced some Fuchsia Malaise backstory - the PCs' settlement had been destroyed by off-worlder invaders intent on draining Cha'alt of its most precious resource - zoth.

In order to successfully raid the off-worlder's base, Elysium, they'd need either high-tech weapons, magic items, or both.

Rumors of relics and artifacts within The Black Pyramid abound, so off they went.  As per usual, just the tip of the pyramid was visible, shiny black, the majority submerged beneath irradiated sand.

They met a demon attempting to open up a gateway to some Demon Lord, and decided to help him.  Each PC was bestowed with an infernal blessing, and the gate-opening demon became an NPC hanger-on.

The PCs spent a little time with The Community, but nothing substantial happened there.  Then, they wandered into a Tiki bar and chatted with a demonic vacuum salesman (vacuum sales-demon?) and the negotiations began.  The vacuum demonstration included sucking up some NPC into another dimension (ok, maybe it was demonic).  Two vacuums were purchased.

After that transaction, the PCs felt this would be the perfect initiation for their new demon friend, Qa'atz.  His rite of passage will be to kill the salesman and loot his body as the other PCs watched.

Qa'atz got advantage on a surprise stab to the stomach. Sadly, I rolled badly and Qa'atz missed horribly.  The salesman backed away and disintegrated him in one shot (rolled bad on the saving throw, too).

Disavowing anything to do with Qa'atz, the PCs made their way to a room where a female demon (wow, lots of demons in this session... even for me!) was gifted a magic sword by an infernal council.  The PCs agreed to help her by being their champion and killing the titan Za'argon so she could have a ridiculously large ruby.

The magic sword had an unbreakable glass pommel and a variable plus to hit and damage, so one player suggested the current "+" number would be visible inside the little glass sphere as an indicator.  A brilliant idea and the kind of thing that could only happen in an RPG.

A hive of reptilian insects was in another room, and they became fodder for a fireball spell, as well as, the magic blade.  A decent amount of treasure was found searching the honeycombs.

A wandering humanoid offered to sell his own magic sword.  It had a strange name, Kenyur-Trova'ak. Not having a translation handy, I looked for the closest thing in the Viridian glossary at the back of How To Game Master Like A Fucking Boss and came up with "passionate oblivion"... a better translation would be "the strength of nothingness."  Then ended up trading a vacuum and a turquoise slab for the sword.

The last room before Za'argon was full of his devoted worshipers who occasionally offered themselves to the minor god when he was feeling especially peckish.  The PCs didn't think much of them, playing strategy games and plucking their zita'ars.

The PCs had a whiz-bang idea of removing the chartreuse sphere from an adjacent triangle-shaped room so the worshipers could use it as a new age music room with excellent "triangular acoustics".

Unfortunately, Za'argon needed to roll a 1 for him to fail his save.  I rolled a 3, which was damn close.  So, he didn't immediately die.  But the sky-elf wizard did lob a fireball at him.  This little table was rolled on.  The wizard's player rolled a 6.  Ouch!  Knocking half its Hit-Points down, the rest of them dealt damage like true adventurers.

The cleric dropped down onto the titan's head so he could dish out a holy invocation to Lovecraftian abominations.  The fighters (they both had magic swords, but especially the one with the variable +) wailed on him.

Za'argon slapped all of them around with a couple rounds of tentacles, practically killing the cleric.  The wizard asked if it was possible for him to cast a spell to save his companion's life.  I deemed that it was.  The wizard could try preventing the cleric's soul from leaving his body.  The wizard cast his spell and the cleric would need to make a saving throw.  Luckily, he did.

Finally, the killing blow cut the titan in twain.  The PCs looted his chamber, the demon sorceress took her giant ruby, and her champion did not return the sword even though she was done with him.  She vanished into thin air before the PCs could turn on her.

Za'argon's horn bestowed enough power making the party's spell-caster a Very Powerful Wizard (at long last).  He used that temporary power to destroy the enemies within Elysium.  Also, the PCs became 4th level.

Having survived The Black Pyramid was no easy feat.  For years and years, they will be able to tell their children and grandchildren of their bravery, cunning, and unbelievable fortune!

VS

p.s. One thing I like to do is look back at my sessions and see if there's something I could have done differently, that could be improved upon.  The demon sorceress should have been sexier and a potential love-interest for one or more PCs.

It's Just Two Spinners Sharing The Night

I finished up the turrets on the Night Spinners last night. I ended up going with a magenta for the Doomweavers, and putting the glow more towards the middle/base. Annoyingly, I painted on my gloss coat which resulted in a yellow/brown tinge getting on them. I'm not sure if it was something in the brush or what but I have to clean up a few parts (it's most noticeable on the white highlights). I'll get to that in a bit and get some grass tufts on there as well, then I have to figure out Falcon turrets.

Logo

When a company changes their logo, it's generally a group exercise in self pleasuring. It's rarely necessary. If you look at the Starbucks logo, the 1987 or 1992 logo is in color, a big transformation, but I personally wouldn't change my coffee drinking decisions based on any of their logos. As for 1971, I'm not sure what's more offensive nowadays, bare mermaid breasts or a black and white logo. And what in the hell is she holding? Are those her mermaid legs? What exactly does this imply?  Is this a coffee shop or a brothel? Sick bastards. Logos are ridiculous and nobody cares.

When I was told we needed to change our logo, my first concern was the circle jerk of pointless design and then cost. Clearly there's no financial benefit to the exercise. We've had the same logo for 15 years. Is it a good logo? It looks good. I like the colors. I like the knight. As for the design itself, I have to admit, it's a giant pain in the ass. Our original logo is terrible, practically speaking. It's an impediment to its very purpose.

The use of black means it looks great on screen with a white background, but it's problematic with other forms of media, which require a very light background. It's so difficult to use, we tend either not to use it at all, making the brand identity somewhat weak, or we reverse the colors to put it on a black background with the logo in white. We mutilate the logo to make it work. It's a problem. But is it worth fixing? Enter the business case.

When it came to staff shirts, we resorted to white embroidery on black shirts. originally I had white shirts with a full color logo, but those were loathed by everyone, and they were hard to keep clean. You may not know this but everything we sell sits in a dirty warehouse before getting to us and gets even dirtier as it sits on our shelves. Keeping a retail store clean is a major feat, as it starts dirty and only gets worse. White shirts were always getting stained and looking bad.

The black, embroidered shirts we currently use, with a boring plain white stitched logo, turned out to be incredibly expensive. Each shirt costs $70 with embroidery. They also need to be made in batches in various sizes, so we're almost always buying more than we need, in sizes we hope will be useful. Invariably, those sizes don't match our diverse staff. So over time, we've been stuck with a box of very expensive shirts in the wrong sizes. The cost of bad design turns out to be very high.

Our new shirt design features a full color patch that can be sewn onto a variety of shirts. We choose the shirt from the Work Wear store next door, grab a patch, and sew it on. No big batches of variable sized, expensive, embroidered, logo perverting shirts. Also, if I want one of my robust, tactical shirts from 5.11, I buy it in the right color and sew on the patch, something not available before. Total cost per shirt for employees will be $25 or so, with no waste.

Then there's the increased merchandising we tend to avoid with the old logo. We've already ordered new patches, pins, stickers, and more. We'll have hats and t-shirts eventually. These were difficult to design with the old logo requirements and they sold poorly.

Now let's get onto the minor controversy of our design choices. We spent about a month defining the needs of the new logo with half a dozen designers. We identified core requirements. It should maintain the design elements of the old logo: the knight, the horse, the lance, the direction it's all headed (very symbolic) and of course, a diamond. The logo needed to remain fairly simple. The name needed an updated font that was compact with the design. The previous font used long, horizontal text and has been nothing but trouble for 15 years. The color black is problematic. It goes with nothing but white. Those who use black in their logos hamstring themselves design wise, so we omitted that. In fact, I would probably pick a different store name without a color in the title if I were to do it over. I have few regrets, but "black" is one. Let's take a look at the new design:

I think it pops. Rather than black, we have a dark blue, which works much better and represents one of our colors. It's a darker blue than our original logo (which some say was purple, a color I love). The diamond color, away from black, represents a shift in store colors that came about with our big construction project, three years ago.

This orangish yellow is called Curry in Sherwin Williams colors, which is the color we painted our staircase. It's a color that matches our birch fixtures. It provides a pleasing blue and gold ambience, the colors of the local university, UC Berkeley. 

This shift in store colors came in a moment of crisis. The Curry color came from a decision I made with the architects when it was clear our paint color choices weren't working in practice. I was distracting myself at the time with another project, a used Jeep I was about to buy in Utah, because Utah was the closest location of a Jeep in this exact color I was smitten with. I had to have not only the features I was looking for, but it had to be in that color. It was clearly on my mind. Originally the Curry color was white, but when we painted it on on the staircase, it looked terrible.

So the color of the staircase and thus the logo got their color from a Jeep. The Jeep is in a Chrysler color called Amp'd. And thus our staircase became Amp'd, and our logo became Amp'd. And for the foreseeable future, we shall be Amp'd. Most people like the new logo, once they've accepted (or more often overlooked) the diamond isn't black. It's a tough ask, but if people can accept the Starbucks mermaid isn't holding up her legs suggestively any longer, I think this can be overlooked. Personally I love the direction of the logo. I especially love I won't be paying $70 each for a box of useless shirts. 

Procedurally Generated Annotations

Imagine exploring this dungeon:

Procedurally generated dungeon map

But that's not what watabou's One Page Dungeon generator produced. It produced that dungeon with a title, Underground Lair of the Cursed Lich: For several centuries the lair of the Cursed Lich was considered lost, until recently was rediscovered by a gang of gnolls, and also with text annotations on some of the rooms:

Procedurally annotated dungeon map

Big difference! The text sparks curiosity and imagination in a way that the map by itself does not. Is that bard good or evil? Did the bard and cleric know each other? How did seals kill the gnoll?! What does the magic gem do? This type of text is missing from many procedural generation projects, including mine. I love what watabou did here.

Let's look a map from Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator:

Procedurally generated continent map

But that's not all Azgaar generates. He also generates country names, borders, icons, and other annotations:

Procedurally generated everything

Look at how much more interesting that is!

Zoomed in, the map looks nice, with regions, rivers, and bays:

Procedurally generated region map

But look how much more interesting it is with town names, roads, and trade routes:

Procedurally generated everything

It doesn't take much annotation to make the magic! Just a small amount triggers our curiosity and imagination. Our minds see patterns easily, even when they aren't really there ("apophenia"). This is something I'd like to explore the next time I'm making a procedural map generator.

(Note: this is an expanded version of what I posted on twitter)

2014 Nominations For The National Recording Registry

Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Much like its sister foundation The National Film Registry, The National Recording Registry is dedicated to preserving our cultural heritage, but instead of film, this registry honors what we hear. Indeed, much of culture has been captured through sound. Among the pieces in the Registry include Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream Speech, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, Orson Welles' dramatic Halloween reading of War of the Worlds, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, FDR's Fireside Chats, George Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, Tom Lerher's intellectual comedy songs, Igor Stravinsky himself conducting The Rite of Spring in New York, the soundtrack to Star Wars, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, Nirvana's Nevermind, and much, much more. That the sounds of America are so rich, so different, so wonderful.



The New York Times reported that Congress passed the National Recording Preservation Act in 2000, in which the Library of Congress was directed to "plan and coordinate a national effort to develop policies and programs to save our nation's recorded sound history and ensure its accessibility to future generations." (Kozinn). According to The Library of Congress this action led to the creation of the National Recording Registry, in which the Librarian, advised by National Recording Preservation Board, annually select up to 25 recordings that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and are at least a decade old. Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, who also heads the National Film Registry, has said,

"These recordings represent an important part of America's culture and history. As technology continually changes and formats become obsolete, we must ensure that our nation's aural legacy is protected. The National Recording Registry is at the core of this effort." ("Hallelujah, The National Recording Registry Reaches 400").

In 2013, The New York Times reported that a new National Recording Recording Preservation Plan was passed, as the plan address ways to preserve and digitize recordings, with focus being put especially on broadcasts and recordings made on neglected, antique, or other "at risk" formats. There are urgent reasons for this, since many precious recordings have been lost. These include about half of all recordings made on cylinders, recordings of Sinatra, Garland, and Gershwin, along with a wire in the Enola Gay that recorded the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima. Billington praised the plan, saying,

"As a nation, we have good reason to be proud of our record of creativity in the sound-recording arts and sciences. However, our collective energy in creating and consuming sound recordings has not been matched by an equal level of interest in preserving them for posterity. Radio broadcasts, music, interviews, historic speeches, field recordings, comedy records, author readings and other recordings have already been forever lost to the American people." (Kozinn).

That it took the National Film Registry until 1989, and the National Recording Registry until 2000 to be put into action shows that the idea of preserving our culture in these formats is a very novel one. It shocks me a bit that it took this long, but I'm grateful to see it happen. With 400 recordings as of 2014, we have a great national treasure trove. One that should be cherished and, of course, heard.

Without further ado, my nominations:

1. The Doors
    Artist: The Doors
    Release Date: January 4, 1967
    Recorded: August 24-31, 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California.
    Label: Elektra

    The Doors are one of the most influential and popular rock bands in American history. Their self-titled debut expounds on their signature talents, Jim Morrison's haunting voice and Ray Manzarek's hypnotic keyboard. The album features the famous "Light My Fire" with its endless organ solo, shameless desire in "(Alabama Song) Whiskey Bar", the drug culture "The Crystal Ship" and "The End" an Oedipal, almost scary, avante-garde opus.

2. Pulp Fiction (soundtrack)
    Artist: Various, including
    Release Date: September 27, 1994
    Label: MCA

    Much the film, Pulp Fiction, the soundtrack is a watershed mix-tape of American pop culture. The song features hip-hop "Jungle Boogie", classic rock and roll "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon", country throwback, "Son of a Preacher Man," and surfer rock, "Misirlou"/"Surf Rider." The album also contains some of the best dialogue ever recorded, in particular, Samuel L. Jackson's famous "Ezekiel 25:17" speech.

3. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
    Artist: Lauryn Hill
    Release Date: August 25, 1998
    Recorded: 1997-June 1998 at RPM Studios, Chung King Studios, Sony Music Studios, The Hit Factory, and Right Tracks Studios in New York City; Perfect Pair Studios (New Jersey; Marley Music, Inc. and Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston; and House Studios in Miami
    Label: Ruffhouse, Columbia

    Lauryn Hill's powerful debut crosses the genres of hip-hop, reggae, doo wop, rhythm and blues, soul, rap, gospel and rock music. Each song steeped in a rich poetic tradition referencing Christianity, which has had a strong role in the black cultural tradition with "Forgive Them Father", and "To Zion", the urban experience, "Every Ghetto, Every City," complex viewpoints on romance in "Ex-Factor", "It Hurts So Bad", and "I Used To Love Him," along with references to older musical traditions with "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" and "Doo Wop (That Thing)". The album was also critically acclaimed, earning five Grammys.

4. "American Pie"
     Artist: Don McLean
     Release Date: November, 1971
     Recorded: May 26, 1971
     Label: United Artists

     Don McLean's poetic anthem of American culture following the deaths of The Big Bopper, Richie Valens, and Buddy Holly, or "The Day The Music Died". The song is a call for an earlier, perhaps simpler time in American music and culture that many felt at the time in the wake of a changing landscape. McLean's piece is a great example of contemporary folk, and that genre's ability to resonate with the cultural consciousness.

5. Boston
    Artist: Boston
    Release Date: August 25, 1976
    Recorded: October 1975 – April 1976 at Foxglove Studios in Watertown, Massachusetts • Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California • The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California.
    Label: Epic

    One of the defining progressive rock albums of the 70's, Boston is unique in the sense that it was technological creation. The music was almost exclusively done by multi-instrumentalist, Tom Scholz, and vocalist Brad Delp, who mixed the various tracks together in his basement. The album captures old memories "More Than A Feeling" and aspirations of fame "Rock & Roll Band." The tracks have become staples of any rock radio station.

6. "Freebird"
     Artist: Lynryd Skynryd
     Release Date: November 1974
     Recorded: April 3, 1973 at Studio One, Doraville, Georgia
     Label: MCA

     Regarded as one of the most requested songs in American history, the popular "Freebird" is an outstanding example of Lynryd Skynryd's southern rock style. Its aesthetic significance lies with its powerful guitar solo and its expression of the restless American spirit.

7. "Imagine"
     Artist: John Lennon
     Release Date: October 11, 1971
     Recorded: May–June 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios, Ascot and Record Plant East, New York
     Label: Apple

     John Lennon's "Imagine" is a song that has become synonymous with peace, finding its way in the Olympics and at protest marches. Listed by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the greatest songs of all time, "Imagine's" iconic piano and idealistic lyrics have fallen into our cultural subconscious, and resonates strongly with Americans today.

8. The United States of America
    Artist: The United States of America
    Release Date: March 6, 1968
    Recorded: December 7 to 23, 1967
    Label: Columbia

    One of the great zeitgeist pieces of the 1960's, the album is essentially the sound of America during that tumultuous decade. The album is very experimental, using electronic synthesizers and a variety of instruments including classical ones. Much of the album is enthused in the psychedelic rock music that dominated times with its unconventional directions and poetic lyricism, as heard in "Hard Coming Love" or "The Garden Of Earthly Delights." The very leftist political air is also touched upon in "Song For The Dead Che."


9. "SantaLand Diaries"
     Artist: David Sedaris
     Release Date: December 23, 1992
 
     Humorist and writer David Sedaris first got his big break after reading excerpts from his "SantaLand Diaries" essay on NPR in 1992. Sedaris gives us the classic holiday tradition of having Santa meet children at the Macy's mall, but from the perspective of a disgruntled elf. Based on true, if not exaggerated, experiences, Sedaris's reading has since become a popular tradition for NPR. 
  
10. Whitney Houston

      Artist: Whitney Houston

      Release Date: February 14, 1985

      Label: Arista

     Whitney Houston was one of the most gifted vocalists of the late 20th century. Her singing defined pop music and black artistry for mainstream America. Her self-titled debut, lauded as one of the finest albums of that decade, and even, all time, is a beautiful exhibition of her talents.

Bibliography

"Hallelujah, the 2013 National Recording Registry Reaches 400." The Library of Congress. April 2, 2014. Web. http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2014/14-052.html

Kozinn, Allan. "Now Hear This: Library of Congress Issues Plan to Preserve Recordings." The New York Times. February 14, 2013. Web. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/now-hear-this-library-of-congress-issues-plan-to-preserve-recordings/