Gaming in Lovecraft Country

Surprisingly enough, we're not playing Cthulhu. Well ... not yet, at any rate. That comes later when Leo breaks out the campaign she was running for us back in Fairfax all those many moons ago.

No, I'm running Star Wars (Saga Edition), and we've already gotten through two games. The first was a prelude session, where the four players (Amy, Justin, Leo, and Matt) came to grips with their individual pasts and how they came to be hooked up with the Rebel Alliance (as it stands in @2 BBY). The second was a brief adventure wherein the players rescued a burned out drunk of a Jedi from a small Imperial garrison on a back-water Outer Rim planet.

Overall, it's going very well so far. Amy, after not gaming for a very long time, is enjoying herself quite a bit. It makes a difference given our new digs because the kids are sequestered upstairs, in their own bedrooms, after lights out. In Fairfax, they shared a bedroom which was literally ten feet from the dining room. That made getting them to sleep nearly impossible, especially in the rare event we had company over.

I need to formulate the next wing of the adventure. I've got ideas but I need to flesh them out. At least I know where I (think I) want the campaign to go. We probably won't play again until mid-April, as two players will be out of town, so I've got some time to work it out.

In other news, I'm trying to work up Saga conversions for an article I wrote a while back which is currently formatted for D6 R&E and SWd20 Revised Core Rules. I'd gotten a lot of them done previously, but I need to pick it up and finish it. I'm thinking I'll send it to my friends at d20 Radio and let them post it on their site. Obviously I can't sell it, and since Saga is going away there are plenty of people out there who might like to have some new material (even if it's not official).

Oh, I attended PAX East for a brief time yesterday. It was a fun trip, but it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Given the limited amount of time we had to look around, there wasn't much of anything to see. I suppose if you're there for panels, competitive gaming, and the like, it's probably a lot more interesting. The convention center seemed really small for the amount of attendees. The show was sold out, so you can imagine that it was packed to the gills. Oh, and the queuing area was insanity. I felt like a cow being led to slaughter.

On the plus side, I got to see Brian Audette, a friend and co-worker from Mythic. I've really missed him.

Work is going well. My first milestone as a productive member of the crew is quickly approaching. Hopefully I've made a good impression on everyone. I also flew up to Big Huge Games in Baltimore (well, in Timonium, actually) last week to meet the BHG crew and get a look at Mercury. All in all, a good trip, but I couldn't help but think about all the work I had waiting for me in Maynard.

It's a lazy Saturday. I took a very long nap after Amy got up, and I'm still somewhat groggy. The day is more or less behind me now, and I haven't a clue what to do about dinner.

All for now!

News from GDC

The following news items relate to Project Mercury, 38 Studios, and Big Huge Games.

Obviously, I'm not at liberty to discuss anything about it, but I figured I'd pass on the links to the various news articles to anyone who might be interested.

Official Press Release from 38 Studios

Official Press Release from Electronic Arts

Gamespot

Gamasutra

IGN

Ten Ton Hammer

Kotaku

Shacknews

Update: 3/11/2010
RA Salvatore interviewed by Massively.com at GDC; read the interview here.

Update: 3/12/2010
Two more articles about RA Salvatore's role in Copernicus, plus a meaty detail about the game world.

Gamasutra: R.A. Salvatore On Building Worlds, Copernicus

Joystiq: R.A. Salvatore Wants You to Die