Daily Illuminator Archive for January 2011

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January 1, 2011:
Jamais Cascio, author of Transhuman Space: Broken Dreams, has always thought about the future. That's kind of a requirement for the TS line, of course, but he's moved beyond just SF RPGs and made a full-time career as a futurist . . . read article

January 2, 2011:
The oceans around Japan feature a form of sea life that I had hoped was confined to my most Lovecraftian nightmares: flying squid. As Angie said to me when I showed her the article, "Yeah, they're only eight inches long . . . read article

January 3, 2011:
If you haven't noticed, we've been gone the past two weeks, enjoying the holidays someplace other than "in the office." We're back now -- most of us anyway -- and will be diving into the e-mails and voice mails that have accumulated while we were out. If you're waiting for a response, please be patient with us! . . . read article

January 4, 2011:
Another year, another final page ripped off our Dilbert-a-Day calendars. It's been an exciting 12 months at e23, but until we sit down and look at all that's come out, it's hard for us to keep track of how exciting . . . read article

January 5, 2011:
What would a new year be without a little wild-eyed speculation? And why should we GURPS pundits engage in less of that than all the other nuts out there? . . . read article

January 6, 2011:
Recently I used my personal Twitter account to ask a very simple question that led to some surprising responses. The question? RPG Players: Do you buy mostly print or PDF? . . . read article

January 7, 2011:
Phil's unscientific Twitter survey sparked a good deal of conversation around the office, and it was decided the sample was too small to even be called "unscientific." So we're going to ask the question again, but more professionally. Here's a survey with just two quick questions . . . read article

January 8, 2011:
In 2007, beekeepers around the world around the world reported abrupt disappearances of colonies of the Western honey bee. They weren't stolen; the worker bees simply left the hive and never returned . . . read article

January 9, 2011:
The GURPS line couldn't happen without the hard work of a metric ton of very talented writers, artists, and production staff. But at the helm are three people who look at every rule, who consider the place of each new release in the broader line, and who are filled with more GURPS stories than should be humanly possible . . . read article

January 10, 2011:
It's time for new e23 releases -- the first of 2011! This week, we've got GURPS Classic: Special Ops and Space Gamer #53. Special Ops covers the secretive world of unconventional warriors . . . read article

January 11, 2011:
Do you want a Tron-style lightcycle? . . . read article

January 12, 2011:
Jackie Hamilton, aka Kira, has been coding for us for years and years. She wrote the code that displays the Daily Illuminator for you . . . read article

January 13, 2011:
Tonight (Thursday, January 13), Borders will be hosting a Family Game Night in locations across the country. It's a great move to bring families -- most of whom wouldn't have any exposure to hobby games otherwise -- and games together . . . read article

January 14, 2011:
Last January I spent over a week in Hong Kong exploring the city, visiting the Hong Kong Toy Fair, and meeting with business partners. It was a fantastic, amazingly fun experience, and I had such a good time that I'm going back later this month . . . read article

January 15, 2011:
This April, Steve Jackson Games will return to print one of the classic board games of all time . . . The Awful Green Things From Outer Space Monsters Everywhere! The crew of the exploration ship Znutar just wanted to cruise around the Galaxy, discovering strange new worlds and playing pool . . . read article

January 16, 2011:
PAX East is in March, but New York Toy Fair is a month earlier. The event submissions for both GenCon and Origins can be submitted later this month . . . read article

January 17, 2011:
GURPS Low-Tech is a mighty tome in its own right, but in order to really get into the nooks and crannies of the worlds of TL0-4, the authors generated three additional bundles of knowledge: the Low-Tech Companion series. The first, Philosophers and Kings, revealed the tools the leaders of yesteryear used to maintain their position . . . read article

January 18, 2011:
In the December issue of Games Magazine they put together their list of the top 100 games of 2010. Nanuk is listed as a runner-up in the Family category! Obviously, we're honored to be included in the list . . . read article

January 19, 2011:
As I mentioned last week, Borders is holding a Family Game Night each Thursday this month. Here in Austin, we've got three locations: Southpark Meadows, Westgate, and The Domain . . . read article

January 20, 2011:
GURPS Low-Tech for Fourth Edition was something of an experiment. Instead of 250+ pages of gear and gadgets, science and social tools, we decided to break the tome into four (or more!) pieces . . . read article

January 21, 2011:
Brother Veritus' Website is just that: the truth. He's sifted through a lot of information, and if you can penetrate his English (we must assume the Spanish half of the site is easier to absorb), you'll get a heaping helping of his philosophy. "The truth" seems to consist of inspirational sayings and pithy bons mots usually not found outside posters with cats on them . . . read article

January 22, 2011:
If you haven't heard of Shapeways, let me describe it thusly: customizable 3D objects. You find an object you'd like, choose a material, and pay for it . . . read article

January 23, 2011:
Our next Munchkin booster, Munchkinomicon, arrived at the warehouse ahead of schedule. Rumors that the factory did everything in their power to get the sanity-draining expansion out of their hands as quickly as possible are simply dirty lies . . . read article

January 24, 2011:
Look, I don't know what they put in the water at the Indianapolis office, but Steven Marsh was a madman last week! Normally we get one or two releases from e23, but this week he ordered poor Alex to upload four! The first I can understand: the third Thursday of the month is when Pyramid comes out . . . read article

January 25, 2011:
As promised, here are the results from the RPG buying habits survey we ran earlier this month. Of the 1,389 responses, 56% indicated their RPG purchases were mostly physical printed material . . . read article

January 26, 2011:
During the e23 summit earlier this month, we talked about a wide variety of stuff. Unfortunately, all the discussions you want to hear about aren't ready for public consumption yet . . . read article

January 27, 2011:
I'm in Hong Kong for vacation, and that means a week of fun on the opposite side of the world. As I write this I am worn out from my first full day of wandering the city . . . read article

January 28, 2011:
Many of you have listened to the Dice Tower podcast, hosted by Tom Vasel. Tom and his family recently lost their new baby, Jack . . . read article

January 29, 2011:
Since the Steve Jackson Games Multiversal Headquarters is located in Austin, Texas, the hobby game stores we see most often are domestic. So let's take a moment to recognize an outstanding game retailer outside the borders of the USA: Canada's Sentry Box . . . read article

January 30, 2011:
Camp Century" sounds like an awesome name for an Atomic Horror location, doesn't it? In reality . . . it was . . . read article

January 31, 2011:
Fiction is filled with characters who wield supernatural abilities granted to them by beings that can only be described as "divine." As it is in our stories, so shall it be in our games! GURPS Powers: Divine Favor is the source of mountain-moving advantages for clerics, holy men, and those touched by the gods. Need an adventurer whose primary schtick is his connection to divinity? . . . read article

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