Daily Illuminator Archive for October 2011

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October 1, 2011:
As all know, James Wallis rocks. The creator of (among many other things) Once Upon A Time and The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen . . . well, he just rocks, and that's all there is to that . . . read article

October 2, 2011:
If you've followed the news in the manufacturing world over the last few years then I don't doubt that you've encountered story after story discussing one simple fact: It's not getting any cheaper to make things. And it's not just clothing -- "Gap profits drop as raw materials increase in cost" -- and industrial coatings -- "Reichhold Announces Gelcoat Price Increase for European Composites Industry" -- that are affected by increases in the cost of raw materials . . . read article

October 3, 2011:
When a new release comes out, the rules of marketing generally say you should mention the product's name anywhere between two and 85,000 times, so potential customers remember what you're plugging. However, we just released a GURPS Classic supplement on e23 . . . and, unfortunately, the subject matter doesn't like to be referred to by name . . . read article

October 4, 2011:
It's time for fourth quarter game presentations, but when I say fourth quarter I am talking about holiday releases for 2012. What am I really trying to say? . . . read article

October 5, 2011:
Many distributors hold retailer summits, gatherings of the region's retailers, usually to a location near the distributor's warehouse, for socializing and some presentations from publishers. The bigger the distributor, the bigger the show . . . read article

October 6, 2011:
Steve Jobs, one of the true pioneers of home computing, died on October 5 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56 . . . read article

October 7, 2011:
Given Axe Cop's gun bill, it's no surprise that he occasionally falls back on less advanced weaponry. And Munchkin players are certainly familiar with the "anything that will give me even just a +1 right now" frame of mind . . . read article

October 8, 2011:
Shipping from our warehouse, due to be on the shelves of your friendly local game store any day now, it's . . . Munchkin Jumbo d6 Bigger Is Better! These super-sized 25mm 6-siders are available in six different colors (conveniently matching the six player and monster colors from Munchkin Quest) . . . read article

October 9, 2011:
In RPGs, there is a time for John Woo, and there's a time for getting a bit more grounded. When your campaign needs some realistic gun-play, that's the time for GURPS Tactical Shooting . . . read article

October 10, 2011:
Really, when informing you about e23's latest release -- Transhuman Space: Martial Arts 2100 -- it's hard to beat the descriptive power of the title. I mean, it's insight and info on how to use GURPS Martial Arts with the world of Transhuman Space . . . read article

October 11, 2011:
He's far too modest to mention this himself, but our own Phil Reed recently had a role as an extra on The Guild. You can watch Phil's brief appearance here (look for the guy with glasses "helping" Bladezz off the stage) . . . read article

October 12, 2011:
Is this the second "Now Shipping" Illuminator this month? Yes indeed! . . . read article

October 13, 2011:
For obvious reasons, an Axe Cop movie would be completely insane. How could you costume Avocado Soldier? . . . read article

October 14, 2011:
As I've already mentioned (see the August 30 Daily Illuminator entry) I'll be at the New York Comic Con on Saturday, October 15, where from 1 pm to 4 pm I'll have several Munchkin promo items available. I'll also be ready to answer questions about upcoming releases . . . read article

October 15, 2011:
Munchkin is the classic card game of fantasy adventuring. Skullkickers is the hit new Image comic of fantasy adventuring. Munchkin Skullkickers, coming in 2012, combines both great flavors! The fans will be begging for more as the comic's unnamed heroes tear through the World of Munchkin, destroying everything in their path as they help the players fight their way to Level 10 . . . read article

October 16, 2011:
On Tuesday, I'll be hopping on a plane for my first trip to Germany. I'll be joining Director of Sales Ross Jepson in Essen, spending the time meeting with our various translation partners, gawking at all the games on display, and sampling the local cuisine . . . read article

October 17, 2011:
A man walked into a bar. "Why was that even there?" he asked. "And why was it sharpened?!" Then he died. Okay . . . perhaps that was a bit of dark humor . . . read article

October 18, 2011:
A couple of days ago, a user advised us that the Munchkin Level Counter wasn't working properly with the new iPhone OS upgrade. And indeed it wasn't . . . read article

October 19, 2011:
Gaming advocates have long held the position that real-world solutions can come from games -- from socialization exercises to tactical thinking. But recently, gamers were presented with a new challenge: how can proteins fold? . . . read article

October 20, 2011:
On the surface, Curse! You Fired A Stupid Weapon doesn't make much sense . . . read article

October 21, 2011:
I'm now back and recovered after a fantastic time at the New York Comic Con. The trip started off on the wrong foot with the airlines losing my luggage -- which included lots of game samples for a very important meeting -- but quickly became fun once I made it to the convention . . . read article

October 22, 2011:
Our new friends at CNN Money recently talked about The Guild and their innovative approach to merchandising. In the course of the article, they said nice things about Munchkin and SJ Games in general . . . read article

October 23, 2011:
If you're in the Boston, MA area on November 2, 2011, and have time that night to play games, then please visit Medieval Starship and join me for an evening of Zombie Dice, Cthulhu Dice, and maybe even play an unreleased prototype game or two. I'll also have free Munchkin promos and prizes for the players who win the most games of Zombie Dice and Cthulhu Dice that night, so please don't miss out on your chance for goodies . . . read article

October 24, 2011:
More people are becoming aware of the problem regarding the distribution of wealth: Too much loot is tied up in the world's dungeons, utterly inaccessible to all but the hardiest 1% of souls. The latest issue of Pyramid is attempting to address this challenge, one ancient looted treasury at a time. Pyramid #3/36: Dungeon Fantasy is dedicated to the idea of dungeon-crawling heroes, with a special emphasis on the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy line . . . read article

October 25, 2011:
At least that's the word from this Zombie Dice review at machoheadgames. It's a detailed and well-written review, but what makes it fun is the number of photos of Zombie Dice being played (at the top of a mountain is easily the best of the photos) . . . read article

October 26, 2011:
We've had a high number of releases over the past couple of weeks. It may seem odd, but you don't want to be short on choices for holiday gifts, do you? GURPS Tactical Shooting As Real as a Fistful of Steel! . . . read article

October 27, 2011:
As usual, the office is closed for our Halloween Game Day. This year, due to folks flying to this end of the country and the other, our festivities will be held today, October 27 . . . read article

October 28, 2011:
I'm mostly over my jet lag, so it's time to share some of my thoughts and impressions of Spiel 2011, in Essen, Germany. First: WOW . . . read article

October 29, 2011:
GURPS Martial Arts: Technical Grappling puts the current grappling rules in an arm bar until they bang on your desk in submission! The supplement introduces a few new rules that allow grappling to be treated as a continuum of control rather than being "grappled" and "not grappled," and seeks to find pressure points in the rules for posture and position . . . read article

October 30, 2011:
One part of my weekly work here at the office is keeping an eye on all of the games that are slowly making their way from the factories where they are manufactured to our warehouse. You wouldn't think that "container watching" would be all that exciting, but when you're watching (as of this writing) five shipping containers it can be fun to track them from Hong Kong to Atlanta . . . read article

October 31, 2011:
The one-sentence pitch for the just-released GURPS Social Engineering is straightforward: "More rules and guidelines for social interactions in GURPS!" What does that really mean? Let's look at an analogy . . . read article

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