Michael Tresca
Recent & Upcoming Releases
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April 16 2024 -
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October 1 2024 -
November 12 2024 -
February 18 2025
Could D&D Ever Have an eSport?
eSports -- game competitions facilitated by electronic systems -- are largely known for their multiplayer video game competitions. But with the rise of Dungeons & Dragons' presence on Twitch and the D&D Adventurer's League, an eSport for D&D isn't that far-fetched. By Denny Sung (CEO) - GLOBAL MULTIMEDIA SCHOOL, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=108140853...
Stranger Things Loses its Mind
Stranger Things uses the parallels between a Dungeons & Dragons adventuring party and its core characters to create a narrative about young heroes battling the forces of darkness in both the real and Upside-Down worlds. But when it comes to a particular iconic D&D monster, the Duffer brothers seem to have drawn upon monster lore that came out well after the second season takes place. THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
How Geek Culture Made Halloween Awesome
If you noticed that the kids' costumes who knocked on your door last week looked better than ever this year, you're not alone. Thanks to the spread of geek culture, pretending to be someone else has become so commonplace that it's raised the costume game -- to everyone's benefit.
Everybody Loves Lovecraft?
H.P. Lovecraft's particular brand of weird horror has gone on to influence a wide variety of modern media that is distinct from the vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein's monsters of yore. The tabletop gaming world -- led by Chaosium -- has more than its share of Lovecraftian games. But if past Kickstarters are any indication, Lovecraft's name alone is not a guarantee of success.
The Original End Goal of Dungeons & Dragons
It's common knowledge that Dungeons & Dragons proposed "anything can be attempted," a revolutionary idea that launched the role-playing game industry. And yet, attempting anything didn't necessarily mean the same style of play throughout. There is evidence that D&D had a very specific end goal in mind for its characters, and it has a lot to do with its wargaming roots.
Cthulhu Returns to Video Games
Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu role-playing game has been influential in sharing H.P. Lovecraft's work across a variety of media, including other role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, board games, and video games. License Call of Cthulhu games have debuted on PCs, gaming consoles, and mobile platforms, but each adapted the tabletop game rules to suit the medium. Will the new Call of Cthulhu video game be faithful to the tabletop RPG?
The First Female Adventurers
The limitless boundaries of interactive fiction and role-playing have always held the promise that anyone could imagine playing anybody else. Despite the fact that there were several important female contributors to the creation of the hobby, it took some time for the hobby to reflect their diverse contributions.
Who Needs Iconics Anyway?
One of the challenges posed in introducing role-playing to newcomers is in relating the near-limitless possibilities of the player's persona -- the player character -- and what that might look like. Enter iconics, which existed long before the Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons branded them. What's an Iconic?Broadly, iconics are recurring characters that are used in examples of play. There's...
RPG Crate Unboxing: Mythoard #31
This is my unboxing of the August 2017 Mythoard RPG crate. This crate is definitely something different for Mythoard, and is probably the best value for a crate to date. With a hardcover valued at over $100 along with a variety of props, this is a good deal -- so long as you're interested in a pirate-themed campaign.
Pros and Cons: HASCON
We didn’t know what to expect from HASCON, which took place in Providence, RI last weekend. My entire family are veteran congoers, so we were skeptical if HASCON would meet up to my ten-year-old son’s and seven-year-old daughter’s expectations. We were pleasantly surprised.
A "Bright" Future for a Shadowy Game
Role-playing games as inspiration for modern media is nothing new -- White Wolf was far ahead of the curve with its World of Darkness setting featuring a nightmarish blend of vampires and werewolves, and now Dungeons & Dragons is having a moment with a rich variety of fantasy-themed media. So perhaps it's not surprising that a combination of the two has arrived from Netflix titled Bright, and it looks an awful lot like another popular role-playing game.
Can the Geek Crate Model Survive?
The crate model -- in which subscribers pay for a blind-box monthly delivery service of theme-related items -- has undergone some growing pains recently. Two data points indicate that the industry is maturing, but not without some rough patches.
RPG Crate Unboxing: Mythoard #30
This latest RPG crate shows promise but there are a few missteps in execution. I'd like to see the scroll without rules on it so it can be used in any version of D&D, less artwork that I could easily print myself, and props that you can actually wear.
Is D&D Entering a New Golden Age?
Sales of the hobby game market are on the rise, with tabletop role-playing games increasing along with other tabletop games. With a new Wizards of the Coast CEO in place who values Dungeons & Dragons as much as Magic: The Gathering and a movie on the horizon, we're starting to see signs that D&D is doing very well indeed. Picture courtesy of Unsplash. The Hobby Market is Doing Well ICv2...
The Most Popular Mobile RPG You've Never Heard Of
The spread of Dungeons & Dragons-style video games and their subsequent enormous popularity peaked in the West with Massive Multi-players Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) like EverQuest and World of Warcraft. But a confluence of technology and culture has created a new gaming craze that's become so popular so quickly that the Chinese government is condemning its use. Welcome to Honor of Kings.
When the Sharks Finally Catch You: The Death of Geek Chic
Gaming tables are a high-end commodity that home-owning geek adults increasingly covet for their dining rooms and game rooms. A company who can produce and deliver such a product was a dream come true for Geek Chic when they appeared on the reality television show Shark Tank. The rise and fall of the company reflects the struggle of geek manufacturers everywhere.
![[Chaosium] From the Archives - What Almost Never Was... ('Out of the Suitcase' with Chaosium president Rick Meints)](https://www.chaosium.com/product_images/uploaded_images/438263811-10161855405522743-4436059744439747497-n.jpeg)
![[Misfit Studios] Super Archetypes: Gadgeteer for Savage Worlds](http://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/101/479666.png)