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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8517623" data-attributes="member: 27780">Polyhedron Issue 87: September 1993part 5/5Take A Byte: As we also saw in Dragon 171, Jim Ward knows little about the technical aspect of programming computer games, but he knows what he likes, and one thing he really likes is sending the programmers into a panic by asking them to do something that sounds like a cool idea, but is actually a pain in the ass to make work on a computer, with no regards to deadlines. This article does mention various upcoming games, but is more an interview of him and his part in the creative process. He wants to have a decent story that isn't too far from the setting the game is set in, and to use plenty of different settings, although since the Forgotten Realms sells the best, it obviously winds up getting the most. At the same time, he wants the games to be comprehensible to non tabletop players, as that's a whole other lucrative market they can tap into if they can become a household name amongst casuals. So he pokes around at every level in the design process, often resulting in several month delays when he orders something to be changed. I guess a team does need people who's only connection with gaming is playing the end result to check if it's actually fun or not, but he does sound pretty annoying to work for. He was definitely more useful as a writer rather than upper management, but I guess when you've been with a company for over a decade, being promoted above your skillset is a common problem, as it even has it's own trope name. Probably another of those things that contributed to TSR's downfall long-term.Raven's Bluff cracks down on illicitly created magical items! From now on, all items purchased or won in Living City adventures need to be properly receipted. Any character caught with items that they can't properly justify will be summarily removed from play! If you're guilty of this, the best thing to do is quietly erase them from your character sheet before the next time you attend a convention and we'll say no more of it. Kinda depressing that they need to punish it so harshly, but I guess it was inevitable that someone would doctor their sheet so egregiously that they couldn't ignore the problem any longer. Still, that's a fairly significant development in their history that's definitely worth noting. How much pushback will they get in the letters page, and how will they tweak the tracking system to make sure it isn't too bureaucratically onerous? Looking forward to seeing the response to this.The Roving Eye: This would-be column makes a third and final appearance before succumbing to apathy, this time not even telling us what convention the photos are from, although it looks like somewhere with a warmer climate from the way people are dressed, plus one of the shots is outside. Seems like even the photographer can't put much focus and enthusiasm into this. It's not surprising this experiment didn't really catch on.A distinctly irritating issue, with a lot of subpar articles, and signs of tension between the management and the regular members as they take shots at both players & judges to keep them under control. Still, that does also make it more historically significant than the average issue, so it's interesting in it's own way. Let's see what response their statements get in the near future.</blockquote>

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