When I first met Wesley Crusher, he was piloting the starship Enterprise. I always liked Wesley when I was younger. He and I were about the same age. I identified with him in the way I’m sure the writers were hoping I would. We were both kind of awkward know-it-alls struggling with our own identities. The only difference was, he was some kind of super genius that got to have adventures with Captain Picard, and I was a quiet nerd who found a community centered around talking about Wesley’s adventures.
I wanted to befriend him; travel around with him. Maybe he could introduce me to this new species called Girl that I’d heard about. I knew he wasn’t real, and that the adventures he and I would have together would only last the 60 minutes minus commercial breaks, but I still wanted to befriend him.
Looking for game advice? Want to know our thoughts on something? Shoot us an e-mail at devteam@apathygames.com and it may become one the subject of our Dear Apathy column.
Dear Apathy,
When writing a setting or world book, is it better to explicitly state the type of world it is (have a sentence or two literally reading “This is a high-magic fantasy world, no steam or gunpowder or other industrialized tech. Humans are the vast majority over the other, dying-out races, and magic cards take the place of scrolls and potions.”), or is it better to use character class description, abilities, magic spell lists and equipment list, and simply having the setting’s information strongly suggested?
Looking for game advice? Want to know our thoughts on something? Shoot us an e-mail at devteam@apathygames.com and it may become one the subject of our Dear Apathy column.
Dear Apathy Games,
I’m running TPA tomorrow and maybe I missed this, but I had a weird fluff question. The text says only information can be passed through time, i.e., the laundry lists, etc. How then, are items, such as the syringe placed into people’s bags before the adventure begins? Other agents?
It seems like at least once a year we end up taking a shot break, sometimes unintentionally. One of us will have some big personal life event that ends up taking up the entire companies attention. It’s the downside of working with your best friends, thankfully it’s the only downside.
This week we go behind the bar to talk about some personal events that have been going on.
About one month ago we released our first adventure into the world. It’s been awesome watching all the feedback coming as people weigh in on what they think of it. Since releasing we’ve been approached to do a contest, asked to participate in a play by post of our own game, and had at least two other sites want to talk to us about our game (links will be posted when the material is ready). We’re excited that people want to talk to us about our game. Reflecting on the past month I’d consider ourselves to be successful in our release.
Looking for game advice? Want to know our thoughts on something? Shoot us an e-mail at devteam@apathygames.com and it may become one the subject of our Dear Apathy column.
Dear Apathy Games,
Let’s say I’m an eager young man with a head full of ideas and a passion for game design. How do I join the ranks of the elite and start a game company? I have a list of things I know that I need including: Product, art, a website, a layout editor, a copy editor, a means of distribution, and capital, and it would be within the realm of possibility for me to find these things, but how do I combine all those elements to actually create a company?
Today, March 4th, is GM’s Day. Today, you’re supposed to get your GM a give in appreciation of the work put into running a game for a bunch of generally ungrateful time-leeches. The whole thing got started with a single ENWorld post, and had been continuing annually.
I’m currently without a game, so I have neither players or a GM. So, instead, I would like to give a gift to all of those new GMs that probably haven’t even heard of GM’s Day: advice.
Each week we answer a question from our loyal audience. Our question for this week is:
Dear Apathy,
I know you guys are doing a big thing about modern games, but I’ve never been able to get into them. I played some d20 modern, and while I liked it, it bugged me how useless it was using a gun. But then I think, if guns were done realistically, everyone would die and nobody would have fun. Is there something I’m missing?
Each week we answer a question from our loyal audience. Our question for this week is:
Dear Apathy,
When I have time to plan, I’ve a very descriptive GM. Sometimes to the point where I bore my players. Other times I forget to describe something, and the game sort of becomes a board game. I guess what I’m asking is, how much detail is right, and how do I prep for that?
Each week we answer a question from our loyal audience. Our question for this week is:
Dear Apathy,
I play regularly, but my players still have a difficult time remembering what was going on last session, and it takes them a while to fall back into their characters. How can I get them into the game faster?
