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So I was driving Shane to preschool last Friday. Here is how our conversation went:

"Mama, when are we going to Gencon?"

"Well buddy, It's not until the end of the summer. So it's gotta get a lot warmer before we can go to Gencon. Are you excited to go?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to wear a costume again and maybe be in the parade with Wyatt & Amelia and Mama?"

"No, I don't want to be in the parade. I never-ever want to be in a parade. I only want to wear my costume."

"Who do you want to be this year, Thor, or Obi Wan?"

"Hmmmmmm." [a very long pause] "Obi Wan."

"What if there were other kids. Like if there were a kids costume parade, would you be in a parade then?"

"Oh, with other kids in costumes? That would be very nice. I would like to do that mama! Mama, does Obi Wan have a nick name?"

End scene.

The new legal dramedy, Fairly Legal, has geek spin on it enough to make even the most SciFi/Fantasy obsessed of us cock our heads and say, “Did she really say D&D?” Yes! I will keep watching this show. . .or in Chad's case begin watching it. Here's the basic idea: Kate was a lawyer who is surrounded by other lawyers. She stops practicing to be a mediator in her father's firm with her dad & stepmother (whose appears to be a year or to older than her). Her dad has just died at the beginning of the show and she is recently separated from her husband who is an ADA. But the character I like best and who is featured basically as Kate's sidekick is her assistant, Leo. Leo is an excellent representation of your every day professional gaming geek! Aside from being the Wizard of all things for Kate's professional life (even though the ringer that identifies his calls is the cowardly lion), he is a D&D gamer, a Buffy watcher, clearly a ScFi/Fantasy buff and by episode three clearly shows a preference to Apple products (which Chad & I won't hold against the writers...we like us some Macbooks too, but put Linux on it!).

Remote gaming has never been as good as it is now. Computers are a part of all of the Lords of Tyr games, and have been for quite some time. Sure putting a video camera over our miniatures table worked... kind of. But now the tools are so much better and interactive. Are you incorporating technology into your games? The Wizards of the Coast's Virtual Table is already in beta. But why wait! Get your digital game table on right now!

The future is now. This isn't 1983 anymore people. Technology is here, and if we want these games to survive for the next generation of gamers we need to be integrating the modern world into the game.

But D&D is a pen and paper game! But I like carrying around 30 pounds of books! But I like to memorize every crazy little rule and exception and I read all the errata because I have lots of time on my hands!

What are you people waiting for! A zombie apocolypse to come and wipe out the modern world so we can play with hand carved wooden dice “like we did back in the old days sonny”?

D&D Kids: Combat Encounters - Kids play for the juicy descriptions, the life-and-death drama, the unpredictable twists, and—of course—the rewards! [Wizards of the Coast D&D]

What a really great article! This is exactly what we need more of to create the next great generation of gamers. If you have children of your own, or game with kids at all, this is a great starting resource. Uri, my helmet goes off to you sire. Well met!

Uri also wrote a great article on Character Generation for Kids. Go check that one out too. 

The rumors we were hearing a few weeks ago are true! November 16th is the release day for the new web based character creation utility. Am I really really excited? Well... Silverlight? Really? OK, I know it is compatible with Mac and PC (should be usable with Linux too but I won't be able to test it until the 16th) but did you have to use Silverlight? 

I would have thought that HTML4 or 5 with some nice AJAX and Java Script would have been enough. Then there would be no need for an extra download. Not to mention the ability to use the site in some way with mobile devices like Android devices, iPhones or iPads. How great would it be to just use your phone or an iPad at the game table? Well we won't see that anytime soon thanks to Silverlight.

Proprietary plugins... or frankly anything that Microsoft or Adobe makes are going to lock you into very specific platforms. Using open standards like HTML4, HTML5, and Java Script let your content be maleable and allow you to easily move forward to new platforms like all these great mobile devices. 

I guess I should just take my new found ability to use the Character Creator on Mac's and Linux and shut up :).

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