agesgaming

life in general

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:41:44 GMT

The rest of this month and April are going to be really busy for me. Papers are coming due and I started a new job, although it is only short term. Life has been throwing curveballs at me to say the least.

One positive thing, my website at http://agesgaming.bravehost.com has been using more bandwidth than usual. Traffic has gone up, which is a good thing. Destroy All Evil is doing okay...I am going to cut up the D6 system and use it as a baseline. However, I see some ways of changing it to suit my needs. I hope everything works out for us and for all of the readers of this blog.

On an art kick...

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:23:28 GMT

Just playing around with daz studio 2 some more. The main point of this picture was to develop a unicorn horn for the stock horse in the package. For whatever reason, I can't seem to get any bigger pictures on here w/o having problem with pixelation. Also added one more picture 3-11-08. Another picture 3-14-08.

practice with dazstudio 2

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:46:38 GMT

No big deal here but I have been playing around this free core program called dazstudio 2. It lets you manipulate 3d images and more. The only real thing it can't do is actually create new images. Anyway, if you want to know more, just google dazstudio 2 and it will let you in on stuff I am just learning about.

The main purpose is post what I have done and get some critiques. Ack, not as big as I like but I hope the general idea behind the pictures are there.

GM Day Sale at rpgnow.com (onebookshelf.com)

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:29:16 GMT

I will have to admit that their sale brought some customers my way. It wasn't enough to retire on but I appreciate anyone that comes my way and wants to look at my material. Some people may think I am evil but additional revenue is always a good thing. Another good thing *knock on wood* is that my website has gotten more traffic over the last few months. It seems like word is slowly spreading but I can't take credit for it. Just doing the same amount of advertising after all.

As far as what I am working on, my main project is an game based on 80's horror television series. Right now, I just changed my dice mechanic and I am creating filler material. Of course, the serial numbers will have to be filed off but I hope that I can capture the spirit of genre. In my opinion, they were interesting moralistic tales wrapped up in just enough violence to make them entertaining. Cursed items, investigations, magic, and the inevitabe fights should bring entertainment value. I mean, the stories were never Shakespeare but I hope fans of the shows will appreciate Destroy All Evil when it is done.

GM Day at rpgnow.com and drivethrurpg.now

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:27:11 GMT

No big whoop here but I wanted to let everyone know that there is going to be a sale on rpg PDFs from March 4 to March 6. The smallest discount from any participating publishers is 25% off. I made a product bundle in honor of this promotion. There was also a benefit from 3/2 to 3/4. Anyway, I am not the only one is who participating. Check it at out either www.rpgnow.com or www.drivethrurpg.com

New Game Idea Underway.

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:07:35 GMT

I am working on a new game under the guise of AGES Gaming. Right now, I am toying with either the title Curious Calling or Destroy All Evil! (This project is Pen and Paper; it is not a computer game!) I got my inspiration from the TV horror series of the 80's and from movies like Fraility. Additionally, some short stories like the classic "The Monkey's Paw" have given me some ideas as well.

The premise is pretty simple and the basic ideas are listed below.

1. Each player has underwent an experience in which they can now sense evil in all of its forms. They in the modern day where such ideas are rapidly becoming quaint.
2. Things can have inherent evil in them, creatures go bump in the night, places can be bad and there is a spiritual war going on.
3. There is no right religion or philosophy but they are not in error either. In other words, multiple rituals from different groups can solve the same problem. (This doesn't jive with my personal views but I am essentially working on a work of fiction).
4. The expression of evil is through corruption. Every item, creature or person has been promised something and the players are called in to deal with it. They are tempted in various ways.
5. The hardest part, make all of this sound interesting to the gaming public. Avoid a lot of complicated ideas, not because the players are slow but in order to make play easier for all involved. Ironically, the average gamer is probably too smart for their own good.:)

So far, I have about 5000 words written up on it. There is a really basic section on mechanics, chargen (character generation) and a list of items, creatures, people, places, organizations, etc (nothing in them really, just a working list). The mechanics say the character measures their potential against themselves and then compares that result with anyone else who is there. I am toying with the idea of more special dice but that is something further down the line. All of the items, creatures, and place will have some values. Right now, I have a corruption value and a malicious value. Corruption is how quickly someone either uses the items, transforms into a supernatural creature or gives into the haunted house. Malicious is how powerful the thing is, both in terms of what it can promise and the price for giving into temptation. For NPCs, they will have different values although I haven't started, except to say they will have skills and attributes like the PCs.

That's all for now.

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:16:41 GMT

Titling a thread with an evocative statement is asking for trouble.

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:29:37 GMT

I recently ran into threads which make anti-publishing and anti-charging statements. This isn't a problem to me except for the dissing of people who choose to charge and/or use traditional publishing methods. Rather than rehash the points, I'll just post the link and make a couple of comments. http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9130

It is was one of those threads where some people agreed and some disagreed. The people that disagree either didn't read all of my comments, wanted to play word games with me, or insert words in my mouth after I answered questions. There were also some intelligent things said on both side of the issue. In other words, it was a typical thread:)

Talking about Cursed Life

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:42:12 GMT

I posted at two rpg forums regarding this free pdf called Cursed Life. The threads are at http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=378459 and http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9077. The posters offered good opinions on where to go with it next. The options have boiled down into the following two options.

1. Add more material such as npcs, adventures, artwork and more rules and then sell it as a print option.

2. Keep the core book free and sell the supplements.

Realistically, I will probably keep the core PDF free and sell a print copy of it. I'll probably just keep the B&W artwork in it and sell the core book print version for cheap. I will sell the supplements, both PDF and print.   This method will be different than the one I am using to sell my other rpg line, Divinity.

It is being sold pdf only for right now and I am selling the core book and supplements for that line. The Cursed Life line selling method is a bit more experimential, at least to me. The free version already has hundreds of free downloads but I also know they do not translated to a one on one sale. In fact, for every print or pdf sale, there will be 30x to 100x more. Therefore, thousands of copies need to be downloaded before selling the print copy and going any further.

The download link for Cursed Life is at http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=51686 or http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=51686. If you are new to buying PDFs, feel free to try this rpg out. It is being offered for free.

I know, more links but here are the links for the main store sites. They do a much better explaining themselves than I do. www.rpgnow.com and www.drivethrurpg.com.

Until next time...

additional rpg forums and other websites.

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:16:43 GMT

I discovered that I was able to actually get onto www.story-games.com This site is devoted to indie rpgs in all of the various ways they can be viewed. Additionally, I actually found a site that is trying to become a playtest area, www.playtesting.co.uk. Two more awesome places for discussing games and talking about how to make them better. The first site must have changed their admission policy because I wasn't able to get on them before. The second site, to my knowledge, isn't exclusive although they seem to have games with a narrative bent.

At this point, I'll go ahead and tell the other sites I use when talking about rpgs.   I go to forum.rpg.net and I also to www.therpgsite.com. The first site has a stronger area for publishers to go to and discuss the actual creation of games while the second one gives you a very honest opinion from a player's perspective. That said, both sites cross-pollinate, even though some over at www.therpgsite.com prefers the "hands off" approach to moderation. Therefore, I get very different flavors from each forum instead of vanilla forums.

There are some other good ones but I don't frequent them a lot because of time management. For instance, www.enworld.com is a very good for "d20 people" but I don't create games using that set of rules. Posting there is a less efficient use of my promotion time. Other sites have a much lower membership that doesn't justify a lot of time in them.

I have limited partnerships with a few other rpg publishers. I have "friendly" status with http://basicroleplaying.com/ and I have cross promoted with www.arcnusmagicus.com http://www.sanestudios.peregrinedruids.com/, www.legendaryquest.com and www.rpglinks.net/ There are some rpg news sites that I use to post announcements about my own products. Those sites include www.gamingreport.com , www.gamewyrd.com , http://www.rpgnews.com and www.onebookshelf.com

My next goal is to join www.yourgamesnow.com. This site sell PDFs of rpgs but they use a co-op method for selling their games. Anyone who wants to sell there has to be voted in by the present membership. I also want to trade links with other websites because that can raise the exposure for both parties along with increasing their rank in the search engines. Finally, all of the above have to thank me for talking about their sites now.:)

P.S. I barely skimmed the surface about the available website, blogs, forums, etc. devoted to rpgs.

Releasing a new product

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:11:33 GMT

In February of 2008, AGES Gaming is releasing a new supplement called Fifteen Faces.

Fifteen Faces will be available for download at www.rpgnow.com and www.drivethrurpg.com by February of 2008. According to sources at AGES Gaming: There are going to be fifteen NPCs with divine-level power and they are for their rpg, Divinity. Some examples include Milimax – god of confusion and bewilderment, The Crimson Angel – a superhero worshiped by the masses and Jania – mad sun goddess of Kaliphia IV. Twelve other divinities await… In addition, there are fifteen adventure ideas and a section for making up new religions. Some adventure ideas have PCs dealing with gods who want to turn all beings into their own or dealing with a being that enrages everyone by its mere presence. Additionally, there are potential allies for the PCs pantheon.

updates on previous announcements

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:27:22 GMT

I am happy to note that Fifteen Faces will be released in the month of Feburary. Additionally, I am working on a short PDF featuring one hundred quick ideas for adventures. Specifically, the assumption is that the PCs have the power of gods or other divine creatures. The working title is 100 Divine Ideas. I'll probably change it because a title like that is asking for trouble.

short and sweet...

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:42:14 GMT

I finally released Cursed Life on RPGnow.com. It is free and available for download at http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=51686

News summation

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:05:46 GMT

1. I am sorry about the lack of posts here but I had some internet that I am resolving (hopefully) by the end of this week. Writing and up-loading will be a lot easier.

2. Cursed Life is being released as a free game at www.rpgnow.com in the near future. It will be a PDF only file for the moment and it is a 6" X 9" setup. A print copy might be available in the future at Lulu.com and then if interest still there, the print copy would be sold in other venues. In any case, the PDF is still free, once it is released. I'll ask some other small publishers if they want to swap ads soon.

3. In addition, I want to think about posting a poll on what kind of game or supplement to work on next.

holidays for the rpg hobbyist

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 05:38:33 GMT

I don't have a lot to say at this point but I wanted to wish everyone well (with this being the holiday season and all). Divinity continues to grow....it has went from 60 pages to 92 and I am not done yet. I need to add some additional explainations for seeing how powers relate to the nature of divinities. More clip art is needed as well since one of the biggest things I added were some bonus rules for a miniatures based wargame.

The 92 pages do not include the art I took out...I will have to do the layout again and I know page length will grow from that as well. I easily see a total of 100-110 pages (8.5' by 11" with 1' inch margins...classic settings for paper writing). I also need to buckle down and finish my sample npcs so that I can begin soliciting ads (I am thinking about giving Cursed Life away in order to fulfill a promise and to create promotional opportunities).

I'll ask about it in the rpg forums but I wanted to post my initial thoughts here first.

Finals have gone and went...

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:35:49 GMT

I am pretty happy with the results...I got to enjoy one day of freedom before a snowstorm came in and stranded me at home for two days. In addition, I have a lot of stuff to get done. I am looking for a new job and I need to get some writing projects done. Some of it is for school and some of it is for my own personal sake. My own hobby includeds a rpg supplement called Fifteen Faces, a new game called Cursed Life, and editing new editions of my own original rpg works. I listed a number of resolutions on a site called www.therpgsite.com

1. Finish supplement filled with NPCs for my game line.
2. Playtest and publish another game.
3. Edit, re-test, publish second edition game.
4. Add more to already published supplement.
5. Start up a gaming group, play/run 3e D&D or play any game as long as a DM takes me under their wing.
6. Try and be helpful to other rpg designers and players.
7. Finish first commission for another gaming company.
8. Hopefully, have someone publish one of my short stories.
9. Continue working on novel.
10. Pray for the strength to attempt the above projects and more with 100%effort and to keep everything in balance.

With all this and life in general, I have a full plate. Hopefully, I can eat it all with gusto.

Another semester done...almost

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:20:26 GMT

It's been a little while since I posted a new entry on here. My classes are actually done; I only have finals to worry about. This will give me some time to indulge my writing hobby. Blank screens are begging to be filled with ideas. I will also be able to comment on the various RPG fora without feeling guilty. Speaking of RPGs, I am waiting on some drawings to be done. Once I receive them and "check" them off, I'll release another supplement called Fifteen Faces. It is a write up on fifteen original gods, three from each type I described in the Divinity RPG. Bonus material will work as a prompt for people who want to write up religions for their RPG campaigns.

status report

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:09:28 GMT

Divinity: I added a dice option for it. If you are not familiar with this rpg, it is a diceless number depicting the player as gods. I also added and redressed some old notes derived from it. It is a minis game...I originally came up with the idea when I wanted to use minis from different games and have a logical and internally consistent reason for doing so. I changed my mind as I visited some RPG forums. Anyway, the grand result can be seen at www.agesgaming.bravehost.com. I list some places where this fine product can be purchased:)

Cursed Life: I slowed down on this one since I worked some on the Divinity revision. I also have papers due for my history classes soon. I have added stats for various NPCs such as policemen, criminals, business people, average joes, etc.

Other rpg news: I applied for membership at www.yourgamesnow.com. It is a publishers co-op for the sale of "pen and paper" rpgs...only they are PDFs. Some of the publishers also offer a print option, some don't.

adding more stuff to RPG projects.

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:43:11 GMT

Nothing much here, I added a new category for gods in Divinity called Alien. This is for those beings like in CoC who are different in nature and possess god-like powers. By the name, they do not fit in with the culture who worships them or fit any other category. I have continued to stat out generic and named NPCs for "Cursed Life". It is an RPG about people who have transformed physically, mentally and spiritually into supernatural creatures. I expanded the term to add more variety than just vampires and werewolves.

AGES Gaming first post: summary of posts from website.

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 02:25:39 GMT

11-4-07: I submitted some of my written works to various individuals. Hopefully, this pans out. I also want to state that you will probably hear little from me for the next months (papers are due at that time:)

11-1-07: I sold some more copies of Divine Homelands and Divinity. It always feel good when this happens, especially when it is for a little heard of PDF only project. I hired an artist to finish up with the pictures for Fifteen Faces. I will be releasing that in late 2007 or very early 2008. After that, I work on the re-release of Divinity. As far as homelife, things are still the same (which is a good thing).

10-24-07: I understated a lot on 10-18-07. Divine Homelands will be released on 10-25-07. I made it smaller than intended because I wanted try some new ideas. In addition, it should aid promotion a bit. It is a 20-page guide which lists some considerations for making realms. It uses a point-buy system. It won't hold you by the hand but it will create a handy framework for writing up other dimensions.

10-18-07: I went through and edited Fifteen Faces one more time. I got the obvious stuff out but I let one of my friends go through it again. I started another project called Divine Homeland. It is a sourcebook for players in Divinity to make their own realm. Each place will offer them advantages when they are present. Each power group will have a role in creating it. i.e. Their Spatial power determines how easy it is to get into their place and their Sensory powers will give them the ability to spy on their own realm a bit easier.

10-15-07: I posted at www.therpgsite.com and asked for some initial playtest and review help with Fifteen Faces and Cursed Life. We'll see if they respond. On other gaming ideas, I had posted a pool on some forums asking them if they knew the people on the forum or if they strangers who just talked about RPGs. Overwhelmingly, they knew at least some of the people on the forum. What does that mean? I'll have to ponder that for awhile.

9-30-07: I am putting stats on NPCs for Cursed Life and I am trying to wrap up Fifteen Faces so that I can get some people to give me input before doing a (hopefully) last edit. I also added a new page for reviews given out on AGES Gaming products.

9-24-07: I still have the same number of pages but I ripped a lot of stuff out and re-did it. Things are going well on that front. I wanted to thank the people at www.therpsite.com and forum.rpg.net for helping me out. Now, back to work...

9-21-07: I already have 60 pages done for my new game, Cursed Life. It is set in the modern era and the players have been changed into supernatural creatures. The reasons depends on the GM and the players. Some of them could be the following:

1. spiritual warfare (demon inhabits body and you have to battle for your soul at all times).

2. genetics (the "transformation" is a disease which alters the genetic structure of humans in different, something like resident evil's T-virus except you maintain intelligence and not all victims can spread it. In addition, most humans do not change their form.)

3. aliens (you were never truly human, each entry in the book is a different aliens species that just happens to conform to some of Earth's legends).

4. magic (either someone has worked an awesome ritual spell to alter dimensional laws or the right time, alignment of planets, etc has naturally changed certain people.)

5. Combination of factors: It's different factors at work with each other. The GM can decide on this. (This option is include for completeness).

9-13-07: I delete all of the items for '06 listed on here. Here is periodic disclaimer stating I keep only few months of log activity on here. It's a revolving log so to speak. I am still working on a couple of games along with finishing up Fifteen Faces (title might get changed). One of them is in the supernatural genre. The players are transformed into different creatures of the night and have to fight for their survival. I mixed some different games into and added my own thoughts as well. Another one is set in another dimension where humans are enslaved by the world itself. They are emotionless beings who can be freed by the players or enslaved to their wishes. In the future, I would like to put out a book of realms for Divinity along with a "quick idea generator." Beyond that, I will see where the sales will takes us. Of course, the most valuable asset is time...too much to do and so little time to do it in.

7-30-07: It's been a long two months since I have been able to get on here due to sickness and unemployment. Fifteen Faces is entering the editing phase. It's been a bumpy start with the PbP idea. I have received interest in the idea but roadblocks keep coming my way. I'll keep trying it. If nothing else, a few more people who have some interesting in RP will have heard about my product. I have been hanging out at therpgsite.com. I still check out forum.rpg.net and occassionally the forge. Storygames won't let me on...only forum about roleplaying I have heard of where the admin have to approve of you first before you can even do anything. In addition, school is starting soon. It's scary but it's something I have to try one more time.

5-12-07: The first review came in for Divinity. It came from a staff member at www.rpgnow.com. I appreciated it even thought it was a mixed review. It outlined out the strengths and weaknesses within the game. I won't go into details at this point but it is accessible from the website listed above.

4-26-07: I received the initial sketches for fifteen faces and I am pretty pleased with it. I have commissioned four pieces for it since I couldn't find good concepts on the clipart circuit. Three of the pieces are sci-fi in nature and one of them is more fantasy in nature. It will be cool to have pictures showing the nature of the gods/goddesses being depicted in this book. I have received enough funds from Divinity to cover the initial costs plus paying for the artwork for Fifteen Faces. In addition, I went to another site at www.plothook.com to try and arrange a PBP campaign there. So far, it looks promising.

4-15-07: Continuing to wrap things up in order to concentrate on products and commitments. http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=321572 is a thread I made for playing Divinity. I thought it would be cool to start a PbP (play by post) campaign. We'll see how many responses I get.

4-7-07: It's been a busy two weeks or so with wrapping up school, so little time for working here. I just finished out the contract with the artist who will be working on fifteen faces. I am also starting to work on additional material for Divinity. I have received feedback asking for clarification on what using powers might look to different Divinities. I am now inspired enough to add a section depicting that in far more detail. I plan on updating the PDF and allowing people who already bought it to redownload it. In addition, I will update once this section is done. It looks like it will be a fairly hefty addition but I am not going declare that is second edition or a revised edition. To me, that is more of a marketing ploy and centered around print than PDF.