2013 Rogue Warden Retrospective

Greetings, readers! It’s the end of 2013 and I wanted to take a moment to look back at this year. It’s traditional in December to contemplate one’s accomplishments and setbacks, and that’s where I wanted to go with this post.

In general, 2013 was a pretty good year here at Rogue Warden. I got to design some games, write some fiction, go to some great conventions, and even flew to another country. At the same time, I can’t help but notice that I didn’t quite live up to some of my own goals—I didn’t get any novels written, I didn’t manage to get enough Rogue Warden going, and it wasn’t my most productive year  for game writing.

This year in: Blogs!

 

I posted 43 entries this year, just 9 shy of one per week. That’s a big improvement over last year, and I’m closing in on my goal of one post per week. However, I’m beginning to believe (and accept) that one post per week probably isn’t going to happen given my schedule and responsibilities to things that, you know, actually pay the rent.

I think Rogue Warden did real good this year: I reviewed 4 game systems (including a big one of all the editions of Champions), showcased 12 interviews, and I even got a nomination for Best Blog in the Ennie awards!

What I’m looking forward to in 2014 is to do some more reviews of my favorite supplements, interviewing more luminaries of the gaming industry, and hopefully posting some more of my thoughts on elements of game design.

This year in: Podcasts!

This year I got a chance to act as co-host for a gaming podcast, something I’ve been interested in doing for some time. I loved being a guest on the D6Generation and several other podcasts, so when Darryl Mott approached me to host the Gamer’s Tavern with him, I signed up fast!

Since we started, we’ve released 12 episodes and we’ve got plenty more in the works. The Gamer’s Tavern has had a great start and I’m looking forward to doing more shows covering different aspects of my favorite hobby.

This year in: Game Design!

One thing I really enjoy are miniature games, from Battlefleet Gothic to Battletech. This year, I got a chance to design a skirmish-level miniature game for Catalyst Game Labs called Shadowrun: Sprawl Gangers. I had a ton of fun designing this game and I can’t wait to see how the models turn out.

Possibly the biggest thing I did this year is that I got together with my good friends John Dunn and Jason Marker to design and develop a dark fantasy setting for Savage Worlds called Accursed. This was my love letter to Hellboy and Solomon Kane via Ravenloft, and we launched a kickstarter for this in September. The kickstarter was a big success and I’m extremely pleased to report that the book is done and on sale now at DriveThruRPG. It was a hell of a challenge, and I wanted to find out if I could successfully get a game book made without a huge license or a big RPG company behind me. The answer is: yes I can! My roles on this project were many and varied, from layout to art direction to fiction editing to overall game development.

This year in: Game Writing!

There’s quite a few projects I just can’t talk about yet in this category, so I’ll stick the ones that are released or announced.

First, there’s the Fatemaster’s Almanac for the Through the Breach RPG. I got to lay it out, write a big chunk of it, and even did some development. I’m excited to see these books come out and it’s a very cool game universe to write for.

My long-running association with Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay continued in 2013, as I was able to write some really fun portions of books for Only War: Enemies of the Imperium, Hammer of the Emperor, and Shield of Humanity. I love writing for 40K, and I hope that these two books aren’t my final entries for the line.

This year in: Conventions!

One of my favorite things about the gaming industry is gaming conventions. I love going to conventions, running games at conventions, doing seminars at conventions, and, well… pretty much everything. 2013 was a good year for me and conventions. I got to attend Genghis Con in Aurora, Colorado as a guest of honor. Genghis con, in case you’re not aware, is simply one of the best gaming conventions (for people who love playing games) period. Genghis Con consistently offers high-quality RPG games, packing in three four-hour sessions per day for a total of 9 over the weekend. That’s 9 great games. You’re nearly guaranteed to have a great time, which in my book is a no-brainer. If you live anywhere near Colorado and love gaming, GO TO THIS CON.

I’m honored to attend Genghis Con in 2014 as a guest again, and it’s fair to say I am looking forward to it with incredible anticipation.

Of course, there’s also the superbowl of the RPG industry: Gen Con.

This year, I attended Gen Con in Indianapolis! It is always fun to head to Gen Con, and this year was extra-special. John Dunn, Jason Marker and myself chaired three seminars on getting into the gaming industry, professionalism in gaming, and working with a licensed product. We also debuted the first preview of Accursed, and got some excellent advice and guidance from folks like Shane Hensley.

By far the most interesting and unusual convention that I attended this year was Tracon in Tampere, Finland. I was very pleased to be the gaming guest of honor at this convention (and you can read my full report about it here). Finland was amazing, the convention was amazing, and I encourage anyone who has a chance to go to Finland to visit. I personally can’t wait to go back.

This year in: Fiction!

I wrote two short stories this year, which is better than 2012’s big fat zero. This is the one area where I feel most disappointed in myself—I consider it a personal setback that I didn’t get more fiction written this year, as that was one of my big goals back in January.

I wrote one short story for the Sprawl Gangers game and another for the Deadzone universe by Mantic Games, and I’m quite pleased with both. Here’s hoping I can build on this momentum in 2014.

In Closing

I want to say thank you very much to all my readers and supporters for Rogue Warden. This blog has been a great way for me to talk about the things that I find most interesting and unique about this hobby we all love, and I deeply appreciate all the support and kind words of my readers. I look forward to seeing great feedback from you about the blog in 2014!