Helping geeks find love through online dating profile writing & coaching.
John Adamus belongs to the talented assortment of editors in the role-playing game industry. Currently part of the team working on Damage Control for the Marvel Heroic RPG from Margaret Weis Productions, he's working The Dresden Files: Paranet Papers with fellow editor Amanda Valentine, and Project Ninja Panda Taco from past column visitor Jennifer of Jennisodes. With a solid catalog of past projects, Adamus works day and night as an editor of games and fiction. How did … [Read more...]
By now you should be getting the hang of the skills necessary to write and some of the things you can do to be a professional in the industry. For the next two articles, I’m going to explore the part of freelancing that has to do with your flow of assignments -- what you decide to take on and when you get paid. There are four things that affect your ability to deliver an assignment on time and in the condition that a game company is happy with: how fast you write, how well you know the … [Read more...]
So, from my last article, you might be thinking that all I did at PAX East was play D&D. And you’d almost be right. I did find time to cruise around the Expo Hall a couple of times, most memorably when I walked up to the Turbine booth just as someone said, “So who here thinks they know some Lord of the Rings trivia?” Long story short, I walked away with a state-of-the-art Dolby 5.1 set of gaming headphones. Thank you, Professor! Another notable exception was when I had a chance … [Read more...]
Hiho, gentle readers. It is I, your GGG, here to give you my report on the happenings at PAX East 2012. Well, I logged over 25 hours of running D&D games for Wizards of the Coast and walked out with a mighty pile o’ swag. Amongst my various runnings of the Delve (to be explained shortly), I also ran the playtest of D&D Next twice. I have so many fun stories to share, but I’ll try to narrow it down to just a few this week. Delving the Dungeons So, because of my need to … [Read more...]
Romance happens in games— when we let it. We’ve all seen romances done poorly in table-top campaigns or during a live-action chronicle. But romance doesn’t have to be an exiled storyline; done well, romances can build and destroy kingdoms, take people to war, or lead to a cascade of passionate, unforeseen consequences. Don’t violate their personal space When chemistry starts sizzling between your character and someone else’s, there’s a lifetime of instinct to reach out … [Read more...]
Sometimes, you just have to be the bad guy. Whether it’s an NPC foil to write or a swan dive into villainy as a player, the dark half of the story is never far from the table. When your turn towards evil has come up, you can take a moment to consider how to make it one towards quality villainy. My First Villain Think back to the first villain who honestly scared you. For me, there’s one that comes before all others. Judge Doom. He doesn’t ring a bell? Let’s take a fast stroll … [Read more...]
Although I love RPGs, and I love Tolkien’s fictional setting, I have never been a fan of RPGs set in Middle-Earth. I’ve tried, honestly! ICE’s Middle-Earth Role-Playing (MERP) was just a watered down version of Rolemaster, a game I really didn’t care for. To add insult to injury, the game only went up to level 10, and then told you, “Oh, do you want to keep playing? Then you need to buy Rolemaster.” Rolemaster…we used to call it Rollmaster, because there was a table for … [Read more...]
In this series, we've talked a lot about investigating the company you want to work with, and reviewing what skills you have to offer. Today? I'm going to talk to you about communication. When you're a freelancer, you will need to communicate with people who don't live in your area. That means you're going to chat with them online or via e-mail. Unfortunately, e-mail doesn't always work well to convey emotions. Sure, it'd be easier if we'd take a page from Dork Tower and color-code our text, … [Read more...]
As a complete and total RPG geek (and a professional in the industry), I spend my days encouraging people to roll up characters and play. My readers already know how passionate I am about gaming, and most of you don’t need any encouraging from me to get out your dice anyway. So what I’m about to suggest in this article may shock you. During the busy holiday season, it’s OK to take a break from RPGs. Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my mind, or (even worse) gotten burned out on RPGs. I … [Read more...]
My long-time readers may remember my article from just over a year ago about dealing with a problem player. Well, another one cropped up at the game club, and specifically at one of my game tables. We did everything I’d outlined in my earlier article to give him a chance to straighten up. He received multiple warnings about his behavior – both game-related and not – and in retrospect, maybe we gave him too many chances, but we were trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, despite the … [Read more...]
Level up from online dating n00b to a wonderful (and hopefully geeky) relationship. Our new ebook can take you there. Click here to learn more.