September 5, 2010: Loud Games

No, I'm not talking about Frag, which got so loud during a convention playtest session that security was called. Nor is the topic Nanuk, a game that inevitably involves everyone shouting at the deck at least once.

Nope, the topic today is RPGs. Not normally a style of gaming that one associates with loud noises, is it? However, many gamemasters use both music and sound effects to help enhance the mood of their campaigns. I had a very good conversation with a pair of GMs at Gen Con, debating the use of audio, and one of the barriers we discussed was the difficulty in finding appropriate sounds.

Well, here's an answer: the Freesound Project, a collection of noises distributed via the Creative Commons license (which means they're completely free to use and re-use). They're not looking for songs or compositions, but instead things like "walking on the beach" or "shells hitting the floor."

They're . . . [more]

Previous Illuminators

A dead rock star contaminates the lizard-like wand and the electric hypodermic. September 5, 2010: Loud Games No, I'm not talking about Frag, which got so loud during a convention playtest session that security was called. Nor is the topic Nanuk, a game that inevitably involves everyone shouting at the deck at least once. Nope, the topic today is RPGs. Not normally a style of gaming that one associates with loud noises, is it? However, many gamemasters use both music and sound effects to help enhance the mood of their campaigns. I had a very good conversation with a pair of GMs at Gen Con, debating the use of audio, and one of the barriers we discussed was the difficulty in finding appropriate sounds. Well, here's an answer: the Freesound Project, a collection of noises distributed via the Creative Commons license (which means they're completely free to use and re-use). They're not looking for songs or compositions, but instead things like "walking on the beach" or "shells hitting the floor." They're . . . [more] Previous Illuminators		Smoke Bombs And The Smell Of Fries For me, games need to have themes. Pure mathmatical puzzles hold no thrill for me. And the more theme, the better. For instance, *Ninja Burger* combines two things I love -- ninjas and burgers -- into a delightful game. What's not to enjoy? At #PAX and want Zombie Dice? Come to room 214 right now because they're going fast. -PR 3 hours ago The crowd is already starting to form for the last Mega-Chibi drawing. #pax pkc 4 hours ago More tweets... You are the 545728th covert operative here today. (14690839 since August 1, 1995)