Month: April 2010

Eric Swain Critical Responses, Recent Posts

The Ebert Response

For those of you are utterly sick of this issue, bear with me. I am with you. I am tired of people questioning whether video games are art or not. Yes they are, now move on. But when someone like Roger Ebert brings it up and declares that opinion loudly to the rest of the world, a world ready and eager to accept that proclamation, then we have to stand up and say you are wrong. You are mixing your facts up. You are missing the point. You are looking in all the wrong places at all the wrong things. | more

Eric Swain Recent Posts, Thoughts

Games are Structure

(Forget it, this is going up as is. - Eric Swain) My last post was really only the first half of a longer first draft I wrote on paper. When transcribing it I realized it started to meander and connect too many points, so I cut it down and resettled everything else into another post where it would hopefully make more sense. I wrote about how my exposure to Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition at PAX East sparked that tabletop creative part of me and I started a new campaign. | more

Eric Swain Recent Posts, Thoughts

4th Edition and Cooperative Storytelling

After PAX East sparked my interest in DnD and my players wanted to get back to it, I decided to give it a try. I liked the 4th edition simplification and streamlining of the rules. So I got the core books and read through them in anticipation of trying a new campaign. What I want to talk about came about at the end of our character creation session.  Using the suggestions in the Player's Handbook #2 the players use the possible background bullet points to create their character's pasts. | more

Eric Swain Recent Posts, Thoughts

PAX East in 67,719 Words

I got to Boston around 3 pm on Thursday. Plenty of time for the pre-PAX meet up and Justin's birthday. I spent some time at the Copley mall before heading up to the Cambridge Brewing Company. I got there really early, so early in fact that I sat around doing nothing and that usually leads to worrying thoughts, like: am I at the right place? Do I have the wrong time? How in the hell would I recognized them? How in the hell would they recognize me, given that there is no known picture of me on the internet because I spent a good deal of effort to accomplish that? | more