scormey

[scormey]

Digital Dollars

Sometimes, I am simply disappointed in this community. Just saying. Not all that long ago, I was briefly involved in a discussion online regarding the value of digital Tabletop Roleplaying Games. Which is to say, when a TTRPG is published in a digital format, such as PDF. Let me set the scene: The discussion was basically some (alleged) TTRPG creators, stating that all such creators need to put…

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Same old song and dance

So, it’s been a while since I last covered any news regarding “Lord of the Rings Online” (LOTRO), which at one time was one of my favorite Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games. But there is a good reason for that, since I had a bit of a falling out with Standing Stone Games years ago, and they basically froze me out of the community of content creators for their game. That’s why I…

[scormey]

Money left on the table

It was about this time of year, 30+ years ago, that My Lovely Bride™ and I really got into playing “Magic: The Gathering”. We may not have had a lot of money back then, but for the next couple of years, we cobbled together what free cash we had, and spent them on magic cards, and eventually a few other collectible card games that followed. It turned out to be a fun hobby, something we could do…

[scormey]

Off The Shelf: Earthdawn

I love “Earthdawn”. I also hate “Earthdawn”. It is just one of those games, any roleplayer who has been a part of the hobby for a couple of decades knows what I mean. Look, “Earthdawn” is a pretty awesome game, it really is. The basic premise is this: It is a fantasy game, in a deeply post-apocalypse world, where magic is returning, and bringing with it horrors from beyond imagining. The world is…

[scormey]

Gaming Vacation

Starting this coming weekend, I will be taking two weeks off from work. This is for a variety of reasons, but primarily to take the dogs on road trips to avoid fireworks due to Independence Day festivities. But unlike last year, where we took a six-day road trip through the western United States, our trips this year will be closer to home, mostly evening sojourns to the coast, mountains, and…

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How "Balatro" broke my wife

First of all, a few months back I called into question whether “Balatro” should have been considered “Game of the Year”-material in 2024. I was wrong, My Bad™. Anyway, I’ve been playing this sneakily-addictive game for the past few months, as a regular part of my daily “Game Pass”-play rotation. If you play GP every day, you earn points towards various rewards, and I’m slowly working towards…

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DESPAIR!... For the END of "Starfield" is nigh!

First of all, I was wrong. In a post last week I stated that we could very well get news regarding “Starfield” at the Xbox Showcase 2025, which was held last Sunday, June 8th. I will admit that I was disappointed, and not a little surprised, to see announcements made for other Bethesda games at the Showcase, but no mention being made for “Starfield”. That said, you don’t see me freaking out about…

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What folks are overlooking for Xbox Showcase 2025

So the annual “Xbox Showcase” is coming this Sunday (June 8th, 2025), and I’ve been seeing a lot of articles trying to guess what surprises Microsoft has in store for us this year. I’ve been hearing rumors about new games and content from “Gears of War” to “Persona”, and everything in-between, but do you know what most websites aren’t talking about? “Starfield” Yeah, I get it. “Starfield” has…

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Off The Shelf: Monster of the Week

Let’s get one thing clear, right off the bat: “Monster of the Week” was my first ‘Powered by the Apocalypse’ game, and it set the standard by which I compare all other such tabletop roleplaying games. This is a very high standard to reach, but considering how much I enjoy PbtA games, that should tell you how good those particular games are. Okay, I’m gushing about PbtA again… My Bad. Let’s…

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Why I Prefer Paid Mods

If you’ve been following Bethesda, or their game “Starfield” at all over the last few years, you’ll know that game studio is a bit… controversial, lets say. There are a variety of reasons for this, but today I’d just like to weigh in yet again regarding one of the most tiresome arguments against BGS and “Starfield”: The Creation Club, and its paid mods. Look, I don’t care if you are for paid mods…

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Back to the Faire

So My Lovely Bride™ and I are planning to return to Faire this year, specifically the final day (June 29th, 2025) of the Oregon Renaissance Faire, in Canby, Oregon. It has been some time since we have been able to attend one of our local faires, as I keep having pesky things like open heart surgery, kidney surgery, and gall bladder surgery with a side-order of a heart attack. Always right around…

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A mostly digital future?

Note: I’m writing this a month in advance, but I doubt the Trump Trade Wars have gotten any better by the time this is published, so… Let’s face it: Everything sucks, especially in the Tabletop Roleplaying scene. It doesn’t matter if you are a big publishing house, or a small indie developer, Trump’s trade wars with, well, everyone else, have made doing business very difficult. Paper is more…

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Off The Shelf: Fireborn

So, I said I would eventually get around to covering a game that I really don’t like, and today is the day! “Fireborn” sucks! Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Seriously, though, I am not a fan of this game. I want to like it, I really do. I bought the Players Handbook and Gamemasters Book for this TTRPG years ago, at my wife’s request. We both agreed that the game art was beautiful, and it…

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Back to Youtube?

So I was chatting with a few folks on Reddit recently, regarding the level of gaming discourse on Youtube. Specifically we were talking about coverage of “Starfield”, but other games as well, and how negative videos about certain games do better than positive ones. It all comes down to the algorithm, which favors videos that enflame passions in the viewer, so negative videos tend to be favored by…

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Happy Anniversary, Baby!

I’m taking this week off, as this is when My Lovely Bride™ and I celebrate our wedding anniversary! We’ve been together for 31 years now (seriously!), and are happier now than ever before! So, rather than posting something here, we’re off taking day trips with our two pooches, playing video games, and generally just enjoying each other’s company. No worrying about work, this website, or anything…

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Killer Red Panda on the Loose!

I like to think that I’m a pretty nice guy, when you get right down to it. Sure, I’m opinionated, especially when it comes to politics, but I don’t go around wishing harm to others. That would be ridiculous, even if they absolutely suck (as in Trump and the MAGAts). Now, I have a long commute to and from work. It is about an hour to get to work in the evening, and upwards of 90 minutes to get…

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Just a quick hit of Crowdfunding

As of this post, I have been clean for not quite twelve weeks. I haven’t backed anything on a Crowdfunding service like Kickstarter or Backerkit since early February. I can’t recall the exact date, my last few days backing Tabletop Roleplaying Games via Crowdfunding sites are a bit of a blur. But I’ve picked myself up, brushed myself off, and am ready to embrace my sobriety… for good, this…