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Thursday, May 26

Review - The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games by Michael J. Tresca

For anyone who is looking for a definitive history of the development of role-playing games, this book is likely to be a little bit of a disappointment. For anyone looking for a comprehensive treatment of the social aspects of role-playing games, this is also likely to be a bit of a disappointment. This book is neither of those things. It is a kind of hybrid that gives a rough outline of the history of role-playing games, and a brief glimpse of the social framework that these games engender. This book is more the first salvo in the effort to take on role-phttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giflaying games as an academic subject, rather than the final word. As a launching point for a more complete treatment of either, this is an excellent beginning.
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posted by Mike Tresca at 11:00 PM | 0 comments


Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.

Friday, May 20

Examiner Success Stories: Building virtual worlds and real audiences


Michael Tresca is a game designer, author, communicator and artist. He had been a professional freelance writer in the gaming field before he discovered Examiner.com. He was drawn by the freedom the site offered so that he could define his own column. That’s when he became a role-playing game Examiner. But defining the column was rooted in the much larger story of defining the Internet and the World Wide Web. His master’s thesis, The Impact of Anonymity on Disinhibitive Behavior Through Computer-Mandated Communication, was published in 1998. By analyzing posts from a law enforcement news group, it revealed the dark side of human interactions via computers.


Continue reading on Examiner.com: Examiner Success Stories: Building virtual worlds and real audiences - National RPG | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/rpg-in-national/examiner-success-stories-building-virtual-worlds-and-real-audiences#ixzz1Mw6H3wZR

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posted by Mike Tresca at 6:53 PM | 0 comments


Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.

Wednesday, May 11

Review: 'The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games' PB

ICv2 reviewed my book and gave it three stars:
Because the book covers miniatures games, tabletop role-playing, computer games and even Live Action Role Playing, the book is at best an overview and history, but has fascinating points to make. Anyonhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife seriously interested can spin off from the many entries in the bibliography for further study. This serious study will only be of interest to adults.
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posted by Mike Tresca at 9:07 PM | 0 comments


Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.

Monday, May 9

My first fiction book to be published: The Well of Stars!

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Hot on the heels of news of my non-fiction book, The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, I'm pleased to announce that Three Ravens Books has accepted my manuscript for The Well of Stars!

Filled with macabre humor, high sorcery, and a quest to save the world, The Well of Stars follows the adventures of three unlikely protagonists dragged into a plague-ridden war after the original heroes failed. It features a quirky necromanceress, a one-eyed prince with memory loss, a former opera-singer turned zombie, a snooty elf with terrible aim, an incomprehensible dwarf, a ranger who couldn't track his way out of a box, and snowboarding Eskimos.

That's right, The Well of Stars, featuring Welstar, the fantasy universe in which I've set two decades of stories, characters, and games. Welstar has been a Dungeons & Dragons 1st- and 2nd-Edition role-playing game campaign for all of my high school and college, a world on the text-based online multi-user dungeon RetroMUD, and the setting for three novels and over a dozen short stories.

This has been a long time coming and it feels good to be on the cusp of reaching my lifelong goal of fiction publication -- with my premiere fantasy setting no less. Stay tuned for more information as the book develops!

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posted by Mike Tresca at 9:24 PM | 2 comments


Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.