Category: Uncategorized

Full Immersion

I’m back from the ORIGINS game fair in Columbus, Ohio–which served as my grand inauguration for my return to full-time game industry work. As such, it was a great experience, filled with the excitement and joy of knowing that I was back doing what I love. I got a couple of freelance gigs, met up with industry friends that I haven’t seen since my last show (the GAMA Trade Show, March 2002), and also got to meet a bunch of folks that I only knew from RPGnet and other online sites, turning “virtual” friendships into real ones, and even managing to win over a few former adversaries and forming new friendships over the buried hatchet.

It sounds *really* corny, I know, but the whole thing just rejeuvinated me (which is really odd, considering how exhausting the whole thing was–on my feet for 8 hours a day, too much talking, no more than 4 1/2 hours of sleep on any night, not enough food, and LOTS of alcohol).

…and I get to do GenCon in another 20-someodd days.

Anyway, back to work. Major deadlines to meet.

GMS

The Wonders of Modern Technology

audblog audio post

I figured, if it’s good enough for Unca Willy, it’s good enough for me. Now, to decide whether it’s worth doing regularly….

Yesterday I met up with fellow RPGnet regular Jeb Boyt, who was in town for a law-school reunion. Braving the Seattle-esque weather that has plagued NYC recently, we headed underground into the subway, and out to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, to check out a special exhibition of Pulp cover art from the 30s and 40s.

Very cool stuff–they even had a few of the original Walter Baumhofer Doc Savage cover paintings (“Pirate of the Pacific”, “The Red Skull” and “The Meteor Menace”)–seeing the actual oil paintings really makes you aware of how much the old pulp covers have faded and worn. The museum displayed the originals next to sealed copies of the actual magazines, so you could compare them.

I actually wonder if the pulp covers were ever as vibrant as the original paintings—it’s hard to tell now, since the pulps are so old, but I’m not sure if reproduction techniques of the time were able to match the colors. The painting of “The Meteor Menace”, for example, had a much bluer idol–it appears more purple on the pulp cover. The painting of “The Red Skull” had the light playing on Doc’s face with a distinct greenish tint, which is much more subdued on the pulp cover. I wonder if artists like Baumhofer knew this, and made color adjustments to allow for imperfect reproduction, or if its just a factor of the colors fading on the old paper.

The paintings were brilliant. If the show ever tours to an art museum near you, I highly recommend checking it out.

GMS