What is that?!

So while I was writing my last post earlier today, I glanced at the 'Stats' tab for this blog, and I noticed a huge spike in readership a few days ago.  I also noticed that most of the spike came from a website that I had never heard of before, by the name of Gothise.

Anybody know that this place is or what it is about?  I suppose that I could sign up for an account, and then I would see, but I am past the stage of signing up for every website out there just because.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Star Wars Goodness in Buttercup Valley

I know that the past several months have seen very little activity at Carto Cacography.  I also know that what little activity there has been has not been original or, even, cartography related.  Interestingly enough (and NOT surprisingly), this has led to a drop in the number of followers that I have.  Unfortunately, the real world has conspired to drastically limit my free time, and while I usually have the time to read those blogs that interest me, I have not had the time to post my own material.  I wish I could say that that is going to change in the near future...

This is another post wherein I will direct you, inhabitant of the blogosphere, to something that I found and was really excited about.

I am a Star Wars fan.  This link will take you to a bunch of behind-the-scenes photos from Return of the Jedi.  I really dig this stuff, and I hope that you do as well.

Production Diary for "The Hobbit"!!!

This may be more of interest to people interested in movie making, but there are certainly bits of fantasy in this 10+ minute video.  It is a video design-diary by Peter Jackson about teh current state of the movie version of "The Hobbit".

Take a look.

Purple Worm Graveyard - Soon!

Over at Year of the Dungeon, Tony Dowler has (almost) made a very exciting announcement.

Okay, so why do I find this announcement exciting?  I did the layout work for Tony's nifty little adventure, and I am pretty pleased with my work.  Better yet, it was a paid gig.  Most importantly, he was pleased with my work.  (That is, unless he is the nicest man on the planet and didn't tell me how he really felt about it.)

I already have in my possession a complimentary hardcopy of the module, and I think that it came out very nicely.  The adventure itself is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it.

Not D&D --- Harrison Ford

As soon as I watched the first clip from this post, I knew that I had to link to it.  Sorry--not at all D&D or even rpg related, but I am a huge Harrison Ford fan, so this was a no-brainer for me.

Enjoy these interview clips.

Been a Long Time, so Roll a D6

I've been gone from these parts for a long time now.  I'm hoping to slip back in and start posting soon.

Came across this and had to link to it.  If only so I won't forget about it.

And thanks to joethelawyer for posting it first.

$$ $$ $$

It is a topic that many people love to discuss--sometimes related to their desires to make money in our little hobby.

I recently ran across two short articles by Monte Cook regarding the topic.  (I know that, to some, he is the devil, but I typically find his thoughts to be insightful and interesting.)

Here he writes about the highest paid authors in 2010.

Here he talks about rpg designers and money.

I do have to admit, however, that when he discusses money, I am left with the feeling that his words would be more meaningful if he would inform us of how well he does in his writing.  Obviously, well.  But numbers would be interesting.  I realize that it is personal, and that it is truly none of my business, but it would be informative nonetheless.

I also know that the vast majority of people in this world (that I have ever met) do not like to discuss money issues--at least their own personal money issues.  I suppose it makes people uncomfortable.  Emotions get involved, etc, etc.  I, on the other hand, don't feel that way.

To be fair, as an officer in the US Navy, my pay is fully public knowledge.  With a few pieces of information, such as where I live, how long I've been in the services, etc., any one of you could google some numbers and determine EXACTLY what the Navy pays me.  I guess in a way, that is liberating.

But I would still be interested in knowing what Monte Cook makes in a given year.



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This post is also a little experiment to determine if the title leads to increased traffic over my typical posts.  Apologies if my experiment offends.

Perhaps Worth a Look

So I found myself over at Goodman Games' website, at this page specifically, and they've put up three "design diaries" about their new Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg.  I'm not sure if people have already been talking about it, because I've been pretty scarce around these parts lately, but I found what details they've released to be pretty intriguing.

Here are links to the design diaries:

General thoughts on the game.
Appendix N in 'modern' gaming format.
Magic Use.

I really, really like their ideas for magic use.  I like the fact that they are purposefully making spellcasting more unpredictable.  That is the way it should be.

Are These Design Principles Relevant?

Jeff over at the Bottom Feeder continues to impress me with his observations and wisdom.  In this post, he reviews Minecraft, a computer game that, frankly, I know nothing about.  (Although after reading his review and the comments following, it sounds like a game any D&D player could love.)

But better than just reviewing it (which would be not very helpful, because he makes it clear very early that he likes it), he offers some thoughts on why it has been successful.  The question now becomes, could those aspects of Minecraft that Jeff thinks makes it a good game be applied to pen-and-paper adventure design?

Geomorphs Bonanza!

Go take a look at this if you like geomorphs.

Thanks to Thomas Denmark for showing me the way.