Gizmodo: rpg

Second Use for Google Wave Discovered: Role Playing Games

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:20:00 EDT

I'm trying to like Google Wave, but at the end of the day, I can't. I don't really give a damn about it. Recreating movie scenes is cute, but hardly the life-changing paradigm they predicted. RPGs, on the other side...

According to experts, Google Wave is perfect to organize role playing games. Its persistent nature allows to keep a precise record of all that is happening. Players can keep three waves:

The few games I'm following typically have at least three waves: one for recruiting and general discussion, another for out-of-character interactions ("table talk"), and the main wave where the actual in-character gaming takes place. Individual players are also encouraged to start waves between themselves for any conversations that the GM shouldn't be privy to. Character sheets can be posted in a private wave between a player and the GM, and character biographies can go anywhere where the other players can get access to them.

Yeah, I don't give a damn about Google Wave. Next! [Ars Technica]

Dungeons & Dragons on the Microsoft Surface

Mark Wilson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:25:21 EDT

For thousands of years, none of us quite understood the point of the Surface. Then, a few Carnegie Mellon students armed with but blades and wits developed this D&D game, and they lightning bolted the naysayers away. [Microsoft via Kotaku]

D&D Soda Is Really Your Parents' Shameful Tears, Bottled

Mark Wilson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:40:00 EDT

You're walking through a dark cave, clutching your enchanted bow when you realize, CRAP, you're really just in the back of a comic shop with some friends. And you're thirsty.

Jones feels your pain (and recognizes that severe geekdom is akin to any other profitable addiction), so they've started making D&D Spellcasting Soda.

Coming in flavors Potion of Healing, Sneak Attack, Bigby's Crushing Thirst Destroyer, Illithid Brain Juice, Dwarven Draught and Eldritch Blast, you can pick up a sixer for $11 or an even dozen bottles for $19.

And while we're not exactly sure what those prices translate to in real world money (gold pieces), we do know that our charisma level of 20 (technically 18 along with a +2 ring) means that we won't be paying full price. [Jones via technabob via neatorama via Geek Dad]

Bandai RPG Pedometers, Like Nike+ for the Extra Masochistic

Mark Wilson — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:01:00 EDT

13 billion years ago, a super dense ball of junk exploded. And it's taken this long for someone like Bandai to come around and combine our least favorite thing (exercise) with one of our most favorite things (pointless, time-sucking RPGS, preferably featuring some sort of underage girl with oversized...eyes...who has a shrieky, ear-damaging voice and a dual penchant for carnal melee brutality and giggling).

But it's finally happened. Bandai has developed the RPG Pedometer.

Space Cruiser Yamato and 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother are two game/pedometers that Bandai will release in time for this holiday season. As users walk, their characters will both level up and reach new destinations on the map, unlocking new chapters in a story that unfolds over 90 days of exercise.
And while the game hardware itself doesn't look that robust, the systems feature an online component similar to Nike+ that tracks your workouts and weight.

Priced at $45, the only point we're not certain about is whether or not the games will be localized for the US. While we get clarification on the matter, it's probably best to assume Japan only. [Trends in Japan via bbGadgets]

Tomy's Piggy Bank Comes With Built-In RPG

Jason Chen — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:30:00 EDT

Japanese kids and otaku need slightly more motivation than the rest of us to save money, and to that end, Takara Tomy has made a piggy bank with an RPG game built right on there. It's called Bank Quest (was Final Bank Fantasy taken?) and you can buy weapons and armor for your dude from the savings you place inside. That reminds us of the RPG Toilet we saw in Japan one time that rewarded us for the size, weight and consistency of he deuce we dropped. Wait, that might not have happened. [Akihabara News via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Hacked Wii Fit Board Lets You Stumble Around Azeroth

Elaine Chow — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:00:00 EDT

The Germans who hacked a Wii Balance Board from Wii Fit to surf Google Earth have found a much more fun use for the peripheral – running around World of Warcraft. In this follow up video, Simon and Mattieu control a low level gnome exploring Ironforge, avoiding wolves and slamming into tree trunks. Now all they need to do is hack the Wiimote and Nunchuck to understand macros and I will be the fittest WoW player EVER. [Technabob]

LED LEGO Iron Man Minifig Explodes With Boozy Charm, RPG Rounds

Jason Chen — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EDT

Chris and Jared over at Brickmodder rigged up this fantastic diorama of a scene inspired by Iron Man. There's a detail picture of Iron Man after the jump, but you can see from the wide shot that Iron-y is just hanging there, eyeballing that RPG as it gracefully flies past his head before blasting the two terrorists (or construction contractors) in the face with hand lasers. "Yeah, I can fly." [Brickmodder via Brothers Brick - Thanks Lindsay!]

Self-Contained RPG Game Solely in a Mint Tin

Jason Chen — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:20:42 EDT

If you thought putting your iPod nano in an Altoids tin was impressive, check out what Greg Sanders got inside a Penguin mints tin. It's a self-contained RPG game whose parts all fit inside the tin. All you have to do is plug in a Sega Genesis controller and a TV and you're set. Yes, but does it tell you how old your brain is? [MAKE via Play Gadgets]

Tank Forcefield

Jason Chen — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:15:43 EDT

Developed by various defense companies, the Trophy system is basically an active forcefield around a tank or an armored vehicle to defend against RPG rounds. It's not an actual forcefield like the USS Enterprise, it's a system that detects when a round is incoming and shoots out a projectile to eliminate the threat. Best of all, there's only a 1% chance of injuring surrounding personnel when the round is exploded. – Jason Chen

(Video) Trophy Active Defense System: Invisible Forcefield [TecheBlog - Thanks Dave!]

RPG Tech - Custom Tables

Mark Wilson — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 15:35:17 EDT

Save the paper and dice for the poor, when we dork out to tabletop RPGs, we need plenty of money and electricity. Here's a custom tabletop that has a built-in computer, individually lit stations for dice rolls, some cool metal ball thingies, and a tube network for secret DM messages (delivered in ball thingies). Goblets optional.

And check out another tabletop featuring Infocus 425z projector hooked up to the DM's laptop for bright and beautiful dungeoning. We've sort of mentioned this one before.

Now all these tables need is a panic button, swapping the top with the green felt of a poker table. It won't explain your cloak, but it might keep your girlfriend a bit more at ease. – Mark Wilson

[via boingboing]