Author: Raven Kai

“Dragonriders of Pern” Author Anne McCaffrey Dies

Anne McCaffrey

News is just beginning to get out that one of my favorite authors, Anne McCaffrey has died. It is my personal belief that she played a massive role in creating the current fascination with, as well as the mythology for, dragons in contemporary literature. Even if you have never read her work, you have felt the impact of it, however unknowing.

I can remember reading the Dragonriders of Pern series when I was a child. Her writing played a large part in my falling in love with science fiction and fantasy novels. Because of authors like her and Piers Anthony, when other little girls were reading Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew, I was poring over my dad’s collection of thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels, discovering classic authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard and contemporary authors such as Arthur C. Clark and L. Sprague DeCamp.

The literary world has suffered a great loss, but her influence will continue to live on for generations.

from Alpha Airlock:

The literary world has lost one of its greats. Anne McCaffrey, the author of nearly 100 science-fiction and fantasy books, died Nov. 21. She was 85.

Random House, her longtime publisher, confirmed her death to Media Bistro on Tuesday.

Reports are that McCaffrey suffered a stroke, and died peacefully in Ireland, which has been her home since 1970.

Born April 1, 1926 in Massachusetts, and began her writing career with the publishing of Restoree by Ballantine Books in 1967. However, she is best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series, which now counts 22 novels and several short stories. Some included her son Todd McCaffrey as an author as well.

Check out the full article published by Alpha Airlock.

“Seven Dragons” from Looney Labs

Seven Dragons

Like most geeks, I spend a lot of time alone – reading, playing MMORPGs, watching sci-fi and fantasy movies or TV shows; but I’m also a very social person, and I love talking about these things I do alone when I get into a group of like-minded individuals. Since I packed up and moved across country, I haven’t found a group for regular game nights yet, so my socializing has been at a minimum of late, and when do I get a chance to play games with a group I especially enjoy it if what we are playing sparks conversation. Over and over again, I have found Looney Labs games to inspire imagination and conversation. They have such a variety of themes in their award-winning games that no matter what interests someone might have (not so many geeks in this neck of the woods), Looney Labs can deliver a great conversation-sparking game.

Seven Dragons definitely delivered in that department. It’s a variation of their classic Aquarius, but instead of primary-colored landscapes and rainbows, as the title suggests, the cards feature colorful dragons. The artwork by Larry Elmore is beautiful – like some scene from a fantasy novel that is selected to grace the cover of the book. Each dragon is featured in some action or setting that either calls to mind stories you’ve read or makes you wonder what the story is the card has to tell, and sometimes does both.

While playing Seven Dragons, we were reminded of our favorite dragon-filled tales and talked about everything from Eragon and Harry Potter to The Hobbit and Xanth, but also made up our own little stories to explain the scenes on the cards. It was kind of like being a kid again, playing the “let’s pretend” game. You know the one, “let’s pretend that…”, and then you describe some scenario that you then either act out or tell a story about, each person contributing their ideas and creating an interactive adventure. Though our ages ranged a 20-year span from teen to late 30s, we were suddenly all little kids again, our imaginations running wild. What was meant to be a fairly short gaming session to kill time before leaving for work turned into a long session of laughter and leaving for work more than a little late.

Enough about the fun social aspect of playing the game, and on to the gameplay itself:

Seven Dragons is for 2 to 5 players. Gameplay is a little like dominoes with an UNO twist. There are 5 colorful dragon goal cards: Red, Gold, Blue, Green and Black. Once each player is dealt a goal card, they must attempt to be the first player to create a chain of seven connected dragons by matching the cards, the way you connect the numbers on dominoes. Each player begins with 3 dragon cards and 1 goal card. At the beginning of each turn, the player draws a dragon card and then plays a card by matching one or more of the pictures on the played card to one of the cards already placed. The dragon card may have 1 to 4 different pictures featured on it and you get to draw bonus cards if you can match 2 or more. To create a chain, the player must place an unbroken line of 7 touching matched cards. While this may seem simple, once you add in the Action Cards it gets more complicated.

This is where the touch of UNO sets in. Once you throw down a Trade Hands, Trade Goals, Move a Card, Rotate Goals, Zap a Card or Shuffle Hands, you are adding twists and turns that can turn a losing hand into a winning hand or vice versa in 2 seconds flat. Since you don’t know what goal the other players have, you have to guess which color dragon they are trying to match so you don’t inadvertently help them. You have to lay a card down with each turn (or forfeit the turn), and you may not want to give your goal away by aggressively pursuing it, so you may end up laying down a chain of cards simply because you need to get them out of your hand in hopes of drawing more of your goal dragon cards in the next hand. Your opponents are probably doing the same.

Just because someone matched 4 black dragons in the last hand doesn’t mean it’s definitely their goal. You could throw down a Rotate Goals card thinking you will win if you do, since you have the card in your hand needed to link those 4 black dragons to 2 others and win in the next hand, only to find out they actually have the green dragon as their goal. Suddenly, you’re eyeing the table trying to find enough green dragons linked to still win, only to discover you were better off keeping the goal you had.

The more people you play with, the better the chance is that you are helping someone else achieve their goal every time you lay down a card. Because of these tricky little twists, gameplay can get pretty complex if you are the strategizing type, though the basic principle and gameplay is so simple, even young children can play it. The instructions even include a version for pre-schoolers, making Seven Dragons truly a game for all ages.

You can pick up your copy of Seven Dragons and other great games from Looney Labs’ Online Store, Amazon, or your local game shop (check out the store locator for the seller nearest you).

Great News for “The Last Unicorn” Fans

After years of legal battles over the film rights to The Last Unicorn, a settlement has finally been reached that opens tons of new and exciting doors for author Peter S. Beagle, such as giving the film a face-lift for its 30th birthday. You can check out the announcements for yourself over at Conlan Press, but there is one bit of info though that was just too good not to share with everyone!

Starting early next year and running through the middle of 2013, there will be more than 80 special digital theater screenings of The Last Unicorn taking place in America, Canada, Great Britain, and Germany. Peter will be at every one of these events to do audience Q&A, meet people, and sign stuff.

The screening tour will launch with a spectacular event at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, then go on from there.

If you live within 100 miles of a major city, odds are pretty good there will be a screening somewhere near you. We’re working on booking all the locations now, and will post dates on a special tour website as they are finalized. That site should be up for everyone to see by the end of the year.

Of course, there’s another reason for this tour. Peter won’t just be showing the current version of The Last Unicorn and answering questions about it. He’s also going to be keeping everyone informed on the progress of a VERY SPECIAL project, and showing off bits and pieces of it as they are completed…

Like I said, just TOO GOOD not to share!

Arcana Comics is Debuting Becoming at SDCC, written by acclaimed creator Brooke Burgess (BROKEN SAINTS)!

From Arcana Comics:

Brook Burgess, creator of the animated epic, Broken Saints, is releasing his debut Arcana comic at San Diego Comic Con, starting on Wednesday, July 20th, where he will appear throughout the week alongside the artist of Becoming, Dane Cypel. Please refer to the updated signing schedule below for the latest signings.

Of his decision to work with Arcana, Brooke explains, “I was approached by Sean back in 2004, after finishing the original Flash motion comic Broken Saints and producing the 4-disc DVD upgrade of the series with Telefilm Canada.  I had no idea there was such a prolific independent comic publisher in Canada, and was impressed with his savvy in developing original IP and packaging concepts for TV, film, and other media.”

At SDCC 2005, Brooke signed a deal with “20th Century Fox to distribute Broken Saints worldwide, which was an amazing opportunity.  It was launched the following year in San Diego, and Sean was one of the first to swing by and offer congratulations and support!  Arcana was growing by leaps and bounds by then, and I knew he had several feature films in development.  I wanted to start writing a new story asap, but some other motion comic projects – Will Smith’s I Am Legend, and Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy – owned my life for the next year+.”

Since that time, Brooke has written two films, which are in development, and consulted with various transmedia campaigns. Early in 2010, he pitched BECOMING, “a psychological thriller for mature readers,” to Sean. The story was “based on a short film script a friend of mine and I had concocted – an almost ‘operatic’ battle of wills between an aging psychology professor and a cocky graduate student – and I was really intrigued by its graphic novel potential.   I’ve always been drawn to stories where the protagonist is on a quest for ‘knowledge’, and Becoming asks a crucial question:  is there such a thing as ‘ultimate knowledge’…and what’s the price for it?  The story’s witty, macabre, intense, philosophical, very personal…and even a little funny, in an absurd way.”

Arcana is excited to be working with the talented creator and to have him appearing at SDCC.

 

 

Dragon Age: Redemption Web Series Panel Featuring Felicia Day at Comic Con

from The Guild:

 

We’re pleased to announce a Comic-Con panel for the upcoming Dragon Age: Redemption web series on Thursday, July 21 from 11am – 12 noon in Room 7AB.

The Evolution of Web Series: The Guild to Dragon Age— Writer/actor Felicia Day (The Guild), actor Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth), Dragon Age: Redemption director Peter Winther (Leverage), and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah discuss the secrets to The Guild‘s success and what happens when you take that winning formula to the dark fantasy video game universe, Dragon Age, for the upcoming web series Redemption. Room 7AB

 

Games, Girls, Guns! Hong Kong Action Short Film BLOODTRAFFICK to Debut at One of North America’s Largest Gaming Conventions

from RockGinger:

Games. Girls. Guns. All of these are packed into Gen Con, an exciting four-day event where over 30,000 fantasy and sci-fi gamers convene and where the Hong Kong action short Bloodtraffick, starring rising action star Grace Huang and Kirt Kishita, will have its world premiere. Set in a world torn by a war between vampires and angels, Bloodtraffick features the human vigilante Ava, played by Grace Huang, who stars with Russell Crowe, the RZA, and Daniel Wu in the upcoming Eli Roth-produced action film The Man With the Iron Fists, pitted against the vampire Finn, played by Kirt Kishita. The short is directed by award-nominated American director Jennifer Thym, produced by Desmond So, and features Hong Kong action star Philip Ng as action director and stunt choreographer.

A lifelong fan of roleplaying and video games, Thym partners up again with her key creative team from her acclaimed webseries LUMINA to give this fantasy action film, which serves both as a standalone film and a prequel for a feature film, a distinct gritty Hong Kong feel, influenced by modern action and horror films as well as videogames. “I was so impressed with Grace and Kirt on set. Under Phil’s guidance,they jumped right into the action scenes and gave it absolutely everything,” Thym says. “That level of enthusiasm is contagious and gets the respect of the crew.”

Bloodtraffick will premiere at Gen Con Indy Film Festival at 10 pm, Friday, August 5, 2011, alongside a block of selected horror films, including Waiting Fear, Left for Dead, Prom King, The Window Into Time, Raven’s Hollow, Lullaby, Dark Allies and The Weeping Woman. More information about Bloodtraffick, including stills and anextensive set of behind-the-scenes photos, can be found on http://www.facebook.com/bloodtraffick.

ABOUT LEAD ACTRESS GRACE HUANG:

A native of Sydney, Australia, and fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, Grace Huang is a rising star in Asian cinema. With a wealth of experience in frontof the camera, Grace has acted opposite international A-list actors such as RussellCrowe, Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas), and Daniel Wu, as well as Asian music sensationsAndy Lau, Eason Chan, Andy Hui, and Vanness Wu.

Grace’s depth and flexibility as an actor earned her an exciting action role in the upcoming Hollywood feature film The Man with the Iron Fists(scheduled for release in2012) directed by the RZA, and starring the RZA, Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu. Other upcoming feature film projects includeLove in Space, a Hong Kong romantic comedy scheduled for release in the summer of 2011.

Prior to the big screen, Grace earned critical acclaim as one of six lead characters inthe Taiwan Golden Bell Award-winning television drama Friends.

Bloodtraffick is Grace’s first foray into the vampire action genre.

Grace’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/gracehuangactor
Grace’s Twitter: www.twitter.com/Grace__Huang
Grace’s Blog: www.alivenotdead.com/gracehuang

ABOUT LEAD ACTOR KIRT KISHITA:

Kirt Kishita is a versatile actor on stage and on film, having starred in films in the US and Asia, including Asian Stories Book 3 and Boxed In, which won Best Film and Best Acting at the 48 Hour Film Project: Hong Kong 2010.

Kirt’s Blog: www.alivenotdead.com/kirtkishita

ABOUT ACTION DIRECTOR PHILIP NG:

Philip Ng is a Hong Kong actor who is also a master in the martial arts. Trained inVing Tsun Kung Fu under the late Sifu Wong Shun-Leung, Philip is also a sixthgeneration disciple of Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu, training from his father, Sam Ng.Philip is also a trained expert in Hung Gar Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Jiujitsu, andEscrima. In addition to being an accomplished actor, Philip has also worked as fightchoreographer on a number of films. His film credits include Naked Soldier, Bodyguards and Assassins, and New Police Story.

Philip’s Blog: www.alivenotdead.com/philipng

ABOUT PRODUCER DESMOND SO:

Desmond So has extensive experience in the entertainment business and is producer of Bloodtraffick. A television host of Hong Kong’s only English-language lifestyle and luxury-living show on TVB as well as a movie-based entertainment newsprogram on FOX International Channels’ STAR Movies, Desmond and his programs are watched by millions of viewers in more than 20 countries across Asia.

Desmond now stands in front of the camera after having worked behind it for threeyears at The Walt Disney Company’s television network ABC, Inc. in New York. He worked on shows such as The View, The Bachelor, All My Children, and Miss America. While living in New York, Desmond was also involved with Second Generation, a non-profit theater company devoted to bringing Asian American stories to the world’s stage.

In addition to his passion for entertainment, Desmond is also an entrepreneur. Hefounded and operates a consulting firm that provides premier training to Asia’sbusiness managers, professionals, and students.

Desmond’s blog: www.alivenotdead.com/desmondso

ABOUT DIRECTOR JENNIFER THYM & ROCKGINGER:

RockGinger is a film production company founded in 2008 by award-nominated filmdirector and producer Jennifer Thym. Thym’s debut film project, the groundbreaking fantasy web series LUMINA (nine webisodes, 63 minutes total running time, releasedFall 2009), garnered eleven nominations, including a Streamy Awards nominationand a Webby Awards Official Honoree distinction, and has been viewed in festivals and on online platforms around the world. She is also producer of the independentfeature film Jasmine, starring Jason Tobin (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Better Luck Tomorrow), Eugenia Yuan (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Byron Mann (The Man with the Iron Fists, Street Fighter). Jennifer and her films have been featured in numerous print and online publications, including the Wall Street Journal Asia, the South China Morning Post, Time Out Hong Kong andMarie Claire (Italy).

Her latest projects are the feature film version of Bloodtraffick and the cross-cultural TV comedy series Mister French Taste, starring Osric Chau (2012, Andy Lau’s What Women Want), Olivier Malet and Sarah Lian.

Jen’s Twitter: www.twitter.com/jenthym

Jen’s Website: www.rockginger.com

ABOUT GEN CON:

Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, sci-fi and adventuregame convention in North America. It was acquired in 2002 by former CEO andfounder of Wizards of the Coast Peter Adkison, who owns the Seattle-basedcompany. Gen Con is a consumer and trade experience dedicated to gaming cultureand community. For more information, visit Gen Con’s website at www.gencon.com.

For up-to-the minute details, find us at www.facebook.com/genconindy and at www.twitter.com/gen_con.

 

 

VIZ Media to Premiere the Tense High-Speed Action of New Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Manga Series

From VIZ:

High Stakes, High Drama And High Speed Turbo Duels Await Readers In TheLatest Saga Of Classic Fantasy Action Franchise

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largestdistributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will releasethe next exciting chapter of the venerable YU-GI-OH! franchise as thecompany launches the brand new YU-GI-OH! 5D’S manga (graphic novel) serieson July 5th.

The new series, written by Masahiro Hikokubo with artwork created by MasashiSato, will be published under the company’s popular Shonen Jump imprint, israted ‘T’ for Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.First editions of the premiere volume will also include a special YU-GI-OH!Dark Highlander collectible trading card.

In New Domino City, the hottest game in town is the Turbo Duel, fought fromblazingly fast motorcycles called Duel Runners. On the outskirts of NewDomino City, in a district known as Satellite, a new Turbo Duel hero emerges- Yusei Fudo! On his custom-built Duel Runner, Yusei takes on allchallengers, fighting for his friends and the future of Satellite!  In theopening volume of the new YU-GI-OH! 5D’S series, a high-speed Turbo Duelthrough the streets of Satellite brings Yusei Fudo and his friend Sectface-to-face with an urban legend incarnate! Will Yusei lose Sect to theSkeleton Knight? And what sinister plans does Jack Atlas, master of NewDomino City, have in store for Yusei?

“High stakes, high drama and tense high-speed action await readers in thenew YU-GI-OH! 5D’S manga adventure,” says Mike Montesa, Editor. “InYU-GI-OH! 5D’S, the classic card game of dueling monsters has evolved tonow include ‘turbo duels’ waged in giant stadiums on fantastic racingmotorcycles outfitted with built-in magical dueling equipment. ExistingYU-GI-OH! fans won’t want to miss the launch of this exciting new series,which is also an ideal entry point for readers that are new to the YU-GI-OH!world. We can’t wait for the series launch this July!”

Masahiro Hikokubo is a writer with extensive experience on several notableYU-GI-OH! animated series, having worked on the original YU-GI-OH! animeseries as a duel designer before going on to write scripts for YU-GI-OH! GX,YU-GI-OH! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, as well as the latest YU-GI-OH! 5D’S.

Masashi Sato debuted as a manga artist in Akamaru Jump in the summer of 2004with the short story, Mikakushi Tsumuji. He was also named a semi-finalistfor the 64th Tezuka Award for his work, Guhou Daichi. After working as anassistant to the YU-GI-OH! manga creative team, Sato became the lead artiston YU-GI-OH! 5D’S.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one ofthe most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga(graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing ofJapanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensorsof manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., andShogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is a leader in thepublishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiencesin North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa and is aglobal ex-Asia licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offersan integrated product line including the popular monthly manga anthologySHONEN JUMP magazine, graphic novels, and DVDs, and develops, markets,licenses, and distributes animated entertainment for audiences and consumersof all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133;Phone (415) 546-7073; Fax (415) 546-7086; and website at www.VIZ.com.

MTV’s New Supernatural Drama “Teen Wolf” Premiers June 5

When you first hear the title of the new MTV supernatural drama Teen Wolf premiering on June 5th, Michael J. Fox and Jason Bateman fans probably will fondly recall the comedic film and its sequel about a teenage guy just trying to fit in and have a normal life when he finds out about the family secret… they are werewolves. Not the kind of wolves where you turn into one by getting bit but the kind that are born.

While MTV is using the same title, it’s certainly not borrowing the plot… other than maybe some awkward teenage “out of control” moments that appear in every teen drama or comedy. Teen Wolf promises to be more dark, gritty and sensual, along the lines of Vampire Diaries or Lost Girl, both supernatural dramas that can be taken seriously, unlike the more pop-culture glam versions of classic monsters seen in the Twilight saga of books and films.

“It’s sexy and it’s scary and it pushes the envelope,” says series star Crystal Reed, who plays Allison, a member of a werewolf-hunting family and the love interest of the newly-bitten werewolf Scott. Tyler Posey, who plays Scott, describes his character as “the cool kid that was never accepted into the cool crowd.”

There are some in-depth behind-the-scenes looks at the show on MTV’s website. If the trailer peaked my interest, the BTS videos cemented it. I can’t remember the last time that I watched a series on MTV. With this one, they may just be tapping into the sci-fi and fantasy fan base that keeps hungering for high-quality content as their favorite shows get cancelled from network TV.

Check out the trailer below and decide for yourself.

“The Cape: The Complete Series” Comes to DVD July 5th

The Cape: The Complete Series

The live-action comic book series The Cape met a quick death at the hands of NBC, being pulled off the air without even airing the final episode. While the series was a tiny bit hokey, in the way you expect a comic book to be, it showed a lot of promise with a well-developed backstory, interesting plot twists and characters that you can empathize with. Friends of mine who hate sci-fi, fantasy or anything else slightly geeky became quick fans of the show and were frustrated along with the rest of us by its sudden disappearance and by the cliffhanger ending. Now, we’ll all finally have a chance to see the entire series on DVD, including the unaired episode. While we may never get all of our questions answered, hopefully the DVD will include some goodies to shed a bit of light on the mystery.

He’s righteous. He’s heroic. He’s The Cape. Vince Faraday (David Lyons, TV’s ER) is an honest cop on a corrupt police force. But when he’s framed for murder and presumed dead he finds that he must go into hiding leaving behind his wife Dana (Jennifer Ferrin, TV’s Life on Mars) and son Trip (Ryan Wynott, TV’s Flash Forward). Determined to battle the criminals who now control his hometown Vince takes the law into his own hands and becomes The Cape — his son’s favorite comic book superhero. Featuring an incredible supporting cast including James Frain (TV’s The Tudors), Keith David (Death at a Funeral), Summer Glau (TV’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Dorian Missick (The Manchurian Candidate), Martin Klebba (Pirates of the Caribbean), and Vinnie Jones (Snatch).

Pre-order your copy of The Cape: The Complete Series at Amazon, or look for it in your favorite video store on July 5th.

Pirate Fluxx – There Be Treasure Here!

Pirate Fluxx

Looney Labs has been pleasing gaming fans for years with their Fluxx family of games. The newest addition, Pirate Fluxx, is no exception. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Fluxx, it’s fun, easy to play and starts with one basic rule: draw one, play one. From there, everything changes, as the name suggests, because every card has a different set of instructions on it.

Each version of Fluxx includes the same basic set of cards: Rules, Goals, Actions and Keepers. Most versions also include Creeper cards, a card you don’t want in your hand unless it’s required to meet the conditions of the current Goal. When you play a Rule card, you change the rules of the game for everyone. For example, you could place the Draw 4 or Hand Limit 2 rule, or the Play All rule where, instead of only playing 1 card per turn, you have to play your entire hand each turn.

With Pirate Fluxx, we also see the addition of the Surprise card, one that can be played at any time, out of turn, to mix things up in the game. For example, with That Be Mine! you can steal someone’s Keeper, Skullduggery allows you to cancel any Action that would cause a Keeper you want to change ownership and Avast! Halt! cancels an Action another player just played.

You’ll find the usual pirate fixtures such as Monkey, Parrot, Rum, Jolly Roger, Cannon, Cutlass, lots of booty (Pearls, Rubies, Pieces of Eight, Gold Doubloons) and of course seafaring vessels (Dinghy, Galleon, Schooner, Frigate, Sloop). You’ll also find some nice little twists you weren’t expecting like Oranges and Limes to fight off Scurvy, and The Key to help you avoid the Shackles. My favorite card, though, is the Talk Like a Pirate rule. I have a habit of speaking with funny voices throughout the day, so this card finally gives me an excuse to not get funny looks from people for my vocal effects.

I played Pirate Fluxx in my favorite coffee shop with some folks who’ve never heard of Fluxx before. It was a real pleasure to see the initial confusion followed by giggles and eventual all-out laughter. The game is quick to learn (especially since every card has instructions on it) and, depending on the New Rules played, fairly quick to play (5 to 30 minutes per hand). We played 3 or 4 games in about an hour, with everyone (but me) winning at least once.

Pirate Fluxx is a perfect gift for the salty dogs in your life. If it sounds like fun to you but Pirates aren’t really your thing, no worries, because Fluxx is like Baskin-Robbins or Heinz — there are enough flavors available that you’re sure to find something for everyone!

Pirate Fluxx is for 2 to 5 players, ages 8 and up, and includes the following 100 cards in each deck:

28 Keepers
2 Creepers
25 Goals
4 Surprises
19 Actions
22 New Rules

You can order your copy of Pirate Fluxx from the Looney Labs Store, at Amazon, or find a gamer’s den near you with Looney Lab’s Store Locator.

Also, try these other Fluxx varieties:

Fluxx 4.0
Zombie Fluxx
Monty Python Fluxx
Martian Fluxx
Family Fluxx
EcoFluxx
Fluxx Game Lovers 5 Pack Variety Bundle

DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie

DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) fans (or MSTies for short) have been waiting a long time for this game, and I think I speak for all of them when I say it was well worth the wait. When J. Allen Williams first came up with the idea of creating a game, he called in his friends and started the decade-long labor of love that is DARKSTAR. It’s not just a game though, it’s an interactive movie, with your decisions leading to various outcomes, some continuing the story and others bringing you to a dead end (sometimes literally).

As Captain O’Neil, you’ve just awoken from a 312-year sleep that has robbed you of all of your memories, including your identity. You immediately discover a gruesome murder, a sleeping beauty and a missing shipmate. As you begin to explore your surroundings, you discover things about yourself, your crewmates and your mission. You also discover something has gone very, very wrong.

DARKSTAR is similar to the King’s Quest or Myst games in feel and style of play, and features high-quality graphics and textures. There is a mixture of interactive environments, exploration and puzzles, but it’s the video that really sets it apart from traditional adventure games of this style. Hours of video woven throughout turn it from a game into an interactive movie. One of the key parts of the story is a series of short, historical films that have been created for your mission, to be presented at your final destination. These films document the reason for your mission and stress the importance of your success. I can’t give much more information than that without providing spoilers, but I can say that the films are broken up into pieces and you can only access it as you unlock different parts of the game, typically by activating or restoring power to a part of the ship. Each of these, if you pay close attention, will provide hints and clues that will help you with the next step of your exploration.

At first, I found myself spending a lot of time exploring, but not accomplishing much. Then I realized I wasn’t looking hard enough. There are many hidden items, hidden clues and hidden panels. Once you find a few, you start to know where to look and will progress faster. Because there are so many variable outcomes of the game, based on where you explore and in what order, you may miss a large amount of the game without realizing it the first time around. I took a look at the All Revealed Guide (which is in PDF format) and realized that there are several videos I missed out on, especially relating to SIMON, the ship’s smarmy maintenance robot. I was having a bit of a problem with my video being choppy (more on that later) and at one key point, I missed out on an interaction with SIMON that affects his appearances throughout the game. The lesson I learned was that if the game seems to pause, don’t start clicking right away; give it a moment just in case it’s changing from a stationary scene to an animated one.

On that note, I should point out my video-related issues with the game. Here’s my specs:

  • Windows XP Pro, Service Pack 3
  • NVidia GeForce 8200 Motherboard with integrated graphics
  • AMD Athlon 64×2 Dual Core 5000+ (2.6Ghz)
  • 3.25 GB RAM (XPs limit)

When I first installed the game, I couldn’t play it. I would receive an error message during the splash screen that informed me that iShell had crashed. I tried visiting the website for help but, at the time, there wasn’t any information there or patches available to fix the issue. I spent a few days off doing some web searches and the best suggestion I found was to roll back Quicktime. I uninstalled Quicktime (I was running 7.6.8) and reinstalled 6.0, and then installed updates up to version 7.6.5. The game finally ran properly but still had a few hesitations when switching to a video or animated scene. I saved the game frequently and it helped relieve the stress of lost progress in case of game crashing. I did discover that Quicktime tries to automatically update to the newest version, so while you are playing the game, it may interfere with your iTunes account. Hopefully they will be able to patch this soon, as I did have to go through the process of rolling back Quicktime several times because I had other multimedia programs that required the latest version.

Other than the video issue, which I finally figured out, I had no problems with the game and truly enjoyed playing it. It took me a little longer than I thought it would, but part of that is because I took the time to zoom in on what I’d consider Easter Eggs in the game, such as the bookshelves and personal items in the crew’s cabins. While SIMON’s room is blatantly an homage to MST3K, as is SIMON himself, there are lots of other more subtle touches throughout the game, but if you have no previous knowledge of the MST3K universe, you won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. Well, maybe you will a little bit, but hopefully that will just encourage you to learn more about the DARKSTAR folks and their previous and current projects.

There are great performances from the cast, including the final performance of Peter Graves as the narrator. DARKSTAR features Clive Robertson, Beez McKeever, Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff as the ship’s crew, and Joel Hodgson as the primary villain, though the cast includes nearly 40 performers in all.

In addition to the 13 hours of video, the soundtrack includes 38 compositions featuring several genres of music. Much of the music is ambient with a dark, brooding and ominous feel, but you’ll also find classical piano scores in a few “scenes”, and the battles and other action sequences are backed by high-power rock. As my cohort here at ÜberSciFiGeek said, “The soundtrack is great! It has a hint of heavy metal sound that gets the adrenaline pumping, without being distracting.”

For this review, we played the DARKSTAR Captain’s Box Special, which includes:

  • DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie for PC and Macintosh
  • 2-disc Sountrack Album with 38 songs by Progressive Sound and MetalWorx
  • PDF downloads of the All Revealed Guide and DARKSTAR Coffee Table Book
  • Pre-printed (not hand-signed) Cast Glossy
  • XL DARKSTAR T-Shirt

The All Revealed Guide definitely came in handy. While I tried playing most of the game without it, I did have to check through it a few times to see what I was doing wrong. It listed events out of the order in which I explored the ship, so I did get a few spoilers that I wasn’t looking for. Since it’s a PDF picture format, you can’t search for keywords, so be careful because you may see something you don’t want to know yet! If you stumble through DARKSTAR the first time around without the guide, check it out for your second round of gameplay to make sure you get to see all the cool death scenes and Easter Eggs you may have missed.

The DARKSTAR Coffee Table Book may be a PDF file, but it looks like one of those “The Art of…” movie books you see for Hollywood blockbusters. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of DARKSTAR and includes some beautiful images that I can imagine on high-gloss, archive quality paper. I think some of them should be available as prints, they are so impressive. In addition to images of the creation process, you’ll find information about the cast and crew and all the hard work that went into creating DARKSTAR. I think maybe they should make this available on Amazon or some other Print-on-Demand service. It’s really a gorgeous book and, as much as I love my computer, nothing beats holding a real book in your hands.

The Cast Glossy and T-Shirt are a nice bonus. The photos are high-quality photos printed on heavy card stock and the black t-shirt is made of 100% cotton, nice and thick — not the flimsy stuff you often find printed shirts made of. It’s sure to stand up to lots of wear and washing.

The only thing about DARKSTAR that needs improvement, as my cohort pointed out, is that the game is packaged in a large, bulky case with both discs on one side, resting directly on each other, instead of a 2-disc streamline case. While most games include printed material, and the larger case would be perfect for holding that stuff, everything is digital with this game so it takes up more space on your bookshelf than it really needs to and you have to be a bit more careful not to scratch a disc while removing one to get to the other.

Overall, DARKSTAR is a fun and funny game, and a fabulous addition to any adventure gamer or sci-fi geek’s collection. Unlike most games where, once you play it, you put it away, the film-like aspect, hours of footage, and multiple outcomes, death scenes and other scenarios ensure that you’ll most likely play this game several times and, rather than give it away, tell your friends to get their own copy.

Order now at Amazon.com:
DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie
DARKSTAR Captain’s Box Special

Or order directly through the DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie Official Store.

DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie is distributed by Parallax Studio. For more information about DARKSTAR, please visit the DARKSTAR: The Interactive Movie Official Game Site. Parallax Studio may also be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.