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Never Say Disc: Ozz to See the Blizzard

This year both the blog's founders have turned or will be turning 40, and Ozzy Osbourne’s solo career is celebrating similar milestones, with 2021 being the 40th anniversary of both the US release of his debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz and the worldwide release of its follow-up, Diary of a Madman. We reviewed Black Sabbath's debut album around this time last year for its own 50th anniversary as the first installment of our “ Never Say Disc ” segment, and it’s only fitting to follow it up with a post on the former Sabbath singer’s first solo efforts. In the future, we'll probably take a look at Dio's early solo work as well. Before then, and when our obsession with dice games allows for it, we hope to cover other artists, genres and topics. But first, we’re off to see the Blizzard… - A A Side: My copy of Blizzard of Ozz has been played so many times that I didn’t really need to do another listen before starting this post (even though I did anyway). It was one of the

Batman's a Scientist!

Once again we find ourselves posting on a day that celebrates a beloved fictional character . And why not? After all, we’ve had days (and posts) celebrating these holidays before, even if our inner cynics know they're mostly marketing ploys to sell media and merchandise. We’ve talked about the nature of Superman and his stories in Strange, Familiar Visitor from Another Planet . We've taken tips for our tabletop games from Mario's adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom with Details: The Power-Up Mushroom for Your Narrative . And while he's arguably a vigilante, there's no argument against celebrating the enjoyment of our favorite caped crusader - Batman! In various forms, the character has always been a big part of our households, with many birthdays and Halloween party themes featuring hero (and villains) of Gotham City. There's plenty of inspiration to be found in the tales of the Dark Knight, so let's race to the Batcave and discuss them in today's Bat-Po

Star Trek v. Star Trek: The Starship Enterprise's Fifty-Year Confusion

The question "what was your first Star Trek" carries a very different weight today than it did thirty-five years ago. All the classic (i.e., pre- Discovery ) series are instantly available across multiple streaming services, and the films aren't much harder to find - they were some of the first shows to be made available via streaming, in fact. And even before then, there were both broadcast and cable reruns, along with physical copies for sale and rental. For today's viewers, the question usually means "which show or movie is the one that 'clicked' for you, that made you want more?" And, from there, we can deduce what they like about the franchise - stylistically, thematically, and tonally, since Star Trek can be a lot of things for a a lot of people. But it wasn't always this way. For a while, Star Trek was only available sporadically. Even while the movies were doing well at the box office, prospective viewers were at the mercy of whoever mad

There's Not Enough Time... One-Shots to the Rescue!

Over the last few years, the “story-driven” campaign has seen a rise in popularity. It would be difficult to deny the appeal of long character development arcs: comedy, romance, drama - it can be like an interactive version of your favorite movie, book, or TV series. It’s no wonder people enjoy this style of play, as long as they aren't looking for something purely strategic or simple hack-and-slash. But who always has the time for all that? Between scheduling issues, the pressures and responsibilities of day-to-day life, and the plain amount of planning and writing required, it can sometimes be amazing that anyone has the chance to run story-driven campaigns. A few hours spent every week around a ( virtual or physical) table with your friends playing a game can sometimes feel (dare I say it) inconceivable ! All of these issues might preclude many of us from even attempting a game, or only playing vicariously by jamming in live-play recording listening sessions . However, with a li

Greyhawk: Monsters & Treasure

A while back, I was on an expedition in my attic to find some Bill & Ted items in my collection, when I found a different treasure. It was an old roleplaying artifact : Dungeons and Dragons, Supplement 1: Greyhawk (9th printing). A 68-page pamphlet-like book filled with relics of a bygone age. The rules have changed over the years, but a dungeon delve into a piece of history can still inform us today. We’ve already looked at the “ Men & Magic ” section in a previous post and discussed percent chances, titles, and prismatic walls. Now it's time to take on a different section of the book, this one entitled “Monsters & Treasure,” to find more bits of bardic inspiration and explore the history of one of our favorite games. What will we uncover this time? An ancient magic item lost to history? Monsters better left to our nightmares? Time to turn to page 33 (including the cover, there are only 70 pages! It seems so short.) and find out. Druids and Giant Slugs The very first

Thoughts on the American Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Primarily Informed by MGSV

Afghanistan's a big place. It's become something of a cliche to say that recent events are " just like Metal Gear games ," but this is often the case with science fiction. Good works are always about the time in which they were made, but with a focus on exploring certain aspects. Where it might go. As time goes on and these aspects develop, science fiction can feel eerily prescient. The Metal Gear series has incorporated real-world politics since the 2D days, portraying the governments of western nations, particularly the United States, as duplicitous and capable of monstrous atrocities... all while playing a character working on those governments' behalf. 1998's Metal Gear Solid was fundamentally about the fallout from the Cold War arms race, the dangers of the weapons created for a war that never came (which included Snake himself), and lengths to which the military-industrial complex will go to maintain its fiscal and political dominance in a world without

Fun With Murder: The Narrative Ethics of Assassination Games

It's funny. As someone who views "detective" as an integral part of their personality , I sure have a lot of crime games. Well, crime media in general, especially movies, but games have certain... implications. You're the one committing the crimes , not watching other characters do them or following a protagonist as they piece together criminal events through evidence and investigation. You're right there, doing all the bad stuff yourself. Recently, in the ongoing quest to tackle my massive game backlog, I've been playing the first Tenchu game, released in 1998. I bought it because the creators would later go on to make my beloved Way of the Samurai series, but if one looked at my shelves, they could easily assume I chose it thematically, as Tenchu 's neighbors include numerous Hitman , Assassin's Creed , and Dishonored games - a subgenre we'll call "assassination games." I've seen it remarked that there's an irony that, while