Okay, just about caught up now. Last one.

Okay, just about caught up now. Last one.

#6: Do you follow any particular RPG authors? Which RPG authors have works you admire, and what are their stand-out pieces of work?

This being the Indie Game Reading Club, I’m torn between the snarky “everyone’s a designer” and more sincere answers. I’m going with sincere, as in straight-up honest, about the voices I pay most attention to here in the Plus.

luke crane is always interesting but he’s also a scrapper. He’s never around anymore because Kickstarter ate him, so his endlessly insightful public debate technique has faded from the world. I’ll still read and listen to anything he has to say.

Jason Morningstar is too smart for his own good but it seems like most of his conversational energies go into the larp scene that’s way more active on Facebook (I haaate talking games on FB), or interesting little tidbits about shitty contemporary war things. Or obscure gameable history tidbits. Another one I’ll read and listen to in all circumstances. Doesn’t actually talk much about gaming though!

Mo Jave has just absurd amounts of material, forgotten to history, at her Sin Aesthetics website (http://games.spaceanddeath.com/sin_aesthetics/). She’s less engaged in ongoing gaming talk here in the Plus, but she’s the most generous and useful voice in one-on-one situations I’ve got. Just the best, especially when it comes to blind spots I have in the freeform design space. That idiot husband of hers Brand Robins is occasionally amusing as well I guess. (He’s not an idiot; I always feel like I need to bring my A game when he shows up.)

Jessica Hammer always has interesting things to say about gaming but most of what she says apparently happens inside her walled garden, to which I don’t have access. But she’s one of the few elusive gaming academic unicorns I know (her and J. Walton, who says fascinating things that, again, I frequently don’t know how to engage with) and that whole space interests me.

Brie Sheldon has been running their five-or-so questions thing for a while, and I read them. I do! They’re frequently not questions I’d think to ask, mostly because my priorities are different, but it’s solid work and important to getting the word out about upcoming projects. The more recent roundup about sexual harassment in the indie scene had a lot of interesting material. I’m iffy on the methodology but as far as sharing experiences goes, worth the read. If you attend conventions, especially, it’s worth your time.

Tina Trillitzsch has been doing a big indie game roundup and holy cow is that useful! Are you still doing it, Tina? I don’t know that I’ve seen it in a while. I know James Stuart had to give up on doing something similar. Way too much unpaid labor. If anyone on this list, me included, deserved a small Patreon-like stipend it’s Tina.

Rob Donoghue is super interesting and prolific. Talks gaming across many categories and angles. I read along and nod a lot, and for whatever reason I never really feel the need to add or discuss. His work seems pretty complete start-to-finish.

I read and love all of you! There are just the names that floated immediately to the top of my mind.

#12RPG