We had a lot of fun making it. I hope you enjoy it. We plan to release episodes on a weekly basis. And I’d love to hear feedback.

You can go to our website: www.creativecommoners.net or find us on iTunes by searching for Creative Commoners.

The suggestively named library was of interest to me for several reasons. It’s all written in Java, which is my programming language of choice. It uses Google Web Toolkit (GWT), which is development kit that makes it easier to develop complex web applications. I’ve been using GWT for the last several months at work. Finally, ForPlay is mainly designed to be cross-platform abstraction library. That means that I can write a game once and with one line of code compile it as a web application or a flash application or native Android application.  That’s pretty powerful. I just want to write a game. I don’t want to worry about vagaries of a particular platform. I especially don’t want to worry about it since I’m doing it for fun.

The library currently supports the platforms (or will soon): Java Desktop (mainly for testing), HTML5, Flash, and Android. There are even plans to look at support iOS (to run on Apple mobile devices).

The other thing I like about ForPlay is that I’m getting in at the ground floor, so to speak. It’s only been available to the public for less than a month. Before that, it was apparently used to write Angry Birds for the web and was an internal Google project. It will be nice to watch it as it grows. It will be a good learning experience for me.

ForPlay’s newness is also its biggest problem. It is still very much in an alpha state. It doesn’t work properly with Android and Flash, yet. There are fairly significant code changes on a daily basis. I’ve already had to do some minor refactoring after a recent update. Documentation is sparse as well. If you want to get something done in a hurry or on any kind of deadline, I wouldn’t suggest ForPlay. You’ll want to wait for it to mature. I’m certainly not in any hurry as I’m working this in my spare time which is unfortunately in short supply.

That said, there is already a pretty lively community springing up around it and there is a lot of activity going on with the code. So, I don’t see this library going away anytime soon, especially when consider how powerful this could be.

If you’re interested in ForPlay, the code is located here: http://code.google.com/p/forplay/

The community and ongoing discussion is located here: http://groups.google.com/group/gwt-forplay

On my next post, I’ll take about the game I’m developing. I’m working on a simple asteroids game. I’ll describe the process I went through to create it and lessons learned.

The change in the site actually comes from a broadening of my interests. As I wrote about in a previous post, I wrote a short story that will be published soon. I’m also working other stories. It would be nice to be able to write more about the writing process here on this site.

The big impetus for the change to the site is I have recently (very recently – as in last week) gotten interested in video game development. I was lucky enough to attend the Google I/O Developers Conference. I attended the session Kick-ass Game Programming with Google Web Toolkit. You can watch it yourself at this link. It inspired me to attempt writing one of them newfangled video games. It already fits in with the main themes of the site: 1) gaming and 2) I barely know what I’m doing. It works out nicely. I plan to use this site to chronicle my efforts. For the time being, that will be the main focus Level 1 Gamer.

I am also working on another project that is still in its infancy. (Like I need more to work on.) I’ll have more on that soon.

I really just have the urge to open up what I write here on Level 1 Gamer to other topics as my interests broaden.

Pen and paper RPGs are necessarily creative. As a player, you bring a character life – giving it a name, a personality, a back story. You are also imagining the events of the game – the flow of a battle, the atmosphere of a tavern. As a Dungeon Master, you are doing all that as well as crafting a story and building a world. In case of my gaming group, there is also a ridiculous (disturbing?) amount creativity put into dick jokes. All this creative activity is bound to spill out of the realm of playing RPGs.

It certainly has for me. For starters, I created this blog which is absolutely a direct result of playing games. My enthusiasm for gaming drove me to express myself. I’ve written almost 30 posts (not so much lately unfortunately) including stories about the characters I’ve played in the regular Swords & Wizardry game I play in. My last post was one such story. This is something I never would have thought I’d do before getting into this stuff. I’ve always felt character stories were silly, a little self-serving, and bit too much like writing fan fic. But, I had fun with it, so I’ve got learn not to judge until I’ve tried it myself.  I started painting minis after going to a workshop at Rincon. I’ve found the hobby to be extraordinarily relaxing and creatively rewarding for me.

Finally, my big creative project, the one that has been most rewarding for me,  is a short story. It’s not related to gaming, but it came about because of gaming. Really, it came about because of the people I game with. I’m fortunate to game with a group of very creative people. Our DM, Paul Fini, runs his own RPG blog, The Warlock’s Home Brew, publishes game modules and aids, is an accomplished artist, and has published several comics through Indie Only Comics. Many of the other players are artists and have blogs themselves. Check out: Gedleesmote’s Grumblings, Rambles of a Lost Viking, Never Crit, Rebirth of Classic Comic Art!, and Boom Culture. Being around all these creative folks is inspiring.

That last blog, Boom Culture, is put out by Max. He is a researcher studying video games and distance learning in education (I know. How cool is that?). He wrote a short story last summer and sent it out to the group. I thought it was great and felt maybe I should try writing something. I haven’t written fiction in a while. I always had ideas, but never the follow through.  Around the same time, several of the guys came up with an idea to put out a pulp magazine called Tales of High Adventure in the style of the old pulp magazines of the ’30s and ’40s like Weird Tales and Amazing Stories. The first issue just came out. Check out Indie Only Comics for details.

This set things in motion for me. I had the inspiration and creative energy. I had a goal to shoot for: write a story that could by published in this new pulp magazine. Also, I had a style, the pulp adventure style, that I found very easy to come with ideas and fun to write. So, I set out to write a story. I decided on a pulp sci-fi story in the vein of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers with some influences from Doctor Who and Alan Moore’s Tom Strong.  Honestly, when I started, I didn’t think it’d be good enough to actually get published. It was just a goal to shoot for and motivation to actually finish. It took me months to write it, but I finally finished the first draft of Doctor Galactic at the Edge of the Universe in “The Creeping Invaders”. I had a hell of a lot of fun writing it. I submitted it and they liked it. After some great editing work (thanks Paul!), the second draft should be close to being ready to be included the second issue of Tales of High Adventure. Exciting stuff. Once it gets close to coming out, I’ll post a preview of the story here.

To add further to all this creative energy, my good friend has started a web comic. Check out Detective Agency. He’s off to great start, so check it out.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post more often. If only I had more time to devote to my creative projects . . .

Excerpted from the Great Annals of the Druids:

fter the travails and exertions of the day, Gnarly Blunderbrush, Initiate of the 3rd Circle, was ready to rest.  That day was particularly strenuous for it was the Black Sabbath, a day when the forces of evil seem to have special power. Gnarly and his followers, the legendary band of adventurers that became known as Arvin’s Avengers, had chosen to meet this evil head on and toiled against unnatural creatures in the ruined tower of Zenopus for much of the day.

2 As the adventurers returned to the city gates of Caladan, wounded and exhausted, the walls glowed a faint green. The town guards gazed in horror behind them.  The group turned to see the vile tower ablaze in unholy green fire.  Sleep did not come quickly to Gnarly that night.

3 Over the land and the hills and the trees in a cave in Harrowood Forest, the famed Mushroom Minions of Blunderbrush grew stronger and stronger.  Gnarly could feel them even in Caladan.  They would be ready soon.

4 As ever, Gnarly felt the Call of the Wilds.  The longer he stayed in the unnatural environs of human civilization the stronger the Call became.  The Call was made worse by the bitterly cold weather as Gnarly was forced to stay indoors during the night.  The walls closed in around him and made him feel suffocated.

5 After a fortnight of living in the unnatural environs of the city, the Call burned in Gnarly’s brain like fire.  Unfortunately, he was young, inexperienced, uncentered.  He acted the fool and tried in vain to resist it with drink and gambling and debauchery and lost all his gold.  An amount of gold that was obscene for Gnarly to have in the first place for a Druid should possess only that what he needs to serve the Spirit of Nature and nothing more.

6 Gnarly, embarrassed and sickened by his actions, left the city to the embrace of nature.  He journeyed through the snow to the Harrowood Forest to a cave, formerly inhabited by beast-men, where he found his Mushrooms fully grown.  Three young ones and the one remaining Mushroom Minion of the ones originally willed under his control were ready to serve him.

7 Gnarly returned to the city with his fungal companions and met up again with his followers.  The group had become concerned with the condition Lord Osric, a leader of Caladan.  He had fallen ill shortly after Black Sabbath.  Fearing that the illness was of dark magic, the group attempted to gain entry to see Lord Osric.

8 Only Televon, follower of the Dream Spirit Morpheus,was granted an audience.  Osric was unconscious and very sick.  Televon communed with his Spirit Lord and received a vision from Morpheus.

9 A dark skinned Stygian witch peered over a boiling cauldron.  The image of a light skinned woman appeared in the boiling liquid and appeared to be communicating with the witch.  The witch noticed Televon.  The witch disappeared and a black mass of chaos took her place.  The evil manifestation advanced on the dream worshipper until he awoke from the vision.

10 Televon did what to he could to comfort Lord Osric with his dream magic and returned to the group.  After meeting up with their wayward companion, Slick Vinny the Wizard, worshipper of magic whose dealings with a group mysterious magic worshippers had begun to rouse suspicions, the group sought ought the old blind former inhabitant of the ruined tower and former mentor of the evil witch Zenopus.  Through him they learned that the women could possibly be the witch Zenopus and the Queen of Stygia herself!  Dark tidings for the future the safety of Arvin’s Avengers and the land of Eir’ian.

11 The group once again resolved to explore the ruins of the tower to seek out the witches spell book and to find the herself.  Upon reaching the tower, Gnarly with his followers and Mushroom Minions in tow found the tower locked.  They climbed to the top of the what was left of the tower and broke through a hatch.  They found evidence that someone else had begun to operate in the tower.  They broke through another hatch and discovered the intruders.

12 They were thugs from the villainous organization of thieves the Black Hand!  Words were exchanged and it was quickly apparent force was the only course of action.  Gnarly commanded his Mushroom to take a flask of oil and a light torch and jump down the hatch.  The brigands were terrorized by the sight of the bizarre creature.  The Mushroom fought savagely and with the help of a mighty blow from the mace of Televon the dream worshipper, the battle was quickly over with one enemy dead and the other surrendered.

13 Slick Vinny, the magic worshipper, used his magic to charmed the remaining foe.  The group learned from their new ally that the Black Hand was searching the tower for the witch’s spell book as well.  Arvin’s Avengers steeled themselves to confront the Black Hand and rid the world of the evil witch Zenopus once and for all.

Well, now, my schedule is opening up.  I’m looking forward to getting to game more.  And I’m looking forward to getting back into writing for the blog.  Hopefully, this kicks off what will be a more regular posting schedule for Level 1 Gamer.

Here is some random gaming stuff I have on my radar.  I’ll be writing more about some or all of this very soon:

• My first public game as a DM will be at the Tucson RPG Guild Gathering in June.  I’m going to run the 4th edition module Rescue at Rivenroar (modified for a single session).
• I’ve picked up a few sets of Pirates of the Spanish Main, a fun little collectible tabletop game.  The models are fun and I hope to play it soon.
• I had some money from a recent Ebay auction and picked up some classic D&D books.  I got a 1E Dungeon Master’s Guide, the Moldvay/Cook and Mentzer Basic/Expert box sets, and the old modules Keep on the Borderlands and Isle of Dread.  Expect my impressions soon.
• I’ll be presenting at the next Gamemasters’ Conference in July.  I’ll be doing a presentation on running a game for new players from the perspective of a new player.
• Had a blast at my regular S&W game last night.  It was great to be back after a break.  Great role playing and the usual shenanigans.
• I plan on going to the Tucson LFR Night again next week.  I may even end up running game if necessary.

I’m really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

During the last quarter, WotC will roll out a product line designed for new players. The game’s core is what was being called the “4e Red Box.” The prototype image was styled after the original D&D Red Box, and contains enough for a few players to play (including some tokens and maps), but can also be played solo. What was interesting to me was the “walkthrough” approach to the rules, where the book is designed to come with you to learn the rules as you play. Also neat is that the choices your characters make during the actual game determine what class you are, instead of generating a character first.

The Red Box is supposed to be the clear, introductory, “I’ve never played D&D before and want to learn” set. An emphasis was given by the WotC staffers that the bookstores (since before 4e and well into 3e) have had trouble selling D&D books because it’s not easy to recommend what new players should buy.

This is a very smart move by WOTC.  One of 4th editions greatest strengths is its appeal and accessibility to new gamers.  It’s pretty clear that this was a strong design consideration for 4th edition.  So, explicitly creating products that help ease people into D&D is the way to go.  In fact, it’s long overdue.

I actually think that this should be the primary focus WOTC has for the D&D line.   Having a product that everyone can point to as the entry point for D&D (and by extension RPGs in general) really makes it easier for new folks to join hobby.  And let’s face it, to most people on the outside of the hobby, D&D is the hobby.  Trust me.  They don’t know or understand anything about the multiple editions of D&D or all the other RPGs out there.  I know when I started last year all I knew about was D&D and that was all I wanted to play.  I just wanted to play THE game.  The one I’ve heard about.  Everything else was either confusing or uninteresting to me.

Besides, there are tons of alternative RPGs and previous editions of D&D to appeal to the veteran and hardcore gamers.  Companies like Paizo and retro-clones are doing well to cater to their needs.   Hardcore and veteran players are well taken care.  The market is becoming increasingly fractured any way.   I’m not saying they should be abandoned, but neither should they be the primary focus of D&D.

I think there is a vast untapped reserve of new gamers out there that the 4e Red Box could capitalize upon if it’s well designed.  Namely, there are millions of video gamers out there who are already familiar with many pen paper mechanics.  The first time I played D&D it really scratched the same itch that video gaming does for me.  Furthermore, there are millions of video gamers out there that already pretend to be dwarves and elves and wizards through games like World of Warcraft and Dragon Age.  People just have to fight through the stigma that D&D carries as the GEEKIEST THING YOU CAN DO.  Which is funny, because honestly, what is geekier: playing a game for hours on end shut up in your house or going out and playing a game while socializing with people face to face.  I think there are a lot people out there that crave that social interaction that D&D and RPGs can provide.  This is especially true for us geeks.  D&D is the only RPG that can really capitalize on that.

Well, I’ve rambled enough.  I’m looking forward to checking out the 4e Red Box when it comes out.

1. Get more involved in SAGA (Southern Arizona Gamers Association).  It’s the reason I’m a gamer and I think organizations like these are important to the future of the hobby.
2. Start running a regular game of D&D 4th edition for family and friends. I ran one session already a couple months ago.  I hope to pick it up again.  I really like being a DM.
3. Go to more Tucson RPG Guild Gathering events.
4. Run a game at one of the Tucson RPG Guild Gathering events.
5. Learn and play Mouse Guard (and possibly run a session).  Just got the book the other day and I am really digging it so far.
6. Get more involved with RinCon, volunteer and maybe help organize.  I had a blast at RinCon ’09.
7. Run a game at RinCon.
8. Continue playing in my regular game of Swords and Wizardry.
9. Play an RPG I’ve never played before.  I’m really interested in Mutants and Masterminds.
10. Keep writing regular posts on this blog throughout 2010.

Happy New Year!  Have fun.  Roll some dice.

• I ordered a copy of the Mouse Guard RPG and it should arrive tomorrow.  I became interested in it after reading this great review at Gnome Stew.  What pushed me over the edge to get it was Chatty DM’s series of posts on Mouse Guard this is the first one.  I’m interested in trying out an RPG so different from D&D and I’m curious about the rules for conflicts.  I’ll be writing more about Mouse Guard soon.
• As long as everything is under control at the homestead, I plan on going to the Tucson RPG Guild Gathering.  Be there or be square.
• I picked up a copy of Car Wars from Amazon, even got free shipping.  When I have time, I want to read through the rules.  I’d like to play again soon.  My first game was such fun.
• My dad got me this cool little box with a dragon on it for Christmas.  It could totally work as mini in a D&D combat.
• I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

What I can do is point you to a proper post by someone else.   I’ve been thinking about family a lot for obvious reasons.  Chgowiz of The Old Guy’s RPG Blog wrote a great guest blog post at Obsidian Portal about Getting your family to play RPGs.  Check it out!