ive-action role-playing, a genre that combines classic sit-down adventure games with elements of improvisational theater, laser tag and group storytelling, defies easy description. The phrase may evoke, in many minds, images of gamers dressed in medieval costumes, brandishing fake swords and charging at each other across the green expanses of public parks and forests. However, such images come from only a small chapter of the larger gaming story. The Live Action Roleplayers site goes to some length to define and include all the diverse forms of live-action role-playing.
In case the concise definitions and well-structured information on LARP don't provide a clear enough picture of what this hobby is all about, the webmasters at LARPA go one step further. Entire game scenarios are available on this site for surfers to download. The adventures offered on the page are not pirated--they appear with author permission. They include tabloid scenarios--"I was a teenaged mutant from outer space!"--mysteries, space opera, vampire adventures and virtually everything else imaginable. There is even an adventure which takes place in the context of an SF convention panel on science and technology! The scenarios are varied enough that there is something for every type of player group, whether it is a small party wanting a few hours of light entertainment, or a crowd complete with costumes and props, looking for a full day's enjoyment. There are even 20-minute microgames for two players that are specifically designed to introduce new gamers to fundamental concepts of live-action play.
The LARPA site functions as a point of contact for gamers, offering current news, a calendar of events and contact information for LARP organizations across the globe. It also features a page of links to gaming resources on the Web. The page itself is simple in design but packed with data. As a result, it sometimes loads very slowly. However, users interested in this gaming sub-genre will find the information very much worth the wait.
-- A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week -- April 9, 2001
hat are the defining marks of a "cult" author? A moderate-sized family of loyal followers. A distinguished body of quirky work large enough to inspire deep and varied analyses and a hierarchy of favorites. A vivid personality possessing a certain allure. A real-world mix of accessibility and distance.
By all these signs, the expatriate American novelist Jonathan Carroll is a cult author, a writer's writer who also attracts a band of devoted readers heralding his merits. And in this digital age, one additional mark of the cult object might be necessary: a top-notch Web site, full of gorgeous visuals, hard data and exclusive text. Certainly that's all on tap in the The Official Jonathan Carroll Web site.
Here, surfers can read a ringing endorsement of Carroll's unique virtues from Neil Gaiman, scan the bones of his biography in a well-done informal essay by David Hughes and get the text of rare stories otherwise available only to a few possessors of dusty old magazines. Also included are film scripts, novel extracts, essays such as "Reading My Father's Story," in which Carroll reminisces about the writing career of his dad, interviews previously conducted with Carroll and critical dissections of his writing. On an interactive level, contests to win rare Carroll memorabilia and a chance to pose questions of the author also await. (Promise is made that in the future, the link to "Collaborate" will feature round-robin writing projects involving Carroll and his fans.)
This site is cleverly constructed by Mobius New Media, employing as wallpaper many evocative illustrations with a Euro-fantasy feel. A thumbnail gallery of book covers from many lands offers further eyecandy to go along with the wise and witty words Carroll has thoughtfully shared.
-- Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week -- April 2, 2001
emarkably public for a covert organization, the Secret Masters of Fandom have been compiling information of interest to other SF fans since 1998. For the past six years that data has been available on the Web, providing useful resources to anyone interested in SF and fantasy fan activity.
Convention listings are very much the heart of the SMOF page. The site is home to several different directories, sorted into a variety of categories--cons for gamers, Star Trek fans, convention committees bidding to host the World Science Fiction convention and other areas of interest. They are also sorted by year and geographical area. Most of these listings are maintained by individual fans with an interest in the sub-genre of cons they research. As a result, the listings are detailed and include plenty of information on guests, as well as links to each convention's home page which allow browsers to investigate the event for themselves.
Other great convention-related resources on this page include on-line content from the now-defunct fanzine Conrunner, a 'zine specifically for fans who are organizing conventions; an index of frequently-filked songs and their composers; and contact information for a large number of fan organizations.
The SMOF site is very simply designed and less than stunningly indexed, leaving visitors to search carefully for particular pieces of convention information. Even so, it is always worthwhile to dig through the large body of data gathered here. Visitors will find this site a treasure, whether they plan their entire summer around the convention season or just want to get out for a weekend and mingle with other fans.
-- A.M. Dellamonica
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