Upwind on The Digital & Dice Podcast

At the Evergreen Tabletop Expo this past weekend I met Mark and Justin with "The Digital & Dice" gaming podcast - two very generous and enthusiastic fellows. I did a little interview and they played a short demo of Upwind. Among other things geek and gaming culture they talk about Upwind in this week's episode in case you'd like to hear some firsthand impressions.

Though their enthusiasm leads them to jump around in their descriptions, it's that very enthusiasm I feel is the essence of how people have been responding to the game. We also talked about doing some playtesting for an actual play podcast later this summer, so we'll keep you posted.

Sidekick Quests on Kickstarter

The remarkable James Stowe is illustrating Biohazard Games' forthcoming rpg Upwind. James is a long time gaming industry artist and is best known for his online comic "Sidekick Quests." SKQ is both a creative fantasy story AND a tutorial intended to teach youngsters how to play role playing games. James has just launched his own Kickstarter to fund the publication of the SKQ RPG - the game he created to actually drive the narrative and tutorial presented in his comic.

If you are a gamer parent, if your kiddos love a good fantasy tale, if you just want to see some great art or the clever integration of comic and game you have to check out SKQ. Afterwards, head over to the Kickstarter and give James some gold coins - it's a great project and deserves to be funded.

BP Bundle of Holding

The generous (and Archipelago contributor) Allen Varney at Bundle of Holding has given Blue Planet it's own Bundle! It's a great way to fill out your BP collection and an easy way to support the marine conservation organization, Ocean Conservancy.

Here's your chance to jump in and explore the waters of Poseidon without an expensive trip through the wormhole...

Upwind Actual Play

Our friends over at Role Playing Public Radio posted the actual play of their first Upwind session today. If you want to learn more about the game by hearing it in action follow this link and give it a listen. As production goes on RPPR will be posting more Upwind sessions. They will also be helping us promote the  Upwind Kickstarter, so give them a listen and your support. 

Enjoy the session and let us know what you think. 

Upwind Update

Biohazard is looking for additional playtesters for it's new Upwind rpg. As always with playtesting, more is better, so if you originally volunteered, or if want to get in on it now, we would really appreciate the help.

If you have already received the playtest files and have played some sessions (or even just read through the documents) we would love to hear from you through our playtester reports.

If you are newly interested in participating, or know someone who might be, send me an email and we can complete an NDA so I can share the playtest files with you. 

By way of an update, we are furiously playtesting Upwind in-house and refining the mechanics accordingly. There have been numerous small but meaningful tweaks to the Q rules set and we are working hard to get everything ready for a final edit. The next three months will be spent finishing the final draft and by August the book should be ready to go to press. We are considering a fall Kickstarter campaign (summer is statistically a bad time to launch) and would therefore hope the have books to backers by spring. 

If you have any questions or would like to be involved in playtesting, please email us.

Upwind on RPPR

The great folks at RPPR just posted episode #127 in which they discuss the joys and pitfalls of running new rpg systems - of stepping outside of the usual and trying something new. As an example of his own efforts in this regard the esteemed Ross Payton talked about his recent experience running "Upwind." RPPR is always fun and funny to listen to and the panel offers some good advice. If you are interested in Upwind or what others have to say about it, give the episode a listen.  

Upwind Demo at the Game Matrix

Biohazard Games will be at the Game Matrix in Lakewood, Washington Friday night 4.8 at 6p to run a demo of our new Upwind RPG. This was sort of an impromptu event so sorry for the late notice. If you would like to participate there is still room at the table so come on down and give the game a try.

http://www.thegamematrix.com/

Welcome Home

You've probably noticed that Biohazard Games has shared publishing rights for Blue Planet with a number of licensees since it's original publication. Most notably Fantasy Flight Games - v2.0 which was shepherded at FFG by Biohazard's own Greg Benage - and most recently with several companies under the auspices of James Sutton, including RedBrick and FASA. Each has done great things with the game and left their own unique marks on the line. Without them, the game would likely have faded away long ago. 

That said, as of this week, Blue Planet is now back home with Biohazard. I can't say what this might mean for the future of the line as we are currently up to our gills with producing Upwind, but it is fun to think about the possibilities.

If you have any gaps in your BP book collection, you can purchase any of the titles in PDF form from DriveThru RPG. And by way of celebration, I will send the first 5 people who send me an email to biohazardgamesemail@gmail.com containing the words "Welcome Home Blue Planet" a coupon for a free download of the BP title of their choice. Be sure to include the title of the book you would like to receive.

Welcome home, 

J- 

Our First Podcast

Ross Payton and his Role Playing Public Radio crew are generous hosts and a great bunch of guys. During a visit last week we did an interview and I ran an Upwind demo - The Dread Pirate Margit. We had a fun time, the scenario showcased the primary setting and mechanical elements of the game and the coolest bit was that they recorded the session. RPPR will be posting the interview and the actual play in the near future and I will be sure to let you know when that happens so you can give them a listen. In the meantime, check out RPPR and support their show.

http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/

RPPR

Role Playing Public Radio is a great podcast covering all things role playing from topical discussions and product reviews to game design and actual play recordings. Hosted by Ross Payton and crew, RPPR is a valuable, creative and often hilarious resource for role players.

Biohazard Games (well, me anyway) will be joining some of the RPPR crew next week to do some recording and play some games - including an Upwind playtest. If all goes according to plan, you should be able to listen in on some Upwind actual play in the near future.

Check out RPPR, give them a listen and support its good work!

Tacoma Game Day

Hello Everyone! I'll be at the Gamerati Game Day in Tacoma, WA this Saturday March 5th (http://gamerati.com/gamedays/). It's a full day of games for only $10 (the cost of a Gamerati Membership Card: http://iamthegamerati.com/). Come say hello and play some games with us. I'll be running demos of Upwind all day, so come by and try out the new game!

Upwind Illustrator is a GM-ing Genius

The esteemed James Stowe is the exceptionally skilled artist illustrating our new Upwind rpg. He is also the exceptionally skilled GM currently running an "Emerald City" Mutants and Masterminds campaign for our local group. Check this out if you're interested in what a M&M campaign can be - Vanguard for Victory. Give this a click for more of his creative genius in the online comic "Sidekick Quests."