critical role Archives

November 11, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

4–10 November 2019: Brand Partnerships, Sales Numbers, The Inevitability of Monopoly

Roleplaying’s time in the spotlight continues this week! We learn that Critical Role is partnering with Amazon Prime to extend and host their cartoon based on the popular D&D livestream. Meanwhile, EN World looks at the past few years of brands creating RPG content as a marketing ploy. We see some RPG history: RPGs after…

October 7, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 2 comments

30 September–6 October 2019: Wendy’s & Critical Role; DriveThru Reconsiders; Kickstarter

Welcome to the first week of October 2019 where the biggest news of the week is a fast-food chain publishing its own RPG. The road to the mainstream was never going to be all blockbuster movies and celebrity endorsements, but we definitely didn’t see this one coming. That may be the most contentious story this…

September 30, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

23–29 September 2019: Ugh.

The news is certainly thorny this week, containing a smorgasbord of grim news, a cornucopia of ugh. For starters, Zak Smith is back in the news. Smith has been in the spotlight numerous times over various allegations of harassment, abuse, and assault. This week, his long-time collaborators have published a book defending him, and it’s…

August 26, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

19–25 August 2019: Rick Loomis, American Football, Les Bijoutiers Fantaisistes

This week, our main story is a sad one: Flying Buffalo founder and RPG luminary, Rick Loomis, has passed away. There are some moving tributes to his work and influence, as well as some ways for gamers to support his family. We have some gaming industry news: the Critter “Hug of Death” hits Chaosium, the…

March 18, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

11–17 March 2019: Adapting RPGs, Remembering Larry DiTillio, Cthulhu in Australia and Japan

This week we see a host of announcements related to adaptations: RPGs being made into movies, movies being made into RPGs, RPGs into computer games, miniature-lines into RPGs, and so on. We get some reminiscences on Larry DiTillio’s work at Chaosium, and on the global reach of Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu. In addition, we have…

March 11, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

4–10 March 2019: The Gygax Legacy, Critical Role breaks records, Pathfinder 2e Approaches

The Gygax Legacy and D&D History March 4th marked the 11th anniversary of the death of Dungeons & Dragons inventor, Gary Gygax. The date also coincidentally marks GM’s Day. Kotaku discusses Gail Gygax, Gary Gygax’s widow, and her battle to control the Intellectual Property left behind after Gary’s death in 2008. RPG historian, Shannon Appelcine…

March 3, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

25 February–3 March 2019: Project Alpha closes, Ghosts of Saltmarsh announced, Facebook takes on Patreon

This week we see some big changes in the world of actual play streaming, some new digital platforms (the good, the bad, and the ugly) which could be relevant to gamers, and a whole host of new product announcements (including a large number from Wizards of the Coast). Streaming Streaming network, Project Alpha, is shutting…

February 24, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

18-24 February 2019: TV, History, Culture

Editor’s Note and Content Warning: There have been further developments regarding last week’s accusations of abuse in the industry. As we did last week, we’re sticking that story at the bottom of the page, for the sake of anyone who needs to avoid that content. Want to get updates from us? Follow us on Facebook…

February 11, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

4-10 February 2019: Corporations, Digital Dragons, Greg Stafford on Quora

The Companies Behind the Games Hasbro, parent company of Wizards of the Coast, releases its Fourth Quarter and Full Year Reports for 2018, reporting a 12% net revenue decline across the board (largely due to the loss of Toys ‘R’ Us), including a 12% decline in revenue from their Gaming products. Their Dungeons and Dragons…