Posted by Gamakarmica, on Gamespot

The release of Grand Theft Auto IV has brought on all sorts of comments of the status of gaming at this time. "The revolutionary game that will change videogaming forever" is one of them, while others have been calling it "The Godfather" of gaming. So many outlets are ready to pinhole this game as the next coming to bring games to the mainstream as a permanent foothold.

This fellow has compiled a lot of the info you'll need if you'd like to contact the Sci-Fi channel about the pending cancellation of Stargate SG-1. You can write, email or call with his collection of contacts.

The future of Stargate is in question today, as SCI FI Channel has cancelled the long-running Stargate SG-1, Multichannel News reported today and a GateWorld source has confirmed. The news regrettably follows the airing of the show's milestone two-hundredth episode on Friday.

The makers of the documentary offer a free, Creative Commons licensed .torrent download of their film, Done The Impossible which is also being released on DVD. Must see for all the Firefly/Serenity fans.

I had an intense conversation with my best friend about our search for the perfect roleplaying system. He’s very into game mechanics, and I’ve been thinking I’m more of a narrativist. I’m not.

Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #304 - Take Ten: Balance is now online. This weeks issue discusses the skill 'Balance', and includes Readers Tips such as How To End A Session and Gummi Corpses.

So you want to run a Play-by-Post RPG?
-Part 2- "Keep it Simple, Stupid"

You may want to get really fancy with storylines and add a whole slew of different genres and influences to game-play, but you need to think small. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, and don’t let you eyes become bigger than your belly. It’s alright to have ambitions, that’s what’s keeping this type of play going, whereas Play-by-chat hasn’t had a facelift in some time, and it’s starting lose popularity over types of play that allow more room for thought and ‘thinking ahead’ instead of constant flaming in a chat room (Play-by-chat isn’t all bad though). Start with a really basic concept, easy rules, easy character creation and a quick transition into game-play. The goal is after a person signs up they need to be able to make a character and ideally be playing same-day. If not you could lose potential new members. This is usually where Play-by-post games die, they don’t get started. There are a lot of good ideas for games floating around out there; the problem is there aren’t enough players to go around –even if you’re doubling up.

Roleplaying Tips issue #299 has been posted online.

This issue contains 150 benign encounters for your campaign, including things like emptied chamber pots, pesty children, street performers, angry customers . . .

It's part of my job as senior editor at the Gateway to check all of the links in my categories periodically. One of the main reasons we do this is because so many sites disappear, and I've noticed lately is that the worst offender of disappearing sites is the PBP or forum based game. On an average, they last 6 months, and many owners give up after only two months.

A PBP is very enticing. You've got a great idea for a game and you want to share it - a forum board is readily available, and the price is right - free! So you set up the board; fiddle with the layout, add some forums and a few topics, maybe list your site at the Gateway, and sit back and wait for members, right? Wrong. They aren't coming - at least, not right away.

Kikizo Games had conducted an interview with John Carmack. There is a lot of talk about console platforms like Revolution DS and more. Here's one very interesting excerpt:

Kikizo: What's next for id after the new Wolfenstein?

Carmack: We are working internally on a completely new project, but we haven't made any firm plans yet for the future of the Wolf, Doom and Quake franchises.

Read the whole article here: http://games.kikizo.com/features/id_johncarmack_interview_jan05.asp

MMORPG.com: Breaking into the gaming industry is the dream of many. How did you arrive at your current company? Can you run us through what brought you to this company and into the industry in general?

Kyle Kessenrich: I started out in this industry as a bookkeeper for a start-up company, and fortunately was able to move up the ladder on the management side. After the failure of that company, CEO of that company, along with few others, formed another start-up company. That company was bought out by Planetwide Games and that is where I currently work. My original role was again on the management side, but I really wanted to try my hand on the dev side and was able to get involved with the gaming community.

by Leslie Holm

There have been thousands of articles and hundreds of sites devoted to becoming a better gamemaster, but try running a search for articles on becoming a better gamer - they just aren't out there. If our GMs are going to expend all that energy learning to give us a really good game, then the least we can do is try and be the best roleplayer we can.

In this, the first in a series of articles on being a better gaming, etiquette in Online Roleplaying will be discussed. It differs greatly from tabletop roleplaying, primarily since you will often be playing with strangers rather than the group you've known for years. Extra care needs to be given to etiquette when you play online.

by KaRayne

I've been playing World of Warcraft since the original beta was opened. this was sometime during the summer months of 2004.

Personally WoW is far superior to other MMORPG's of current times. Compared to the existing powerhouses of EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies, along with City of Heroes, all have parts that are worth the time, but WoW rolls it all into one user friendly ball of FUN. I don't think I've ever not had FUN in WoW. In other games there were long grind periods when I would just focus on leveling and getting something accomplished. WoW doesn't have these. its broken up into manageable bite-size chucks that most casual players can enjoy any time.(Even on their lunch breaks, which can be dangerous in hostile work environments)

If you’ve ever been to E3 or any of the large industry game cons – or read about them after the fact you no doubt know about “booth babes.” Now I suppose I can’t really complain too much. After all, games of all varieties and genres are filled with mostly naked, super shapely, a$$-kicking, hyper-armed, sleek babes who would kill as soon as kiss you. All this does rile my feminist side just a tad, but I realize its business and besides, it doesn’t interfere with my game play so I’ll forgive them and overlook the blatant sexism. My big problem is that these “booth babes” are frauds. These chicks don’t even game. Believe me, I’ve asked them.