Relationships at the Forge

[Mike Holmes]

There was Adam, Bull (though he probably wouldn't remember), Ben (Jacob's friend and artist), et cetera...

Damnit, I knew I remembered that name, but couldn't place it. Sorry, Adam. Obviously, I've also forgotten Chris.

And that's Ben Moore, Chris is referring to, if I'm not mstaken, who posts here, mostly on the TROS forum.

The Forge convention ring grows...

Mike

[Jake Norwood]

I've got a crappy memory, but off the top of my head, I've gamed with:

Mike Holmes
Ralph Mazza
Ron Edwards
Gordon C. Landis
Matt Snyder
Seth Ben-Ezra
Peter Adkinson (awww yeah)
Jason Blair
Ben Moore (our lackey)
Jared Sorenson

And a dozen more, mostly in smaller con-games, like Paul Czege and others. I'd say I've really become friends with Ralph and Ron (who had me over for Thanksgiving in Chicago, which rocked!), and I'm pretty fond of Mike and Jared, too.

I think that it's my relationships from the Forge that motivate me to go to any Cons at all, actually.

Jake

[Ziriel]

Being a newcomer here I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you other Forgers face to face, although I hope one day I will.  Perhaps given time I'll have a list as long as Mr.Holmes. ;)  Iz there anyone eles here in my general area (northern Colorado)?

I haven't found that my lack of familiarity with fellow Forge goers has impeaded my participation at all (although there iz the occational reference that I miss).  

And just in case you missed it in the cultural analysis thread:  Jason aka crucial iz my most beloved beau.  So I suppose I do know someone here quite well!

[Seth L. Blumberg]

I've met Paul Czege, and his girlfriend Danielle, once. We were going to do a playtest campaign together, but it never worked out.

(um, Paul, your girlfriend's name is Danielle, right? blush blush blush....)

Anyway, I'd like to meet other Michigan Forgers, whether to game or just to hang out. There are plenty of us.

[edited to incorporate last sentence, and again to fix bad BBcode]

[lumpley]

Em and I met Jared and Mike (mearls) on Saturday.  It was brief but cool.

-Vincent

[Paul Czege]

(um, Paul, your girlfriend's name is Danielle, right? blush blush blush....)

Yup.

Paul

[greyorm]

I'd like to know: Who do you hang out with? :)
Specifically, who on the Forge do you personally know and game/spend time with socially in real life? And also who of those you have met on the Forge have become your friends, collaborators or allies?

What are the sub-communities among our larger community?  

And how have these relationships, or lack thereof, affected your involvement with the Forge?

Face-to-face, no-one.
I live too far away from everyone I know of on the Forge.
Fang, I believe, is the closest to me at ~3 hours away.

However, who do I know specifically?
Gareth (contracycle), Nathan (Pag), Travis Casey (enfidel -- though I haven't seen him post for a while), and Fang Langford -- whom I also know previously from RPG Create.

Ron, Clinton, Mike Holmes, John Wick (John!), JB Bell, Bob McNamee, Josh Neff, Scott Knipe, Paul Czege, Mike Gentry, Sean (unodiablo), Ralph (Valamir)...and, damnit, some folks I'm definitely forgetting -- almost all of whom I met via the Forge and in-person at GenCon.

Who among those do I interact with regularly outside the Forge?
Ron. I met Ron before there was a Forge and when Sorcerer was a bunch of text files you had to e-mail him to get your hands on.
The game inspired me to do some art...
...the rest is history.

Also, Nathan, Travis Casey, Mike Holmes, Bob and JB. I used to be a regular for the Monday night Indie Gaming, but real life has interfered with that of late.

Bob made a kick-ass character sheet for Orx; plus I've done artwork for a couple folks, Clinton and Mike among those, and lately Jason Blair.

[M. J. Young]

Clinton was kind enough to put me up in his (then Baltimore) apartment for Apartment!Con a couple years ago; and I met several people there who made an impression on me, but I'm not going to attempt to recreate the names as I'm bound to mess up someone. Clinton did not play in the Multiverser game I ran, but if memory serves he and I both played in a D20 fantasy game Peter Seckler ran.

Otherwise I have not met anyone in person as far as I know.

I'm not certain to what degree that's important. I feel like I know Seth fairly well, and have corresponded with him and his wife about topics other than games at times. There are others I've known from other lists (and again there is the problem of knowing which people are actually here that I knew there). I had something of an online relationship with a number of people now here before here was more than an idea, and have fond memories of discussions with Ron and many others on the Gaming Outpost forums.

When Nick Lalone offered to pick me up, and Ed Healy along the way, to go to Apartment!Con, my wife had visions of some serial killer preying on unsuspecting gamers (no, quiet in the peanut gallery--Nick's a nice guy, really). Maybe I'm too trusting; but I feel like I know a lot of people I've never met, from interacting through forums such as these.

And maybe it's partly because I'm so cerebral in reality that the part of a relationship I most value is the part that is easiest to share in this medium.

--M. J. Young

[Mike Holmes]

Funny, I forgot to mention John Wick as a GenCon attendee. But that's because I sorta think of him as above membership here due to his celebrity status.

But that's silly. While he's almost certainly the most successful designer who posts here regularly, that doesn't change the fact that he contributes as openly and honestly as any other member. Sorry to let your "industry" status cloud my perception of you, John. I personally have benefitted from John's advice, and enjoyed meeting him in person. Sentiments felt by others here as well, I'm sure.

For those not aware, it may be that whatever support John gives to what we do here is the most important facet of our general acceptance across gamedom. Or at least that's my perception. Not that we need to be legitimized, but it doesn't hurt to have a heavyweight attending your site regularly.

Thanks for being here, John.


Now, Walt is also sorta famous as well, and it's neat that he's here too. But I've yet to meet him in person. Coming out to one of the Cons this year, Walt? We'd love to play across from you in person. :-)

Mike

[Walt Freitag]

Uh, yeah I guess, with a BIG emphasis on 'sorta.' :-)

I missed the window for posting a self-profile, but one of the things that would have been in there is that my current career status affords me an existence that can best be described as "hand-to-mortgage." I would love to come to one or more of the Cons this year (especially an event involving another Indie-RPGs table, or another Demon Con). However, I might not be able to and I don't really want to build my own (or anyone else's) hopes up too much.

Netgaming with Forge folk is something I'm sure I'd enjoy and value. I have to weigh that against working on my interactive-storytelling system (and the limited software options for my Mac), but it's something I'll be looking into after a current end-of-year project deadline is behind me.

- Walt

[Emily Care]

Hello all,

Thanks for all the replies we've had so far.  It's given me a little snapshot of the web of connections among us all. Thought I'd take a moment to reflect on what's been said.

Several people specifically said that not having met many other Forge posters has been no obstacle to being involved.  Overall, most people who replied have little regular contact with other members, mainly due to geographical isolation.  But it seems that active Forge membership does not depend on being part of a local community of other active members.

Those who have met many members of the Forge, have mostly gotten together at conventions.  I liked Jake's comment that the Forge has actually been his main incentive to go to cons. I may be mistaken, but I believe the folks who had the most contacts all have published games.  It makes sense; they would be most likely to attend cons and have the opportunity to meet others from the online community who also make it.

Some people have regular virtual connection through email and online gaming.  And most everyone expressed interest in meeting more members face to face.  

This sounds like a place that creates productive and valuable connections between people, and in which the strong core community that has actually met is inclusive enough to welcome those who have not.  Good job!

Looking forward to meeting many of you in the future!  Mike, we'll have to see if my group can make it to GenCon this year.  I think we'll try and send Vincent as our representative at the very least.  

yours,
Emily Care

[John Wick]

I'd like to know: Who do you hang out with?

Currently, I game regularly with Matt Colville, Hyrum Savage (both have accounts here, I believe) and Jess Heinig (I don't know if he has one or not). Matt is a dynamo of game design goodness, Hyrum is one of the kindest people I've ever met and Jess is one damn good GM (and creative foil).

I have also gamed with and designed with Jared -- who is one of the most fertile game design minds I've ever met.

I've traded ideas and talked extensively with Scott "Thrym" Knipe, who's WYRD is still one of the coolest effin' rpgs I've ever seen.

I've met and had dinner with Ron a few times (hope to again this con season!) and been dazzled by his intellect -- and his tongue trying to bumble through explaining it while his brain goes five hundred miles too fast.

I've met other people -- Clinton, for example -- but I'm so bad with names and faces, I don't remember who exactly. They could pop up and say, "Me!" and I'd slap my forehead and say, "Oh, yeah! You!" There was this car crash, see... and I hit my head...

All in all, my experiences with meeting people at The Forge has been positive. Very positive, in some cases. I've never regretted becoming a member of this community.

I don't draw ideas from The Forge, really. I have so many in my head already, there's no room for new ones. :)

[Jürgen Mayer]

Some of those guys also know me from the last two GenCons, but they won't admit it ;)

Well, I'm not posting as regularly as I used to, due to time constraints, but I haven't forgotten about the Forge. Looking forward to more insane gaming with all of you next GenCon!

(And for all those who haven't seen the old Forge guards yet, here are plenty of pics from the Forge booth: http://www.key20.com/GenCon2002/ - and for all those who were there: look at them again, it's some nice nostalgia...)

[Merten]

<de-lurk>

Well,

I'm mostly lurking nowadays, and only share the physical connection with the various Finnish Schools Of Roleplaying (tm), and people behind them.

</de-lurk>