The Gamer Traveler

Aside from all the neat places I visited in Belgium, all the wonderful historic grounds I traipsed upon, all the yummy beer I drank, the scrumptious chocolates I ate, and the wonderful people I met, there was one event, one surprise event, that stands out as “The Coolest Thing I Saw in Belgium ™”.

Let the picture speak for itself:

That thing is exactly what it looks like, a mechanical, motorized tiger.

It was built by a local artist-metalworker named Kezanti who has a studio on the same street I was staying at. On our last day in Brugge, I went out for a little walk around the block, and ended up on the open-air dining area of this small restaurant two buildings down from our B&B. I saw the mechanical tiger standing there, but at first I thought it was just a bitchin’ sculpture (Brugge is the kind of town where you can see open air art displays). Then the guy stood up and turned it on and I could not hold my geekyness inside.

I spoke with him a little (him in much better English than me in my horrible Dutch) and he told me this was the first time he had taken it outside the studio and was having a celebratory beer. He then stood up and proceeded to ride the mechanical tiger! What’s even better, I got video:

Just a handful of people saw this walking work of art take its first steps, beaming artists riding atop. These are the kinds of magic moments that happen when you travel that you remember forever, the moments that you could never, in a million years, have foreseen and that happen, seemingly, just for you. Be sure to check out more photos of Shiva at Flickr: Mecha Creatures by Kezanti, The Steampunk Wizard.

Ever since this event I have had this idea to turn Kezanti into a great character in a game: The Steampunk Wizard of Brugge. I can imagine the Steampunk Wizard, riding atop his mecha-tiger Shiva, leading his army of mechanical troops based on his Arthades mecha-man moving sculpture, and a host of other mecha-creatures at his beck and call. How about it, anyone want to stat him up in the comments?

Well, not quite. To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the seminal mecha series MS Gundam, an 18-meter/59 feet-tall statue of the iconic RX-78-2 Gundam is being raised at Tokyo’s Odaiba island, specifically in Shiokaze Park. You can see more pictures of the Gundam on this post by The Mainichi Daily Post and some taken at night at this post by Pink Tentacle.

The 35-ton Gundam is fully lit for dramatic effect, as can be seen in the nighttime pictures, and can swivel its head and project mist or light from 50 different points in its body.

The official unveiling is on July 11, 2009 and it will be displayed free of charge through August 31, 2009. The statue, as you can see, however, is already up and assembled (maybe they’ll be adding some extras, like a weapon?). Frankly I’m not gonna be surprised if come its official unveiling, it is revealed to be a fully-functional mecha heralding the new era of the Japanese Army.

You know, because Japan wasn’t cool enough as it is, they had to go and create a national monument based on an anime series! I would love to go see the Gundam in person (heck, I get excited when I see the Lego mecha at Downtown Disney, I can’t imagine how I’d react to this!). Since a trip to Japan in the next two months is just not in my schedule, perhaps this giant pile of awesome could go on a traveling tour of the world? It doesn’t guarantee I’d get to see it, but many more Gundam fans around the world would.

I mean, am I the only one thinking “giant-sized BattleTech” right about now? If any of my readers gets to see this bad boy up close and personal, please let me know and post many many pictures.

Below is a Google Map of the location of the Gundam sculpture (it’s the little person-shaped icon) in Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park, Tokyo.

There are cities that have, at one point or another, been the destination par excellance when it comes to gaming. For years Lake Geneva, Wisconsin was such a place, what with it being the birthplace of D&D, TSR and Gen Con (a worthy pedigree by anyone’s reckoning), but these days, the nexus of gaming has moved further west, the mantle passed to a new city. My vote for Best Gamer City goes to Seattle, Washington.

Located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, the Emerald City has become in the last decade or so the new center of hobby gaming in the nation (and worldwide, perhaps?). Seattle is home to the mothership of hobby gaming companies, Wizards of the Coast, as well as to a number of the bigger “smaller” companies, such as Paizo Publishing, Green Ronin Publishing, Privateer Press, Open Design/Kobold Quarterly (and up to recently, WizKids), as well as a couple of small, indie suits like TAO Games and One Seven Design Studio, makers of Agon. To this add yearly geeky/gaming events such as Penny Arcade Expo, Norwescon, ConQuest NW, GoPlay Northwest and PaizoCon and you got quite a few places to take out all that locally-produced gaming goodness out for a spin. Sprinkle in those Seattle-based podcasts, like Stabbing Contest, Atomic Array, Open Design Podcast, Green Ronin Podcast, and Seattle Geekly Podcast (what other city has its own weekly geek-cast, I ask?) and serve with a side-dish of cool geek attractions like the Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, the Space Needle (for that retro-futuristic touch) and nearby Snoqualmie, aka Twin Peaks. If you want more, consider that Seattle is also home to uber-nerd companies like Microsoft and Adobe, as well as to a number of small computer game studios like Flying Lab Software, makers of Pirates of the Burning Sea.

I would love to my vote to my home city of Miami Beach, but the simple truth is that for all the reasons outlined above and more, Seattle, Washington is the Best Gamer City.

What do you think? Do you agree or do you have another contender? Let me know in the comments.

Ok, it’s meme time! This thingie popped up on two of my friend’s blog over the weekend, so by the laws of the Internet I had to feature it as well.

visited 10 states (4.44%)
Create your own visited map of The World

visited 8 states (16%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Very obvious first impression: for someone who calls himself The Gamer Traveler, I’ve been to very few places in the world. In my defense, I have used my time abroad very well, and spent good chunks of time in each of my tours: 35 days doing the Grand Tour of Europe, 2 weeks in Ireland, a week in Paris, and 2 weeks in Belgium & Netherlands. Frankly, I don’t like traveling abroad for less than 2 weeks, though as in the case of Paris, I would consider a week-long trip if it is concentrated in only one place (and boy, have I been eyeing one of those week-long escapes to explore Venice).

When it comes to the states, I fare just as bad, I’m afraid. I am guilty of, for many years, not really having considered travel inside the US interesting or appealing, which is total hogwash. The other factor is that living in Miami, at the bottom tip of Florida, it takes 6-7 hours just to get out of the state, so interstate car travel has been nonexistent (not to mention that, after having grown up in an island only 100 miles long, the idea of being able to drive far beyond that is still strange to me). In fact, all of my travel inside the US has been by plane, thus the scattered red marks on the second map. Funny thing, three of the states I have visited I’ve gone there because of gaming (Wisconsin and Indiana for Gen Con, and Nevada for GTS), so I guess there is still some merit to my moniker.

The best part of it all is that, from each of those trips, I have gathered tons of ideas for my games, the source of what I share with you here and in the podcast. Thinking back to what I have covered already, there is still tons of stuff to share, and I’m not done traveling yet either (in fact, I’ll be doing my first interstate roadtrip in July!), so there should be TGT for a while.

So how about you? Where have you been? Feel free to post your map image (or link, if the image tag doesn’t work) in the comments and tell me what you’ve drawn from one of those places as inspiration for your game.

You probably know him as the designer of the card game Gloom, or perhaps even more so as the creator of Eberron, the pulp-fantasy setting for D&D. At this point in time, however, you should know Keith Baker first and foremost as a gamer traveler, and one who, on his current tour, could very well steal that title from me, and rightly so.

For various reasons, Keith decided that 2009 would be a year of travel, so he concocted a plan he calls “Have Dice, Will Travel,” where he has set out to travel as much of the world as possible, exchanging hospitality along the way for an exclusive game session. In his own words:

One of my primary goals here is to meet interesting gamers across the world. If you’re an ideal subject, then I’d like to have some time to get to know you and your home. As such, what I’d like is hospitality (be it bed, couch, or floor space) for three nights. One of those nights, I will entertain you and your friends - running Eberron or OTE, playing Gloom, whatever you want. Another night, I’d like YOU to entertain ME. What is it that you feel I should see in your home? Not necessarily the biggest tourist attraction - but the thing YOU think is most interesting. Is there a game YOU want me to play that I’m not going to find anywhere else? Something that inspired you as a gamer? Or just the Biggest Ball of Twine in Oslo? The third day, I’ll rest, write, and mind my own business… look at things that have caught MY eye. In the meantime, I’m always willing to talk about gaming, writing, Eberron, or what have you. Needless to say, you’re welcome to spread these three days out over your gaming group; I’m happy to spend a night on three different sofas, as long as my goal is met.

Of course, I’m simply not going to have time to spend three days with every interesting person (and I’m sure there will be many people who just don’t fit on my travel map). So I’ll also be looking for flyby visits - crashing just one night while I’m en route, either running a game for you or just hanging out and talking.

Keith quickly discovered that gamers are a hospitable bunch and his travel suddenly included the opportunity to go all across the United States, Central and South America, Europe, the Far East, Australia and more. Whether he’ll be able to make a specific geographical area remains to be seen, but the offers are there.

After a few false starts, Keith’s tour began in April with a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah; followed by Boise, Idaho; then up to the Pacific Northwest, to Portland, Oregon (where he gamed with Chibell and his group, and from where the image above comes from, along with an entire set at Flickr) and Seattle, Washington. From there Keith has been working his way south, into California, and who knows where he’s headed next! The only inkling he has given to his general travel plans is a list of conventions he is quite likely to be attending during the year.

Though born out of a tough situation, “Have Dice, Will Travel” is an amazing journey through the gaming world, and one I (and I cannot stress this enough) so wish I could do myself. Aside from the travel, taking him to explore a myriad of places in this wonderful world of ours, Keith also gets to meet and spend time, gaming time, with groups all across the world, learning firsthand how gaming varies from place to place, and yet how it truly becomes a lingua franca for the gamer traveler, a common activity that transcends borders.

You can follow Keith’s travels over on his LiveJournal: Gloomforge or on this thread at EN World. Read up on what’s there already and if Keith will be in your neighborhood, then drop by to say hi and give him encourangement to continue his incredible tour. I will continue to monitor Keith’s whereabouts, and hopefully get an interview with him for The Gamer Traveler Podcast at some point in the future.

Though I’ve posted a couple of things since announcing that I was taking a break, for the most part I have stayed away from the blog (though I’m always to be found chatting away on Twitter). I’ve used the time to catch up on some personal stuff and gather quite a few things to talk about.

So, this is just to let you know the hiatus is over and you can expect new regular posts from The Gamer Traveler as of Tuesday of next week (holiday weekend and all). Hope to see you then when I tell you about the game designer who is currently gunning for my title, and the best gamer city.

As Ah-nold would say, “I’m Back.”

Just this past week I was talking to a friend — well, whinning, practically — that we never got any more geek events down in South Florida: no comic conventions, no Star Trek conventions, just one gaming convention a year, blah, blah. Imagine my surprise when I visit a local forum I frequent and see a post announcing Florida Supercon!

FLORIDA SUPERCON: SOUTH FLORIDA’S COMIC BOOK, ANIME, ANIMATION, COSPLAY, FANTASY & VIDEO GAME FESTIVAL (did we leave any geek subculture out? there’s actually hobby gaming as well) happens on June 5, 6 & 7, 2009 at the DoubleTree Miami Mart Airport Convention Center, which is actually right in my backyard.

FSC has a gaggle of events for the entire weekend, and a veritable army of media guests, headlined by none other than Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness, Burn Notice, Xena) and with a number of pretty good second-tier guests as well. There’s tons of comic book professionals, and there will be open gaming and tournaments during the weekend.

I so want to go. It has been ages since an event like this has come to South Florida, and to Miami specifically, I just feel the burning need to drop by, support the show and get my geek on. If you happen to be traveling to South Florida that weekend of June, drop by as well (and let me know you are in the comments). Expect a report and photos soon after the show.

This is a special episode of The Gamer Traveler. Recorded while I visited Puerto Rico this past February, it is all in Spanish and deals with the gaming scene in Puerto Rico. If you’re not a Spanish-speaker, stay tuned for more regular episodes, in English, coming in the near future. If you do speak Spanish, read on!

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Este es un episodio especial de The Gamer Traveler (El Jugador Viajero), en el cual tome la oportunidad de sentarme con mi amigo Braulio Rivera para hablar de la escena de juegos en Puerto Rico.

Con la ayuda de varias botellas de cerveza Medalla, Braulio y yo hablamos sobre nuestro inicio en los juegos de hobby en los 80’s, la trayectoria de nuestro grupo, y como vemos el estado de la escena de juegos en Puerto Rico hoy en día.

Es gracias a esta conversación que decidimos crear www.GamersPR.com y podrán escuchar el génesis de esa idea en el audio. Esto también sirve de lanzamiento oficial de ese website y comunidad!

Sigue el enlace al foro provisto aqui abajo para dejarnos comentarios sobre como tu comenzaste a jugar y como ves tu la escena de juegos hoy en la isla. Tu contribucion es valiosa!

Join the forum discussion at GamersPR.com on this post.

 

 The Gamer Traveler Podcast Special Episode 05 - La Escena de Juegos en Puerto Rico (The Gaming Scene in Puerto Rico): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I am in Puerto Rico dealing with a family issue for the foreseeable future. During this time, my online access will be very spotty, thus making regular posts harder to achieve.

I am putting The Gamer Traveler officially on a brief hiatus until I either return to Miami or have more stable online access (or I can schedule a couple weeks’ worth of posts).

The plus side is that while in Puerto Rico, I will have time to write and record, so new material will be coming down the pipeline once I return to normalcy. In the meantime, I would appreciate your honest feedback in letting me know What Do You Want Out of The Gamer Traveler?

Have fun travels and great gaming in the meantime.

On March 7, 2009 The Gamer Traveler celebrated its second anniversary and much like when it turned one, I completely forgot to mention it or do anything special. It’s a good thing the site doesn’t get mad at me (and if it does, it hides it very well).

I believe birthdays are a good time to do some introspection about where we’ve been and where we’re going. That’s all well and good for a person, but for this blog/podcast (I need to invent a term for both… blogcast), which is a public endeavor, that evaluation must happen also in public.

As much as I do this blog/podcast to indulge my own desire to cover both gaming and travel, I also do this for you, my audience. Frankly, without you I’d just be talking to myself, which I already can do without the worry of posting frequent content.

So what I’d like to know is, what do you want out of The Gamer Traveler? What would you like to see/hear/know about? What kind of content do you prefer and why?

Your feedback will help me make The Gamer Traveler the best it can be. Thanks.