For the ‘Core II: Guided RPG Hikes
Guided tours at museums and galleries can help the initiate get the most out of their visiting experience by drawing on the knowledge and background of their guide and truly appreciate their surroundings. It’s only natural then, gamers wanting to live the gaming life would seek out guides able to herd them towards greater understanding and appreciation of the outrageous RP environment that is the real world.
Otherworld Excursions allows role-players to make adventure arrangements with genre masters for treks through both rural and urban environments followed by intense sessions of role-playing. Currently three different hikes are offered: a day trip examining Occult Architecture in Chicago with Ken Hite (for $175 a pop, including dinner), a Classic Fantasy Roleplaying Immersion in NYC at the hand’s of Master Maze guru Stefan Pokorny (at $350 a handshake), or join John Tynes for an Abandoned Military Base Getaway Weekend out on the West Coast ($550 for tour, room and board).
I’m not a roleplayer in the classic sense, but saying that I will get to “join John for an eerie tour of Fort Worden State Park, a naval defense complex built before World War I and derelict since the 1950s“, sounds pretty darn interesting. I’ll be “hiking, climbing, crawling, and exploring dark, decaying spaces by flashlight in this intensely weird, crumbling ruin half-covered by wild growth like the remnants of a forgotten empire. What strange government experiments happened in these burned-out bunkers and graffiti-strewn command posts?” Oh what fun for conspiracy theorists!
The price tags are a little rich for my blood, but I thought I would pass it along in case any of you super gamers out there have a hankering for a little real life adventure and a chance to meet some big names. It’s not strictly a video game related event, but knowing how much these two worlds overlap, I hope that no one gets their hackles up.
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3 opinions for For the ‘Core II: Guided RPG Hikes
Jason K. Dove
Oct 3, 2005 at 5:16 pm
sounds like a honeymoon to ME!!
Erin
Oct 3, 2005 at 6:48 pm
Your poor partner…
Tavis Allison
Oct 5, 2005 at 5:35 am
Erin, this isn’t as non-video-game related as you might think; see John Tynes’ excellent article in the Escapist about how he followed the money from traditional RPGs to computer games, and what he sees as the strengths of each type of game design.
Some other folks who’ve made that transition - and who I’d also love to lure back to lead an Otherworld Excursion - include Shane Hensley (Deadlands, Savage Worlds) and David “Zeb” Cook (lots of AD&D 2E stuff), both now working on City of Heroes. (There’s a bigger list later in that same issue of the Escapist).
I’ve heard it said that Richard Garriott used to throw roleplaying weekends/costume parties at his house in Austin, which sounds very cool to me. What other video game folks would you like to take a tour/play a game with?
Jason, we haven’t had any honeymooners yet, but one couple has signed up for the Occult Architecture excursion as their 2nd anniversary gift to one another!
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