Of Dice and Men

Of Dice and Men PDF Author: David M. Ewalt
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451640501
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
A definitive look at Dungeons & Dragons traces its origins on the battlefields of ancient Europe through the hysteria that linked it to satanic rituals and teen suicides and to its apotheosis as father of the modern video game industry.

The Dice Man

The Dice Man PDF Author: Luke Rhinehart
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1590207041
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 347

Book Description
“One of the fifty most influential books of the last half of the twentieth century,” a comic novel about a therapist making life choices by rolling dice. (BBC) The cult classic that can still change your life . . . Let the dice decide! This is the philosophy that changes the life of bored psychiatrist Luke Rhinehart―and in some ways changes the world as well. Because once you hand over your life to the dice, anything can happen. Entertaining, humorous, scary, shocking, subversive, The Dice Man is one of the cult bestsellers of our time. “A fine piece of fiction . . . touching, ingenious and beautifully comic.” —Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange “Luke Rhinehart and THE DICE MAN have launched a psychiatric revolution.” —London Sunday Telegraph “A blackly comic amusement park of a book.” —TIME Magazine “Weird, hilarious . . . an outlandishly enjoyable book.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Witty reckless clever . . . . a caper at the edge of nihilism.” —LIFE Magazine “Brilliant . . . much like CATCH-22 . . . the sex extra-juicy.” —The Houston Post “Outrageously funny.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Hilarious and well-written . . . A brilliant summary of modern nihilism. Dice living will be popular, no doubt of that.” —Time Out (London)

Dice Men

Dice Men PDF Author: Ian Livingstone
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1800180535
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 437

Book Description
It never seems like the right time to start a business. The idea to start our own company first cropped up during one of our many ‘beer and a board game’ sessions after work at our flat. And when Steve began writing reviews of board games for Games & Puzzles magazine, we all got even more interested in the idea. So, one day, we did. It was January 1975. Since then, Games Workshop has grown into a cornerstone of the UK gaming industry. From the launch of Dungeons and Dragons from the back of a van, to creating the Fighting Fantasy series, co-founders Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson tell their remarkable story for the first time. An initial order of only six copies was enough for Games Workshop to secure exclusive rights to sell Dungeons and Dragons in the whole of Europe. Hobbyists themselves, Steve and Ian’s passion for the game soon spread and in 1977 they opened the first Games Workshop store. They went on to become bestselling authors and created an entirely new genre of interactive stories. Dice Men is more than just the story of an iconic shop which has changed gaming for ever, it's an insight into the birth of an industry. Games Workshop has grown from its humble beginnings to become a global company listed on the London Stock Exchange, a FTSE 250 company with a market capitalisation of more than £3.5 billion. Dice Men is the story of the rollercoaster early years.

Defying Reality

Defying Reality PDF Author: David M. Ewalt
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101983736
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Book Description
A fascinating exploration of the history, development, and future of virtual reality, a technology with world-changing potential, written by award-winning journalist and author David Ewalt, stemming from his 2015 Forbes cover story about the Oculus Rift and its creator Palmer Luckey. You’ve heard about virtual reality, seen the new gadgets, and read about how VR will be the next big thing. But you probably haven’t yet realized the extent to which this technology will change the way we live. We used to be bound to a physical reality, but new immersive computer simulations allow us to escape our homes and bodies. Suddenly anyone can see what it’s like to stand on the peak of Mount Everest. A person who can’t walk can experience a marathon from the perspective of an Olympic champion. And why stop there? Become a dragon and fly through the universe. But it’s not only about spectacle. Virtual and augmented reality will impact nearly every aspect of our lives—commerce, medicine, politics—the applications are infinite. It may sound like science fiction, but this vision of the future drives billions of dollars in business and is a top priority for such companies as Facebook, Google, and Sony. Yet little is known about the history of these technologies. In Defying Reality, David M. Ewalt traces the story from ancient amphitheaters to Cold War military laboratories, through decades of hype and failure, to a nineteen-year-old video game aficionado who made the impossible possible. Ewalt looks at how businesses are already using this tech to revolutionize the world around us, and what we can expect in the future. Writing for a mainstream audience as well as for technology enthusiasts, Ewalt offers a unique perspective on VR. With firsthand accounts and on-the-ground reporting, Defying Reality shows how virtual reality will change our work, our play, and the way we relate to one another.

Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy

Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy PDF Author: Jon Cogburn
Publisher: Open Court
ISBN: 0812698037
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 330

Book Description
This volume will convince readers that the swift ascent of the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons to worldwide popularity in the 1970s and 1980s is “the most exciting event in popular culture since the invention of the motion picture.” Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy presents twenty-one chapters by different writers, all D&D aficionados but with starkly different insights and points of view. It will be appreciated by thoughtful fans of the game, including both those in their thirties, forties, and fifties who have rediscovered the pastime they loved as teenagers and the new teenage and college-student D&D players who have grown up with gaming via computer and console games and are now turning to D&D as a richer, fuller gaming experience. The book is divided into three parts. The first, “Heroic Tier: The Ethical Dungeon-Crawler,” explores what D&D has to teach us about ethics and about how results from the philosophical study of morality can enrich and transform the game itself. Authors argue that it’s okay to play evil characters, criticize the traditional and new systems of moral alignment, and (from the perspective of those who love the game) tackle head-on the recurring worries about whether the game has problems with gender and racial stereotypes. Readers of Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy will become better players, better thinkers, better dungeon-masters, and better people. Part II, “Paragon Tier: Planes of Existence,” arouses a new sense of wonder about both the real world and the collaborative world game players create. Authors look at such metaphysical questions as what separates magic from science, how we express the inexpressible through collaborative storytelling, and what the objects that populate Dungeons and Dragons worlds can teach us about the equally fantastic objects that surround us in the real world. The third part, “Epic Tier: Leveling Up,” is at the crossroads of philosophy and the exciting new field of Game Studies. The writers investigate what makes a game a game, whether D&D players are artists producing works of art, whether D&D (as one of its inventors claimed) could operate entirely without rules, how we can overcome the philosophical divide between game and story, and what types of minds take part in D&D.

Empire of Imagination

Empire of Imagination PDF Author: Michael Witwer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1632862794
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
The life story of Gary Gygax, godfather of all fantasy adventure games, has been told only in bits and pieces. Michael Witwer has written a dynamic, dramatized biography of Gygax from his childhood in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin to his untimely death in 2008. Gygax's magnum opus, Dungeons & Dragons, would explode in popularity throughout the 1970s and '80s and irreversibly alter the world of gaming. D&D is the best-known, best-selling role-playing game of all time, and it boasts an elite class of alumni--Stephen Colbert, Robin Williams, and Junot Diaz all have spoken openly about their experience with the game as teenagers, and some credit it as the workshop where their nascent imaginations were fostered. Gygax's involvement in the industry lasted long after his dramatic and involuntary departure from D&D's parent company, TSR, and his footprint can be seen in the genre he is largely responsible for creating. But as Witwer shows, perhaps the most compelling facet of his life and work was his unwavering commitment to the power of creativity in the face of myriad sources of adversity, whether cultural, economic, or personal. Through his creation of the role-playing genre, Gygax gave two generations of gamers the tools to invent characters and entire worlds in their minds. Told in narrative-driven and dramatic fashion, Witwer has written an engaging chronicle of the life and legacy of this emperor of the imagination.

The Filthy Truth

The Filthy Truth PDF Author: Andrew Dice Clay
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476734755
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
From Andrew Dice Clay, the “Undisputed Heavyweight Comedy King,” comes the unapologetic and uncensored autobiography fans have been waiting for. Andrew Dice Clay’s raw and uncensored stand-up comedy has shocked and entertained audiences for decades and continues to do so to this day. When he released his debut album, Dice, in 1989, the parental advisory label simply read “Warning: This album is offensive.” His material stretched the boundaries of decency and good taste to their breaking point, and in turn he became the biggest stand-up comic in the world. But Dice’s meteoric rise and spectacular fame brought on a furious backlash from the media and critics. By the mid-nineties, though still playing to packed audiences, the turmoil in his personal life, plus attacks from every activist group imaginable, led him to make the decision to step out of the spotlight and put the focus on raising his boys. The Diceman was knocked down, but not out. Taking inspiration from what Frank Sinatra once told him—“You work for your fans, not the media. The media gets their tickets for free”—Dice has bounced back with critically acclaimed roles and is once again playing to sold-out audiences. Filled with no-holds-barred humor and honesty, The Filthy Truth sets the record straight and gives fans plenty of never-before-shared stories from his career and his friendships with Howard Stern, Sam Kinison, Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone, Axl Rose, and countless others.

Fitness Dice

Fitness Dice PDF Author: Chronicle Books
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781452182384
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 7

Book Description
For fitness lovers of all levels, this handy kit includes 7 wooden dice and an instructional booklet with 36 different exercises--offering a fun and effective way to get a full-body workout at home or on the go. Each die represents a different area of focus: lower body, upper body, chest and back, core, cardio, full body, and number of reps/time. Simply roll the dice to generate a workout sequence or to add variety to an existing routine. With thousands of possible combinations and options for making exercises easier or more challenging, Fitness Dice is guaranteed to keep workouts fresh and exciting. No props or equipment needed! INCLUDES: 7 wooden dice, an instructional booklet with explanations for 36 different exercises-at a lower price point than many other fitness products. GET A FULL-BODY WORKOUT AT HOME, NO EQUIPMENT NECESSARY: Roll the dice for a unique fitness routine every time. You don't need any weights, props, or machines--just your own body! THOUSANDS OF POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS: The dice cover various body parts and types of exercises (cardio, back, arms, legs, etc.), and determine the number of reps and duration. With more than 45,000 workout possibilities, you'll never have to do the same one twice! TAKES THE INTIMIDATION OUT OF WORKING OUT: No matter your fitness level, these dice will create a great workout. And the included booklet will guide you through each exercise as well as offer tips on stretching, warming up, and cooling down. GREAT FOR BUSY FOLKS ON THE GO: No need to worry about getting to the gym or a workout class; fit in an efficient workout whenever and wherever! FUN, UNIQUE GIFT OR SELF-PURCHASE FOR FITNESS FANS: Great for men and women, health-conscious folks, fans of other quick routines like the 7-Minute Workout, and beginners as well as more advanced athletes.

The Unwilling Warlord

The Unwilling Warlord PDF Author: Lawrence Watt-Evans
Publisher: COSMOS
ISBN: 9780843959437
Category : Fantasy fiction, American
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Long out of print, the third book in the fabled Ethshar series is back. When the foreigners confront Sterren in Ethshar of the Spices he is uneasy; when they all but abduct him, taking him to an obscure kingdom in the south, he knows he is in a terrible predicament.

Tough Guys Don't Dice

Tough Guys Don't Dice PDF Author: James A. Thorson
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
ISBN: 9780688082208
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 188

Book Description
This pared down reference teaches those with little or no knowledge of cooking how to begin, offering such simple but hearty recipes as stew, turkey soup, corned-beef hash, French toast, and meatloaf
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