Think you've got something intelligent to say? Then consider writing for Intelligent Gamer!

We are currently looking for writers to do both editorial opinion articles as well as reviews for both tabletop games and video games. We may also consider other topics or types of articles if we feel that they fit with the theme of this site.

If you are interested, please create an account and send a PM to sleepy. Be sure to include what topics you are interested in and a writing sample.

Note that these are volunteer positions. Of course, if you are looking for a career in writing about games, having published material is always good to put on your job application. Additionally, depending on site growth, these may morph into paid positions in the long term.

In a move reminiscent of the previous MPAA and RIAA lawsuits against movie and music filesharing, Activision has begun suing individuals for pirating Activision games.

Now here's where it gets interesting. There are six known cases. However, in the rulings Activision did not mention how their copyrights were violated or how they came to learn of the violations. Additionally, a stipulation of the six settlements is that the defendants have agreed not to discuss the case. Finally, and perhaps the biggest difference from the RIAA and MPAA lawsuits a while back, three of the settlements were for $100,000 and one was for $25,000. That's far beyond previous filesharing lawsuits which have been at about $2000 or less.

Full article at GamePolitics

[ Read the rest ... ]

I just recently heard about this fancy table called The Sultan designed to make tabletop gamers dreams come true. It's got three playing surfaces (felt, wood, and whiteboard), fold-out writing surfaces, drink holders, dice rolling trays, and a slew of nooks and crannies to stuff books and things into.

It can all be yours for the low price of $9,650.

The Sultan Gaming Table

Part of being an intelligent gamer is attempting to find out what other intelligent gamers think about a variety of subjects. Interviews are a new project for us here, but Areala was quite excited to get the ball rolling and volunteered to ask one of her favorite authors if he wouldn't mind answering a few questions. Luckily, after striking just the right combination of praise and flattery (two of Mr. Brennan's weaknesses, we understand), she was allowed to pepper him with a plethora of inquisitive statements which he answered most respectfully.

Full interview

Sleepy shares some of his thoughts on the hobby of miniatures wargaming in a two-part series. Is the hobby more about playing games or more about the miniatures themselves? He also discusses the casual gamer's perceived barrier to entry and how to avoid it.

Part 1 - Musings on Miniatures Wargaming
Part 2 - How I Got Into Warmachine for 35 dollars

The Final Fantasy series has how many games now?! Is it too late for me to join the Tony Hawk party? Wasn't there a game or two in between Grand Theft Auto III and IV? Insert Coin(s) to Continue addresses the trends in naming games of a series.

Full editorial

In a recent news story (from my hometown newspaper, no less), 16 year old Blake Peebles has dropped out of high school to play Guitar Hero.

I will now pause a moment for the shock to dissipate...

Now, before you assume that he is rebelling against some form of parental authority, his parents willingly gave him permission to do so... well, semi-willingly at least. The story says that he bugged his parents about school being a waste of time until they "couldn't take the complaining anymore". So, they let him drop out and hired homeschool tutors.

This sounds vaguely like the occasional basketball player who is recruited out of high school to go play professional ball... with the glaring exception that nobody is trying to hand this kid a million dollar paycheck just yet. Blake hopes to eventually play video games professionally, but so far has only earned about $1000 worth of prizes using his gaming skills.

Oh, and for the curious, no, he can't play a real guitar.

Full story at the News and Observer

You've probably heard of speedruns - videos of people completing games in as short a time as possible... but the other day I saw something I never would have thought someone would try - speedrunning Zork I.

It took this guy just under 8 minutes start to finish and the video looks legitimate. I don't think any kind of text macro was used. You can actually see the letters typed by the player complete with the occasional mistake.



Higher quality version on YouTube

Anyone who role-plays for any significant length of time will have a number of favorites that he or she has experienced over the years. Good adventures and average adventures seem to run about equally in Areala's experience, but great adventures? Those are reserved only for special occasions and they require a very exceptional game master as well as players willing to commit everything to their roles.

Full editorial

Another in the long list of vague updates to the PS3 hardware has been released. All Sony is saying is that this update "improves the playback quality of some PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation format software."

No list as to what titles are affected by the update, but that seems to be par for the course as far as Sony is concerned. Anything that improves stability for your gaming, though, is probably a good download to grab.
[Submitted by Areala]