My Gaming Experience
in case you're interested
(posted in 2002)

(As a point of reference, I was born on Halloween, 1961)

(I've always liked games, spending lots of time as a kid, even a young kid, playing and creating games. My parents are great bridge players; my dad put himself through college partly by playing pool...)

· In 1975 I started playing Avalon Hill games like Panzer Blitz, Kingmaker, Richthofen's War, etc.

· In 1976 I started playing "miniature wars" - lead figure battles according to rules called "Chainmail," then "Greyhawk" & "Eldritch Wizardry."

· In 1976 the first "Dungeons and Dragons" came out, and I was all over it. My high school grades would never be the same. I was usually the one tagged to be the dungeon master, and this trend continued through college.

· In the late '70s and early '80s, I played other RPG systems, from "In the Labyrinth" to "Aftermath" and "GURPS"

· In the summer of 1978 or '79 I played the computer text game then called "Adventure" via modem to M.I.T.

· In the early '80s I started playing commercial computer games, mostly text-based ones like "Lords of Karma" and others by Infocom.

· I also played "Rogue" and other mainframe computer games in the early '80s, and I wrote a program that let me play a game called "Advanced Melee" by Metagaming (Steve Jackson's creation) on my college's DEC VAX computer.

· Through the '80s I played RPGs when I could, but as a working adult, this became increasingly difficult. I also became more intersted in compture games and their possibilities.

· In 1990, a gaming friend talked me into trying a live roleplaying game, NERO, in Massachusetts. I played almost every event for two years, until I started playing Legends Roleplaying, then less often. NERO was the first group I saw taking the table-top RPG into the live realm.

· In 1992 I started playing Legends, and I felt it was a new generation beyond what NERO had done.

· In 1994 the owner/creators of Legends decided they would not continue to put on the game, and they sold the rules and system to my two partners and me. We put on our first event in the spring of 1995.

· I was co-owner and co-director of the game until the summer of 1998, when I took a job across the country. Legends was cited as a leader in the competitive Northeast market: "If you want to see LARP at its best, then [Legends] is the place to be." Metagame Magazine

· I have played four different LARP rule systems at 12 different event sites, on both ends of the U.S.

· I'd also add that I've played lots of computer RPGs, from Asheron's Call to Diablo to Thief (among my favorites). And while I think that with Neverwinter Nights computer RPGs will begin to reach their potential, LARP is well beyond the computer experience at this point. Addendum, 2007: The spread of broadband internet and the arrival of things like Second Life and World of Warcraft has changed the landscape some. I feel much more upbeat about computer RPGs than I did 5 years ago...no surprise.

In addition, I am an actor, director, theater and movie making teacher. I have trained with professional groups like Shakespeare & Company, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Society of American Fight Directors, Companie Scaramouche and with individuals including Michael Kahn, Kristin Linklater and Henry Goodman. I also hold a Masters in Theatre Directing...