-
The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
-
-
-
-
-
-
Category Archives: role-playing games
The geometry of weird-shaped dice
I’ve been enjoying a bit of reminiscing about my childhood lately, hunting down old copies of role-playing games I enjoyed in my youth as well as exploring newer games that have come out since then. One thing that has changed dramatically since … Continue reading →
A gallery of my fantasy miniatures
Time for a little break from physics and fiction! Though I haven’t been very active recently, for many years I was a hardcore gamer, playing both role-playing game and board games. In fact, I credit much of my early aptitude … Continue reading →
Richard Garriott on Ultima V
(I’m still working hard on my book! I’ll throw a few posts out here and there as I find the time.) As a follow-up to my post on “videogames as art“, I decided to buy “The Official Book of Ultima“, … Continue reading →
Video games as art: My favorite games that are more than just ‘point and shoot’
The other night, I stayed up way past my bedtime playing the finale of the video game DragonAge: Origins, the recently released fantasy role-playing game (RPG) by BioWare. Though the game had a lot of technical limitations that drove me … Continue reading →
Nice interviews with Richard Garriot and Lyn Evans on Vice/VBS.tv
A few months ago, I got a nice email from the folks at Vice Magazine/VBS.tv pointing me to a video interview they did with Richard Garriot (aka “Lord British”), the fabulously wealthy fantasy computer-gaming guru responsible for the Ultima series … Continue reading →
Dave Arneson passes away at 61
And now, we can officially say that it is the end of an era: Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, has died, a little over a year after Gary Gygax passed away. Though Gygax’s name was much more synonymous … Continue reading →
Very odd odds: Unusual dice
I’m still in the midst of a massive move into a new house, but everything has at least been moved from point A to point B; now the unpacking, organizing and fixing of things begins. I’ll hopefully get back to … Continue reading →
Gary Gygax has died
It’s official: Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, has died. (My friend PD alerted me to the rumor earlier.) I credit D&D for much of my current science aptitude and creativity. I was still in grade school when … Continue reading →
Some of my favorite video game villains!
One of my vices, if you would call it that, is an endless desire to make ‘top ten’ lists of things. Or top eight, or six… whatever I can find! I’m a lot like John Cusack’s character in High Fidelity … Continue reading →
I wasn’t slain by an elf… I AM an elf!
Now that I’m thinking about role-playing games again, I found a nice questionnaire (h/t The Garbled Zombie) that allows you to determine what sort of Dungeons and Dragons character you would be. It’s a long questionnaire, but quite entertaining to … Continue reading →
