Everyone knows that I am a big admirer of Gary Gygax, I defend his role as the creator of the hobby, and of D&D, and reject those who try to downplay his role and significance.

But what I'm bemoaning is that those who are fetishists of all things Gygax have gotten to the point of selling a buying what amounts to a remembered bedtime story that may or may not have been something once uttered from Gary Gygax's mouth, transmitted from the would be heir-with-the-blood-of-the-prophet and carrier-of-the-true-name.

I guess I'm an Old-school "sunni" and not "shiite".
I used to joke about how some day the OSR taliban will end up publishing Gary Gygax's old laundry lists; now I'm not so sure that won't happen when all else is finally spent.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;749168Everyone knows that I am a big admirer of Gary Gygax, I defend his role as the creator of the hobby, and of D&D, and reject those who try to downplay his role and significance.

I understand that, and I have seen it.

Quote from: RPGPundit;749168But what I'm bemoaning is that those who are fetishists of all things Gygax have gotten to the point of selling a buying what amounts to a remembered bedtime story that may or may not have been something once uttered from Gary Gygax's mouth, transmitted from the would be heir-with-the-blood-of-the-prophet and carrier-of-the-true-name.

I guess I'm an Old-school "sunni" and not "shiite".
I used to joke about how some day the OSR taliban will end up publishing Gary Gygax's old laundry lists; now I'm not so sure that won't happen when all else is finally spent.

RPGPundit

I don't expect this kind of material to please all the fans of all things Gary Gygax. People like different things for different reasons: Some gamers don't have an interest in children's stories, or don't have children of their own with whom to share them, nor do they really see interest in sharing anything beyond the game itself, and that is all fine by me, really.

I don't think that those who do care about these things, who do see value in a family story like Sammi-Zowa, deserve to be called "OSR Talibans" or anything of the sort, however. There are a wide variety of reasons, some of whom I just enumerated in my previous post, why gamers might be interested in checking Sammi-Zowa out, the main reason being that, to me, it is in itself a charming, humanly good story created by Ernest for his grandson, polished by Nerissa, and accompanied by great art from Simon Todd for its own sake. A story that is worth sharing with the public at large: gamers, children and relatives of gamers, non-gamers alike.

If anything, I think this kind of knee-jerk reaction on your part just works against your credibility as a pundit, in that it makes you look unable to fathom why anyone could find interest in something you do not personally support nor understand. Nevermind the fact you haven't had a look at the story itself: It tells much more about your own thought process in labeling people "Talibans" than it does about Sammi-Zowa, its relevance, or its intrinsic value as a fantasy tale.

Short of having a major children's publisher, the fact is the majority of the people who are likely to buy this book are people so obsessed with Gary Gygax that they're willing to buy a book marginally related to his son's childhood memory of him.  

I wait with baited breath to see the inevitable book from his accountant, his bowling league buddies telling stories about his lane strategy, and from that pizza delivery boy who once brought a peperoni-and-mushroom to his house.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;749719Short of having a major children's publisher, the fact is the majority of the people who are likely to buy this book are people so obsessed with Gary Gygax that they're willing to buy a book marginally related to his son's childhood memory of him.  

I wait with baited breath to see the inevitable book from his accountant, his bowling league buddies telling stories about his lane strategy, and from that pizza delivery boy who once brought a peperoni-and-mushroom to his house.

RPGPundit

As a matter of fact, among the people who have purchased this book so far, I can count parents who are themselves gamers introducing the game's fantasy to their own children, people introducing the D&D game to the 8-10 year old with birthday parties and store games, and people who are not gamers at all and are genuinely curious - and excited after reading it! - about the fantasy that surrounds the D&D game they had vaguely heard about before. Not to mention, I have had children who have never heard of the D&D game before who have heard the story told to them and now are trying to get their parents to buy it for them!

So, I don't mean any offense, of course, but experience tells me you are so full of shit right now, your eyes are brown.

Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters this ain't, I strongly suspect.

Well maybe if the letters had been made up by Christopher Tolkien because he was short of a buck...

The illustrations certainly look nice.

Quote from: Fiasco;749921Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters this ain't, I strongly suspect.

It certainly wasn't created to be anything else than a family story.

Quote from: Fiasco;749921Well maybe if the letters had been made up by Christopher Tolkien because he was short of a buck...

Actually, first, the story was composed many years ago for Sam, Ernest's grandson. At the time Ernest's own father was alive and well, there was no drive or opportunity to just make up some shit and bank on the man's legacy.

Second, Sammi-Zowa would be a very poor choice for us at GP were we trying to make a fuckton of money fast. If that was the case, I can tell you what we would do: we would whip up the Hobby Shop Dungeon itself in two weeks time, sell or crowd-fund the thing unpolished/un-fleshed out and laugh while running all the way to the bank.

The truth of the matter is that Ernest created this story and wanted to share it with gamers. It's the common link between his father and his wife, Debbie, who died three years ago (she didn't care for the D&D game herself, but the children sure loved the stories). For Ernie, it's the junction between these two parts of his life that he sees going forward into the future, and wants to share with gamers now rather than later.

Quoting the book's introduction:

Quote from: Ernest G. Gygax Jr. in SAMMI-ZOWAFellow storytellers!

This is my story written many ages ago when I had but two grandsons and they were not used to any real books, let alone Adventure stories.

My job was to take these young fellows and open their imaginations to the possiblilities of what could be in a World set in a fantasy Feudal Japan yet with all the real actions of and activities of our lives, including Grandma and Grandpa, and the way it would feel in a Southeastern Wisconsin in Japanese clothes.

It is not at all easy bringing many young people back to the printed word and assisting them in putting down the video games, tablets, and gadgets. This is just that project done with an outpouring of imagination, a few basic lessons, and the start of learning to understand everything and everyone not only by our own limited viewpoint but by recognizing what is important to all living creatures at various stages of their lives.

This story is written for my first grandson Samuel Markling. May we enjoy many games together in the future and, equally important to us, share in several celebrations of our beloved Chicago Bears versus the Ronins of Ao Bay.

Those of us involved in this work hope and strive to make this not only the most enjoyable product for the young reader but a door opener for future Adventures in all media.

Grandpapa-san Ernest G. Gygax Jr.

Missing Grandmama-san Deborah N. Gygax

Gary Con 2014

We sure would both like it if Sammi-Zowa became a huge commercial success, but make no mistake: this is not why it was produced in the first place. I know that might come as a surprise, but while there is such a thing as being responsible and thinking about the financial interest of one's company, money doesn't have to be the primary motivation in presenting a book to a larger public via commercialization.
 

Quote from: The_Shadow;749922The illustrations certainly look nice.

Thank you! Simon Todd is an amazing guy, with great skills. He was out of his comfort zone on this one and really loved the challenge, I think. His passion for Sammi-Zowa's story came through his own work, there's no doubt about it.

I might get it.  My daughter likes stories like that.  How much is it?

Quote from: Mistwell;749989I might get it.  My daughter likes stories like that.  How much is it?

Thanks for your and your daughter's interest.

$14.99 in Print, $7.50 in PDF, and $17.99 for the Print + PDF Bundle.

See our store here: http://www.gp-adventures.com/shop/

Quote from: RPGPundit;749719I wait with baited breath to see the inevitable book from his accountant, his bowling league buddies telling stories about his lane strategy, and from that pizza delivery boy who once brought a peperoni-and-mushroom to his house.

Don't forget Old Geezer's memoirs.

Quote from: Dodger;749996Don't forget Old Geezer's memoirs.

It just sounds bizarre to me, like people are expecting some type of "objective truth" to come out of these sorts of memoirs or recollections. Dude, you need to read Playing At The World from Jon Peterson: this is what you are looking for. Not OG's memoirs.

When I buy Old Geezer's memoir, it will be for his own recollections and his own perception of his own time playing the game, not because of some warped idea that this is somehow the final word on how it used to be or whatnot.

This kind of view seems incredibly misguided, disregarding human nature and how we each with our own biases can learn from other, naturally biased points of view. It's really wishing for a platonic ideal of memories and recollections that just cannot be by virtue of being such.

So, what are we left with? The value of such recollections in context. And the value of the tales and memories and stories in and of themselves, for their own sake. I'm sure OG's got more than his share to say that would be both entertaining and enlightening in some way or other in itself, and from my end, as a cheerleader on Sammi-Zowa (since I was not one of the principals on the project in any way, shape or form), I can say I do see the value in the story in and of itself, as a stand-alone product that touches hearts and minds for its own sake.

That's what it really is at the end of the day. A good, pre-gaming-inspired story throughout. A gaming story which, in its own time, will lead to actual game modules of its own.

I'm willing to concede that these things (OG's and Ernie's stuff) are labours of love, and not just some kind of duplicitous opportunism.

Its just the mentality behind the demand for these things that drives me nuts.  Its not what I myself want from Old-School or want Old-school to be.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;750327I'm willing to concede that these things (OG's and Ernie's stuff) are labours of love...

Ernie's? Yes.

OG's? Labour of senility, more like.

Quote from: RPGPundit;750327I'm willing to concede that these things (OG's and Ernie's stuff) are labours of love, and not just some kind of duplicitous opportunism.

Its just the mentality behind the demand for these things that drives me nuts.  Its not what I myself want from Old-School or want Old-school to be.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Dodger;750333Ernie's? Yes.

OG's? Labour of senility, more like.

OK, I understand your feelings much better. There are certainly people who have that kind of mentality you describe. What I'm hoping for is that they too will come to appreciate something like Sammi-Zowa for its own sake, as the labor of love it is, rather than some piece of memorabilia akin to Gary's laundry list on a napkin or whatnot. Only time will tell.

Also, ditto on people wanting different things out of the hobby. I perfectly understand when someone tells me "okay this is nice and all, but I want the modules, man!" That's totally understandable.

That brings us to the Beggar King. I'll expand on that later.

Pundit tends to blow things way out of proportion. I'm sure there are half a dozen Gygax fetishists out there but I don't think they're a market, let alone the market, for Sammi-Zowa.