While my time is currently filled with Bedlam and Volition, I can’t let a Halloween go by without doing something for my favorite game about kids fighting monsters. I don’t have the time to do a full-on supplement but I can do some snippets of Halloween-themed goodies. So I’m introducing Halloweek: Five bite-sized terror treats to inspire you and haunt the players.
Halloweek kicks off tonight! Stay tuned!
The good folks at DriveThruRPG are running their annual site-wide Trick or Treat and, once again, a Little Fears Nightmare Edition goody is among the offerings. I’ve only found a few of the treats myself so far and already have some great stuff. Visit the site, dig around for pumpkins like the one in the banner below, and maybe I dunno click right here for a headstart. Up to you. Remember, some of these jack-o-lanterns lead to tricks so be careful.
As promised, an update on the rest of the Little Fears custom dice orders. The rest of the domestic dice orders (those that included books or more than two sets) went out this morning. I’m still looking into the best way to ship the international dice with books orders. I aim to solve that tonight and get them out tomorrow morning.
After a far far far too long of a wait, the majority of the Little Fears custom dice orders are in the post! If you ordered one or two sets of the dice, your package went out today via USPS first-class mail. Those of you in the states should receive them in time for Halloween. I’m honestly not sure how long it will take for international orders (if you’re international, I’d love it if you could let me know when you get your orders so I can tell other international folks whether they should have received theirs or not).
If you ordered more than two sets, or ordered sets with books, your copies will go out via USPS Priority Mail tomorrow. I’ll update again to confirm when they were sent.
The dice orders haven’t gone out yet but I promise you that your patience will be rewarded. The shipping supplies are en route and the goodie bags will go out as soon as I have them.
What wonderful treats await inside? You’ll find out soon.
The LFNE Custom Dice are here!
 Butterflies in Captivity. |
 Be Free, Butterfly. |
They arrived on my doorstep this past Friday, and they look great. I love how much of the fine detail on the butterfly is visible. And, of course, they roll as great as you would expect Chessex dice to roll.
Orders will go out in the mail this week! Thank you all very much for your patience. Turns out the middle of summer isn’t the best time to place a dice order, and I really appreciate that nobody has jumped on me about these taking so long to get in.
If you aren’t already familiar with the film dropping next year, Mama is the story of two little girls found living in the woods, the refuge to which they escaped after the death of their parents. Taken in by authorities, the pair is soon put under the care of their paternal uncle and his wife (Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain). While the girls slowly acclimate to their new surroundings, life is flipped on its side by a series of deadly supernatural events possibly connected to something from the girls’ past. Something they call “Mama.”
Sounds great to me but, unfortunately, we all have to wait until January of next year to watch it. In the mean time, the power of the internet lets us view the three-minute short upon which the movie is based. From Andres Muschietti, the same man who wrote and directed its big brother, I invite you to watch this wonderfully creepy film called Mamá.
Hey everyone,
As you may have noticed, the summer season of Campfire Tales stalled with just one entry out the door. As summer ends soon (at least in this hemisphere), I’ve decided to shelve the rest of this season. With a full-time job and a lot of stuff due out for Streets of Bedlam still, I need to trim down my commitments and focus on where I want to steer my creative future. Part of that is pulling back from Little Fears as a line of game products.
But not from Little Fears.
I’ve long wanted to do more with Little Fears. I love the world, the fiction, and I think it has great potential. Back in 2001, it kickstarted my career. In 2009, it gave me direction and purpose as I entered a new turn in my path as a writer. Now, in 2012, I want to take it to the next level. I have a lot of ideas, and I will be announcing them soon, but know that I want more from Little Fears. It’s time to take the closet door off its hinges.
You all have been amazing with your support of the game line. I hope this next phase of Little Fears excites you as well.
As for the game line, this new focus leaves two announced LFNE products in limbo. I still want to do Book 3 and The Seven Kings but both will require a sizable time and money investment that I can’t commit to right now. But they are most certainly not forgotten.
That’s where things are at. It’s time for me to direct my attention toward doing the stuff I’ve wanted to do with Little Fears for years now. Thank you all for your understanding and support.
Congratulations to Little Fears fans in the Region 2/PAL zone: The classic Goosebumps television series is coming to DVD. Not the one/two/three-episode packs but full complete seasons.
Revelation Films has announced they are bringing the full seasons to the UK home audience on DVD starting this November! You can pre-order the first season through Amazon.co.uk here.
I am very happy (and am completely jealous) to hear this.
Meanwhile, those of us elsewhere in the world must rely on broadcast marathons and those Halloween bundles.
Of all the controversy stemming from the original Little Fears, the book’s references to and condemnation of child abuse was the subject most often addressed. While I did my best to approach the topic with tact and sensitivity, I was coming to it as an outsider. I had never suffered abuse, had a stable upbringing in a loving home, and was raised by parents who watched over me and protected me. Less so Vanderlei Caballero, the creative director of the PlayStation Network release Papo & Yo.
Papo & Yo is a bright shining example of bringing the subject of abuse to the fore by masking it in an approachable wrapper, that of an action-adventure video game.
You play as Quico, a little boy we meet as he’s hiding behind a vent from a lumbering hulk initially seen only in shadow. You soon escape from the beast into a land that plays by the rules of imagination. Throughout the game, you will pull staircases out of brick walls via shining chalk outlines and rearrange neighborhoods by moving around cardboard boxes capable of shifting houses. You’ll meet new characters, gain a treasured toy that lets you do even more in the world, and run into the beast we met early on: Monster. We learn that Monster is normally very kind and gentle but it is addicted to these frogs that turn it into a raging beast. Soon you are set upon finding a cure for Monster’s addiction, freeing it and yourself from its affliction.
The developer states plainly that Papo & Yo is an allegory for his own trials enduring his father’s addiction to drugs and alcohol, even dedicating the work to his siblings who endured as well. With that knowledge, the game’s simple premise takes on a much darker tone but also draws you in even further as you root for Quico to succeed and empathize with this struggle to cure Monster of its addiction.
Yes, it’s heady stuff. But the game’s wonderful art style and engaging world make it easy to get into and enjoy on a game level while processing what all this means on an intellectual and emotional level.
While Little Fears shifted from real-world horror with the release of Little Fears Nightmare Edition, child abuse in all its forms has not gone away and conversations about it—to find better ways to prevent it, address it, and help others recover from its effect—need to happen. As long as we are able to help those affected heal their wounds, we stand a better chance, as a people, of surviving it.
Games such as Papo & Yo are designed as a personal catharsis, but others who endured similar can also find release and those of us who never faced abuse are allowed a better glimpse into its effects. Games like this challenge us all, well beyond our ability to solve puzzles, and serve as further proof that turning pain into positivity is a large step in breaking the cycles that bring us all down.
The game came out yesterday on PlayStation Network for $14.99. You can purchase it directly from you PlayStation 3, through Sony’s online store, or buy a download code from select retailers. (PlayStation+ members save 20%.)
You can find plenty of footage and developer diaries on YouTube as well as my favorite video game website, Giant Bomb. Click below for the wonderful trailer that shows even more of the game’s sense of wonder and imagination.
