At home con I found out about Dave's cancer. I had a talk with him and he described the problem. While I am saddened by the news I am also glad that I met and came to know Dave. He is a good man, and there are too few good people in the world.
I find that at small events like HomeCon I can actually talk to people in ways that the larger Cons don't make easy. While Sue was running her game I had the opportunity to sit and talk to good old fashioned role-players. I always find the input to be both entertaining and useful. It helps me understand the different aspects of role-players.
Dragon Storm is a small community of gamers who support the efforts of Sue and myself. There are several different flavors of gamers out there in the community. I can't even peg it down to just two. it is more complex that that. I really need to understand the varying needs of the people who support us so we can plot a course that will bring everyone as much fun as possible.
We are also doing a lot of thinking now that we have these ipads in our hands. I have been using portables for most of my work for a long time now and have been satisfied. Sometimes I wish that I was working on a desktop so that I can have the power and screen real estate that it provides, but I find the flexibility of the portable to valuable to give up. Now I have the iPad in my hand and I find that there is a third class of tools available. It brings a new perspective to the table. The functions are broken down into small pieces that bring into focus each task. It allows the App designer to answer a single question, and to answer it well. You do not look for a program that gives you a wide range of options, you look for an App that does a specific task.
Last night I got an App the is called MyPDF's. It allows me to import the PDF's from the computer and use them on the iPad. When I turn the iPad to it's "up" position it shows a page of cards or text in an extremely readable format. The nine card sheets that we have been doing show up wonderful. It makes me wonder about all of the possibilities in this machine for the GM. I am going to sit myself down and begin trying ways of formatting a PDF page that would allow me to create an encounter that would be right there to run from. With the extended battery life of this machine and the ability to turn it sideways for ease of use it may well be a new tool that I will be using a lot of as a GM and designer. It can never replace a computer by itself, by it certainly adds an aspect to computer use that will allow a lot of increased productivity. It will be even better this fall once the multi-tasking is added.
Well, that is enough for now. Many thoughts, ideas and concepts are running through the old brain bucket and I actually want to try several of them out. A refreshing concept, a tool that makes me want to work.
a quick linking test
-- Post From My iPad
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