Suite101 article for March 25, 2002

Michael Martinez · 03-25-2002, 03:32 AM

In about 30 minutes, my latest article should become visible at Suite101 (for March 25, 2002):

"Mountains on the left, ruins on the right"
The (mostly) gaming oriented journal Other Hands recently announced it would shut down its print publication and refrain from publishing new modules and articles based on Iron Crown Enterprise's Middle-earth Role-Playing game. The capitulation of Other Hands before the Tolkien Enterprises juggernaut was the final gasp of pre-movie Tolkien-inspired fan-designed adventure gaming.
Now, there are still various MUDs, MUSHes, and underground modules and impromptu gaming systems floating around out there which owe something to Tolkien's Middle-earth. But Other Hands was different. It attempted to elevate the study of gaming innovation to a near-academic level of scrutiny. There wasn't quite peer review in the process, but generally speaking, if you had the audacity to publish an article in Other Hands, your peers were sure to have something to say about your work.

In today's work of trademark-centric business decision-making, Tolkien Enterprises was bound to clamp down with a Highlanderish "There can be only one game" attitude. Other Hands celebrated the beauty of the I.C.E. system, which was perhaps more well-known through its Rolemaster and Spacemaster product lines. Games Workshop and Decipher now hold gaming licenses derived from the Peter Jackson movies. And these companies are vying for the dollars of a shrinking marketplace. Regrettably, Other Hands was deemed a viable threat to the trademark.

Why? Was the growing subscriber base really shifting public opinion away from the licensed gaming companies? Most likely not. Except for occasional mentions in the Tolkien press, Other Hands -- like most gaming endeavors -- goes largely unnoticed by the larger community of Tolkien fans. The journal published some very good Tolkien research in its time, and I am one of the people who contributed content in the past. There are other Tolkien journals out there, but none which appeal to the American gaming community.

Tolkien and Middle-earth topic at Suite101
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/tolkien

Michael Martinez · 03-25-2002, 03:35 AM

NOTE: I've been absent for the past few weeks because we had to change servers for Xenite.Org twice. It will take me some time to get back into the Tolkien discussion communities on any regular basis. But, as always, comments are welcome here.

afro-elf · 03-25-2002, 05:27 AM

nice to have ya back

afro-elf · 03-25-2002, 06:02 AM

nice to have ya back

03-25-2002, 03:32 AM	#1
Michael Martinez Elven Loremaster Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 892	Suite101 article for March 25, 2002 In about 30 minutes, my latest article should become visible at Suite101 (for March 25, 2002): "Mountains on the left, ruins on the right" The (mostly) gaming oriented journal Other Hands recently announced it would shut down its print publication and refrain from publishing new modules and articles based on Iron Crown Enterprise's Middle-earth Role-Playing game. The capitulation of Other Hands before the Tolkien Enterprises juggernaut was the final gasp of pre-movie Tolkien-inspired fan-designed adventure gaming. Now, there are still various MUDs, MUSHes, and underground modules and impromptu gaming systems floating around out there which owe something to Tolkien's Middle-earth. But Other Hands was different. It attempted to elevate the study of gaming innovation to a near-academic level of scrutiny. There wasn't quite peer review in the process, but generally speaking, if you had the audacity to publish an article in Other Hands, your peers were sure to have something to say about your work. In today's work of trademark-centric business decision-making, Tolkien Enterprises was bound to clamp down with a Highlanderish "There can be only one game" attitude. Other Hands celebrated the beauty of the I.C.E. system, which was perhaps more well-known through its Rolemaster and Spacemaster product lines. Games Workshop and Decipher now hold gaming licenses derived from the Peter Jackson movies. And these companies are vying for the dollars of a shrinking marketplace. Regrettably, Other Hands was deemed a viable threat to the trademark. Why? Was the growing subscriber base really shifting public opinion away from the licensed gaming companies? Most likely not. Except for occasional mentions in the Tolkien press, Other Hands -- like most gaming endeavors -- goes largely unnoticed by the larger community of Tolkien fans. The journal published some very good Tolkien research in its time, and I am one of the people who contributed content in the past. There are other Tolkien journals out there, but none which appeal to the American gaming community. Tolkien and Middle-earth topic at Suite101 http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/tolkien __________________ http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie/ http://www.michael-martinez.com/ http://www.merp.com/essays/MichaelMartinez/

03-25-2002, 03:35 AM	#2
Michael Martinez Elven Loremaster Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 892	NOTE: I've been absent for the past few weeks because we had to change servers for Xenite.Org twice. It will take me some time to get back into the Tolkien discussion communities on any regular basis. But, as always, comments are welcome here. __________________ http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie/ http://www.michael-martinez.com/ http://www.merp.com/essays/MichaelMartinez/

03-25-2002, 05:27 AM	#3
afro-elf Hoplite Nomad Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 3,931	nice to have ya back __________________ About Eowyn, Does anyone know what her alias Dernhelm means? She was kown as dernhelm because of her exclaimation when she realized that the rider's headgear was heavy and obscured her sight. 'Dern Helm" Culled from Entmoot From Kirinski 57 and Wayfarer.

03-25-2002, 06:02 AM	#4
afro-elf Hoplite Nomad Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 3,931	nice to have ya back __________________ About Eowyn, Does anyone know what her alias Dernhelm means? She was kown as dernhelm because of her exclaimation when she realized that the rider's headgear was heavy and obscured her sight. 'Dern Helm" Culled from Entmoot From Kirinski 57 and Wayfarer.

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