RPGs and Ingress

RPG Review issue 23 has been both delayed and combined into a double-sized issue. A more-than-requisite number of pages has been received for a late release but I need a couple more articles for variety. There's a Skyrealms of Jorune article forthcoming, and I was hoping for an Earthdawn/Shadowrun article as well, however the proposed author has not responded to recent correspondence. I'd like an article on the Star Wars universe as well from a TRPG gaming perspective, but am not sufficiently familiar with the details of the setting's implementation, despite a small mountain of gaming material for that universe (one day I'll run the epic where Luke and Darth join forces and rule the Empire together). On topic, GURPS Middle Earth was played on Sunday, with a new player bringing the group to seven and Pendragon is ready for tomorrow night with the Waste Land adventures continuing.

Although it hasn't been mentioned on this journal for some months, I continue to play Ingress with regularity (hooray, level 10), mainly during travel time to and from work, and with a post-lunch walk around the local area, and an occassional mad cycle on the weekends around Kew. I've had my moment of frustration with the game (it is designed by mapping experts, not game designers) and stopped playing for a week or so. But the good parts of the game were well worth continuing (discovery, exploration, socialisation). Due to the design, it is absolutely necessary to recruit people who associate with regularly. I have done this at work and as a result south Carlton and RMIT is pretty much an Enlightened stronghold these days. Last night briefly visited wildilocks and _fustian who seem to have cleverly incorporated the game as part of regular out-of-home activities. It certainly gets a person out of the house and visiting interesting places.