Three-Headed Monster Games is a fellowship of designers, writers, and role-playing gamers dedicated to assisting one another in the production of quality gaming materials for the classic editions and retro clones of the world's most popular role-playing game. Formed by David Bowman, Michael Shorten, and Michael Curtis, Three-Headed Monster Games seeks to provide a network for beginning writers, designers, and artists to exchange ideas, seek creative input, and share resources that would be otherwise unavailable to those working alone. Founded with the idea of gamers helping gamers, the goal of Three-Headed Monster Games is to assist in turning good ideas and products into great ones, and to help advertise those projects once released.
Three-Headed Monster Games is not a game publishing company, it is a collective of creative individuals supporting one another in order to improve, review and edit work into the best form possible. Three-Headed Monster Games makes no claims of ownership or intellectual control over an author’s or artist’s creations, nor does it ask for any financial reward. All monies earned from the sale of works created with the assistance of Three-Headed Monster Games shall remain the owner’s. The only requirement for products produced with the assistance of Three-Headed Monster Games is acknowledgement of collaboration through the use of the fellowship’s logo. Authors of products bearing the Three-Headed Monster Games logo agree to help other members of the fellowship when assistance is requested.
It is the belief of Three-Headed Monster Games that a number of potentially great ideas and game materials lay waiting to be created by new writers and artists who are unsure of where to begin. By offering a common banner under which to gather, we hope to provide these beginning designers and artists a place to hone their craft, develop their ideas, and produce quality game materials for the benefit of the Old School Renaissance gaming community at large.
-The Three Heads of THM
Showing posts with label mission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mission. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The D.I.Y. Philosophy of Three-Headed Monster Games
When the idea for Three-Headed Monster Games began between David, Michael, and I, it was something that I grasped immediately. The idea of creative contemporaries assisting one another to hone their craft and gain exposure is not a new one. Writers’ circles and author discussion groups are a common phenomenon in the literary world, for instance. As much as I’d like to lay claim to having such a highbrow pedigree, my own experience with the concept is a bit less glamorous.
Many years ago, I was very active in the local punk rock scene in both the Long Island and the Mid-Hudson Valley regions of New York. As the front man for a punk band, I had a vested interest in helping those scenes develop and grow, and to help create venues for bands to play. I wasn’t alone in this outlook. The “Do It Yourself” attitude was one of the facets that helped define punk rock from other musical movements, and it remains so today. This ethos led many of the struggling bands in the scene to pitch in to help one another whenever possible.
Some of the things we all did for one another seem ridiculous now. Some folks might find it unbelievable that a person would be willing to lend a P.A. system that cost a couple of grand to a bunch of guys they hardly knew for an evening’s show, but that’s the sort of thing that regularly happened. One phone call was all it would take to get four guys to pile into a station wagon, drive three hours to some small show, and work as roadies and techs, with only the prospect of a six-pack and a corner of dirty floor to sleep on in return. It wasn’t all good times and there were some phenomenal clashes of egos, but the attitude was that anything that helped the scene at large would end up helping us individually in the end.
Although the methods may have changed and the technology has grown much more advance than anything we had back then, this ethos still remains an important part of me. It was my attachment to this philosophy that drew me into the Old School Renaissance in the first place. So much of what the OSR is doing is reminiscent of what we did back then for similar reasons. The “Big Guys” aren’t making what we’re interested in, so we’re doing it ourselves. Instead of in garages and basements, we’re creating on our computers and desktops. Instead of mimeographed flyers posted on telephone poles and walls, we’re advertising on blogs, in fanzines, and on the forums. Meetings are taking place via email, rather than in the corners of loud clubs.
This D.I.Y. mentality is what I’m striving to bring to the table of Three-Headed Monster Games. I want to help other creative people get their stuff assembled and out there for others to read and enjoy. I want to help form a network of people who can bounce ideas around and ask for input from one another, all so that the overall “scene” is improved. All I and Three-Headed Monster Games asks in return is that you give a nod to the help you received and that you lend a hand the next time someone comes looking for help. I promise you won’t even have to sleep on a dirty floor.
Many years ago, I was very active in the local punk rock scene in both the Long Island and the Mid-Hudson Valley regions of New York. As the front man for a punk band, I had a vested interest in helping those scenes develop and grow, and to help create venues for bands to play. I wasn’t alone in this outlook. The “Do It Yourself” attitude was one of the facets that helped define punk rock from other musical movements, and it remains so today. This ethos led many of the struggling bands in the scene to pitch in to help one another whenever possible.
Some of the things we all did for one another seem ridiculous now. Some folks might find it unbelievable that a person would be willing to lend a P.A. system that cost a couple of grand to a bunch of guys they hardly knew for an evening’s show, but that’s the sort of thing that regularly happened. One phone call was all it would take to get four guys to pile into a station wagon, drive three hours to some small show, and work as roadies and techs, with only the prospect of a six-pack and a corner of dirty floor to sleep on in return. It wasn’t all good times and there were some phenomenal clashes of egos, but the attitude was that anything that helped the scene at large would end up helping us individually in the end.
Although the methods may have changed and the technology has grown much more advance than anything we had back then, this ethos still remains an important part of me. It was my attachment to this philosophy that drew me into the Old School Renaissance in the first place. So much of what the OSR is doing is reminiscent of what we did back then for similar reasons. The “Big Guys” aren’t making what we’re interested in, so we’re doing it ourselves. Instead of in garages and basements, we’re creating on our computers and desktops. Instead of mimeographed flyers posted on telephone poles and walls, we’re advertising on blogs, in fanzines, and on the forums. Meetings are taking place via email, rather than in the corners of loud clubs.
This D.I.Y. mentality is what I’m striving to bring to the table of Three-Headed Monster Games. I want to help other creative people get their stuff assembled and out there for others to read and enjoy. I want to help form a network of people who can bounce ideas around and ask for input from one another, all so that the overall “scene” is improved. All I and Three-Headed Monster Games asks in return is that you give a nod to the help you received and that you lend a hand the next time someone comes looking for help. I promise you won’t even have to sleep on a dirty floor.
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