Flames Rising is an online resource for fans of Horror and Dark Fantasy entertainment. This horror fanzine offers reviews of Games, Fiction, Movies and more ranging from Top-Selling authors to the coolest Small Press and “indie” publishers. The popular Interviews at Flames Rising include Horror authors, artists and other creators of dark entertainment. Stay tuned to the Flames Rising news feed for the latest news on upcoming products, genre conventions and industry developments.
Flames Rising continues to add new Features and expand the Fiction and Articles sections of the site with topics of interest to Horror and Dark Fantasy fans the world over.
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Derek tells us about his work on All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Eden Studios Presents gives us a break-down on good vs. bad conventions.
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In recent years a host of post-apocalyptic games have flung themselves at the mercy of the gaming market. Rapture: The Second Coming is a setting created by William Spencer-Hale. Its post-apocalyptic echoes have strong religious overtones. While some games with a religious feel have lent themselves to popular Christian theology, Rapture flies in the face of such traditions through its conspiracy and depiction of the Vatican as the basis for all evil. The writers of Rapture are aware of its controversy, “Rapture does not attempt to embrace a religious ideal or promote one form of theology over another. On the contrary, in the context of the game, all religions have their truth, no matter what their view of God may be.” (Page 24) The game is no less controversial for having the explanation, however. Its character classes span the realm of modern-day religion and stereotypes.
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Normally I’m not one who likes many D20 products on the market, as I am not a regular user of that system. Also due to the fact that many of the products out there are not of the highest quality that they should be, more of an attempt to make a few dollars off of the D20 logo with a halfway thought out ideas done with shoddy writing.
However this particular book does not fall among the ranks of those.
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Without even reading a word of text, this book is gorgeous. Crimson red cover, portraying a hand dipping into blood, with red rose petals drifting atop; it’s easily one of White Wolf’s best. Internally, the art is the usual Gothic fair. Some of the art is more mature in nature, which is becoming a trend, even in mainstream Wizards of the Coast books.
The book is mostly black and white, with a touch of red here and there, which technically makes this a full-color book. That being the case, $34.95 for 302 color pages is not a bad deal. The presentation for this book is great, and I could recommend it on a completely separate aesthetic level.
Review by David Akers
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In this interview we discuss Wraith: the Oblivion and Forgotten Realms fiction. Richard also hands out a little advice for up-and-coming authors and tells us about some of his other work.
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Public synopsis: A powerful virus escapes from a British research facility. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating within seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realizing that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them.
Well that’s just the blurb that is given to the general audience via the back of the video box. But this movie amounts to so much more than most people could have anticipated. A very finely crafted movie with a cast that delivers some top-notch performances and a story that’s sure to keep you in your seat. I’ll try not to give away too much in the way of spoilers but I’m sure a few will leak their way in.
Review by Peter Amthor
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In this interview we talk to artist Ken Meyer Jr. about his work on a vareity or projects throughout the gaming industry. He also tells us a bit about working with comic books and calendars.
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If you are looking for tens of new rotes and tons of cool rules for initiates you are looking for the wrong place. Initiates of the art consist of stories and dialogs as if It has been written by a group of mage. You can also trace two characters from Initiates of The Art to Masters of The Art, Lee Ann and the kid called Kyle. Other character of notice is Sir Lawrence.
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Beyond the Veil is the second English book released from Seventh Circle for the Kult RPG line. The first was a players guide called Rumours that came out over a year ago. Originally this book was to be the GMs guide but with the delay of its release it appears that they have instead turned it into a core rulebook for the game. Which is fine by me.
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Andrew describes his job as Managing Editor of Sword & Sorcery Studios in this interview. We also talk about his work on several World of Darkness RPGs, Ravenloft and writing the Year of the Scarab trilogy.
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The purpose of a review is to provide readers with enough information to decide whether they would like to spend their time or money on reading the book, watching the film or, in our case, playing the game. Whether or not the reviewer enjoys or is enthused by the game is of less importance. The reader must come first.
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How did you get into gaming? Waaay back when they still did Ian Livingston’s Fighting Fantasy books and the start of the Lone Wolf series — I considered those gaming, since they used dice and a character sheet. I never got into D&D, had a brief run-in with Palladium Fantasy RP, and Warhammer, then I […]
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How did you get into gaming? Way back when, my dad got me interested in comic books. This was back in grade school. He’d pick them up for me or let me read the ones he got for himself and then I’d pore over them. Eventually I graduated to fantasy and science fiction novels.I made […]
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How did you get into gaming? I began my roleplaying game journey in 1979 when a friend from high school introduced me to a game called Dungeons & Dragons. The game allowed me to use my vivid imagination to create characters and explore worlds where I could carry out deeds similar to heroes from comic […]
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The Haunting House: a Twisted Strategy Board Game for 2 to 6 players is just one of several products offered from Twilight Creations, Inc. The object of this game, to get to the exit, sounds easy enough. Trap doors and sneaky opponents stand in your way from winning the game.
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Plenty of articles deal with setting the mood for a horror RPG. As a result, I’m not going to tackle that topic. Instead, I’d like to talk about plot devices that, when in operation at a level of generality above specific mood elements, set the stage for creating a truly horrific RPG.
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When asked about the difference between writing and editing within the industry in this interview, Michelle Lyons stated:
Editing for a game is… nitpicky. When you’re writing, you have to get ideas down and make sure the core creative push behind the work is solid. You want to get the mechanical end right as well, but you have to make sure the creative foundation is solid. As an editor, you have to make sure the rest of the construction is to code, basically. You have to make sure rules are stated clearly (and mesh with the rest of the system), you have to make sure that presentation is consistent, you have to make sure all the numbers add up, and on top of that, you have to make sure that the text is solid in style and execution, accessible to the reader, and preferably not something the author won’t recognize or wince at when he or she looks at the final book.
From learning about Michelle’s first experiences in the gaming industry, to reading about her thoughts on where the industry is headed, read this in-depth interview for writer, editor, and game designer Michelle Lyons.
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How did you get into gaming? Totally accidentally. Some jocks and preps and I were wandering the halls of our high school, looking for less popular kids to oppress. We found some nerds in the hallway, squatting on the floor and playing D&D. We kicked their asses, and they left their books behind when they […]
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In this interview Toren tells us about his work as an artist on several RPGs and gives us the scoop on his band, Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.
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From artists and authors to RPG line developers, Flames Rising specializes in bringing you interviews with professionals from all aspects of the fiction, gaming industry and beyond. Our mission has been to interview both creative professionals that are top names within the entire entertainment industry, as well as and up-and-coming people to watch for as they embark on their horror-ific career. We invite you to read these interviews to learn more about these talented folk, and are happy to entertain suggestions for new people to interview.
Our Interviews are listed in chronological order, with the most recent Interviews at the top (click on the “Read more…” link just below this paragraph). For an alternative means of navigation, feel free to take advantage of the search box on the left or use the Tag Cloud to find what you’re hunting for.
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