Sat, 29 November 2008  Category: Host Bios -- posted at: 9:02 AM |
Tue, 28 October 2008  Craig's been interested in gaming since he was 8, when he saw a WWII tank battle game being played in the middle of a mall that no longer exists. Just knowing that you wouldn't have to put your toys away when you grew up made his entire childhood much easier to bear. Since then Craig's been an avid fan of all things gaming. He's played Warhammer 40,000 since the Rogue Trader days in 1991, Warhammer Fantasy since 2000, and Warmachine/Hordes since they came out. He likes some of those better than others. Craig has built terrain for Games Workshop, once trained for a regional management position with the industry juggernaught, and has won many regional awards for painting and over-all, and 1 Golden Daemon (bronze, but Russ says that counts). Craig is a high school teacher in Milford, NH, where he teaches English and Theatre, taking every opportunity to introduce gaming to new generations of 'cool kids', as well as mentoring the more stereotypical gamer-kids through the hell that high school can be. Craig's Blog: Click here Category: Host Bios -- posted at: 11:01 AM Comments[2] |
Tue, 28 October 2008  I was instantly hooked into miniature wargaming when, as a 12 year old boy, my family took my brother and me to Gettysburg, PA. While there we were in a store, and I saw a 3D terrain table with Confederate and Union Soldiers displayed on the board. I thought it was yet another diorama, but nooooo the shopkeep assured me it was in fact, wait for it, a miniature game. I was instantly hooked, although did not play my first miniature game until I met Craig and Russ and the gang in 1995ish. The game was 40k. Of course, having grown up on RPG's and Computer games goes without saying all the way back the Nintendo systems and D&D. And of course comics became a love of mine at the same time as D&D. Having collected all of the original Todd McFarlane comics, just 'cause I was a kid reading comics, is a proud achievement of mine. Now I try to insulate myself from the powerful mind force that Russ both consciously and unconsciously projects into my brain in regards to different games. I love collecting, modeling, painting and playing. I often say that for these reason, miniature wargaming is the perfect hobby for me. It lets me collect when I am in that mood, it lets me play and socialize when I am in that mood, and it lets me read and create when I am in that mood. Perfect! I am new to the MMO scene having started with LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online), gravitated to WoW, and now am enjoying the freedom of WAR. (Warhammer Online). For the first time in my life, I will actually be playing PC games on a gaming Rig (DogHouse Systems). I also enjoy my xbox 360 and enjoy the stealth action adventure game the best, think Bioshock and Thief, and Splinter Cell before it went weird. I am generally a happy person who views the world as the glass is half full, and enjoy the different roles I have in life as: Friend, Lawyer, Husband, Father, Gamer, and Podcast Host. Raef's Blog: Click Here Category: Host Bios -- posted at: 10:37 AM Comments[3] |
Tue, 28 October 2008  One of the challenges of being brought up in a military family is that you have to get used to moving a lot. This leads to two things: 1) You tend to become very close with your family and need to find ways to have fun with each other and 2) You need to figure out ways to make friends quickly. The first issue was overcome in our family with games. We had family game nights frequently with a wide variety of classic family games (Chess, Backgammon, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Risk, etc.) and some less common but very fun games. (Yacht Race, Carrier Strike, Chopper Strike, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Game) The second issue was overcome with the help of the first. John (my brother) and I soon discovered that we could make many new friends quickly by either getting involved with gaming groups, or starting one if it didn’t already exist. Of course these gaming groups evolved beyond family games into some of the meatier types of games such as RPG’s (D&D, Traveler, Star Frontiers) and war games (Axis and Allies, Shogun, Fortress America, Broadsides and Boarding Parties, Starfleet Battles, Battletech, etc.) Thus, gaming became a fundamental tool that my brother and I have always used, not only to entertain ourselves and our families, but also to meet new people, make new lifelong friends, and share thoughts and ideas with likeminded folks around the world. We were fortunate enough to discover this when we were young as we literally moved around the world with our family. Despite the early lesson, I am still amazed at how gaming can so easily bring people together from different geographies and cultures. This was reinforced for me when I started the DakkaDakka.com website in the late 90’s. This little website designed to let local players keep track of league scores and show off their army pictures to each other was attracting visitors from around the world. The site was so popular that it eventually led to a family run game store with a focus on providing a place to socialize and play. The whole adventure with the Dakka Dakka website and store led to many great friendships that I cherish to this day. Eventually it was time to have a family and my priorities shifted. Nicole (my wife), John, and I decided it was time to sell the store, and eventually I sold the website as well. But my love for games has never dwindled, especially now that my daughters are becoming old enough to begin to discover the wonder of games. It also turned out to be difficult for me to stop sharing my love of gaming with others, which is one of the reasons that The D6 Generation was born. Today I enjoy the challenge of balancing my family life, job, and gaming. The D6 Generation allows me to share how I go about that balancing act with others, but more importantly, it keeps me in touch with one of my favorite lessons of childhood: Gaming brings people together from around the world.
Thanks for listening & happy gaming, Russ Wakelin
Category: Host Bios -- posted at: 4:25 AM Comments[1] |
