Welcome to another Saving Throw; today's column contains a couple of firsts. The contest gets its first reader-submitted entry this week. Thank you, UFJ, and good luck to you for your first entry. Also, my entry last week was the first entry that everyone guessed correctly, much to my surprise.
Otherwise, there is pretty interesting merger news this week as CCP and White Wolf announce plans to combine forces. Not only will this mean EVE Online-related products from White Wolf, but it looks like a World of Darkness MMORPG is in early works. You can read more below in the tabletop gaming news section.
And with that, it's time to let the column speak for itself.
Gaming Tip of the Week
"If it involves snakes, it's just probably not going to work out well."
CCP, the developer and publisher of the MMORPG EVE Online and White Wolf Publishing, the second largest publisher of tabletop roleplaying and collectible card games, have announced definite plans to merge. White Wolf Publishing will continue to operate under its own name as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CCP. The new combined company will be producing strategy guides, collectible card games, and novels based on EVE Online in 2007, and preliminary work has been started on an online version of White Wolf's World of Darkness roleplaying setting. White Wolf will continue development of their entire line of gaming products even after the merger.
For the past couple of months, Wizards of the Coast has been in the first stage of The Great Designer Search, looking for someone to fill a paid research and development designer internship at the company's headquarters in Renton, WA. Out of over a thousand candidates, Wizards announced the final fifteen candidates selected to continue to the next phase during the live web cast at the finals at Pro Tour Kobe. This phase is being described as "something of an online 'reality show'" and will feature weekly design challenges where one or more candidates will be eliminated each week. The last three candidates will proceed to the interview stage and one will be selected to fill the position beginning in January 2007.