Jukka Särkijärvi created stats for both polar bears and space hamsters for Valley of Eternity: There are many strange things in the Antarctic, and the giant space hamster is probably the strangest. This white-furred rodent is the size of an elephant seal, but much quicker in its movements. Nobody is Continue Reading
juhana
An Israeli airline borrowed my cell phone
(Copyright: an unknown El Al security person) I was traveling from Helsinki, Finland to Tel Aviv, Israel in August 2012. I was going to participate in a Palestinian larp, the first of its kind. Prior to this, I had no involvement with anything related to Palestine or Israel. The possibility Continue Reading
Greatest penguin RPG out there
Jukka Särkijärvi writes nice things about Valley of Eternity, now out in English. What is Valley of Eternity, you ask. Well, it is nothing less than the greatest penguin RPG of all time. Drawing from spaghetti westerns, Conan the Barbarian and March of the Penguins, it depicts a bleak and Continue Reading
Valley of Eternity published in English
In 2009, I published a roleplaying game called Ikuisuuden laakso. It was about the heroic struggles and tragic fates of lonely penguins and anti-penguins. In 2011 the game was translated into Danish as Evighedens dal by Rollespilsakademiet, and now in 2012 into English by Vagrant Workshop. The English title is Continue Reading
Nordic Larp wins the Diana Jones Award!
Nordic Larp, an excellent collection of articles about games in the Nordic Larp tradition has won the prestigious American Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming. The collection was edited by Markus Montola and Jaakko Stenros, and I contributed an article about the game Luminescence. Here’s the Finnish press release: Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #113: Black Ice
Novel: Matt Dickinson: Black Ice (Hutchinson, 2002) Black Ice is a paperback thriller set in the world of contemporary Antarctic exploration. It doesn’t have any particular literary aspirations, but the Antarctic milieu is depicted well. The story concerns an expedition to cross Antarctica at its widest point by two men: Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #112: Antarctica beer
(Photo: Juhana Pettersson, 2012) Antarctica is a brand of beer available at least in Argentina and Brazil. I got a can from a small supermarket on the island of Ilha Grande, close to Rio de Janeiro. There was a tiny hole in the side of the can, spraying an almost Continue Reading
Research Blog Antarctica #111: Words of Captain Scott
Documentary: Paul Copeland: Words of Captain Scott (U.K. 2012) Robert Falcon Scott and his attempt to be first at the South Pole is probably the single most talked about subject in Antarctic literature. Words of Captain Scott is an hour-long British tv documentary trying to breathe life into the old Continue Reading
Juhana Ropeconissa
Suomen paras, hienon tai ainakin suurin roolipelitapahtuma Ropecon järjestetään Espoon Dipolissa 27. – 29. 7. 2012. Mä olen mukana kolmessa ohjelmanumerossa: Larp ja Taide Su 13.00 – Su 15.00, Sali 26 Paneeli Järjestäjä: Katri Lassila, Vili Nissinen, Mike Pohjola, Juhana Pettersson Keskustelussa larppaavat taiteilijat ja taiteelliset larppaajat luotaavat taiteen ja live-roolipelien Continue Reading
Roolipelaajan vanhoja numeroita App Storessa
Toimin vuosina 2007, 2008 ja 2009 roolipelilehti Roolipelaajan päätoimittajana. Taloudellisesti lehti ei ollut kummoinenkaan menestys, mutta sisällöllisesti olen ylpeä työstä jota minä ja edeltäjäni Mikko Rautalahti teimme. Nyt vanhoja Roolipelaajan numeroita on jälleen saatavilla, tällä kertaa digitaalisessa muodossa Applen App Storessa. Digi-Roolipelaajia voi tsekkailla iPhoneilla ja iPadeilla pientä korvausta vastaan. Continue Reading