From a journalist specializing in conspiracy theories, an examination of mysterious deaths and missing persons related to sightings of UFO phenomena. Everyone has heard of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But what about close encounters of the fatal kind? The field of UFOs is rife with unsettling examples of suspicious deaths. Accounts of accidents that might not have been accidents after all, abound. Researchers and witnesses have vanished, never to be seen again. Conveniently timed heart attacks are reported. Out-of-the-blue suicides that, upon investigation, bear the distinct hallmarks of murder, are all too common. And grisly deaths at the hands of both extraterrestrials and government agents have occurred. Highlights of Close Encounters of the Fatal Kind include: The strange saga of the incredible melting man The UFO-related death of the first U.S. Secretary of Defense, James Forrestal The mysterious disappearances of military pilots and their connection to UFOs The connections between national security and the sudden deaths of UFO investigators Getting too close to the cosmic truth about alien abductions Roswell, and what the government really knows about UFOs can—clearly—be a deadly business The government’s latest admission of the existence of Area 51 is barely the tip of a very big iceberg.

Games are poised for a major evolution, driven by growth in technical sophistication and audience reach. Characters that create powerful social and emotional connections with players throughout the game-play itself (not just in cut scenes) will be essential to next-generation games. However, the principles of sophisticated character design and interaction are not widely understood within the game development community. Further complicating the situation are powerful gender and cultural issues that can influence perception of characters. Katherine Isbister has spent the last 10 years examining what makes interactions with computer characters useful and engaging to different audiences. This work has revealed that the key to good design is leveraging player psychology: understanding what's memorable, exciting, and useful to a person about real-life social interactions, and applying those insights to character design. Game designers who create great characters often make use of these psychological principles without realizing it. Better Game Characters by Design gives game design professionals and other interactive media designers a framework for understanding how social roles and perceptions affect players' reactions to characters, helping produce stronger designs and better results.

A richly illustrated, encyclopedic deep dive into the history of roleplaying games. When Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson released Dungeons & Dragons in 1974, they created the first roleplaying game of all time. Little did they know that their humble box set of three small digest-sized booklets would spawn an entire industry practically overnight. In Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, Stu Horvath explores how the hobby of roleplaying games, commonly known as RPGs, blossomed out of an unlikely pop culture phenomenon and became a dominant gaming form by the 2010s. Going far beyond D&D, this heavily illustrated tome covers more than three hundred different RPGs that have been published in the last five decades. Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground features (among other things) bunnies, ghostbusters, soap operas, criminal bears, space monsters, political intrigue, vampires, romance, and, of course, some dungeons and dragons. In a decade-by-decade breakdown, Horvath chronicles how RPGs have evolved in the time between their inception and the present day, offering a deep and gratifying glimpse into a hobby that has changed the way we think about games and play.

A richly illustrated, encyclopedic deep dive into the history of roleplaying games. When Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson released Dungeons & Dragons in 1974, they created the first roleplaying game of all time. Little did they know that their humble box set of three small digest-sized booklets would spawn an entire industry practically overnight. In Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, Stu Horvath explores how the hobby of roleplaying games, commonly known as RPGs, blossomed out of an unlikely pop culture phenomenon and became a dominant gaming form by the 2010s. Going far beyond D&D, this heavily illustrated tome covers more than three hundred different RPGs that have been published in the last five decades. Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground features (among other things) bunnies, ghostbusters, soap operas, criminal bears, space monsters, political intrigue, vampires, romance, and, of course, some dungeons and dragons. In a decade-by-decade breakdown, Horvath chronicles how RPGs have evolved in the time between their inception and the present day, offering a deep and gratifying glimpse into a hobby that has changed the way we think about games and play. The deluxe edition will include a foil-stamped cover and slipcase with a cloth binding, a ribbon, gilded edges, and an 8.5x11-inch card stock poster of the regular edition.

This is our second volume celebrating the work of talented science fiction, fantasy, and horror author Thomas A. Easton (following up on Thomas A. Easton's GMO Future MEGAPACK®). Tom has quietly produced a large body of excellent work over the years, while also working as a university professor and penning the book review column for Analog. This volume contains 27 short stories, 2 novels, and an essay. Short Stories: "A Love Story" "Kiss Me, Kate" "To Fan the Flame" "Alien Resonance" "The Last Flute" "The Chicago Plan to Save a Species" "Movers and Shakers" "Tetherball" "The Blue-Tail Fly" "Ground Truth" "Needle and Thread" "The Tailor" "The Bung-Hole Caper" "Black Earth and Destiny" "Micro Macho" "Clem, the Little Copper" Essay 'Virtual' Reality and 'Artificial' Life" Howie & the Mayor series: "Mood Wendigo" "The Tree" "Downeast Encounter" "Protection Racket" "Speed Trap" "Fishing Trip" "Gambling Man" "Roll Them Bones" "Energy Crisis" "Alas, Poor Yorick" "Return of the Native" Novels: Silicon Karma The Great Flying Saucer Conspiracy If you enjoy this ebook, don't forget to search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press Megapack" to see more of the 300+ volumes in this series, covering adventure, historical fiction, mysteries, westerns, ghost stories, science fiction -- and much, much more!

This book covers just the first eighteen years of my life, which were anything but normal.. I began to publish a monthly newsletter of UFO Sightings that I heard about from First Responders, Pilots and other credible witnesses. Penny Saver saw my publication and bought one of my articles for $15 as filler for their throw away sheet. They had no idea I was 10. This book is not just a collection of UFO stories; It's much more and somewhat personal. That's the only way I can explain how I became a publisher Author, UFO 'Expert' and media sensation before my eighteenth birthday. You'll enjoy the stories because all of them are exclusive. You'll learn about UFO Sightings byJFK, CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite and what Jackie Gleason told me he saw in a Florida Air Force Base hangar. You'll also discover what the government asked Howard Hughes to do for them concerning UFOs. This is a lengthy book, but never a boring one!

Take a look at a dark, deadly future where the game is hunting and the result is killing, human to human, with status, money, power, and sex as the prizes. The operation runs underground and Frank Blackwell is a new recruit who is destined to change the game and turn it into legitimate popular entertainment for the masses. From the very beginning of his career, Robert Sheckley was recognized by fans, reviewers, and fellow authors as a master storyteller and the wittiest satirist working in the science fiction field. Open Road is proud to republish his acclaimed body of work, with nearly thirty volumes of full-length fiction and short story collections. Rediscover, or discover for the first time, a master of science fiction who, according to the New York Times, was “a precursor to Douglas Adams.” “The key words with Sheckley are clever, deadly, cool . . . I don’t know anyone else in SF who has written quite so many classic stories.” —Spider Robinson