http://www.orbofinsight.com/ Orb of Insight en Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:26:00 GMT Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:26:00 GMT info@orbofinsight.com info@orbofinsight.com http://www.orbofinsight.com/any-other-name/ Will the real Ajani please stand up? Due to the way the rules of planeswalker cards work, both of them are the man himself. Each of them has the card... http://www.orbofinsight.com/any-other-name/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/any-other-name/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:26:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/retrospectives-part-1-ravnica-city-of-guilds/ In September 2005, uncertainty hung over Magic players everywhere. The experiment of the Kamigawa block had ended inconclusively. Fan response to the block's flavor, inspired by Japanese mythology, had been... http://www.orbofinsight.com/retrospectives-part-1-ravnica-city-of-guilds/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/retrospectives-part-1-ravnica-city-of-guilds/ Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:43:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/coming-home/ Courtesy of our old friend Anonymous, here is our first look at Shards of Alara. It's a big change from both Lorwyn and Shadowmoor. I wonder if anyone will fail... http://www.orbofinsight.com/coming-home/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/coming-home/ Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:33:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/signal-versus-noise-why-market-research-never-goes-out-of-style/ I have quite the conundrum on my hands. I need to visit Magic forums to stay connected to my fellow enthusiasts (well, the 15% or so of them who hang... http://www.orbofinsight.com/signal-versus-noise-why-market-research-never-goes-out-of-style/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/signal-versus-noise-why-market-research-never-goes-out-of-style/ Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:18:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/seeing-into-the-dark/ "When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you." -- Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra Increasingly, the factors behind a game's success are converging with the factors... http://www.orbofinsight.com/seeing-into-the-dark/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/seeing-into-the-dark/ Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:15:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/dont-try-this-at-home/ When people go to buy a new car, they tend to take them more or less as they are. No-one says, "Y'know, I have some ideas about the right way... http://www.orbofinsight.com/dont-try-this-at-home/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/dont-try-this-at-home/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:50:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/ante-up-magic-the-gathering/ I just recently came back from Melbourne's Eventide pre-release. There were a lot of nice people there, but overall the atmosphere was a little more subdued than it's been in... http://www.orbofinsight.com/ante-up-magic-the-gathering/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/ante-up-magic-the-gathering/ Sun, 13 Jul 2008 01:54:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/race-to-the-bottom/ If race is a hot-button unmentionable in politics, imagine how much more vehement and emotional the quarrels get in fantasy writing and gaming where nothing major is at stake. In... http://www.orbofinsight.com/race-to-the-bottom/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/race-to-the-bottom/ Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:54:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/game-design-vs-vintage/ "The rules will be completely unfair!" -- Q, in Star Trek: the Next Generation season 1 On June 1st, the DCI (the body that regulates Magic tournaments) restricted five highly-played... http://www.orbofinsight.com/game-design-vs-vintage/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/game-design-vs-vintage/ Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:03:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/myth-information/ Change is in the air. Come September, Shards of Alara hits the shelves, heralding a new era of smaller sets, smaller pre-releases, and - most controversial of all - a... http://www.orbofinsight.com/myth-information/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/myth-information/ Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:55:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/from-silver-screen-to-lcd-screen/ Note that hand-held video game devices haven't used LCD screens for many years now. Back when they did, though, developers were already making games based on popular movies and TV... http://www.orbofinsight.com/from-silver-screen-to-lcd-screen/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/from-silver-screen-to-lcd-screen/ Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:36:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/templars-jihadis-and-limited-print-runs/ What's wrong with these cards? The first one has been criticized by some players as an undue expression of religion. The second one... has not. I know that sounds odd... http://www.orbofinsight.com/templars-jihadis-and-limited-print-runs/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/templars-jihadis-and-limited-print-runs/ Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:16:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/angels-and-demons/ Characters, creatures, and other elements of flavor that have or can be interpreted as having a connection to real-world religion have a long and complicated (and often troubled) history with... http://www.orbofinsight.com/angels-and-demons/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/angels-and-demons/ Wed, 28 May 2008 01:49:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/on-the-origin-of-spore/ I'd like to interrupt the gushing about how awesome Will Wright's Spore is going to be ("HUGE" if we believe Wired magazine) with a little ray of bitter sunshine. I... http://www.orbofinsight.com/on-the-origin-of-spore/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/on-the-origin-of-spore/ Thu, 22 May 2008 03:18:00 GMT http://www.orbofinsight.com/human-capital/ Fantasy settings are generally populated by the "standard" creatures - elves, goblins, dragons, fairies. Magic: the Gathering has all these and then some. Why should it matter in our context... http://www.orbofinsight.com/human-capital/#comments http://www.orbofinsight.com/human-capital/ Wed, 14 May 2008 02:31:00 GMT