What are some of your other "obsessions?" List/discuss

[Wasteland Jack]

I'll have to repeat many greats that are already listed.

Tolkien -
The first real book my father read to me was the Hobbit in 1978 when I was five. I loved it! It was at the height of the 70's hype of Tolkien and Bass and Rankin just put out the animated feature. I proceeded to read Hobbit at least once a year, and the Lord of the Rings at least every three years. I still have my fathers original boxed set from '78 that contained all 4 books:



I just finished reading Hobbit to my 5 year old as well.

Aliens/Predator Universe -
Alien was the first movie that scared the bajeebus out of me, and I loved it. I became fascinated with the lore and universe of these creatures to the point that all my Star Frontiers (for all those old timers) campaigns were based around hunting down a swarm of Aliens. When Predator came out, boom! the Alien took the back seat. Predators are the most badass mofos in the galaxy. I don't care how cheezy people think the movies or comics were, the stories were awesome! in '90, when I heard that Alien Vs Predator was coming out, I ran up to Boston to a shop I knew that sold screenplays, and bought it outright! It drove me nuts that it took another decade to actually see the movie. I know many people thought Prometheus was a dud, no way man! I want more.

Godzilla -
King of Monsters will always be the King of Monsters in my book. I will admit recently I have gone back and watched many of the films and they are not as stellar as I remember them, but it like watching old school Iron Sheik VS. Rowdy Roddy Piper in gawky uniforms. I just watched Monster X with my son, and he freaking loved it, we laughed so hard!

Not horror movies, but scary movies. Movies that instill in me a sense of dread, or eeriness. Slasher flicks are ok, but formulaic. I admit the first Saw and Hostel had better stories than most these days but I think the height of horror was the late 70's - early 90's. Basically, when we did not rely on CGI and much of the fear was ambient, not jump scares if you will. Like if anyone has seen the move One dark night, there is a part at the end where these girls are standing in the middle of a dark mausoleum, staring down a dimly lit hallway, and slowly a figure starts moving down the corridor towards them. The creepiness factor is through the roof. That is what I like to experience.

RPGs -
Tabletop and electronic. RPG's rule. Right now I am in the fourth year of a six year GURPS campaign. Love D&D, Boot Hill, Twilight 2000, Car Wars as well. As for electronic, the Elder Scrolls have been a long time favorite, and still love Ultima III. I love the idea of character creation and endless possibilities.

Finally, cool ass fantasy/Horror/Sci-fi artwork. Favorites are John Howe, Alan Lee, Stephen Gammell, Roger Dean, and Brian Froud. Froud, Howe and Lee all had the most influence on me as the way I see things in my mind when gaming.

I think that is enough, but I could go on...

-W.J.