Guest of Honour: Paul Czege

Of all the game designers birthed in the earliest indie stirrings at The Forge, Paul Czege may be the most dangerous. In just 710 words, his roleplaying game Nicotine Girls (2002) shatters your middle-class fantasies about the workings of hope, empathy, and power for the aspirations of the marginal. And when his game My Life with Master (2003) challenged the roleplaying hobby by making the end of play a creative destination, it provoked debate across the internet over whether games that don't aim for long term play are truly roleplaying games.

My Life with Master won that debate. But then in 2004 the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design elected not to nominate the game for their Origins Awards, sparking new public debate and criticism of the continued relevance of an awarding institution steeped in the business values of the prior decade and ultimately resulting in a weird token appearance by the game on the fan awards portion of the ballot in a category for electronic products. And that summer My Life with Master was given the prestigious Diana Jones Award For Excellence In Gaming.

So, how does a lone designer happen to produce such mental and social disruptions with his games?

It's an effect of why and how he pursues the craft of game design. If you look under the hood of the content and mechanisms in his games you see a designer who's trying to improve himself as a roleplayer, who's trying get beyond a personal history of inward, reflective characters and to play characters who can capture the interest of others (My Life with Master), who's trying to understand and improve his creative use of violence and eros (Bacchanal), and who's giving himself a personal crash course in creating compelling settings (Acts of Evil).

It's an intensely personal journey that's ultimately repeated by every eager gamer who plays his games. These gamers find themself torn asunder and remade, one step closer to understanding themselves and the hobby better.


Principal Works


    Who will attend INC'11

    The 55 confirmed guests:

  • Ron Edwards
  • Paul Czege
  • Danielle Lewon
  • Michele Gelli
  • Claudia Cangini
  • Moreno Roncucci
  • Mauro Ghibaudo
  • Luca "+1" Ghibaudo
  • Lapo Luchini
  • Matteo Suppo
  • Katia Davoli
  • Ezio "pozzo adiabatico" Melega
  • Lavinia Fantini
  • Luca "Torre piezometrica" Veluttini
  • ZANNA
  • Lorenzo Trenti
  • Alessandro Riccò - Gwilberiol
  • Paolo Bosi
  • Enrico Putaturo
  • Sara "Starcatcher" Porello
  • Rocco Duchi - ROCCO_D
  • Niccolò "Domon" Ricchio
  • Michele Pupo
  • Jasmine El Hadj
  • GABRIELLA AGUZZI
  • Matteo Turini
  • Andrea Castellani
  • Manuela Soriani
  • Mattia Bulgarelli - Korin Duval
  • Ronny "Gunny" Negrelli
  • Emilio Brognara
  • Marco "Mr Mac" Andreetto
  • Dario Delfino
  • Enrico "slauni" Mola
  • Lavinia Barni
  • Mr. Mario Bolzoni
  • Paolo Davolio
  • Alexandra Zanasi
  • Simone -Spiegel- Micucci
  • Luca "bonisol" Bonisoli
  • Andrea Bruna
  • Malinka
  • il mietitore
  • Errezero
  • Arumas-o-thos
  • Humano
  • AleA
  • Elke
  • Andrea 'Mechvigiak' Vigiak
  • Patrick "patmax17" Marchiodi
  • Jessica "Axel Smile" Menegoli
  • Stefano Preda Predieri
  • Trevor "3evil" Devalle
  • Davide Losito ( Khana )
  • Rafu

    Who will attend INC'11

    The unconfirmed guests:

  • Alan Di Giulio
  • Bazinga
  • Berzoni Gabriele
  • Filomena Cesarano