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43-567: Eight films were shown in the first season. Five were shown in the second season, after which the American Film Theatre project ended. Raymond Benson summarized, "The American Film Theatre could probably never be repeated, especially within the economic structure that exists in the motion picture industry today. It’s a shame, for even though the AFT was not a perfect product, it was a bold and fascinating experiment that attempted to blend

86-462: A GM describes the game world and its inhabitants. The other players describe the intended actions of their characters, and the GM describes the outcomes. Some outcomes are determined by the game system, and some are chosen by the GM. This is the format in which role-playing games were first popularized. In contrast, many indie role-playing games experiment with different structures of play, such as sharing

129-521: A GM role through a visual interface called a GM toolkit , albeit with abilities limited by the available technology. Another standard concept in RPGs is the player character, a character in the fictional world of the game whose actions the player controls. Typically each player controls a separate player character, sometimes more, each of whom acts as a protagonist in the story. In contrast to player characters, non-player characters (NPCs) are controlled by

172-667: A degree in Drama Production—Directing from the University of Texas at Austin . In 1984, Benson wrote The James Bond Bedside Companion , a book dedicated to Ian Fleming, the official novels, and the films. The book was updated in 1988 and has since been re-released digitally without further updating. It was nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America in the Best Biographical/Critical Work category. In 1985, he worked as

215-502: A designer and writer on the computer game James Bond 007: A View to a Kill . He followed this in 1986 with work on a computer game version of Goldfinger and co-authoring the You Only Live Twice II module of the popular role-playing game James Bond 007 . In 1996, John Gardner resigned from writing Bond books. Glidrose Publications promptly chose Benson to replace him. As a James Bond novelist, Raymond Benson

258-411: A form of interactive and collaborative storytelling . Events, characters, and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline. Interactivity is the crucial difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a television show is a passive observer, a player in a role-playing game makes choices that affect

301-556: A loosely defined genre of computer and console games with origins in role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons , on which they base much of their terminology, settings, and game mechanics. This translation changes the experience of the game, providing a visual representation of the world but emphasizing statistical character development over collaborative, interactive storytelling. Online text-based role-playing games involve many players using some type of text-based interface and an Internet connection to play an RPG. Games played in

344-579: A museum (the "007 Man with the Red Tattoo Museum", dedicated to the book) and honor Benson with the title of Goodwill Ambassador. In 2008 High Time to Kill , Doubleshot , Never Dream of Dying and an extended version of his 1997 short story "Blast from the Past" (a sequel to Fleming's novel, You Only Live Twice ) were grouped and released as an omnibus called The Union Trilogy: Three 007 Novels . A second anthology entitled Choice of Weapons

387-637: A number of books published, including original suspense novels Face Blind (2003), Evil Hours (2004), the Shamus Award-nominated Dark Side of the Morgue (2009), The Secrets on Chicory Lane (2017), and The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way (2022), as well as the non-fiction work The Pocket Essential Guide to Jethro Tull ( Jethro Tull biography) (2002). Benson was awarded the IPPY Gold (1st Place, tied) Medal in

430-411: A real-time way include MUDs , MUSHes , and other varieties of MU* . Games played in a turn-based fashion include play-by-mail games and play-by-post games . Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) combine the large-scale social interaction and persistent world of MUDs with graphic interfaces. Most MMORPGs do not actively promote in-character role-playing, however, players can use

473-745: A role-playing game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief . The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes. Tabletop role-playing games may also be used in therapy settings to help individuals develop behavioral, social, and even language skills. Beneficiaries commonly include young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as Autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder ( ADHD ), and dyslexia . Role-playing games are played in

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516-554: A short story, " On the Threshold of a Death ", were collected in 2011 as an e-book anthology, The Rock 'n' Roll Detective's Greatest Hits . Benson also wrote the novelization of the video game Metal Gear Solid in 2008 and followed it in 2009 with a novelization of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty . His entry in the Gabriel Hunt pulp adventure series, Hunt Through Napoleon's Web , appeared as an e-book in 2010 and

559-486: A wide variety of formats, ranging from discussing character interaction in tabletop form, physically acting out characters in LARP to playing characters virtually in digital media. There is also a great variety of systems of rules and game settings . Games that emphasize plot and character interaction over game mechanics and combat sometimes prefer the name storytelling game . These types of games tend to reduce or eliminate

602-409: Is the role of a gamemaster, a participant who has special duties to present the fictional setting, arbitrate the results of character actions, and maintain the narrative flow. In tabletop and live-action RPGs the GM performs these duties in person. In video RPGs, many of the functions of a GM are fulfilled by the game engine . However, some multi-player video RPGs also allow for a participant to take on

645-465: The retronyms tabletop role-playing game or pen and paper role-playing game are sometimes used, though neither a table nor pen and paper are strictly necessary. A LARP is played more like improvisational theatre . Participants act out their characters' actions instead of describing them, and the real environment is used to represent the imaginary setting of the game world. Players are often costumed as their characters and use appropriate props, and

688-405: The tabletop role-playing game (TRPG or TTRPG), is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing (LARP), players physically perform their characters' actions. Both forms feature collaborative storytelling . In both TTRPGs and LARPs, often an arranger called a game master (GM) decides on the game system and setting to be used, while acting as a facilitator or referee. Each of

731-417: The American Film Theatre showed the films on Mondays and Tuesdays, which were days on which ticket sales for the films from the major studios were relatively small. For the second season, the major studios apparently began to exert pressure on these theaters to withdraw from American Film Theatre. In January 1975, the month the second season began, American Film Theatre filed an antitrust lawsuit against six of

774-488: The Cold War. On August 12, 2023, Ian Fleming Publications announced that Benson's first novel, Zero Minus Ten , would be reprinted in the U.K. along with other continuation authors' works. Subsequently, on January 29, 2024, Ian Fleming Publications announced the publication of an e-book omnibus, James Bond: The Raymond Benson Years , containing his six original 007 novels. Since authoring Bond novels, Benson has had

817-674: The Mystery Category from the Independent Publisher Book Awards for The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way. In 2004, Benson began writing the first of two books based on the acclaimed video game series, Splinter Cell , although both are credited to the pseudonym, David Michaels . Further titles in the Splinter Cell series have also been credited to David Michaels, but were not authored by Benson. The first book, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

860-436: The definition of role-playing games. Although some amount of role-playing activity may be present in such games, it is not the primary focus. The term role-playing game is also sometimes used to describe other games involving roleplay simulation , such as exercises used in teaching, training, academic research, or therepeutic settings. Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be

903-492: The films listed below were produced by Ely Landau and were first shown as part of the American Film Theatre. These films were shown by American Film Theatre in the first five months of 1975. Despite the very limited release of the films, several performers and one writer were nominated for national film awards, with one winning. Raymond Benson Raymond Benson (born 1955) is an American writer known for his James Bond novels published between 1997 and 2003. Benson

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946-525: The games' communication functions to role-play so long as other players cooperate. The majority of players in MMORPGs do not engage in role-playing in this sense. Computer-assisted gaming can be used to add elements of computer gaming to in-person tabletop role-playing, where computers are used for record-keeping and sometimes to resolve combat, while the participants generally make decisions concerning character interaction. One common feature of many RPGs

989-503: The late 1990s due to competition from online MMO RPGs, role-playing video games , and collectible card games. However, TTRPGs experienced a resurgence in popularity between the mid-2010s and early 2020s due to actual play web series and online play through videoconferencing during the COVID-19 lockdowns . The tabletop format is often referred to simply as a role-playing game . To distinguish this form of RPG from other formats,

1032-474: The major studios alleging that they were "coercing exhibitors into canceling scheduled AFT playdates or transferring them to theatres different from those designated to subscribers when they signed up for the AFT series". The outcome of the lawsuit isn't clear, but the second season was the last for the American Film Theatre. The months indicated for each film are for the American Film Theatre release. Excepting Three Sisters and Philadelphia, Here I Come , all of

1075-438: The number of players in a LARP is usually larger than in a tabletop role-playing game, and the players may be interacting in separate physical spaces, there is typically less of an emphasis on tightly maintaining a narrative or directly entertaining the players, and game sessions are often managed in a more distributed manner. Tabletop role-playing games have been translated into a variety of electronic formats. As early as 1974,

1118-845: The other players takes on the role of a single character in the fiction. Several varieties of RPG also exist in electronic media, such as multiplayer text-based Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) and their graphics-based successors, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Role-playing games also include single-player role-playing video games in which players control a character, or team of characters, who undertake(s) quests. Role-playing video games may include player capabilities that advance over time using statistical mechanics. These electronic games sometimes share settings and rules with tabletop RPGs, but emphasize character advancement more than collaborative storytelling. Some RPG-related game forms, such as trading/collectible card games (CCGs) and wargames , may or may not be included under

1161-460: The responsibility for creating setting details and NPCs among all players. The first commercially available RPG, Dungeons & Dragons ( D&D ), was inspired by fantasy literature and the wargaming hobby and was published in 1974. The popularity of D&D led to the birth of the tabletop role-playing game industry, which publishes games with many different themes, rules, and styles of play. The popularity of tabletop games decreased in

1204-431: The roles of characters in a fictional setting . Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines . There are several forms of role-playing games. The original form, sometimes called

1247-473: The saga, The Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings , was published in November 2014. On October 14, 2015, it was announced that Mila Kunis will be executive producing a television series based on The Black Stiletto book series for ABC Studios. Role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game , or abbreviated as RPG ) is a game in which players assume

1290-517: The same year as the release of Dungeons & Dragons, unlicensed versions of it were developed on mainframe university systems under titles such as dnd and Dungeon . These early computer RPGs influenced all of electronic gaming, as well as spawning the role-playing video game genre. Some authors divide digital role-playing games into two intertwined groups: single-player games using RPG-style mechanics, and multiplayer games incorporating social interaction. Single-player role-playing video games form

1333-441: The stage with cinema. It’s the kind of project that reminds us how recklessly courageous—and often artistically brilliant—filmmakers could be in the 1970s." The films were released on DVD in 2003 by Kino International and again in 2008 as a boxed set. They were again re-released on Blu-Ray in 2018. Twelve of the thirteen films were specifically produced by Landau for the series. The budgets were low: $ 750,000 for each film. Landau

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1376-408: The story. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a small party of friends collaborate to create a story. While simple forms of role-playing exist in traditional children's games of make believe , role-playing games add a level of sophistication and persistence to this basic idea with additions such as game facilitators and rules of interaction. Participants in

1419-420: The use of dice and other randomizing elements. Some games are played with characters created before the game by the GM, rather than those created by the players. This type of game is typically played at gaming conventions , or in standalone games that do not form part of a campaign. Tabletop (TTRPG) and pen-and-paper (PnP) RPGs are conducted through discussion in a small social gathering. In traditional TTRPGs,

1462-423: The venue may be decorated to resemble the fictional setting. Some live-action role-playing games use rock paper scissors or comparison of attributes to resolve conflicts symbolically, while other LARPs use physical combat with simulated arms such as airsoft guns or foam weapons . LARPs vary in size from a handful of players to several thousand, and in duration from a couple of hours to several days. Because

1505-475: Was able to convince leading playwrights, actors, and directors to offer their work at minimal rates. The largest fee paid was $ 25,000; Lee Marvin remarked that he lost $ 225,000 by acting in The Iceman Cometh , since his usual fee for a film was $ 250,000. The American Film Theatre's marketing was based on selling season subscriptions. For the 1973–74 season there were eight films exhibited. Each film

1548-652: Was born in Midland, Texas and graduated from Permian High School in Odessa in 1973. In primary school Benson took an interest in the piano which would later in his life develop into an interest in composing music, mostly for theatrical productions. Benson also took part in drama at school and became the vice president of his high school's drama department, an interest that he would later pursue by directing stage productions in New York City after attending and receiving

1591-617: Was initially controversial for being American, and for ignoring much of the continuity established by Gardner. The author did much to placate these concerns, however, and promptly embarked on regular tours to promote his novels in the UK, as well as occasional trips to mainland Europe. Several signing sessions were held at the offices of his UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton , and at London booksellers Murder One and James Bond specialists Adrian Harrington Ltd. In total, Benson wrote six James Bond novels, three novelizations , and three short stories. He

1634-495: Was published in 2004 followed by Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda in 2005. In 2008, Benson wrote A Hard Day's Death about a private investigator who looks into the death of a rock star. The book spawned a second novel in 2009 called Dark Side of the Morgue , which was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original PI Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. The two novels plus

1677-533: Was published in 2010 and contained Zero Minus Ten , The Facts of Death , The Man with the Red Tattoo , and the short stories "Midsummer Night's Doom" and "Live at Five". In April 2014, Benson and former Bond author Jeffery Deaver collaborated—the first such collaboration between former Bond continuation authors—as co-editors of Ice Cold--Tales of Intrigue from the Cold War , an anthology sponsored by Mystery Writers of America containing short stories about

1720-502: Was published in September 2011. In anticipation of the book's publication, Benson released a free downloadable e-book short story, " The Black Stiletto's Autograph ". The second book in the series, The Black Stiletto: Black & White , was published on May 30, 2012. The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes , was published in 2013, and The Black Stiletto: Secrets & Lies was published in early 2014. The fifth and final book of

1763-616: Was published in print in 2011. Further video game novelizations continued in 2011, when Benson co-authored Homefront--the Voice of Freedom with John Milius , as a prequel to the THQ videogame Homefront . 2012 saw the announcement that Benson would also write Hitman: Damnation , a prequel to the Square Enix videogame Hitman: Absolution . Benson's first novel in a series of "women's action/adventure thrillers," The Black Stiletto ,

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1806-431: Was shown only four times at a specific theatre. The American Express company developed a direct mail and newspaper sales campaign that cost $ 2.5 million, and yielded about 500,000 subscriptions for the first season. The posters and other advertising emphasized that the films were being shown in "limited engagements", and it was rumored that the films would not be released again for years. Most theaters that participated in

1849-511: Was the first Bond author since Ian Fleming to write short stories (published in Playboy and TV Guide magazines and collected in anthologies published in 2008 and 2010). Glidrose changed its name to Ian Fleming Publications commencing with Benson's novel, High Time to Kill . Benson resigned from writing Bond books in 2003. Benson's novel The Man with the Red Tattoo inspired the government of Japan's Kagawa Prefecture in 2005 to erect

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