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Gen Con 2012 – Gen Con Owner Peter Adkison Launches The First Paladin

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Roleplaying games as visual media just took a step closer to reality with the launch of a new website for hobby game players around the world. Now roleplayers have the opportunity to experience a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in a whole new way: through a Web series hosted exclusively at www.thefirstpaladin.com. Viewers can watch The First Paladin, a campaign being played with D&D Next rules, and see the game evolve dynamically as game master Peter D. Adkison and the players make their own choices. This new series is produced by Hostile Work Environment, the new multimedia company owned by Adkison, the former CEO of Wizards of the Coast and owner of Gen Con, LLC.

The first four scenes of the Web series just premiered. Over the next year, the series will continue to play out. In addition four narrative shorts will be released throughout the year to further enhance the story.

The First Paladin is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the fantasy world of Chaldea, which Adkison created in 1981. On www.thefirstpaladin.com  fans can explore Chaldea through videos of D&D Next gameplay, illustrations by Emmy Award-winning artist Phillip Trumbo, character testimonials from the cast and narrative fiction.

Adkison is talking more about his plans on Saturday, August 18 at 7 p.m. in the Wizards room at the Indiana Convention Center. This event is open to everyone. Following Gen Con, a new scene will be released each week. The final eight-part episode will be aired at a special screening at Gen Con 2013.

In between new episodes, audiences will enjoy narrative shorts giving them more insight into the characters and world of Chaldea. The first short will premiere September 17, 2012 and is titled Blackfield Bends the Knee. It stars the Seattle Knights and was filmed on 16mm film using a 1950’s Arriflex camera.

The launch of The First Paladin Web series is just the first of what Adkison sees as many opportunities to explore roleplaying games as visual media. Hostile Work Environment will continue to pursue different ways to interact with gamers dynamically in shaping stories and to create roleplaying-inspired entertainment across a variety of platforms, including short and feature films.

Joining Adkison at Hostile Work Environment is Kim Voynar, who will serve as producer on HWE’s The First Paladin web series and website.  Based in Seattle, Voynar previously produced “White Knights,” directed by Joe Shapiro, and produced, wrote and directed “Bunker” via her Catawampus! Production Company. Since 2004, she has been a leading voice in the world of film journalism, as managing editor and film critic at AOL’s Cinematical, and features editor and film critic for Movie City News.

Peter D. Adkison Creates Hostile Work Environment

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A new company has launched and it’s solely dedicated to roleplaying games and the core of what makes them so enduring, the craft of storytelling. Peter D. Adkison, former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and owner of Gen Con, LLC, has announced the formation of his new multi-media company, Hostile Work Environment™. Through a variety of media formats, Hostile Work Environment will bring life to roleplaying games, not by publishing them, but by filming, narrating, and illustrating them online, engaging and interacting with audiences worldwide. Adkison added about the launch:

I couldn’t be more excited about Hostile Work Environment!  Roleplaying games are my passion and through my new company, I’m creating ways for people to experience RPG’s that will resonate with long-time players and new audiences alike.

The first production for Hostile Work Environment will be a web series dedicated to a Dungeon & Dragon’s campaign titled The First Paladin, which is set in Adkison’s fantasy world of Chaldea.

Hostile Work Environment brings together a highly experienced team of industry professionals. Joining Adkison at Hostile Work Environment is Kim Voynar, who will serve as producer on HWE’s The First Paladin web series and website.  Based in Seattle, Voynar previously produced White Knights, directed by Joe Shapiro, and produced, wrote and directed Bunker via her Catawampus! production company. Since 2004, she has been a leading voice in the world of film journalism, as managing editor and film critic at AOL’s Cinematical, and features editor and film critic for Movie City News.