Matt acts as the “Editor-in-Chief” of Flames Rising, which usually means writing reviews, setting up interviews, posting news and checking out the latest Horror & Dark Fantasy products from a variety of publishers. He also recruits reviewers, posts previews and works with publishers to explore new ideas for promoting the genre.
Matt occasionally dabbles in freelance writing and game design. Recently he worked on the Ghostories Enhancement Pack for Precis Intermedia and the novella "Time to Burn" in the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society collection from Abstract Nova Entertainment.
Posted on February 26, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
The new Review Guidelines have been posted on the Flames Rising website. We are currently seeking a few good reviewers to help us expand our collection of horror and dark fantasy reviews. RPGs, fiction, movies, video games and more are all welcome on the site… What do you get out of it? Beyond helping out […]
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Posted on February 26, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
For the past eleven years, Midnight Syndicate has been taking you on musical journeys into the darkest corners of your imagination with their soundtracks to imaginary films. Now, in 2008, they bring their music to the soundtrack of an actual horror film, Robert Kurtzman’s thriller, The Rage. The result is a CD containing menacing ambiance […]
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Posted on February 25, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Created by Jeff Tidball (Lord of the Rings RPG) and Will Hindmarch (Vampire: the Requiem), Gameplaywright is a blog about writing, designing and playing games. Not aimed at professionals, and not a “how-to” for beginners…this blog lies somewhere in the middle. There are plenty of great topics from two very talented game designers that range […]
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Posted on February 24, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
A new scenario for the Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium RPG has been released by the folks at Neoplastic Press: Art Imitates Death PDF The most disturbing piece of evidence you’ve ever seen is a painting. Originally, it was a lawyer. When the cops found him, he was stretched across the canvas. Not pretty. […]
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Posted on February 22, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Join authors D.L. Snell, John Sunseri, Ryan C. Thomas, and David Dunwoody as they fire four more rounds into the growing horde of living dead.
The latest zombie collection from Permuted Press has just been released. This is the fourth volume in the Undead series. Make sure you check out Grim’s review of Flesh Feast for a peek at some of the cool stuff offered in this series.
Headshot Quartet mixes things up a bit. Fitting for volume four of the series, instead of an anthology of short stories, this book features four novellas. Four brutal, action-packed tales of zombie hordes across the world.
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Posted on February 22, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
One of my sources at Wizards of the Coast tells me that there is going to be a Magic: the Gathering movie. This is part of the press release from Hasbro: Hasbro Inc. (HAS) and Universal Pictures formed a six-year strategic partnership to produce at least four motion pictures based on brands such as Monopoly, […]
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Posted on February 21, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
The roads are lovely, dark and deep… Matt McFarland has put together some pretty impressive World of Darkness titles over the years. He even won an ENnie for the Awakening Demo. Now he brings us Midnight Roads, a story book for the World of Darkness. Hitchhikers, ghost towns, new Merits and a host of interesting […]
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Posted on February 21, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films has announced the nominations for the 34th Annual Saturn Awards. “300” battles “Harry Potter” and “Sweeney Todd” at the 34th Annual Saturn Awards Leading the nominations this year is the groundbreaking film, “300” with 10 nominations. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” follows close […]
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Posted on February 20, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
WWE vs. White Wolf/CCP If a copyright suit involving video-game zombies isn’t scary enough, now we have a trademark case involving a vampire named “Gangrel” to sink our teeth into. This basically comes down to World Wrestling Entertainment still using elements of the “Gangrel” character after their contract with White Wolf has expired. Too bad […]
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Posted on February 20, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
There is a great interview with Steve Wieck on RPGnet about the history of White Wolf (from magazine to publisher), how DrivethruRPG got started and where it is headed. The history and future of DriveThruRPG. Steve mentions some interesting history of the pdf market, what the company has learned since it started and where it […]
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Posted on February 20, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
From the dark imaginations of Mark Kalita, Paul Mannering and H.P. Lovecraft: an original horror audio drama set in a city where the sun never rises … where the supernatural explains what science cannot … where modern man and ancient myths collide … and monsters are very, very real. Rise of the Ancient Ones Featuring […]
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Posted on February 19, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Talisman Studios – the home of Gamescapes, Shaintar and Suzerain.
In this interview Martin Klimes and Aaron Acevedo tell us how the studio came together, give us a peek into their gaming habits and share some of the design ideas that they’ve used to create the Talisman Studios products.
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Posted on February 18, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
After a long break Spirit Creek is back. They just had a show at G-Daddy’s BBC in Milwaukee, WI to release a new CD called “A Culture of Unaccountability” which you should be able to buy online at CDBaby any day now.
One of the new songs is featured on the Flames Rising MySpace Page.
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Posted on February 16, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Sideshow just posted links to a new Cthulhu Statue from the folks at SOTA Toys.
Deep in the waters of the South Pacific lies the sunken city of R’Leyth. Beneath the ocean’s surface dwells the fearsome Cthulhu, a creature of enormous size and great power from the world of H. P. Lovecraft’s fictional works. The legend of Cthulhu’s colossal size and gruesome visage evoke fear and reverence from those who cross its path, human and animal alike.
Should I get the Cthulhu Statue or the Sideshow Exclusive Edition?
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Posted on February 16, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
a|state introduced us the The City.
Welcome to The City. You will never forget The City. But The City will forget you.
Lostfinders Guide to Mire End took us on a tour into the sodden, degraded burgh of Mire End and introduced us to some of the more interesting personalities unfortunate enough to call the place home.
Now…Contested Ground Studios presents Avenues & Alleyways.
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Posted on February 15, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
GenCon was having some recent troubles with LucasFilm and it looks like those troubles are continuing: Gen Con Files for Chapter 11 Gen Con LLC announced today that it has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the State of Washington. This action became necessary as a result of significant […]
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Posted on February 15, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
Welcome to another collection of Mini-Reviews here on Flames Rising!
This week we are going to focus on some of the cool products published by some of the sponsors of the “Favorite Horror Game Contest” and the creative games they have released. Next week will be a few more of sponsors’ products. Including amazing art and funny cards.
So sit back and enjoy this collection of zombies, cannibals, strange creatures and nightmare cities…
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Posted on February 14, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
The new eQuarterly from White Wolf Publishing was released yesterday. All kinds of sneak previews ranging from World of Darkness: Innocents to Exalted: Dreams of the First Age and other bits throughout this free download. There are a ton of interviews regarding new books and other developments. The fan submission section has art and fiction, […]
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Posted on February 12, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
There is a lot of creative energy coming out of Talisman Studios. With products ranging from Suzerain to Shaintar: Immortal Legends you can find amazing art, great writing and a lot of talent. It looks like these games are going to even more interesting from here on out: Talisman Studios Adds Industry Veterans Talisman Studios […]
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Posted on February 12, 2008 by Matt-M-McElroy
A lot of folk were starting to get excited about the developing news regarding Peter Jackson as “executive producer” of two Hobbit prequels. However, some breaking news may paint a bleak picture: Tolkien estate sues New Line Cinema The estate of “Lord of the Rings” creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released […]
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