Screen Rant

Derek Garcia-

Derek Garcia

  • 391
    articles
  • 380
    Features
  • 10
    Lists
  • 1
    Reviews

About Derek Garcia

Derek Garcia is a Game Feature Writer for ScreenRant. He writes about both video game and tabletop RPG features. When trying to meet a specific word count in writing a personal biography, Derek sometimes adds pithy quotes, like, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Author Details

Derek lives with his wife, three dogs, and a likely excessive number of video game consoles. When he is not writing, playing video games, watching movies or television, or reading novels or comic books, he occasionally takes some time to sleep. Derek majored in journalism and worked for a print newspaper before discovering the internet. After being immersed in nerd culture for many years, he is now happy to write about the media he enjoys instead of just ranting to his friends.

Industry Focus

Derek is an avid tabletop RPG player and Game Master, a lifelong video game fan, and an enthusiast for films, television, and comics. He takes equal interest in charting the history of entertainment media and emergent trends and evolution, alongside analyzing where the future might take them.

Favorite Media

Derek is a fan of science fiction and fantasy, video game and tabletop RPGs, classic Hong Kong action movies, and graphic novels. He explores genre classics as well as diving into the latest and greatest. Derek balances sampling the newest entertainment media with revisiting the well of a (thankfully) never-ending backlog.

Latest Articles

6 D&D Magic Items & Spells That Are Really Just Helping You Break The Rules - A cropped image of the cover of the 1e Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Wilderness survival guide
6 D&D Magic Items & Spells That Are Really Just Helping You Break The Rules

Low level D&D games often focus on mundane challenges like foraging for food and water or tracking carrying capacity. These rules can be eliminated.

Several characters in Dungeons & Dragons standing in a line
All 36 Dungeons & Dragons 5e Deities From The Forgotten Realms

Forgotten Realms is the D&D setting that has had the most shakeups with its deities. The Sundering event led to Toril’s current pantheon of gods.

Vampire rifling through a book from DnD with Dark Sun desert behind him.
New Dungeons & Dragons Game Chose The Wrong Official Setting

Several Dungeons & Dragons based games are in development. One combines survival, action RPG, and life sim gameplay, but it chose the wrong setting.

An image from the 3.5 DnD Miniatures Handbook illustrating an Opportunity Attack
D&D's Most Iconic Rule Changed The Game's Combat Forever

There are many rules of Dungeons & Dragons that fans might consider iconic, but opportunity attacks are the most definitive element of modern D&D.

Tony Soprano from The Sopranos and Walter White from Breaking Bad
5 Bizarre Video Games That Were Adapted From Prestige TV Shows

Prestige TV series strive to elevate their quality to the levels of cinema and literature, but some video games based on them have far less ambition.

Your Most Nostalgic Nintendo 3DS Games Are Now Dead - An image from Luigis Mansion for 3DS with a broken 3DS console
Your Most Nostalgic Nintendo 3DS Games Are Now Dead

One year after the 3DS e-store was closed, the most popular 3DS emulator, Citra, has been discontinued as a result of Nintendo’s lawsuit against Yuzu.

the Xbox logo most prominent, and the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch logos also near it, with Master Chief from Halo Infinite, Chai from Hi-Fi Rush, and Andreas from Pentiment behind/surrounding the logos
Is This The End Of Xbox Exclusives? It Should Be

Xbox has taken a step towards eliminating exclusives but needs to go further to put the last nail in the coffin of this archaic marketing gimmick.

There’s One More 5e Dungeons & Dragons Game You Have To Play Before One D&D - An image of official D&D Dragonlance art
There’s One More 5e Dungeons & Dragons Game You Have To Play Before One D&D

Despite the upcoming release of One D&D, tabletop RPG fans should focus on the current rules. Now is the best time to start an epic level campaign.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Won’t Teach You How To Play D&D, But It Has Things To Avoid - An image of Gale, a party member, and Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, from Baldur's Gate 3
Don't Let Baldur's Gate 3 Inspire Your Next D&D Campaign

Baldur’s Gate 3 can inspire DMs to run Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. Unfortunately, it also teaches bad habits for players making starting characters.

A close-up on Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3 with tears streaming down her face.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Highlights One Of D&D 5e’s Biggest Design Flaws

Seeing the 5e Dungeons & Dragons rules used in Baldur’s Gate 3 is enjoyable for tabletop RPG fans, but it makes the system’s flaws harder to ignore.

Artwork of Pikachu wearing a gray felt hat, mimicking Vincent van Gogh's famous style. It's a parody of a famous Van Gogh self-portrait.
Van Gogh Museum Pokémon Card Theft Proves The Collab Was A Bad Idea

The Van Gogh Museum faced chaos from guests and employees alike with its Pokémon collaboration, showing fine art and pop culture do not mix well.

5 Official But Broken D&D Rules You Should Ban Before Your Next Campaign - An image of a well equipped D&D adventurer in a horde of treasures
5 Official But Broken D&D Rules You Should Ban Before Your Next Campaign

Just because something is in an official Dungeons & Dragons book does not mean it is properly balanced. DMs should still ban problematic elements.

How Baldur’s Gate 3 Can Raise The Level Cap Without Breaking The Game - An image of Baldur's Gate 3's Astarion and Shadowheart
How Baldur’s Gate 3 Can Raise The Level Cap Without Breaking The Game

Larian stated that Baldur’s Gate 3 has a level 12 limit due to the challenges of balancing high level spells. D&D’s rules provide an easy workaround.

Gale from Baldur's Gate 3 centered, with the Emperor and Orpheus on either side of him.
One Low-Level Baldur’s Gate 3 Spell Makes The Final Battle Easy

There are three major battles before the credits roll in Baldur’s Gate 3, but the hardest one can be almost entirely avoided with level-one magic.

Even After Baldur's Gate 3, D&D Games Might Be In Trouble - A montage of forgotten D&D games like Sword Coast Legends and Daggerdale
Even After Baldur's Gate 3, D&D Games Might Be In Trouble

Quality Dungeons & Dragons video games used to be released consistently, but the bleak period before Baldur’s Gate 3 calls the future into question.

A Game Based On One Popular Manga Series May Be Coming In English Soon - Luffy from One Piece, Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter, and Goku from Dragon Ball, pictured in a collage.
A Game Based On One Popular Manga Series May Be Coming In English Soon

Most popular Shonen series have seen English language video game releases. One previously overlooked hit could see a new game localized outside Japan.

A variety of Dungeons & Dragons characters, all different races or types of creatures standing together in a group. A red dragon encircles the whole group with its body and tail.
D&D In 2024: A Never-Ending Dungeons & Dragons Edition Is A Major Problem

The new year will likely see new core rulebooks for D&D. WOTC’s stated goal of a single, perpetually updated edition is an inherently flawed concept.

A collage of the following characters on a generic holiday colored background: Mario from Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Cloud from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Sadie Adler from Red Dead Redemption 2, Lilith from Borderlands 2, and PaRappa from PaRappa the Rapper
5 Video Game New Years Resolutions We Can Get Behind

The approaching New Year is a time for resolutions. For video game fans, resolutions can improve the hobby, saving both time and money in some cases.

Kratos from God of War bursting out of the screen on a PlayStation Portal device.
Don't Buy From Scalpers, Wait Or Buy A PlayStation Portal Alternative Instead

The PlayStation Portal appears to be selling out as soon as it is stocked, but PS5 owners should pass on the Portal and look to better alternatives.

Peter Parker's Spider-Man in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 with his hands on his head, looking shocked.
One Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Tie-In Product Can Really Improve The Graphics

Gaming fans are used to seeing a variety of merchandise tied to popular titles, but one Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 licensed product differs from the rest.

1 2 3 4 5
Page 1 / 20