Archive for August 4, 2009

Michael Salsbury | August 26, 2009
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Gen Con 2009 – Overview

It’s hard to believe Gen Con 2009 is over already, but it’s been over a week now since I was standing in Indianapolis. With the whole thing still a strong memory, I wanted to get it all down here and share it with you.

Attendance and Exhibit Hall Presence

I’ve heard some say that they thought attendance at Gen Con seemed down this year. That struck me as odd, because it felt exactly the opposite to me. I felt like I saw many more people in the hallways at the convention center, sitting in the seminars I attended, walking through the exhibit hall, etc. It felt more crowded to me than in past years. (Just look at the photo below… most of the aisles in the Exhibit Hall were that busy most of the time.)

On the other hand, while pretty much all the names you’d expect to see in the Exhibit Hall were there, it was clear that vendor and publisher partcipation was down somewhat. There were fewer video game exhibits, large expanses of open tables where people were sitting and entertaining children, and what seemed to be a much bigger art show than in the past. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like the Exhibit Hall was a ghost town. Far from it. It was filled with a lot of high-quality exhibits and great vendors. It still felt “huge”, just a little less “huge” than the past couple of years. I guess the economy is hurting everyone, including the games industry.

More Writing, Less Gaming

Usually, I begin to get excited as Gen Con approaches. I start looking forward to a few days away from home, enjoying the foods and micro-brews near the Indianapolis Convention Center, and getting some gaming in. For some reason, I just wasn’t excited this year. Maybe it was all the gaming I did here in Columbus at Origins back in late June. Maybe it was the stress I felt at work the week before I left. Whatever it was, I never quite found myself really psyched about Gen Con.

On the other hand, although I wasn’t as excited about the convention itself, I was excited about the opportunity to attend seminars in the “Get Literal” writer’s symposium. In the end, I attended four.

The first was “Writing Right” featuring a panel of published authors who discussed what makes a successful writer, how each of the panelists approaches writing a novel, and their suggestions for improving a writer’s productivity.


The Panel for “Writing Right”

The other three I attended were presented by author Michael A. Stackpole, whose “Rules of Writing” session I attended at Origins earlier in the year. The first, entitled “Plotting”, talked about how to construct a plot that is compelling for the reader. The second, “21 Days to a Novel” focused on exercises a writer should attempt prior to starting work on a novel, to ensure that the characters are well-thought-out and three-dimensional. The final, “Edit to Perfection”, talked about how to edit your novel to best prepare it for submission to a publisher and eventual publication. I found them all to be very interesting and helpful. (Someone stood up as I took my picture during Mr. Stackpole’s talk and I didn’t realize it until I got back home after Gen Con so I don’t have a picture of him speaking.)

Fire! Or not…

Saturday night, someone thought it would be fun to pull the fire alarm at the convention center. All the Gen Con attendees were required to vacate the building. This caused the streets near the convention center to be filled with gamers and emergency services personnel. Fortunately for me, this happened as my brother and I were waiting for the shuttle to take us back to our hotel. We weren’t there to witness the aftermath. From what I understand, it was a false alarm. I hope the authorities catch the culprit.


The aftermath of the false alarm…

One of the attendees I spoke with before getting on the shuttle brought up an interesting point. This must have been a terrible thing for the Magic: The Gathering players. They probably had hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of cards on the tables when the alarm went off, which they either had to leave behind (and risk having stolen or burned up) or gather up quickly and run out (still potentially losing some).

Costumes Everywhere

Any time you get a group of geeks together, whether for a gaming convention, science-fiction gathering, or other event, there are plenty of people who will put on a costume as part of the fun. I saw quite a lot of costumes this year, though I only took pictures of a few. First, there was this couple at the Champions Online booth:

I’ll admit, I have no idea what this costume was intended to be, but this young lady certainly turned more than a few heads with her very revealing look… I assume the stuff was glued on because there wasn’t a body suit underneath it…

As did this young woman, who was at least appropriately armed to defend herself against the inevitable passes made at her:

And so was this staffer at the Legends of Norrath booth:

From this beautiful young woman, I learned a lot about the price of wearing an elaborate costume to Gen Con:

Her costume was impressive, and I understand it won high honors in the Gen Con costume contest. But with such an impressive costume comes a high cost. I watched as she came from a business across the street from the convention center toward the Exhibit Hall and down the hall. Before she made it to the edge of the street, people stopped her to take a picture. Before she finished crossing the street, they stopped her again for more pictures. Before she got in the convention center, more pictures. Once inside, more again. About 10 feet later, more. And so on. It must have taken her 30 minutes to get from the business across the street to about 50 yards inside the convention center. I’m not the costume-wearing type, but if I ever had the idea to don an elaborate costume, I’m not sure I could be as kind and patient as this young woman was. My hat is off to her, both for the impressive costume and the poise and grace she showed walking around in it.

As usual, there was quite a selection of Star Wars themed costumery…

Above we see a “sand person” whose costume was complete with a staff, sound effects, and mask. A Darth Vader with full head mask and a partial mask underneath. Stormtroopers, and an Obi Wan Kenobi Jedi costume. All of these were really impressive work. Unfortunately, I was on the phone at the time all these folks gathered and I missed the high point… when there were two Darth Vaders, three or four Stormtroopers, a couple of Jedi, and more. You could have filmed a movie scene…

Conclusion

For me, Gen Con always signals the end of the summer. That makes the end of the convention a little sad. I’m already looking forward to next year, though.

As I get the time (work has been very stressful lately), I’ll post more about the games I saw, people I talked to, etc.

Category: Other Gaming News | Tags:
Michael Salsbury | August 26, 2009
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Eye-Level Entertainment’s “E.T.I.”

As a gamer, I’m ashamed to admit that I played only one actual game at Gen Con 2009. Fortunately, that one game was Eye-Level Entertainment’s E.T.I. (which stands for “Estimated Time to Invasion”).

E.T.I. is a science-fictioned themed card/board game in which players attempt to defend against an alien invasion. Players don’t know when the invasion will happen precisely, only that it’s coming and they need to prepare for it. Each player takes on the role of a corporation which is researching new technologies to help it defend against the impending alien invasion. One of the players is actually an alien in disguise, attempting to gather as many technologies as possible to prevent the humans from getting them.

At the start of play, a number of technology cards are placed face-up on the table. These represent the technologies that players may choose to research. There is always one less technology card on the table than the number of players, meaning that at least two players are always in competition for a technology. Each player takes a marker representing their company name and places it on the technology they hope to acquire.

Players then select an “agenda” card indicating which of three actions they plan to take this turn. They may elect to conduct research, submit their findings, or switch projects.

To conduct research, players choose a number of research cards (which varies based on choices made during the game) and keeps them face down while placing them around the outside of their company score card. These cards represent potential “research data points” that can be used to acquire a technology.

If a player is concerned that an opponent is going to research the chosen technology first, they may elect to switch projects instead of performing research.

If a player wants to collect the results of their research activities, they have two options. The “safe” option gives the player 10 points for each research card in front of them. The “risky” option requires the player to flip over all the research cards in front of them and follow them sequentially to determine the outcome of research. The player may get lucky and turn over several research cards with values of 20, 30, or 50 points (instead of the 10 they’d get the “safe” way). The player may also get unlucky and turn over sabotage cards, or cards which negate the most-valuable research cards after them. A good “risky” submission may get you a technology and “scoop” your opponent out of it. A “safe” submission might result in too few points and allow your competitor the chance to scoop the technology from you.

During the course of play, you’ll draw cards and collect research cards that help you. For example, you may develop the “Analysis” quality, which allows you to peek at some of the research cards in front of you. This can help you decide if it’s better to use the “safe” or “risky” option to submit your findings. You may also develop “Creativity” which allows you to swap the order of research cards around to avoid the penalties of the nastier ones. Or you might increase “Staffing” which allows you to draw more research cards on a turn.

At some point during the game, the alien player will announce that they are the alien. It now becomes a countdown until the invasion happens. During that time, the alien will attempt to thwart the players’ efforts. The humans will desperately try to acquire the last few technologies to defend themselves.

Then, it’s invasion time. Point values are assigned to the technologies each human player has accumulated. The alien player also accumulates points which represent ships in their invasion fleet. The alien then sends ships up against each player and attempts to take them out of the game. The point values of the ships are compared to the point values of the defensive technologies each player has created. If the alien’s fleet has a higher attack value, the player is destroyed. If not, the player survives the invasion and is considered a winner. Among the winning players, the one with the most “fame” (a by-product of research) wins.

There’s more to the game than this, but the above gives you a pretty good idea of the mechanics and strategy.

It took about 2 hours to play through a 4-player game, where none of us had played the game before. I would imagine that subsequent plays would reduce that 2-hour figure somewhat, but I doubt it would get below 90 minutes.

It sounded like a very complicated game at the start, but was actually quite easy once it got rolling. My brother and I played it and found it enjoyable. I reminded us of a “light” version of the Fantasy Flight Games “Battlestar Galactica” board game. We definitely recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

Category: Board Games, Card-based Games | Tags: , ,
Michael Salsbury | August 25, 2009
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Matrix Games Now Offers “Conquest! Medieval Realms”

Matrix Games, Slitherine Strategies, and Illustrious Studios have announced that Conquest! Medieval Realms is now available for purchase from Matrix Games for only $19.99.

Conquest! is described as having “just the right mix of wargaming flare and brain teasing challenge” according to David Heath of Matrix Games. Matrix says the game combines the pure strategic play of Chess and the key principles of military strategy in a historical setting. The object is to conquer up to 7 opposing AI or human players by defeating their armies and capturing their lands.

Category: PC Strategy Games, Wargames | Tags: , ,
Michael Salsbury | August 25, 2009
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Arnica Real Estate Begins Selling Buildings Again

According to its web site, Mike McGraw’s Arnica Real Estate is once more producing new western-themed buildings for tabletop gaming. “We are working to create a manufacturing line from scratch,” said Arnica Production Manager Paul Mauer. “Our goal is to be up and running as soon as possible. We want to fill orders quickly with high-quality products.”

To help get the company off and running, they’re offering a “Pre-Release Bonanza Sale” to their customers. Purchasers can earn up to 25% off their next order. Details appear on the web site.

Category: Game Deals, Gaming Accessories | Tags: ,
Michael Salsbury | August 14, 2009
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Gen Con 2009 – Day One

My brother and I arrived in Indianapolis around 6:30pm Wednesday. We checked into our hotel and then went to dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery. After dinner, we took a walk through the convention center and picked up a Gen Con program to familiarize ourselves with what was going on this year. It was about 9:30pm at this point and the convention staff asked us to clear out, which we did.

Thursday, we toured the Exhibit Hall. I posted the pictures on Flickr temporarily. I’ll place them here on The Gamer Hotsheet once I’m back home again. I’ve only talked to a few of the exhibitors so far, though I expect to talk to more of them today.

Compared to last year’s exhibit hall, the number of exhibitors appears to be down quite a bit. The art section is larger, and there are large areas of what you might refer to as “open” space in the back of the room where children’s games and other family activities are taking place. In the past, these areas would have been filled by exhibitors or a sparse seating area.

There are a lot of familiar faces in the Exhibit Hall this year. Catalyst Game Labs has a prime spot near the main Exhibit Hall entrance, Titan Games is here, Fantasy Flight Games, Goodman Games, Pegasus Publishing, Konami, Paizo, Aberrant, Champions Online, and Privateer Press. Some exhibitors I didn’t recall seeing before are here, too, including the Chicago Toy and Game Fair, Game Crafters, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, and various medieval clothing and jewelry vendors. The Flickr gallery I linked to above should show you the vast majority of the vendors here in the hall.

Odd Society

I talked with the developers of an online game called “Odd Society” for a little while. Af first blush, it looks like yet-another MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). It isn’t. For a start, it’s a single-player online game (“SPOG”?). To play, you purchase the game for ~$10 U.S. which includes 12 hours of playing time. Gen Con attendees who speak with the vendor are given a code that allows the game to be purchased at a substantial discount. The gist of this game is that a society of creatures called “ODDs” lived in a factory tower. Some of them were cast out and are trying to survive outside the tower. You, the player, are helping them rebuild their world through quests you take on in the game.

The graphics look decent, and gameplay is handled through a point-and-click interface. The in-game quests form a storyline that should appeal to adventure/RPG fans.

The developers explained that the concept of this game is to provide a more relaxing alternative to a typical MMO like World of Warcraft (WoW). WoW players often have to be in guilds to succeed in arena and raid activity, and these guilds usually demand players be online certain times of day, days of the week, and play for so many hours per week. This can become difficult or stressful on the player. Odd Society dispenses with this multiplayer concept. Players can be online for as short or long a time as they like. They can be online whatever days and times they like. They don’t have to worry about meeting the demands of guilds, raiding parties, arenas, battlegrounds, etc. Of course, the unspoken flip side of this is that it’s a solitary experience without the social elements of a typical MMO.

Fantasy Flight Games’ Battlestar Galactica “Pegasus” Expansion

In my Origins 2009 write-up, I discussed the base “Battlestar Galactica” game. It’s actually a really fun game, even if it’s tilted heavily in favor of the Cylons. Fantasy Flight is demonstrating the Pegasus expansion here at Gen Con, and I’m planning to sit with them for a demo later today. I’ll tell you more when I know more.

Writing Right Seminar

This morning I attended the “Writing Right” seminar, a panel discussion of three established and published authors. In it, they shared their thoughts on what it takes to get a novel written, and make it a good one.

When asked what one aspect of the craft of novel writing they felt was most important, the panelists all agreed that character was key. Good characters, they said, can sustain a bad plot but bad characters won’t keep a good plot afloat. One author suggested writing a complete biography of all your main characters before you start your novel, so that you know what that character desires, fears, loves, hates, etc. This will help you as you flesh out the story.

Another, seemingly obvious, tip was that you need to actually get a draft of your novel written. You can fix the problems in a 300-page draft and turn it into a decent novel. You can’t fix 300 blank pages.

One suggested you try outlining your novel before you begin writing, though the other panelists say they don’t do this.

One panelist said that although he usually develops his novels “organically” (writing it as he goes rather than following an outline), in a case where he was having trouble fitting all the scenes he’d written together properly he used index cards on which he wrote down each significant scene in the book, one per card. Then he was able to set the cards down on a table and work out a way to arrange them that resolved the problem.

Another common piece of advice was “Don’t quit your day job” while working with your schedule, spouse, etc., to make sure you set aside both time to write and time for your family.

Category: Other Gaming News | Tags: , , ,
Michael Salsbury | August 5, 2009
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Matrix Games “Victory at Sea” Sale

Matrix Games has announced a “Victory at Sea” sale to commemorate the launch of War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition. The sale will last for three months after the release of the title. Owners of War in the Pacific are entitled to a $20 discount on the Admiral’s Edition. The “Victory at Sea” sale offers the following discounts: War in the Pacific is $20 off the normal $69.99 price, Uncommon Valor is $10 off the normal $29.99 price, and War Plan Orange is $10 off the normal $44.99 price.

Category: PC Strategy Games, Wargames | Tags: ,
Michael Salsbury | August 5, 2009
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Goodman Games Offers Gen Con Trade-in Deal

The Goodman Games web displayed the following offer when I checked today:

If you’re attending Gen Con this year, make sure to visit Goodman Games! You can save up to 50% at our booth when you trade in your used 3E books. We’ll have seven new releases, including a number of convention exclusives, as well as two big announcements.

Category: Role-playing Games | Tags: ,
Michael Salsbury | August 5, 2009
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Eureka Miniatures Posts Free “Teddy Bears of the Caribbean” Rules

According to the Eureka Miniatures web site, “Amongst the many excellent games on show at Little Wars Melbourne in May of this year some of you probably spotted our Teddy Bears of the Caribbean game, which was a hit with young and… not so young alike! The game incorporated our range of 28mm Teddy Bear Pirates and in keeping with the toy theme, the ships were rafts made out of paddle-pop sticks, with a single dowel mast and sail.”

The web page linked above contains a download link for the game rules.

Category: Miniatures Games | Tags: ,
Michael Salsbury | August 5, 2009
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Wargamedownloads.com Latest Releases

Below are the latest releases at wargamedownloads.com:

Ill met in Flanders: Fleurus
The battle of Fleurus of the 30 Years War
$5.00
Paper Armies – Ancients (Classic Indian)
Top down full color view of Ancients (Classic Indian) figures
$5.95
Paper Armies – Ancients (Gallic)
Top down full color view of Ancients (Gallic) figures
$5.95
Paper Armies – Ancients (Greek)
Top down full color view of Ancients (Greek) figures
$5.95
Paper Armies – Ancients (Persian)
Top down full color view of Ancients (Persian) figures
$5.95
Paper Armies – Ancients (Roman)
Top down full color view of Ancients (Roman) figures
$5.95
Category: Wargames | Tags:
Michael Salsbury | August 4, 2009
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Bronze Age Miniatures 30% Off Sale

According to their web site, Bronze Age Miniatures is having a 30% off sale. It started on August 3, 2009, and will run through August 10, 2009. For more information, see their web site.

Category: Game Deals | Tags:
Michael Salsbury | August 4, 2009
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15mm.co.uk Offering “The Age of Might and Steel”

The 15mm.co.uk site is advertising “The Age of Might and Steel”, a miniatures game promising large-scale fantasy army combat with blocks of infantry, cavalry with lots of monsters, artillery, heroes, and magicians.

Supposedly, you’ll be able to play a full game inside an hour with 100-200 15mm miniatures on the table. All action is played out using 6-sided dice. Armies are composed of units made up of stands containing several miniatures. The designers claim the rules give you the look of a complex battle without all the associated headaches.

The 6.00 GBP book contains 50 pages with all the rules needed to play the game, including sheets of counters, army lists, and a scenario to get you started.

Category: Miniatures Games | Tags: ,