Archive for June, 2007
Inside Track 024: Michael A. Stackpole, part 2
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We continue our discussion with Mike Stackpole, touching a lot more on gaming this time. We start with the industry watch committee and learn about how games have been defended against the misunderstandings that have occurred over the years. |
Some additional links include:
- We refer to The Pulling Report, written in 1990 to address the public attacks Patricia Pulling made against Dungeons & Dragons.
- Make certain to listen to Fortress Draconis. The music for Fortress Draconis was written by Nuada.
- Mike also hosts The Secrets Podcast and co-hosts on Cover to Cover.
- Some hosting friends of Mike include the folks at KatAlley.com. He also credits the sound engineer for his podcast, Jamie Jordan.
Kings Court 025: Kragmortha
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Derek has let a group of kids loose with Kragmortha and they had a blast with it. It seems to be a good way to generate some laughter. Players are challenged with silly behavior while they move their goblins around the board avoiding the attention of the evil overlord, Rigor Mortis. |
| Kragmortha Publisher: Mayfair Games Designed By: Fabrizo Bonifacio, Riccardo Crosa, Massimiliano Enrico, Chiara Firlito Players: 2-8 Ages: 8+ MSRP: $35.00 |
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GTS Seminars: Selling Your Store, Not Your Stuff
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John Riley and Dave Wallace team up to discuss what messages your store is sending to your customers. Do you present the image you intend to? Advise in today’s seminar is about bringing more people into your store and engaging them with proper presentation. This is part one of a two part presentation. |
| There are a lot of references in the presentation to Paco Underhill’s Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. This book contains knowledge gained from the study of shopping behavior arming you with the means to maximize your customer’s experience and making a success of your store. |   |
This presentation was recorded at the 2007 GAMA Trade Show. Hand-outs and show notes are avilable to members from the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA).
Inside Track 023: Michael A. Stackpole, part 1
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This week Don is invited into the home of Michael A. Stackpole to discuss a range of topics from podcasting and gaming to Mike’s writing career. Mike has been a huge help and inspiration for many of us and it is with great pleasure we are able to share him with you today. Mike will be helping us again by organizing a podcasting booth at Origins (booth 123), so be sure to stop by and visit us there! |
Mike has written a number of best sellers and won a variety of awards. A lot of these are listed on his web site where you will also find novels in the universes of BattleTech and Star Wars, and others that are mentioned during the show. He has just finished The New World: Book Three in The Age of Discovery . Mike hosts The Secretes Podcast on how to write and just started co-hosting the Dragon Page’s Cover to Cover with news and reviews in sci-fi literature. |
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One of Mike’s most recent works include the podcasting of his novel, Fortress Draconis (The DragonCrown War Cycle, Book 1). We are enjoying this novel and invite you to listen along with us. The wild lands are quite a challenge for a young thief that has never been outside of the city. The theme and bridge music was written by Nuada. |
Kings Court 024: Rise of the Shogun
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Derek gives us a look at a game in the Hero Card system, Rise of the Shogun. The core dueling mechanic is used across a line of games and completely compatible with one another, but the board games each have their own unique flavor. This one is about the struggle for 12th century feudal Japan. We had a great time with it and are preparing for the next Hero Card system review. Also, be sure to check out the interview with game designer, Alexei Othenin-Girard for a behind the scenes look. |
| Rise of the Shogun Publisher: TableStar Games Designed By: Alexei Othenin-Girard Players: 2 (up to four with expansions) Ages: 12+ Play Time: 60 - 90 minutes MSRP: $24.95 |
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GTS Seminar: Podcasting
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Michael A. Stackpole and Don A. Dehm team up to discuss podcasting and how you can use it to your advantage in and for your retail store. He is also part of the early crowd that realized how podcasting could support his work. Don has been producing podcasts since the summer of 2005 with Pulp Gamer and welcomes the use of their podcasts in retail stores. |
This presentation was recorded at the GAMA Trade Show. The handout is available here.
Inside Track 022: John Zinser of AEG
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Today, Don heads heads off to the offices of Alderac Entertainment Group in Ontario, California to talk to AEG’s president, John Zinser. After the interview he sits down to join the group in a round of playtesting to look at some new products that have never been seen before outside of the offices of AEG. |
John Zinser started in the industry by joining up with Jolly Blackburn to step Shadis magazine up into the professional arena. They later pursued their own paths, each very successful. John kept with AEG to make Legend of the Five Rings a huge success. They continue to support great games, a passionate fan base, and their retail partners with great care and programs that set AEG above other publishers.
| After being in the industry for several years, John felt compelled to design a game from start to finish and is succeeding quite marvelously. We were honored to play it with everyone at AEG and make the first public announcement. Tomb is a card playing adventure game with countless encounter combinations and a race for treasure and edgy risk management. You can always pull more help from eager adventurers in the tavern if you don’t think you have enough to take on the crypts yourself. It was entertaining for everyone at the table and will certainly be joining us on our game nights when it hits the shelves. |  |
Out of Character 025: On the Cover
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We are on our way now to Con Games in Phoenix, Arizona. Make sure to come on by our booth and say hello! We also just recently added a podcasting seminar to their schedule so be sure to look for it! |
Polymaner has just released an interview of us in their latest magazine. We enjoyed the interview and reading it after the fact. Be sure to get a copy and check it out!
Wizards of the Coast is setting up a social networking community for gamers called Gleemax. Find out more about it at icv2 and check out their interview with Randy Buehler of WotC.
Just after we posted the last episode of Out of Character, we learned there was more news with the patent dilemma that recently arose. We also mention a take on it by Chris Pramas.
Podcast Pen, known also as the Gaming Podcast Network, is no longer going to be with us. Their forums will remain active indefinitely. We have really appreciated being a part of the network and appreciate all they have done for us in the past.
We recently talked about GHOULASH and have now just learned that it is going to be available in stores this September.
We just barely touched on my trip last weekend to visit the folks at AEG. You will be learning more in tomorrow’s interview with John Zinser, to include a first look at a game that he has been designing for the last couple of years. They sent me home with a stack of games that we will be playing and telling you more about. These include Legend of the Five Rings (both the board game and the card game), Warloard, World’s Largest City, and Warlords of the Accordlands.
During the break we play a promo for the podcasted novel Fortress Draconis, by Michael A. Stackpole. We will be learning more about this one very soon.
GTS Seminar: Building Your First Game Day
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Trey Reilly is as entertaining as she is experienced. This seminar will give you a great deal of insight into the challenges you will face when you run your first convention or game day. You will be glad you took the time to listen. This presentation was recorded at the 2007 GAMA Trade Show. Hand-outs and show notes are avilable to members from the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). |
When she was 12, Trey Reilly found a D&D boxed set sitting in her mother’s closet. In no time at all, she started adventuring with her friends. When she got to college, her love of role-playing games led Trey to every game convention she could find. In 1994, she discovered a latent interest in organizing game conventions when she volunteered at one of her favorite cons.
The combination of games and conventions led her to co-found Wild Gazebo Productions in 2000. The company ran a series of LARPs and gaming conventions on the East Coast over the last five years.
Using her background in theater and theatrical lighting design, Trey spent the last seven years as a professional meeting planner and convention organizer. She planned trade shows, educational programs, weddings, corporate retreats, exhibits, and product launch parties. Her clients included the New Jersey Apartment Association, the Caroline and Sigmund Schott Foundation, and pharmaceutical companies such as Aventis and Ortho-McNeil. She also occasionally taught SAT and GRE classes for Kaplan Test Prep.
Since August 2005 she’s been GAMA’s Programs Manager. She oversees events and the Exhibit Hall for both GTS and Origins, as well as administering several of GAMA’s member programs. She travels all over the country talking about games, and couldn’t be happier to working for the industry she loves.
Inside Track 021: Jolly Blackburn & Mark Plemmons of Kenzer & Company
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We spent some time with Kenzer & Company at GTS, specifically Jolly Blackburn and Mark Plemmons. In today’s interview we spend our time focused on a role-playing game that we cannot wait to get our hand on. |
| Aces & Eights is a western frontier role-playing game we have been waiting several years for. It has a unique gunfighting system using silhouettes and a target overly to track shot location and near misses. We also learn how to make a long lasting campaign in such a deadly environment. This one is certainly going to make it to our game table. |  |
Kings Court 023: Seismic
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Good luck with your construction in this fault zone. If you think you can shrug off the risk and build the longest roads, you will do very well in Seismic. Jeremiah tells us about this great opportunity for a family game and is still working to figure out a good winning strategy. |
| Seismic Publisher: Atlas Games Designed By: Ted Alspach Players: 2-4 Ages: 10+ MSRP: $29.95 |
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GTS Seminar: Manager Awareness
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Dave and Kelly Wallace team for this presentation on Manager Awareness? Do you know what is going on in your store? Do your employees know what is going on in your store? |
This presentation was recorded at the GAMA Trade Show.
Kings Court 022: The Art of Conversation
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Is it really a game? It can be. Jeremiah walks us through a round of The Art of Conversation. We had a lot of fun with this stack of conversation starters and agree it would make a great mixer for parties and other social occasions. |
| The Art of Conversation Publisher: The Art of Conversation Designed By: Keith Lamb & Louise Howland Players: 2-6 MSRP: $14.99 |
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