Archive for May, 2008
Inside Track 044: Aaron Williams
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Derek had the long awaited opportunity to talk to Aaron Williams at the GAMA Trade show. We have all been fans of Aaron’s work for a long time. You have probably seen it on a variety of products but most directly from Nodwick, Full Frontal Nerdity, and Ps228. As always, it was a great visit. Aaron is someone we will always look forward to seeing again. Find more about Aaron at nodwick.com |
| Aaron Williams’ first cartoon was published in Dragon magazine in 1989. He was 19 years old, and it was drawn on typing paper with a flair-tipped pen. He’s come a long way since then. His work has been published in Dragon Magazine, Dungeon Magazine, and Amazing Stories. While starting his career in cartooning, he worked as an artist for Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages. In 2000 he took a leap and decided to take the Nodwick cartoon strip he’d created and turn it into a comic book. It’s the story of a henchman used and abused by his companions on their many quests to save the world, find treasure, and right the wrongs done by evil. |  |
His latest efforts are to be found both in print and all over the internet. Ps238 is a comic book that also publishes pages on the web at ps238.com. It’s an all-ages look at the first public school for the children of superheroes.
Full Frontal Nerdity is a webcomic about four guys (one represented by a webcam) who delve into all things geeky, including role-playing games, movies, TV, and whatever else the elite classes of fandom are into these days.
Crispygamer.com hosts his strip, Backward Compatible. Primarily centering on video games, the cast includes the CrispyGamer staff, their writers, and anyone who has an impact on what happens when you press a “start” button.
When not cartooning or surfing the web blog-fodder, Aaron is often dragged out into the sunlight by his loving wife to both broaden his horizons and prevent his transformation into a Morlock.
The Game Kennel 010: La Strada
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Jeremiah presents La Strada. We recently talked to Martin Wallace about La Strada, making it that much more fun to check out for ourselves. Everyone is making money from the economy of the game, but how much depends on what markets you share and how many times you have to split the pie. |
| La Strada Publisher: Mayfair Games Style: Board Game Designed by: Martin Wallace Players: 2-4 Play Time: 30-45 minutes Ages: 10+ MSRP: $36.00 |
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Out of Character 048: GTS 2008
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The Game Manufacturer’s Association’s Trade Show (GTS) was an awesome good time and as always packed full of good information. Several seminars were captured and will soon be made available online. It was great to see everyone and we will certainly be looking for you at the next show. |
| We had the opportunity to play several games at the GAMA Trade Show. We would like to thank Rich Waldbiess from Six Feet Under Games, New Holland, PA for providing a picture of Don playing Lifeboat. We also played Monster Mayhem, Toledo, Portobello Market, Cash ‘n Guns, Yetisburg, and of course, Poker. We also talk about Hunter The Vigil, Catan Dice (also playable online), the Catan Expansion, Traders and Barbarians, and a few from the Indie Press Revolution. |  |
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We are now gearing up for Phoenix Con Games, Arizona’s largest gaming convention. Held at the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona. They offer just about every type of gaming, as well as parties, contests, anime/cosplay activities and other fun events. We will be running a few games there right out of our booth in the exhibit hall, some come by and play with us! |
We talked about several folks that share the podosphere with us. Specifically, we a talked about an interview with Pete Fenlon on On Board Games. Ron’s and Veronica’s recent appearance on the show led us to mention The Games the Thing. We were extremely excited to meet with several podcasters at the GAMA Trade Show. These included Dan Repperger from Fear the Boot, Daniel Perez from The Digital Front and The Gamer Traveler, Alan Sugarbaker from OgreCave Audio Report, and Collin from Obsessed with Gaming.
Don is criticized for his British ignorance in our discussion of Accent Your Character, our casual dialect training. CDs and digital downloads are available at paizo.com and lovecraftiana.com.
We had some great feedback today from friends from several companies and game stores. Some of these include Myriad Games in Salem, NH, The Kid in Me in Milford, DE, and Blitz Games.
We will, no doubt miss Boyan’s steady contribution to Out of Character, but duty calls him to join PSI in Georgia. We hope to have him on from time to time, but you will best keep up with him from his podcast and his blog at Shifting Skies Games.
Finding Good Homes for Great Games
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What started out as a training interview turned into a discussion made public on fitting games into the right hands. The intent is to provide insight to anyone that sells or promotes games on what to present and who to present them to. This is the premise of The Game Kennel and we want you to get the most out of it. By providing additional support to the customers that walk in your door, you can apply your expertise in a way nobody else can. We aim to help arm you with that information on every episode of The Game Kennel in less time than it takes to drive to work. |
| The discussion today is with Bob Carty and Alex Yeager of Mayfair Games. We have been extremely pleased to work with Mayfair. They have a commitment to the community at the grass roots level, a commitment to educational outreach, and a commitment to quality entertainment. All this has helped us to shape our values and our programing to the betterment of everyone that participates. |  |