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people caught plotting here in the last seven days.
July 31, 2010: Zombie Dice App On Sale Now!
The Zombie Dice app for iPhone is now in the App Store! (Download it here!) And it's bargain priced: it's free.
You get the exact same play as in a two-person Zombie Dice game; it's you vs. a computer-controlled zombie, each trying to eat 13 brains and win. The zombie AI is, WE HOPE, not as smart as you. But it will give you a run for your money, and gloat when it rolls well, and heckle you and give you bad advice, and say "Braaaaainnns" a lot.
And if you like the free version, we will happily sell you a 99-cent upgrade that lets you include up to 8 players, by passing around the phone. The full version also has more animations and a setting that makes the zombies smarter. Still not really as smart as you, WE HOPE.
I now have a tiny sense of what it's like to be a "producer" on a digital game. And I know that if we go much farther, I'll have to hire a real, full-time producer. But this has been the most interesting thing I've done recently.
This took more and different talents than a physical game, and some really amazing work went into it. I am not a humble person, but it's humbling to look at this and realize all the talents that went into the digital version of my silly little zombie game . .
- Kira Hamilton's code
- Justin De Witt's graphic design
- Alex Fernandez' art
- Will Schoonover's voice and SFX
- Tom Smith's music, err, noise. (Honest! He wanted to be credited for "Background Noise.")
- And excellent bugfinding by Steven Marsh and Bob Hood!
I hope you like this. Please try it out, tell your friends about it, and send us 99 cents for the full version if you think the freebie is fun! Because I would really, really like to do more of these.
-- Steve Jackson
(Late update! As of 11:10pm Friday night, it's the #11 free dice game in the App Store – apparently, just on word spread via Twitter.)
Cthulhu is supposed to be creepy. If you were close enough to touch the Elder God, you a) wouldn't want to, and b) certainly wouldn't describe the experience as "soft and cuddly." In fact, I'd imagine one of those tentacles would be hazardous to your health. But Mega Chibithulhu is huggable, soft, and cuddly. How do you explain that one, Mr. Lovecraft?
July 30, 2010: What Are We Doing At Gen Con?
Sure, we're going to Gen Con. But what are we planning on doing there?
We're running a bunch of demos. I mean, a metric ton of demos. We have six tables on the exhibit hall floor (booth #1321, right next to Atlas Games, Cthulhiana Corner, and Do Gooder Press), running Zombie Dice, Cthulhu Dice, Revolution!, Munchkin's new booster expansion/demo Marked for Death, and much more. We'll have printer proofs of The Palace and Portal Kombat to play with, and prototypes of Top Secret upcoming games!
Outside the exhibit hall, the MIB will be stationed here, there, and everywhere. They're stocked with a broad selection of our games, and are more than willing to teach any of them. They'll also be running a couple of tournaments of the Munchkin flavor.
There will of course be a slew of meetings with distributors, licensors, creative types, and other publishers who will be in Indianapolis. Business will be done.
(We'll also be hanging out with industry friends we only get to see once a year, but we don't really mention that in front of the business office.)
Hope to see you there!
-- Paul Chapman
It's only six colors, right? But put them all together, and they're a rainbow of evil. I'm talking about Cthulhu Dice, in black, green, purple, yellow, glow-in-the-dark -- not technically a color, yes, but work with me -- and black with glow-in-the-dark ink -- again, not really a separate color, but how else am I going to describe them? Oh, and where the heck is the four pack going to fit into this spectrum?
Fact: Gen Con Indy will be August 4-8, in Indianapolis, IN.
Fact: Steve Jackson Games will be there in force, with MIB running a variety of events in the gaming area, and staffers stationed in the exhibit hall (booth #1321!).
Fact: We'll be replacing all the randomizers with greased pigs.
One of these "facts" is actually not a fact. Can you guess which one it is?
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Demented, Yet Colorful
Munchkin 6 -- Demented Dungeons is the latest Munchkin product to be colorized! And John Kovalic's art looks awesome on the larger Dungeon cards. I'm tempted to use them as postcards.
I've been reading the Boardgamenews site almost daily for about three or four years now. It's a great resource -- I especially love the reviews, even when reading one sends me out to buy a game -- and it was a real pleasure to watch as the new site design came into existence over the last few weeks. And since the redesign went into effect it feels like there have been more (and more regular) updates than there were before, but that may just be an illusion since it's much easier for me to read the site; the new design is a lot cleaner than the old one was.
The site won't change your life, but it will entertain you if you're a fan of board and card games. And entertainment is about all I ever expect from game sites.
-- Phil Reed
Warehouse 23 News: Multiplication Doesn't Work
Just to test a theory, I took three copies of Munchkin 3 -- Clerical Errors and mushed them together. I was hoping to create the first copy of Munchkin 9, but instead I'm left with a handful of mushy cards. Back to the drawing board!
Reading the playtest reports from Protospiel reminds me that we haven't talked about our pipeline in a while. Technically, we're not accepting outside submissions. In reality . . .
We're not accepting outside submissions.
We really do have a dozen or more designs in development right now, just waiting for more playtesting or a print-buying breakthrough. But sometimes a game will catch our eye, a game that's so close to being ready for release, that's so fun that we'd be fools to let it go to another publisher. Revolution! was like that, as was The Stars Are Right.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Smooth As Hitting A Potted Plant
We try to make the transitions from first printing to second as seamless as possible. It's a case of "if they don't even notice, we've done the ordering right." However, as Marketing Guy, it's my job to make you guys notice everything! So: the second printing of Munchkin Quest has arrived!
It has been said that cyberpunk, as a literary genre, is dead -- killed by an advancing technology that was unforeseen by the authors of the movement. But since we live in a world of constant internet connections, uncaring corporations, and global mercenary companies, I'd say "high-tech low life" continues to be a relevant playground for gaming. Luckily, Pyramid editor Steven Marsh agrees, and has provided us with Pyramid 3/21: Cyberpunk.
Since commercialism is found at the core of cyberpunk, Matt Riggsby has written a random mall generator, perfect for shoot-outs, car chases, or just shopping trips. There's "The Treasure of Joni Monorail," an adventure that takes jaded runners out into the wastelands, and "Console Cowboys and Cyberspace Kung Fu," which applies the sensibilities behind the Action! series to netrunners. Add in an article on maintaining realistic trait choices during the cyberpunk character creation process, as well as the normal batch of props and Murphy's Rules, and you've got a packed issue!
Speaking of computers, the other e23 release this week is Space Gamer #31 -- the special computer issue! In addition to the normal reviews and Deus Ex Machina article, SJ and crew surveyed the field of computer game publishers. A note to nostalgia buffs: don't miss the ad on page 12 for a TRS-80 -- "INCLUDES: 16K MEMORY (16000 CHARACTERS!), LEVEL II BASIC, TAPE STORAGE." They also crammed in the fifth installment of "Game Design: Theory and Practice," errata for Kung Fu 2100, and a bit of fiction putting Beowulf into Sam Spade's (gum)shoes.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Now Even The Colors Are Demented
Munchkin 6 -- Demented Dungeons is back in stock, and now in full color. Wait, that's not funny enough. How about: Munchkin 6 -- Demented Dungeons is back, and wild with color! That's better.
July 25, 2010: Digital Books No Longer The Future
For years, SJ has insisted that digital books were the future of publishing. He's had a vision of a download store for years, and since e23 launched in 2005, it has become a huge success, with over 3,000 files ready for download -- including over 300 for GURPS.
Of course, Amazon leapt onto the ebook bandwagon a few years ago, too. How's it doing for them? They just announced that in the last three months, they sold 143 ebooks for every 100 hardcovers. While we note that the announcement gives only the relative positions of these sales and excludes paperback copies, this in no way diminishes the obvious implication: digital books are no longer the future; they're the present.
-- Paul Chapman
(edit: That's 143 ebooks for every 100 hardcovers. My apologies for the typo! pkc)
Warehouse 23 News: Unless You Have Twenty Hands . . .
Counting used to be easy -- ten fingers was about all you needed. As you grew up and needed to count over ten, more complicated methods evolved. The Munchkin Kill-O-Meter is the latest technique for keeping track of a pair of two digit numbers. Plus, it includes two promo cards, not found in any other set!
