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Illuminated Site of the Week
We've all been so busy around here that we nearly missed the Phoenix Lander arriving on Mars. Luckily, NASA has been blogging and documenting the mission on the Mars Exploration Program site.
Although I'm still disappointed that we don't have extraterrestrial colonies, and aren't likely to have them in the next decade, I'm thrilled at any steps forward in the space program. That's why I'm a little reluctant to contaminate this post of genuine elation with a blatantly commercial link to GURPS Mars. But I will, so that when the colonies do start accepting applications, I've got the cash to make the trip.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: The End Is The Beginning
Savage Worlds: Sundered Skies isn't a happy place, but it is an interesting place. Given its propensity towards generating adventure, "interesting" tends to beat out "happy" anyway. And how much more interesting can you get than "surviving on planet that blew up?" You'd have to try pretty hard. So hard, in fact, you'd probably just slip from "interesting" and fall head-first into "really brutish and short."
May 30, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: The Captain Goes Down With His Real Estate
Freedom Ship - the City at Sea is like something out of a movie. It promises a chance to live life on a floating town (kind of like Waterworld), with all the amenities in a self-contained community (kind of like Shivers), headed to exotic ports of call (like Titanic). Come to think of it, most of the films it calls up . . . well, it sounds like a cool idea anyway. Just the sort of innovation you want from a man running for president in his spare time. -- Suggested by Alex Ackerly
Warehouse 23 News: No, Yog Slurto-Mothah! Bad!
Don't eat the nice air conditioning repair man! Spit him out right - oh, ew. Never mind. Monsters and Other Childish Things may be fun to hang out with, and they'll certainly keep you safer than a can of mace and an ear-piercing scream, but man if their dietary habits aren't a pain in the butt. Ack! No! Just let them leave their literature and they'll go away! Bad!
"Kenneth Hite" appears on a good number of "written by" credits in this industry. Yet the one I nearly* always think of is GURPS Cabal, his world book of a multi-world-spanning conspiracy/trade union of mages and magical creatures.
Filled with cross-time grudges, fantastic (in multiple senses of the word!) locations, and a variant magic system that's surprisingly flavorful, Cabal is an excellent choice for GMs looking for an unusual campaign, or seeking new antagonists for his current game. And now, it's available in digital format, from e23.
(* I say "nearly," because one other Hite project has the edge: Madness Dossier. Of course, the full book hasn't been written . . . yet.)
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: It's For Your Own Good. Really.
You don't want to know about all this unspeakable stuff in Colonial Gothic: Secrets. It's unspeakable. That means, y'know . . . bad. Like, really bad. Like, really, really, really bad. We really do know best. What's that? You've got money? Oh. Well, that's different.
May 28, 2008: Not Exactly A Job Opening, Not Exactly Six
We need to enlarge our creative team here. Problem is, there are several ways we could do it . . .
We could quite easily hire the right person for one of five widely varying job titles: Managing Editor, Editor (we could use a couple of editors), Print Buyer, Production Artist, or "assistant to SJ." Then we'd reshuffle some tasks being done by our current staff, and away we'd go. But we don't have the budget, or the need, to hire SIX people. We probably need two. At this time, pretty much ANY two.
This would be an Austin position. It's vaguely possible that some of these titles could be held by a telecommuter, but right now we don't want to see any "I don't want to be in Austin, but I can telecommute!" letters.
Because this is all so vaguely defined, we're not actually posting an opening yet for any particular title. Instead, we're saying, "If you would like to be an Austin employee of SJ Games, and you have skills and experience that relate to one or more of the jobs listed above, feel free to send us a resume."
Respond to casey@sjgames.com. The resume should be PASTED IN to the body of your letter, not attached. Yes, this is an intelligence test.
For general information about working for SJ Games, see our Job Opportunities page.
Down Time
Yes, we were offline for a while yesterday, and then back, and then down again. It wasn't a service provider issue this time. A stick of RAM went bad in a key server. Fixed now. Our thanks to Jimmie for coming in on a holiday and dealing, at length, with mysteriously uncooperative hardware.
Warehouse 23 News: With A Name Like Olindor, You'd Be Angry Too
The third and final entry in a trilogy of adventures, One on One Adventures #10: Vengeance of Olindor is a canned adventure about an 8th-level rogue and this dude named Olindor who's, like, totally gonna get "best served cold" style on the rogue.
May 27, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Yes, And You Just Keep Going On About It
The Perpetual Motion Generator is not to be toyed with, just built in your garage. Treat the technology with kid gloves - the author has generously decided to reconstruct his device, having destroyed the original when he considered the effect on the economy of the Middle East. Watch for salty language and pockets of free energy. -- Suggested by Tiago Hackbarth
Who needs hexes and roads and wooden towns and that annoying pawn that takes all your stuff? Not you! You just need dice. The Catan Dice Game is lean, mean, and focused on the best part of any game: dice.
Here in the States, it's Memorial Day, the day dedicated to the memory of the men and women who have fallen defending their country.
As a result, we're not in the office. Feel free to leave a voicemail, or to email, but responses will be delayed.
-- Paul Chapman
Sure, this bag of Yard Flamingos is designed to be used with Trailer Park Wars . . . but where else are you gonna find pink flamingo minis? "What am I going to do with that many miniature pink flamingos?" Elven trailer trash? Undead pink hordes? Gnome calvary? The possibilities, friend, are endless.
Munchkin Booty
Sail the Seven Seas. Plunder the treasure. Make your crew walk the
plank.
Munchkin Booty brings the
greatest gold-grabbers in history -- pirates! -- to the world of
Munchkin. Use your Silver Long Johns to beat the Lobster
Mobster, drink your Demon Rum to fight off the Viking Kittens, and defend
yourself with the Cutlass (or Cutlad, for the gents) against the Prince of
Whales. But watch out for Sharks!
Plunder the seven seas as a Pirate, Naval Officer, or Merchant. Taunt
your foes with your horrible Accent -- British, Spanish, Dutch, or French.
Equip your Half-Galleon with a Crow's Nest and Figurehead. But above all . . .
level up!
Munchkin Booty is a stand-alone
card game from the pens of Steve Jackson and John Kovalic.
Boxed game with 168 cards, rules, and die.
Stock #1459,
ISBN 978-1-55634-783-2.
$24.95.
Chibithulhu Plush
Cute. Cuddly. Sanity-blasting.
There are many versions of Cthulhu, and Munchkin Cthulhu features plenty of them. But the cutest of all is Chibithulhu, so we chose it to be our first plush toy.
This 10"-tall soft and huggable plush figure features huge, adorable eyes, a loving heart on the chest . . . and Cthulhu's trademark tentacles. It's made of all-new materials, and is machine washable.
Of course, this toy includes a special rule, which will help you during Munchkin Cthulhu games.
10"-tall plush figure.
Stock #9402,
ISBN 978-1-55634-781-8.
$19.95.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: A Tale Of Two Titles
On the one hand, this book is called Dying Earth: Tooth, Talon and Pinion - Creatures of the Dying Earth. On the other hand, it's called The Excellent Prismatic Spray Double Issue #7/8. On yet a third hand, you probably don't care - you're just interested in all the cool stuff that's jammed between the covers. We don't know what's up with the fourth hand. Must be part of a matched set.
Robert Lynn Asprin, author of the Myth Adventures series - and creator, with Lynn Abbey, of Thieves' World - died yesterday, apparently of a heart attack. He was 61.
When I first got serious about the SF convention circuit, in the 1980s, I ran into Bob over and over and over. That was fun. Bob was energetic and ebullient. He'd been a fan before he was a pro, and he loved conventions. I think he would have gone to an awful lot of them even if they hadn't been deductible!
Bob and I got to be friends, though we never worked together professionally. I was always glad to find out we'd be doing the same event, because that was a solid guarantee of some good filking, some raucous partying, and, when the partiers had fallen down, some intelligent conversation about the business of writing. He was interested in a lot of things, was pretty good at many of them, and he liked to share. Bob liked teaching. He'd give you advice about writing, about selling your writing, about fencing, about making music, about drinking, about the SCA, about making music while drinking in the SCA . . . and about dealing with people. That comes through in his books, too. If you ever wonder why Skeeve would stop, in the middle of some hilarous brouhaha, and reflect on the personnel-management issues he faced with his merry band of magical misfits . . . that was Bob talking.
I liked his writing. My favorite of his books was the relatively little-known The Bug Wars. Go read it. Myth fans will be surprised to find out that it's completely free of puns - in fact, it's completely free from human characters. Read it anyway.
Various personal issues knocked a decade out of Bob's writing career, but in the last few years of his life, he'd gotten back onto the horse, and more Myth novels had appeared, written in collaboration with Jody Lynn Nye. There's one more yet to come, and then, barring surprise re-emergences of unknown manuscripts, that's all we'll ever see from Bob.
We'll miss him.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: A Kinder, Gentler Bunny
Not all bunnies need be killers. In fact, if your aim is to entertain a bunch of five-year-olds, you're probably looking for something a on the . . . less-than-confrontational side. Enter Kinder Bunnies.
May 23, 2008: Any Gamer Bookkeepers Out There?
We just posted an ad in the Austin paper:
Part-time bookkeeper for A/P, payroll and cash receipts. Possible full time position. Minimum 3 years experience in general accounting, MAS200 experience preferred. Email resume with salary history to accounting@sjgames.com or fax to 512-447-1144.
And when we did that, I said to Gail, "You know, we ought to mention the position in the Illuminator as well, because there ARE game fans out there who are bookkeepers, and who knows, one of them might be looking for a job in Austin."
So . . . you know what to do. By the way, a word to the wise . . . please PASTE your resume into your e-mail. We are tired of getting dozens of attachments all called resume.doc.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Many Mini Metal Minions
Anima: Tactics, a skirmish-level miniatures game of giant swords and sorcery, is a little hard to play without any miniatures. Juuuuust a little. So here are some individually packaged agents of Death and Fury, wielders of Arcane Devastation, and all-around Bad Dudes. Ought to make your games more interesting.
May 22, 2008: Going To BoardGameGeek.Con
This year, Steve Jackson Games will be attending BoardGameGeekCon. Be sure to stop by our booth, and pick up our newest releases. If you're lucky, you may even get SJ to sign your . . .
Is the CFO gone? 'Cause she thinks our trip to BGGCon is a "sales" event. Ha!
The fact is, Phil went last year, and had a blast. So we're road-tripping up to Dallas this November to play some games, show off Munchkin Quest, play some more games, and, oh yeah, run the booth a little. But definitely play some games.
If you're already registered, we'll see you there! If not, and you love boardgames, then you owe it to yourself to check this event out.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Rhyming Shirt Doesn't Hurt
Very funny, worth your money. The My Fandom is Random T-Shirt shows your eclectic taste in all things geeky by stating, in no uncertain terms, that your interests are liable to change to anything at any time. So go get 'em, you half-elf Trekkie catgirl, you.
Randy will once again be roaming Austin this weekend, stopping in at Rogue's Gallery Comics and Games on Friday night (8pm until close), and at Great Hall Games on Saturday afternoon, from 4pm to 8pm during their Afternoon Boardgame series.
This week, nary a Munchkin will be in sight . . . well, except for the players. Randy will be brutally testing two new games, so early in development that we haven't even settled on their final names yet! Stop in and check 'em out!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: So Who's Skelos, Anyway?
Nobody knows! Or, at least, nobody's willing to tell us. It's all very hush-hush. We got our hands on Conan: Secrets of Skelos and started to give it a good looking through, but even then someone ran up and snapped the book closed. And gave us a very stern looking-at. It was really quite rude, honestly.
Friday's Game Day was my last day at work until mid-June. (This time for sure, Rocky!) I'm not making any silly promises not to work on game stuff during that time. I like working on game stuff. But I have a couple of completely non-work-related things in mind too. Honest.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: What's So Civil About War Anyway?
It may have taken us four years to sort out that whole secession from the Union thing, but you can hash it out in about 3 hours. Or, at least, bits of it. The Price of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865 is a (for certain definitions of the word) fast wargame that simulates the battles of the War Between the States. Because not all of us can afford to spend as much time simulating it as it takes to reenact it.
An oft-requested upload has been the Cardboard Heroes series. The reasoning is obvious: print one sheet or hundreds, to create mass battles or because your cat loves the taste of sword-wielding barbarians.
Well, here you go. Cardboard Heroes: Fantasy Set 1 -- Player Characters is now available on e23. As the title suggests, this is the first of a series. This release recreates the classic first set of Cardboard Heroes, filled with characters perfect to represent the classic Dungeon Fantasy party. Future releases will features giants, undead, monsters, and much more!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Achieving Fun Through Plausable Deniability
It's all fun and games until someone makes a doomsday device. Then it's even more fun and games. Spycraft 2.0: Combat Missions presents you with a handful of situations that tactful innuendo and vodka martinis won't get you out of. A big, big gun will, however.
I have only talked face-to-face with Ken St. Andre a few times in my 30 years in the hobby, but he is important to me, all the same. He was the designer of Monsters! Monsters!, which was my very first paid project, back in the Metagaming days. I was the developer. The developer on a real game! And it got printed! And I got paid! Fun was had and a career was launched.
Anyway: Ken has this hat. He's had it a LONG time. He lost it in Vegas. But the hat was found . . .
So I really enjoyed the page Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo created for How Ken's Hat Had More Fun Than He Did. Rick is having WAAAAAY too much fun with this, too . . . possibly even more than the hat did. I can't decide which I like better: the photo the hat took, or the shot of the hat "hanging with some friends."
Thanks for this, Rick!
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Okay, Send In The B Squad!
Hmmmm. Heroes chopped, skewered, and squashed themselves a nice big pile of monsters, huh? Horde all tapped out? Nothing left in the bag with claws that catch and teeth that bite? That's all right. Here's RuneQuest Monsters II. But, shhh . . . wait until they turn around first.
May 17, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: He Was Never Here, He Did Not Sign Your Book
There has to be a go-to guy for the worldwide conspiracy, someone the regular Joes can talk to without all that initiation and chanting, right? It's probably Trevor Paglen, though that's all you're gettin' out of him or us. He spends a lot of time dissecting renditions, secret operations, and the symbology so favored by special forces. Don't blame us if you disappear for the sake of a potential best-seller. -- Suggested by DryaUnda
Warehouse 23 News: Books: Now With Extra Book!
Mage: The Awakening - Grimoire of Grimoires. It's a book . . . about books. It's a book book. While that may seem needlessly complex, we're certain it makes perfect sense to the learned spell-slinging types. Besides, if there's one thing mages like, it's an air of mystery.
May 16, 2008: We Were Offline. We're Back!
The storms that shook Austin Wednesday night dumped hail on cars, uprooted trees, and dropped broken power lines onto the fiber optics that link our part of Austin to the rest of the world. Fzzzzzzt. We came back up a bit before 10pm Thursday, but it was an immensely frustrating day.
Today (Friday) is a game day in the office, celebrating Munchkin Quest going to press. We'll all try to at least scan our mail for emergencies, but it's possible that it could take us until Monday to reply to mail that you sent Wednesday evening. But we're still here and we'll get back to you soon.
Randy will be at Rogue's Gallery Comics and Games in Round Rock this evening at 8pm. What's he going to be doing? If you guessed "something Munchkin-ish," you're right -- Munchkin Booty, to be exact. Come on down and get a look at the rules and cards before they even go to the printer.
If you can't make it tonight, he'll be doing an encore tomorrow, at Great Hall Games, as part of their usual Afternoon Boardgame event. Stop by either store, or both, and get a taste of pirate flavored Munchkin.
UltraCorps players: all game ticks were suspended, so we hope nobody missed any turns. The Thursday night "Short & Sweet" tick was canceled. Regular hostilities will resume Friday.
-- Paul Chapman, with additional reporting by Steve Jackson and Jimmie Bragdon
Warehouse 23 News: Oh, Did That Contract Have Fine Print?
Go into the jungle, guard some outpost for a couple weeks, collect a paycheck. Easy, right? Right. Gamemastery: River Into Darkness certainly doesn't feature a tribe of indigenous jungle-dwellers who are violently opposed to outsiders interloping upon their turf. No, sir. Totally a milk run.
I didn't know that volcanoes came with lightning. Now I do. Here's a great image of the Chaitén eruption in Chile.
And here's a whole series, smaller but still amazing. The dramatic images are the first dozen or so . . . when you hit the people standing around the airplane, you're through with the really good stuff. Though the daylight smoke plume in some of the later ones is also impressive.
I believe this qualifies as a glory of Nature best observed at a distance and from within a speedy and reliable vehicle.
-- Steve Jackson
An old woman. A terrible secret. A world in the balance. An adventure of a lifetime. Squirrels. Pie. Squirrel Attack!: The Pie Incident. This summer, your gaming table will go nuts.
We really like Google around here, and love the logo changes they do on special occasions. (We even copied the trick, for Warehouse 23's logo on the holidays!)
Google has opened their changing logo trick up to a contest for students, called Doodle 4 Google. Prizes include scholarships and laptops, as well as grants to the student's school for improvements to the computer lab.
The entry deadline was last month, but from now until the 18th, the public can vote on their favorites from the Regional finalists.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Ogre Miniatures Increase In Value!
Or, at least, that's one way to look at it. The cost of metal, the cost of oil, the cost of . . . of, well, darn near everything has started to take its toll on the Ogre Miniatures line. Starting June 2nd, individual Ogre minis will jump in price slightly. The boxed sets will remain at their current prices, but if you have been thinking about getting a shiny new Banshee Missile Tank, now's the time to act.
The director is a roleplayer. Coincidence? I think not.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Try, Try, Try To Understand
It's magic, man. Legend of the Five Rings: Prayers and Treasures speaks of shugenja and all the neato stuff they can do. It also goes into the religion of Rokugan and lists some cool magic-infused thingamabobs, but the mojo is the real attraction. Something about blowing up your enemies' heads has a certain . . . allure, don't you think?
May 12, 2008: Spaceships 2: Ready For Launch!
GURPS Spaceships 2: Traders, Liners, and Transports is now available from e23.
Building from the simple design system found in Spaceships 1, David Pulver has created nearly three dozen sample ships to fill the role of "moving stuff." From tramp freighters and heavy lift boosters, from passenger liners to yachts, this release has ships you need for any interstellar merchant campaign.
Spaceships 2 also covers the financial aspects of finding a ship, booking cargo and passengers, and making a profit. From operating expenses to speculative trade, this PDF details everything you need to know, including how to fudge it all!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Let's Start At The Start
No, let's start before even that. Let's roll back the clock to a time when people like to throw around words like "golden age." Exalted: Dreams of the First Age aims the Wayback Machine at a time when Creation was lousy with Solar Exalted, a time when all the neat Exalted toys were made, a time that . . . well, honestly, that we hadn't heard much about. Until now. Cool, huh?
May 11, 2008: Public Service Announcement
Rickrolled
To post a link with a on-topic subject which actually directs the viewer to a video for Rick Astley's debut single, "Never Gonna Give You Up".
Now you know . . . and have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Hey, if I'm going to be humming it, then I might as well share the pain*, right?
* Pain is not actual pain, nor is said pain caused by the song itself, which isn't all that bad. It's the inability to drive the tune from your consciousness that's maddening.
-- Paul Chapman
No, not GURPS Traveller. No, not MegaTraveller. Or TNE, or T20, or T4, or Interstellar Wars, or any other flavor of everyone's favorite game of tromping about the stars. We're talking about plain ol' Traveller, as written in the Traveller Core Rulebook. Yup. Welcome back.
Okay, kids, it's time for another Good News/Bad News situation. Allow me to hit you with the Bad vibe first. The price of metal has gone up. Ogre minis, being made of metal, are more expensive to produce. What that means is come June 2nd, the individual Ogre minis will increase in price slightly. We're looking at about a 10% increase. Yeah, bleah, not exactly happiness. If you've been on the fence about filling out your army for The Last War, now is the best time to pick up those Raptors you've had your eye on.
This only affects the individual minis, mind you. The boxed sets will remain at their current prices.
The Good side? Your Ogre collection just jumped a little bit in value! Score!
(Hey, come on, lemme have my silver lining here, huh?)
-- Fox Barrett
Warehouse 23 News: Ooooooh Poopie . . .
It's you and and the orc. You're charging at him, magic sword lifted over your head, your voice like gravel as you shout something you hope is intimidating. You do not see the banana peel. Time to reach for the Gamemastery: Critical Fumble Deck, 'cause baby, life just came up a 1.
May 9, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Early To Bed, Early To Die
It's not enough the world has things keeping you awake at night and a plethora of items to plague your dreams, now they're getting you in that space between waking and sleeping. The Sleep Invaders are, according to this site, malevolent entities that want . . . uh, well the site isn't really clear on what they want. That must be why they offer you the book; it has all the answers. Could be another fly-by-night operation, assigning all the woes of life to otherworldly critters, but that's one spooky - and surprisingly well-produced - video. -- Suggested by Kim Bernard
Warehouse 23 News: W23/e23 Maintenance Update
The scheduled downtime yesterday was mostly hitch free. However, there are still some lingering kinks to be worked out. For example, some of the search links on the site might not function properly. Also, the Hypno Spendo Control Code we embedded is only affecting some of the smaller mammals. We're working to get everything back at 100%, but please don't hesitate to e-mail manager@warehouse23.com if you find any oddities.
May 8, 2008: Warehouse 23 And e23 Site Maintenance Today
Just a reminder, the Warehouse 23 and e23 websites and stores will be closed today for site maintenance. The stores will reopen tomorrow. If you need to contact customer service for those stores, please do so by email, orders@sjgames.com or by phone, (866) 366-7323.
-- Jimmie Bragdon
Warehouse 23 News: No News Is Good News?
Well, sorta. We're doing some much needed maintenance to Warehouse 23 and e23 today. As such, the two sites will be unavailable today. At least, not in this dimension. We apologize for the inconvenience. Unless you can dimension hop. In which case, just slide over a quantum.
Since every other news source on the planet has covered it, we're obligated to point out that, although Grand Theft Auto 4 was released last week, we haven't picked it up yet. Fox has played it, and enjoyed it. It is, as he confirms, "evolutionary, not revolutionary" -- the core of the game keeps the good stuff from the earlier games of the series, and adds incremental improvements.
There are, of course, the predictable howls of outrage as various watchdogs groups realize the storyline hits topics popular movies have explored for years. While I understand the concerns of parents groups, GTA4 is clearly labeled as "for Mature audience only." It isn't for children, any more than Reservoir Dogs or The Godfather were.
-- Paul Chapman
May 6, 2008: Warehouse 23 And e23 Site Maintenance Thursday
The Warehouse 23 and e23 websites and stores will be closed this Thursday, May 8th for site maintenance. The stores will reopen on Friday, May 9th. If you need to contact customer service for those stores on Thursday, please do so by email, orders@sjgames.com or by phone, (866) 366-7323.
-- Jimmie Bragdon
Warehouse 23 News: Questing For Munchkin
Munchkin Quest has found its way to the front door (we have got to get us some of those big green "EXIT" signs and do something about that hall of mirrors), so we of the Warehouse are now accepting preorders. Preorder today and get a free . . . uh . . . general sense of personal well-being!
An interesting argument by Clay Shirky: the free time of Internet-connected individuals might be the defining asset of the next phase of history.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Warehouse 23 Top Ten
Warehouse 23 has posted an updated Top 10 Page for April. Check it out, and see what all the cool kids are buying . . .
May 4, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Because No One Knows What A Foon Is
A spork, if you've ever been to a greasy fast-food joint for lunch, is a combination fork and spoon. Not just useful for eating fried meals, the revolutionary Battlespork helps with dental hygiene. It stops diseases in their tracks. It's a utensil and a razor and . . . okay, that's enough now. -- Suggested by Tony Hitchens
Okay, okay, we're not exactly one to talk about games with silly sounding names. Let's just stick to this game's full name: Eldritch Role-Playing System. It's another look at the age-old nerd pastime of finding orcs, slaying them (sometimes more than once, if there's a necromancer around), and taking everything that isn't bolted down.
If you've been with us long, you have probably figured out that life at a game company is not all Game Days and menacing each other with huge foam chainsaws. Sometimes it gets pretty real. This week has been like that.
Munchkin Quest was originally planned to be at print a long time ago. We got thiiiiiiis close . . . and realized that the game still wasn't all it should be. So we went back to work. And believe you me, you do NOT want to know how nasty it is to deal with a game that's already in final Quark layout when you start making daily changes on it.
A few weeks ago, if I remember correctly, Phil set yesterday (Friday) as the no kidding, darn it, to-press day for the game. It made it. In fact, it could have gone to press Thursday if I hadn't found one crummy glitch on one room tile, just a bit after Alex had left for the day. (Sure, anybody here can work with the multilayered, Photoshopped Quark layouts of the rooms, in the same way that anybody can get nothin-but-net from 40 feet out.)
But it is ALL OFF TO PRESS now, except for the rules and the box bottom - which require photographs of actual printed components that don't exist yet. And there was great happiness.
Things around the office have been a teeny bit stressy for the last couple of weeks (the timing of GTS didn't help). Some of our staff, especially those not involved with the game, have made no secret of their opinion that the game has taken too much time, and that we (by which is meant, Stevie) will never stop fiddling with it. (That's not an unfair opinion. I'm the guy who, three days ago, looked at one of the cards and said "You know, that whole card has to come out. Mighty John Kovalic, will you draw this new cartoon for the new card I just wrote?")
(And Mighty John did, and it rocks.)
And if anybody out there still thinks that making games for a living is Automatic Magic Fun, let me disabuse you. MQ needed enough playtesting that a lot of people in all departments got to play the game during business hours, on the clock. At first, a novelty! Getting paid to play games and shoot holes in Steve's card text! Yah boo! Well, that didn't last. Fact: There are people here who have reached the point where they would far rather do their daily work than play Munchkin Quest again. (Actual quote: "I would have really had fun the last time we played, if I weren't sick of the game.")
And, of course, those whose important jobs have been made harder because some of us are barely even answering internal mail have been a bit miffed. And in turn, those of us spending all our waking hours in Getting The Darn Game Out were somewhat stung by the naysaying. We're all human, after all. (No, really. Technically, we all really are. I've got the lab reports.) I devoutly hope that we will all be friends again next week, or at least that there will be no irreversible maimings.
No real point to this, except to make sure you know - because, if you read this far, you're interested - that these things do not write themselves. Nor are they found in baskets along with chocolate eggs. And everybody at the company, whatever their role, is part of the process of getting a big game out - if only because they have to put up with the development and production staff at deadline time, and work around them to do their own jobs. And I appreciate those who have been martyred on the tear-stained altar of "one more playtest," and the dedicated few who have pitched in and made this game more than I could have made it by myself . . . and, indeed, I appreciate everybody who has put up with ME.
It's going to be a heck of a game.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Oh Man, That's Cold
Many people enjoy going ice skating with their friends and loved ones. Most slide around on the frozen water and have plenty enough fun with that aspect of it. Others, however, skate in circles until their friends and loved ones are sent through the ice and into the sub-zero water. So if you find yourself on Ice Lake, be cautious. Hypothermia is, quite literally, for losers.
Like making stuff? Can you turn a handful of paperclips and a rubber band into a deadly weapon? Do you believe power tools can improve everything about daily life? Then Maker Faire is the place for you.
The gathering of innovators, inventers, and hackers started in 2006, and was held here in Austin last year. This year, it's back in the Bay Area, and bigger than ever. Power Tool Drag Races, 19 foot Tesla Towers, a 17-foot tall walking robot giraffe, and a "water" show created with Mentos and Diet Coke are just a few of the events scheduled.
The 45,000+ person event runs this Saturday and Sunday. Admission is only $25, so if you're near the San Mateo County Event Center and Fairgrounds this weekend, take a look -- and send us pictures!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Now This We Can Agree On
Dimension hopping? Oh yeah. We're down for that. In fact, you might say we wrote the book on it. But it appears we didn't write the only book. Mutants & Masterminds: Worlds of Freedom takes Freedom City and pushes it up and down a quantum or two. If the Civil War era or furry versions of Freedom City aren't enough, well, you'll at least find plenty of Nazis to punch. And everything is better when you get to punch Nazis.
With eloquent hoots and authorative banging on the ground with a stick, an eminent ape banishes once and for all the ridiculous concept of trans-simianism.
Warehouse 23 News: After All, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
A cabal of mystics plans to overthrow one of Hell's bigwigs, so they need all the magical mojo they can scrape together. One of them found a magic-heavy plane and sent some people in. Naturally, the expedition didn't pop back out again. So, the idea behind Advanced Adventures: The Prison of Meneptah is that you and your hearty companions will go stomping through this plane. Because, of course, you have every confidence that you'll come back in one piece.
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