Uncategorized
Fresh from last month’s release of Cash ‘n Guns: Yakuza (which we mentioned in our GTS ‘08 wrap-up podcast recently), Asmodée is preparing to ship the strategic diplomacy boardgame Senji this July. I just looked over the game at KublaCon today - it was one of the few titles I failed to get a closer look at in Vegas - and liked what I saw. As a Daimyo in feudal Japan, each player attempts to reach 60 honor points and become Shogun. Alliances will be crucial for survival, as players must rely on neighbors to defend their borders. With tricky bits like that, diplomatic negotiations could take quite a while, if it weren’t for the hourglass that limits your pleading time - something I’ve wished for in Settlers games, at times. Expect Senji to clock in at a price of about $70.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the other bit of Asmodée news I missed at GTS: the return of Formula De in time for Essen in October. This version will have rules for street racing while avoiding police pursuers. The game will also have prepainted figures and as few rules changes as possible. In all, great news for folks like me, who only just tried the previous sold-out version for the first time a few weeks ago.
Other tantalizing Asmodée news:
It was great to catch up with Asmodée at KublaCon, and get some time to make up for the hectic nature of GTS.
Our buddies over at Yog-Sothoth.com recently presented a funny little flick to the interweb world at large, Casting Call of Cthulhu. This short film on the perils of casting a Lovecraftian film first showed up at the Riofan Film Festival. Even if you’re just a casual Cthulhu fan, this is worth taking a look - ’tis very well done.
Delta Green fans already know - Arc Dream Publishing and Pagan Publishing are doing the fundraising round for the next Delta Green sourcebook, Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity. Written by such notables as Dennis Detwiller, Greg Stolze, Kenneth Hite, and Shane Ivey, the book will touch on a number of unknowable evils, lurking in regions from Alaska to New Orleans. This sourcebook follows on the heels of Delta Green: Eyes Only, which is a finalist for this year’s Origins Awards. For as little as a $50 pledge, fans can help make Targets of Opportunity a reality - the Fundable.com pledge drive is rapidly closing in on its $20k goal.
We had a couple of summary posts up from this year’s GAMA Trade Show (see part 1 and part 2 if you missed ‘em), but for a slightly more detailed account of the show’s announcements, we recorded this episode of the OgreCave Audio Report. Steve and I go over the products that caught our attention, while Mike asks questions and tries to maintain order. Have a listen, and hear what game goodies to expect over the coming year.
It had to happen eventually: the actual Gencon bankruptcy filing PDF is online for all to see. Wondering why Wizards still hasn’t committed to being at this year’s Gen Con Indy? Well, it might have to do with the debt of just over $431K owed to Hasbro - quite a bit more than Gen Con owes Lucasfilm. That, and Hasbro has a policy of not dealing with companies undergoing bankruptcy. This seems like a list of all creditors, even long outstanding debts. When did Gen Con LLC have time to rack up a $29K bill with the Walt Disney company?
Though details are sketchy still, we’ve learned that Upper Deck has just had a significant company-wide layoff, affecting most divisions. This comes after the big showing at GTS ‘08 just a couple weeks ago, where Upper Deck held a special luncheon to preview its World of Warcraft Miniatures Game and generally get retailers excited about the products to come. If anyone’s out there with details, post here and let us know how things are going. The staff of OgreCave.com wishes the best of luck to everyone affected by this layoff.
Fantasy Flight obviously doesn’t have enough to do. I mean, we’ve already declared FFG the overachiever of GTS ‘08 and gone down the list of planned releases. But the company obviously isn’t content to go ahead with its already impressive release schedule, and has added more to its plate: ICv2 reports an agreement with Italian game manufacturer Stratelibri to publish and distribute boardgame titles like Constantinople and recent Origins Award nominee Kingsburg. One begins to wonder how much of the increasingly ambitious schedule FFG can pull off - on time, at least.
Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games joins us for the latest episode of the OgreCave Audio Report. Having mostly recovered from last week’s GAMA Trade Show ‘08, we offer some initial thoughts on the event, mostly with an emphasis on the developing Game System License situation for D&D4e. We learn more about Joseph’s plans for the coming year, and also play our interview with Erik Mona of Paizo Publishing. Finally, we have an exclusive preview of the first three Dungeon Crawl Classics covers from when the line goes 4th Edition. Have a look, have a listen, share and enjoy.
Retailers attending GTS got to vote on the final set of nominees, and now the final list of Origins Award nominees is announced (see below). Several notable nominations made the list, including Classic Battletech (Catalyst Game Labs) for Best Miniatures Rules, Paizo’s Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords for Best Roleplaying Supplement, and Battue going head-to-head against StarCraft for Best Boardgame. Since the winners are being determined by Origins attendees this summer, is there anyone that doesn’t believe Zombie Fluxx has its category all wrapped up? I mean, the Looney Lab rabbits are all over Origins. Read More…
Okay, I had to work this weekend, but I’ve finally had a chance to sit down again and really try to mention as many GTS ‘08 releases as I can recall. If you’re just joining us, start with my first GTS post, then head back here.
By the way, GAMA seems to be sticking with the just-after-Easter start, proceeding with the theory that starting Monday instead of Easter Sunday itself will solve the scheduling problem. Never mind that many retailers and exhibitors will be watching over their kids for spring break… In all, the Easter timeframe still seems like a very bad plan for GTS 2009 and 2010.
To the games:
In all, no earth shattering announcements this year, but a great time catching up with folks in the industry, and getting acquainted with the games we’ll be seeing throughout the coming year.
Steve Chenault of Troll Lord Games has just given word on the Troll Lord forums that original D&D publisher and co-creator Gary Gygax has died in his home, last night or this morning. Details are still sketchy and the forum site is not loading so well at the moment, but here you are. We’ll get you more when we can.
Update: CNet has more. It confirms heart problems as the cause of death; Gygax mentioned an inoperable heart condition in a 2006 interview. He is survived by his wife, six children, and seven grandchildren, as well as by all of us whose lives have been shaped in some way by his creation. He will be missed.
We heard yesterday, but waited for the official announcement:
Dear Guildmembers and Fellow Gamers,
It is with deepest regret that I announce that the Judges Guild’s President, Bob Bledsaw has been struggling against terminal cancer, and has but a short time left with us. He is in good spirits, with house in order, and is ready to begin “the Great Adventure,” as he calls it.
For those of you who have been awaiting new products; it may take some time. The Guild will go through some changes as it is passed to his three sons. They have only begun to go through his writings and unfinished works, which there is much of. They do not plan to close or reduce the Guild, and will do their best to honor any existing contracts, and persue new product ventures, as time allows.
Calls, cards and flowers are not needed, but prayers for Bob, or a pause for reflection on a time when the Guild brought you some joy, is very much appreciated. Bob loved to see happy faces around the game-table, and doesn’t wish to sadden anyone with his passing. His family and friends wish to thank everyone for all the support offered, but nothing can help this situation.
As Bob would say, “Sometimes even the Dungeon Master could use a Saving Throw.”
With Regards,
Maed Makistakator
Bob Bledsaw Jr.
As the first company to publish third-party RPG support products, as well as the first RPG setting product, Judges Guild led the way for future generations of game publishers. The staff of OgreCave wish Bob Bledsaw, his family and friends the best during these difficult times, and thank Bob for all the great times and high adventure.
Fans of the Serenity RPG, take heart: Margaret Weis Productions has just announced its agreement with Universal Studios to bring more RPG support to the table. To that end, three new products are planned for sale in 2008: a collection of short adventures; Six-Shooters and Spaceships, which is exactly what it sounds like; and the Big Damn Heroes Handbook, a sourcebook full of “Character traits, campaign options, adventure ideas, new characters” and more. Check out the PR yourself below.
Read More…
Now and again, and it seems like lately it’s a little more often, I stumble across some neat little bit of info, and it may have been known to others already or by some much more obvious means, but it still makes me go “holy crap” and get all bouncy with anticipation of what could result. Take yesterday: I was reading James Wallis’ blog (Mr. Wallis, former Hogshead guy and doughty game designer, will not be unfamiliar to longtime Cave readers), specifically a post about a neat thing I’d seen a few days prior but hadn’t gotten off my ass to post for some reason, and… hey. Wait a minute. “My colleague, Adrian Hon”??? At a firm called Six to Start, that comes right out with “we make alternate reality games”? Well, damn if that’s not a glimmer of hope for a genre I was starting to lose faith in. Very interesting news for Wallis’ career as well.
So I’m all into that, but I shouldn’t keep burying the equally-interesting news that Hon and Wallis are trumpeting to begin with: Let’s Change The Game, a design contest to create a fundraising ARG for Cancer Research UK. Stories are the best motivating force on the planet as far as I’m concerned, and they seem particularly potent when juiced up with the particular energy of alternate-reality gaming - this is a smart and heartening project.
According to this ICv2 story, Sunday marked the start of a Halo ActionClix promotion at Target stores. Target customers who preorder Halo 3 will receive an exclusive pair of figures, Master Chief and Elite, though it’s unclear if these will be uniquely marked/powered. The Halo ActionClix game launches a week before Halo 3, which might be enough time to lure in some fanatical videogamers that need some sort of Halo fix to tide them over… if they were made available ahead of the Xbox 360 title’s September 25th release, which it doesn’t seem they will. In related news, WizKids just posted the Halo ActionClix rules PDF for anyone that’s chomping at the bit.
Gen Con announcements have started rolling in, and Margaret Weis Productions sent a pair of good ones. First, a reaffirmation that the Battlestar Galactica RPG will make its debut at Gen Con, as will a Quickstart Guide which contains a full adventure. Second, the animated movie trailer for Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight will be shown Thursday night at the show, along with behind the scenes footage from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. More details in the press releases below.
Read More…
Site copyright 2001-2008 Allan Sugarbaker. Trademarks/copyrights mentioned are owned by their respective owners.