Monday Musing: Specialist Games

Look at how bad the logo looks... they stopped caring long ago.

I'm going to try out a new idea for articles, you're all used to my Sermons, now I'm going to inflict my 'Musings' on you too. The idea is simple, rather than write about certain hobby 'hot topics' while they're 'hot' I'm going to wait until Monday morning, while eating my breakfast (scrambled eggs on toast today, brown sauce of course) to collect my thoughts on a topic. You know, let all the heat dissipate out of the topic first. Last weeks really 'hot topic' was Games Workshop yet again wading in with their massive size 11 shoes and stomping all over Faeit 212. Now I'm not going to discuss that, maybe Natfka totally deserved what happened to him, or maybe Games Workshop really did overreact; and as those of us with Blogs on Blogger know, Google always overreact. Moot points, and totally not interesting to me, and never were. Nope, what I want to talk about is Games Workshop finally putting a bullet between the eyes of their Specialist Games.

I guess I ought to declare my 'interests' right off of the bat shouldn't I? I love many of Games Workshops Specialist Games, and some certainly way more then I do any of their core product. It's not just nostalgia either, some of these games remain real gems even to this day. Blood Bowl will always have a place in my heart, no matter what. Epic will always be to me what the 40k universe was about; huge titans and legions upon legions of ant like soldiers being squished to death in the endless wars that tear the galaxy apart. Epic's various incarnations have been some of the most tactical experiences I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It was also one of the game 'systems' that me and my father would play the most together, so what it represents to me as a lifelong wargamer is very, very personal... good father and son time with my dad. Then their is Battlefleet Gothic, a game I was so good at (until bloody Necrons) people used to fear playing me at it. That was the first game I knew I was really, really good at right after the first game, I just 'got it'.

Sunday Sermon: Just what the hell is Crowd-funding supposed to be?

  

Right well I guess this is overdue in some respects. Like many in our community I've spoken about this crowd-funding phenomenon that seems to have swept through our hobby, mainly in terms of the projects that are up and running on various crowd funding sites. Many of the projects that I see are genuinely interesting, and many more really exciting. I'm a terrible person for new shiny stuff, I'm a magpie at heart and I struggle to resist the allure of new miniatures and games. So this crowd funding phenomenon is a bit like a drug to people like me. The opportunity to help somebody else realise their dream and goal of producing their own miniatures range or game has been a very powerful motivator for me, and my currently quite limited spending power. I'm partly a contrary bugger who likes seeing odd ball indie games developed, and I've always sought out the weird and out of way stuff in whatever environment I happen to be operating in, be it comic books, music, films, computer games or hobby. Kickstarter is therefore right up my street.

It also appears quite oddly to be up many other peoples streets too, which is great because it seems many products are getting the funding they require to made into reality. I have personally maintained my belief that Kickstarter and Indiegogo would go through a brief euphoria period with us hobbyists being enraptured and enamoured with it. Spending all of our cash on it, and then settle down. I honestly thought it might be a fleeting fad, and that people would start to get a bit annoyed with waiting for all their shiny miniature goodness to actually arrive. I still maintain this will ultimately be the case, but, I thought this process would actually take far less time that it appears to be taking. This is a boon and a bane in some respects for our industry. You see, I've followed crowd-funding for a little time, and from before our hobby cottoned onto it as a good idea. I've witnessed the collapse of computer game projects after they've received funding, and the inevitable recriminations that follow. I actually think that our industry on the whole has been significantly better than others at actually fulfilling there promises... which either proves as a sector we're awesome, or that these products didn't need crowd-funding in the first place.

MoFaux second edition!!!

This was actually the article I was planning on posting up yesterday... but you know me. I can't resist a good whinge. The news that Wyrd are about to launch the second edition of Malifaux upon us though is actually quite exciting news for me. You see I've been with MoFaux from the start, right at the very start when they were just releasing nifty looking 'Wyrd' miniatures, but of late I've somewhat struggled with how they've 'developed' the game and their product line. I've definitely been critical of rules bloat and the distinct lack of streamlining within their ruleset. There are also massive issues with power creep. I know fans of Games Workshop grumble about the new sickness syndrome that often afflict their releases, but trust me they've got nothing on Wyrd Miniatures and what they've done for Malifaux.

So for me a fun little game that my other half and I often enjoyed together became something neither of us were really willing to invest the time in anymore to keep on top of. Partly because the exceptional Freebooter's Fate arrived in our household and was more fun, but mainly because I think Wyrd let Malifaux get out of hand. In essence I think Wyrd have been a victim of their own success. From a standing start they have shot from being absolute nobodies to actually being a very recognisable and highly popular brand within our hobby. I guess growing pains were inevitable for them as a company. Those pains though seem to have finally resulted in them looking to release a fully realised second editions, thank God we're not going to have to suffer another ver1.9999999 or whatever.

How can you tell when a business is in trouble?

   
    

It starts counting pens! It's an old joke that organisations normally start looking at the little picture when times start getting a bit rough for them; and they start doing stupid things in a desperate bid to stave off the wolves at their metaphorical, and sometimes real, doors. 'Counting pens' is a joke often told by consultant types, but if any of you have ever worked at a place where the stationary cupboard has been locked, and a guardian appointed to protect it, you'll be aware of how depressingly true the old joke about counting pens truly is. I've seen companies implode in this way from the outside, and indeed from the inside. They start attributing their woes to external sources, or not enough micro-management. When the going gets tough in the corporate world, quite often it's the stupid that get going.

Companies do dumb, counter-intuitive things when times start getting a bit tough for them. Rather than asking serious questions about why it is the case that the companies bottom line sucks, or the KPI's are going in the wrong direction, because that would be wise and sensible, they plough ahead, just faster. Nope, they tend to assume that if they do more of the same, just better, things will improve. Rarely will someone ask the sensible question "hey, guys, is trying to sell fridges to Eskimos such a great business idea?". Nope, they appoint stationary cupboard guardians, and set researchers off to assess KPI's in minute details, everything becomes too close to view properly and nobody can see the bigger picture anymore. When that happens companies start making rash decisions that are counter-productive and expose themselves to even more risks.

I think it is part of human nature when in such a company to never want to ask whether actually you are doing a good job yourself. Not if you are working hard enough, just asking whether what you do is needed, or indeed efficient. Everyone is on edge, and people do feel besieged and vulnerable; people put their heads down and motor on, thinking blood, sweat and tears will win the day. So where am I heading with this. Well I'm going to talk about our hobbies favourite topic again, Games Workshop. Over the past few months they've done some pretty dumb things haven't they? I might not have commented on the online sales embargo, or their restriction on free trade for independents; and despite sharpening my pen over their claim to own all literary uses of the words 'Space Marines' I've stayed silent.

Sunday Sermon: You catch more flies with honey!

      
         

One of the many sayings my Grandmother used to tell me, normally when I was being horrid to my little sister over something or other. to be honest with you, as a young whipper snapper I used to sit there dumbfounded as to why on earth anyone would want to catch flies? Seriously, why catch flies. As I grew older I took the wisdom from those words and realised that you often get more things done, and command more respect from others if you are civil, polite and treat other with respect you wish to receive yourself. However, the words of one of my bosses also ring in my ears "flies also like shit, so what do flies know?". It's not a difficult concept this honey pot thing though; simply put are you more likely t respond positively to someone who insults you, shouts at you and generally acts like a complete asshat... or are you more likely to respond positively to a person who treats you with respect, communicates in an open and fair way and is generally a good person? Just think about your own experiences for a moment, who have you been most likely to respond positively too in the past in your social interactions?

I've often thought about this, because being a 'nice guy' we're consistently told in slightly saccharine American rom-com's means we always finish last, except you don't because the cooky guy with the curly hair seems to get the girl in the end. Puke! Society though does put it out there that if you're nice you become a doormat; that people will walk all over you. A certain Iron Lady certainly believed in this selfish and self centered attitude, and as a society we've brought into this mantra far more than the 'be nice mantra'. You see, for every saying there is an equal and opposite saying. It sucks! Why can't things just be straight forward? I guess though if they were it'd make life a little bit boring wouldn't it? I mean, we all have to work this stuff out for ourselves, find out who we want to be. I've tended to go down the route that I much prefer being a decent person, true I'm likely to get quite vicious if you try to attack or otherwise harm my own, but I'm not the sort of person who views every social interaction as a confrontation. A chance to prove I'm 'better' or I'm 'right'.  I'm just not like that, I don't assume anything, I think long and hard about what it is I believe.

Salute 2013 is upon us!!!

    
     

But... I'm not attending this year, not that many of you will be reading this I'm sure. Last year I did a series of articles around Salute, and what I thought if the various stands, stores and games; you can read the start of my articles on salute here. What I think really hit me though about last years event was just how short, rushed and cramped the entire day felt. In short I really didn't enjoy traipsing down to London from my neck of the woods, and then trying to get out to the ExCeL site in a reasonable time frame. Because then you have to rush around all the stands and not really spend enough time, or as much time as I would have liked, at any of them. So I was left with a sense of frustration and disappointment in the main that I wasn't able to fully check out what I wanted to. Plus I think the hectic nature of the day also caused our otherwise placid nerdy brethren to act more like a bunch of humourless dicks than normal.

Sometimes it takes someone else to show you why...

        
        

My life is still a bit f a chaotic mess, and despite my best efforts to get back on top of everything, it's not going too well. I keep thinking I'm getting on top of things and sit down to write an article when something else pops up!!! Still that's life I guess, and we have to put up with it until we die. I've been doing writing of different varieties, mainly non-blogging stuff, and maybe one day you might get to see it, especially if I can figure out what to do about self publishing stuff. But I digress.

This morning I received an email from a chap I had an email conversation with over a year ago now. He stumbled across my little corner of the Interwebs while searching for anime images and stuff to inspire his own work. He was a non-wargamer, and the sight of some of the Infinity models and artwork got him all hot and bothered... in way only us nerds can get hot and bothered. He's never really heard of this wargaming hobby, living in the cultural backwater that is Australia.