The Game is Rigged: Pros and Cons of an Industry

[ThePandaDirector]

So that makes me...Brodey?

Awesome.

Poot actually.

You get to sell phones...

[Justin]

Poot actually.

You get to sell phones...

Lame.

[ThePandaDirector]

Lame.

Ratty is definitely Cheese =]

So maybe you wanna be Slim Charles

BTW dibs on Lester Freamon - "all the pieces matter" =]

Edited July 8, 2012 by ThePandaDirector

[morella]

But who is Omar is the only question that matters

[ThePandaDirector]

But who is Omar is the only question that matters

Ironically Wyrd is Omar, and Games Workshop is the Barksdale organisation (Privateer Press is Marlo).

"Ayo, lesson for you here babes, you come at the King, you best not miss"

And yes, I'm saying Wyrd is homosexual. Got a problem?

*turns to the even more confused onlookers*

Feel free to share any on topic thoughts (including the Wire) =]

[morella]

I almost just choked to death from laughing while eating. Thanks

[Gruesome]

I just don't want that Protestant Whiskey...

[ThePandaDirector]

I just don't want that Protestant Whiskey...

I might be Scottish, but I do love some of that Southern Comfort, down in the treme baby

[bashamer]

...

@bashamer: You're very much right, if Wyrd don't exist in 10 years time, the industry will not suffer any severe setbacks. The whole reason I am posting this here and not over at Privateer Press (who have far superior resources and marketing) is because I have (somewhat objectively) selected Wyrd as the champions of the industry. There are others too, but I think Wyrd have the right model and attitude to extend the boundaries of the industry.

And the core of the issue is: what is holding this industry back?

My answer: It is not regarded as a social norm and fails to prove otherwise. Communication is the key to changing that.

...

I think that the reason you selected Wyrd is because Wyrd only has one focus; one IP, 2 systems under that IP, and no fringe stuff stuff going on. Aka, no cons, no video games, no movie deals, no RPGs, no Apps, no novels etc.

Wyrd is a miniature / tabletop company. Not a Media company that runs on it's IP and also has a miniature game.

If you have one focus there are very few cases where you have a conflict of interest; no conflict of interest means that you make more progress on your focus.

It also means that there are far fewer instances of a company acting pants on head retarded when viewed from the perspective of one of the focuses.

some of the best gaming systems out there are surprisingly enough put forth by the small companies that have one focus and are willing to make big changes;

For instance;

Wyrd has the deck mechanic, and is one of the first ones to push that; it was seen before in ccg's but I can't think of a miniature game.

Spartan games has changed how miniatures are produced and what people consider possible; if you don't believe me look at some of the dystopian wars resin.

Corvus Belli has amazing support for their games online; meaning you can download all rules, you can see all stats; they have an amazing army builder, and they collect player statistics. Yes they give the book away for free.

Sodapop games will introduce a new approach to activation orders with Relic Knight.

Small companies will always be the champions, they will always be the innovators and they will always be the first to die when they screw up. Because small companies tend to have one focus; and if you have one focus signalling to and from your customers is extremely potent.

this is why Games Workshop may look like they are quite often in pants on head retard mode. But look at the novels, some aspects of that company are absolutely amazing. Does that mean that I like their games; nope, not really. I prefer companies where the first and primary focus is they miniature game. I'm investing a lot of my time into their product and I expect the company to reciprocate. And that happens to include "Don't discontinue my army".

This is also the source of my frustration w/ Privateer Press. That game went trough months of stock issues that pretty much meant that if you wanted to buy it; you bought it online. As those distributors got priority treatment, over the ones that sold to the small stores. But hey; we got a Con. Monpoc got a movie deal, and there was a video game in the works. And yes those were not the same people, but in the end those were the same dollars that the company send towards X instead of Y.

Lastly; miniature games are getting bigger fast. But there are hurdles, many hurdles. One of those is the ability to organize a game. We don't have a dungeon finder for Malifaux, or any other game for that matter. There is no easy way to say "I want to play a game of Malifaux tonight"; and have software notify people that have no calender conflicts and propose times & places that have capacity / terrain. Have text messages dispatched; and have a real chance of setting up a game in 15 minutes or less time.

But you know this is possible. You know this is happening elsewhere for other activities. You know this will exist.

Once this happens the critical mass for a game needed to survive will change; drastically. The hobby will change.

And for those people that doubth it. This was top of the line miniature painting before the internet got involved.

[nilus]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6330[/ATTACH]

Wow how old is that.

[BlueStar86]

Wow how old is that.

Looks early-mid 90s.

[morella]

Wow, I still have two of those guys and a few others not pictured, but I didn't know they had names. Thanks.

ETA: And I bought them probably in 1993, but I can check later and find out the date stamp if anyone is particularly interested.

[bashamer]

at worst it is 25 years old, at best 19 years old. war hammer first edition was 1983, rogue trader was 1987-1993.

Makes you feel good about your painting skills doesn't it. Yep that model you slathered paint on for 30 minute was of quality worth publishing 20 years ago.

Then people starting sharing images online, forums crept up, people started posting guides, youtube videos can teach you painting techniques that have nearly been lost to time.

is effectively what I used for

If the internet did not exist that model would never have been even close to that quality.

But that was communication in one direction; People said "Hey I did X, look at it."

Then there were forums and there was some communication, but it was slow, conversations took days.

Then cool mini or not showed up in 2001 and painting has never been the same.

The revolution in miniature painting took less than 10 years; most of it probably happened in less than 5 years.

In short; the future is coming, it is moving faster than you think, but slower than you want (unless you are old, then that reverses).

Edited July 9, 2012 by bashamer

[Dustcrusher]

It also means that there are far fewer instances of a company acting pants on head retarded when viewed from the perspective of one of the focuses.

"Pants on head retarded" is ableist language, just so ya know. Kinda detracts from your otherwise well-written response.

And that happens to include "Don't discontinue my army".

"But didn't you hear?! Squats are BACK!" *wink*

...sorry, I couldn't resist.

But you know this is possible. You know this is happening elsewhere for other activities. You know this will exist.

Once this happens the critical mass for a game needed to survive will change; drastically. The hobby will change.

And whoever is good enough to program and maintain something like that will make a good profit doing so.

And for those people that doubth it. This was top of the line miniature painting before the internet got involved.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6330[/ATTACH]

I disagree- this is "good enough for the catalog" painting. I have a couple of the old GW Painting Guides from 1989 and they have nicer looking paintjobs than these throughout. That said, your point still stands true- miniature painting has come along an insane degree since CMoN and other painting sites have hit the Internet, and even slacker painting techniques produce far better results than they used to.

[fishtank]

I'd say those minis looked late 80s. My first minis were teh plastic beaky marine box set, bought around 1990-1991. Those models pre date that.

As a lover of Blood Bowl and the 2nd edition models I have lots of figures of that sort of vintage. May even have a couple of the ones pictured somewhere. I have some VERY old marines knockinig around.

I see Privateer being very similar to Wyrd. Wyrd are just about 6 to 7 years younger than PP. I started playing WM just before Escalation - the first expansion - was released, and the characters of the companies are almost the same. I hope Wyrd has the same sucess PP have had.