The Magic is Gone

Not really. In fact, I've still got boxes of the stuff. =-)

I'm done selling on E-Bay for a while. Partly because I've made roughly twice as much as I expected from my old Beta cards, but mostly because it's totally StReSsInG Me OuT!

Magic buyers are a lot more serious than RPG book buyers. They pay a lot for the cards and they're very particular about every little thing. I get that, but it's really hard to deal with. I got my first non-positive feedback (neutral, which isn't so bad...) and it bothers the crap out of me.
I offered the guy his money back, but that wasn't good enough. Oh well...

In case you want to know what Magic cards are going for in the new millenium...Click Here (The auctions are over. I wouldn't use this blog to sell stuff.

All I have left to do is ship...and fret that it all arrives okay.

-Adam!!!

Paging Mr. Nygma

An actual Engima machine for sale on EBay!

Wow!

-Adam!!!

Feels Borderline Illegal

I try not to get political here, but the FBI site for kids K-5th grade just seems wrong to me.

My favorite parts...

Today, there are over 350 violations of the law that the FBI investigates. We can't list them all here because there are so many...

and

Have you ever had your fingerprints taken? It's a great idea to do this...

Quotes taken out of context for humorous purposes. =-)

-Adam!!!

The Old Man's Got it Going On

Who in gaming doesn't respect Richard Garfield? I know I do. In the early days of Magic I think I could call him friend, though I suspect acquaintance is probably more accurate.

What strike me as interesting about Richard is, in addition to being a game design genius, is how he thinks about the way people play. (or is it the way he thinks about how people play?)

This interview really knocks it home how it thinks not only of the game, but of the gamers. In my experience, it's a rare combination.

"I also was scared of becoming a creator that wouldn't let anyone else contribute creatively. Instead, I tried [giving] the big picture for where I wanted to go and allow people to get there, creatively, on their own. I tried to offer advice and opinion rather than command, so that Magic grew with the best of many rather than the best of few."

This sort of thinking is actually both revolutionary and very rare. Many of the designers I know are vastly talented (more so than I) but often tend to be either independant maverics or a small cabal of independant maverics. The idea of allowing others to contribute to their games ranges from distasteful to horrifiying. Allowing the public to contribute, unthinkable.

Creating games that allow people to participate in front-line creative roles remains my dream. I'm not sure Richard was going there, but I think he'd appreciate the goal.

-Adam!!!

Fan Dance

What makes a fan club cool? What makes is special? Those are the million dollar (I hope) questions. What would I be willing to do/pay to be a part of a fan club? More to the point, what would YOU do?

A fan club's duty to the fan. It should:

Identify you as a fan. You care more than the average person. Celebrate that.
Provide content that only you, the real fan, wants, needs, and can get.
Allows you to identify yourself as a fan in some public manner. Wave the geek-flag, as it were.
Allows you to participate in the success of the thing you love.

Embrace and build your fan community. If people care, provide them an outlet for that emotion. Listen. Care back. Be your fan's greatest fan. Act on their behalf as you'd have them act on your's.

-Adam!!!

The Ace of Clubs

This week's task is a simple one. Write the skeleton of a new Fan Club, the success of which the company's entire future might depend. No biggie!

=-)

Actually, I've already done it once (with a lot of help from Lone Shark Games). The Bella Sara Dreams Club will premier and Gen Con Indy, and while I'm very proud of it, it's not 100% as good as it could be. For 2008, I want a fan club that'll knock the socks of any fan club that's gone before. Wish me luck!

-Adam!!!

Um...what?

I read a combat robot message board regularly for my other hobby. It's a lot of fun and for my part it is pretty simple (comparable to any R/C hobby+model building, only my models are made from titanium.) A lot of the other participants are engineers, however, and this is how they talk...

F = A*P, so A = 1.063*pi = 3.34 sq in, P = 250 psi, so F = 834 lbs. With that and a 1" stroke you can fiddle with the geometry quite a bit and still have some impressive hitting power.

The volume of gas per shot is PI*r^2*h, or .884 cu in, times P/1 ATM. P = 250 and 1 ATM = 15 so you use 250/15*.883 or 14.71 cu in of CO2 (at STP) per shot.

So, how much gas is in a 16g cartridge? 16g of CO2 becomes .302 cu ft at STP, or .302*1728 = 521.8 cu in. 528/14.71 yields ~35 shots.

Of course, it isn't that simple...

I know the guy who wrote this. He's both a great guy and WAY smarter than me. =-)

-Adam!!!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

...it's SUPERFAN!

What is a super-fan? In the gaming community, it's a fan who enjoys the game in a way that transcends the casual. If you are a publisher, the more super-fans you have, the more likely your game will succeed. They aren't enough (you need casual fans, too) but cultivating them is essential. How does a fan become a super fan? They simply have to want to be. That's it.

Publishers don't define super-fans, they define themselves. While publishers can't define them, it is fairly easy to identify them through customer programs like organized play, volunteer programs, and fan clubs. Once you've identified super-fans, then it's time to take care of them.

• Recognition - This is the big one. Let your fans know, in as personal a way as possible, that you know them and appreciate the investment they've made in you and your game. It is both the easiest and most important thing you can do. Note that bribery in the form of free stuff is expected more than appreciated. Send the freebees, people do love it, but don't count it as recognition.
  

• Promos! - Super-fan only play, promotional items, web-content. This is tricky. The harder you make access to special content, the more special it will be. On the other hand, if you make it too exclusive, you won't get enough ROI to be worth the time it takes to create. Start small and build. It's always easier to add special content than to take it away.

• Geek ON! -Opportunities to show off. Anything that'll let a super-fan get his or her geek on is a good thing. It strengthens the relationship between you, them, and the rest of the world. Web 2.0 is the ultimate Geek ON! tool. Don't fight it. Grow it, love it and it will grow and love you back!
  

-Adam!!! (Battlebots super-fan)

Lying Liers and the Lies they Lie About

Sony has just announced dropping the price of the PS3. Good for them, but...

"Our initial expectation is that sales should double at a minimum," Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said in an interview.

Wrong.

"We've gotten our production issues behind us on the PlayStation 3, reaching a position to pass on the savings to consumers, and our attitude is the sooner the better."

Lie.

The price drop Monday was widely anticipated by industry analysts despite Sony President Ryoji Chubachi telling Reuters last week that the company had no immediate plans for one.

Last week's Lie.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said Sony's price reduction would not double sales but may boost them by 50 percent to about 120,000 units a month.

AHA!...oh that's not Sony. No wonder it sounds plausible.

What the hell, Sony? I guess Sony thinks a lot of stupid people have an extra $500 laying around. There's nothing wrong with lowering your price. There's also nothing wrong with being honest. How about they state the obvious? They misjudged what the public will pay for a game system, and are now fixing the problem.

Why is that so hard?

-Adam!!!

Remember, Gamers are NORMAL!

Proof Positive.

-Adam!!!

Topper Deck?

,This is old news, and I recently read the deal is on the rocks. Nevertheless, I'm surprised more hasn't been made of this.

Upper Deck is seeking to buy Topps

What the mainstream media doesn't mention, because they have no clue, is that Upper Deck controls Upper Deck Entertainment and Topps controls WizKids.

If the deal goes through, Upper Deck will start to seriously rival Wizards of the Coast in the Hobby Game Industry. I don't think this is good or bad, just really interesting.

-Adam!!!

Goo-Goo Clustr Map

Hey. It looks like somebody from Israel viewed my Blog! I'd bet it's Yehuda. If it is, I love your blog! I doubt I'd know ANYTHING about life in Israel if not for you. Everything else I know about jewish life I've learned from John Stewart, which is, it is safe to say, a pretty sad amount.

(If it's not Yehuda, my apologies to whomever.)

-Adam!!!

E-What the Hey?-Bay

As you might imagine, I've got a lot of games and cards in my closet. When I need a few extra bucks, I haul out the stuff, take photos, and put it up on e-bay. I have a 100% positive feedback rating, and nobody has ever complained about my items or auctions...until just now.

This is the message I got:

You're totally wasting your time. You're showing HORRIBLE pictures and giving completely useless descriptions of the condition of the cards. I'm referring to all these auctions you just put up and are wasting out time with.

Send me a list of the REAL conditions of each card you have for auction based on REAL grading techniques.

Or don't and watch all of these end at a fractin of their real value.

Wow! I'm a bit shaken up by it, honestly. I pride myself on being as fair and honest as I can be, and this person really attacked me. My crime? Not knowing how to grade used magic cards. I am totally guilty, BTW. I thought it was pretty simple - Poor, Fair, Good, Near Mint, Mint. Most of my cards are Fair-to-Good, though one was in pretty darned good shape, so I said Good/Near-Mint (with a clarification that it wasn't quite near mint.) There must be a Very Good or something that I'm missing. After a slightly calmer give-and-take, I've asked for a URL with the grading system I should be using. I'll update all the auctions once I know how to do it properly (at least in the eyes of this potential buyer.)

[sales pitch]
Well, since nobody is going to bid on my cards, I suggest you check them out. You'll save a bundle, apparently.
[/sales pitch]

UPDATE: Myself and the angry e-bay-er have exchanged a couple more e-mails, and I've since revised my auctions using this rating system. While I'm still not sure how I should take the original e-mail, my auction descriptions ARE better now. Show me the money!

UPDATE 2: Now we've exchanged a few more e-mails, and everything's cool. I even feel bad calling him (or her?) the angry e-bay-er, although it's still kind of funny. Luckily, nobody reads my blog!

-Adam!!!

Transform This!

Saw Transformers. Utterly ridiculous. Utterly Awesome!

Transformers is a popcorn movie in all the best ways. The plot...well...whatever. The characters were fun, cartoonish, often outrageous (the humans, I mean). The robots were robots. Big, violent, very good, and very evil. If you think you'll like the movie, you will. If you're looking for a complex plot with a lot of character development, you'll be better off renting Independence Day.

-Adam!!!

Pros and Conventions

,The last major convention we attended supporting Clout was GenCon SoCal last November. The World of Warcraft CCG was being launched, and unsurprisingly they took most of the collectible gaming crowd away from the rest of us. Obviously those folks wanted to play the new 'hot' game. It was easy for the rest of us publishers, who were working just as hard as Upper Deck, to get a bit jealous. I know I was.

Since then I've had a lot of time to consider what makes company sponsored tournament and demo events successful for collectible games at conventions. The format is basically set in stone. Have as nice a booth as you can afford, running demos as quickly as you can for as many people as you can. Run full games in the provided gaming area as frequently as you can, keeping them as full as you can.

The formula is so standardized, the conventions themselves resist breaking out of the format (NO DEMOS IN THE TOURNAMENT AREA!)

If you are a small game publisher, I want to start by writing off the convention gaming areas. They are often crowded, often hot, designed to hold the maximum number of people at a minimum cost. The big players usually have fancy structures, props, and huge banners. The smaller companies have table and floor mounted signs, and sometimes...sometimes...their own tablecloths. If your a small company, you might as well advertise..."Our game is just like theirs, only with fewer players and less cool."

Smaller games need smaller venues. Better venues. Conventions are amazing at bringing gamers together. For standard games (cards, board, and rpgs) they utterly fail at providing a upper-tier game play environment. The average living room is far more comfortable. As a game-publisher, finding or creating an environment that is even better than a player can manage at home should be a priority. If anyone manages to combine a quality game with a quality setting, the results will be staggering.

-Adam!!!

Defy Gravity?

I work in the Seattle PI building, here in Seattle. The PI (short for Seattle Post Intelligencer) is one of city's two maj0r newpapers. It's also the one that's likely to disappear first, so I've read. Other than it's failing as a medium, I don't know anything about the paper business. I don't really know much about the PI. What I do know comes from what I see when the secure elevator door opens on floors 2 and 3. On the second floor, clearly visible from the elevator, is a list of goals the paper seeks to aspire to. The last one says...Defy Gravity.

Now, underneath Defy Gravity there are some words explaining what it means. I don't know what they say. Above Defy Gravity are a number of other goals. I can't remember what they are.

That means, most of what I know about the PI can be summed up as this: They're trying to do the impossible, and they're failing.

-Adam!!!

Tribal Gamers

Do you play or publish a game or group of games (like boardgames) with a dedicated community following? Hasbro can get away with publishing games supported by casual players, nobody smaller can.

The average customer won't do you any favors. She won't buy your game based on your brand, your history, your reputation, nor the promises of your advertising.

A member of your game's community WILL. If you live up to all those positive things you think and promise about yourself, she'll do it again and again. She may tell her friends. She'll feel great about doing it.

How big is your game's community? It's not big enough. A strong community means regular customers for a publisher. It means a more rewarding gaming experience for the players.

-Adam!!!

More than meets the eye? Hells Yes!

Just to be clear, I'm totally going to see Transformers. That doesn't change the fact that the Slate review is HILARIOUS!

You know the way a grade-schooler, attempting to recap the plot of a recently seen movie, will backtrack, repeat himself, get lost in trivia, then skip forward to the final fight scene, all the while sputtering adorably about how cool the monster was? The story line of Transformers proceeds something like that.

Um...to stay on topic...well...WotC's making a Transformers Game. Knowing nothing about it at all, except this, I suggest not buying it.

-Adam!!!

Pokemon Battle Revolution

I have been taken. I admit it.

The back of the box says:
"Although this Wii game can be played by itself, linking with Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl using your DS may broaden your experience."

What that means is:
"Although this Wii game can technically be played by itself, linking with Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl represents 90% of the game's functionality. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME IF YOU DO NOT OWN A NINTENDO DS AND POKEMON DIAMOND OR PEARL."

Now I have a game that my 6-year old loves, until he realizes that in the 30 minutes he's played it he's explored pretty much all the game has to offer.

If you don't have the DS games (like me) you get to play with your choice of two "Rental Passes" each with a whopping six Pokemon to choose from. Custom Passes, where you get to choose the Pokemon you want to play with are only available to the DS players.

You know what you get for playing with your Rental Passes? Virtual coupons that allow you to upgrade...are your ready?...your Custom Passes and your DS Pokemon.

The WiFi functionality, which was the other reason I bought the game (the first being my son loves Pokemon), is essentially useless because I'm going to be trashed by the players with custom passes. That is, if I'm allowed to play online at all with the Rentals...I haven't tried yet.

Two player functionality, as it's marked on the box. Nope. You need Custom Passes for that too.

I've been duped, and I feel stupid. If I take it back tomorrow I'm out $25 and my six year old will be angry at me. Mostly I'm mad because I waited months for this game, only to find out I'm not allowed to play most of it because the Wii is the first Nintendo product I've ever purchased.

Thanks Nintendo. For everyone else, just to be clear...

Don't by Pokemon Battle Revolution unless you own a Nintendo DS and Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl.

User Generated CCG - Interesting!

It looks like somebody is has taken the step I never did and started the process of building a user designed CCG.

I've only given the forum a cursory look, and already the drift seems to be towards the Magic model -> expansions, set rotation, etc. I certainly plan on stirring the pot a little bit.

Check it out!

-Adam!!!