Posted by Jason on July 13th, 2008 — in Conventions, Medical Hospital, Playtest
Yesterday was Collective Con, which turned out to be a very chill house-con in the back of a game store and was roundly great. As it turns out, I got to run playtests of Medical Hospital and Dulse (a first!), hang out with some of my favorite people old and new, and then run some Dogs in the Vineyard.
I learned a ton watching Rafael Chandler chew the scenery in Medical Hospital (it was so priceless to see his arrogant surgeon start to cut a trauma victim’s abdomen open and then launch into a sanctimonious soliloquy about his golf handicap, punctuated by barked orders for sutures and clamps). Then Dulse, which is surprisingly solid. I need to take out one unnecessary rule and think about information design a bit, but it plays very well. Dogs is always fun, and I got to run an old town for three guys new to the game, including one who hadn’t played anything in six years. He liked it!
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Posted by Jason on January 28th, 2008 — in Conventions
First of all, One Cool Thing. Sorry if I missed you - I tried not to bug anyone, filming only people with an obviously free moment.
Dreamation was sort of a busman’s holiday for me - I played played two games (both jeepform) and facilitated what, five? Six? I lost count. It was exhausting.
Grey Ranks went very well. We had six players in two crews, and swapped characters and players after each chapter, which worked great. Here’s the video!
Food Holes is solid, and Remi and I made some important decisions based on actual play. Again, too many players, a split into two groups that came together at the end, and a lot of fun.
Project Bearclaw unraveled into a beautiful mess, and Kevin and I learned a lot about what we’d built, what would work, and what needs to get torn down to the ground.
I slipped in a Business Solutions playtest, and again, it was very productive and filled with laughter, but I didn’t play - just observed. That’s playtesting gold, but more work than fun, you know?
Luke, Clinton, Clyde and I had a (recorded!) discussion/rant about status, prestige, and values in our insular community that will probably provoke some discussion when it is broadcast.
The jeepform stuff was wonderful and really exiting - I’ve been a huge fan for years, literally, but it’s very difficult to communicate across the page and I didn’t feel like I could really implement their techniques until I’d played some. Now I have. Now I will. Seriously, this is a major deal and we’ll see their influence start to grow now that some actual play has gone down.
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Posted by Jason on January 22nd, 2008 — in Conventions
What’s the best part of Dreamation this year?
- Running a game of Grey Ranks with James Brown at the table?
- Playtesting the living hell out of two different fun projects?
- Experiencing jeepform in play for the first time, and meeting Tobias Wrigstad in the process?
- Hob-nobbing with my peeps, making new friends, and playing new games?
All excellent. But the winner is:
- 16 hours in the car with my friends Remi, Joe, and Clinton!
Posted by Jason on August 21st, 2007 — in Conventions
Wow, what a busy week. I learned a lot at Gen Con and returned exhausted and sick but raring to go on a variety of projects. It’s a pretty stimulating environment, and I had the privilege of having some really satisfying and challenging conversations with some really fine people. These conversations will inevitably lead to new and interesting adventures! I also got to playtest a side project (Remi Treuer and I are working on a competitive eating hack of Contenders called Food Holes) and expose myself to some weird and exciting new games and ideas. Steve busted his ass at the IPR booth. Our games were very well received. Demos galore! I had set my expectations for Grey Ranks pretty low, given the subject matter, but people were very enthusiastic about the game. Our scheduled events for Grey Ranks and The Roach went well - thanks to Hans Messersmith for his help! Sincere thanks to everyone who voiced their support for Bully Pulpit Games and what we are doing.
