A fellow I don’t know (who is probably Paul Alexander Williams, whom I still don’t know) has written an excellent review of Shock: over on his Livejournal. He uses The Chronicles of Riddick as a running example, which is great. I thought I was the only person who liked it.
Steve Jackson’s (of GURPS, Munchkin, and Car Wars fame) Pyramid Magazine has posted a review of Under the Bed by Matthew Pook. It’s a very factual review and tells it like it is, warts and all. Pook is ambivalent about the amount of constant player input the game requires, which is totally understandable — I often think about that aspect of the game, as well — and he properly sees that it’s a serious challenge, but also a strength of the game.
Ben Lehman loves the game and he’s totally the target market for the game, so I’m satisfied with it. Pook is less forgiving but in all the right places. He correctly perceives that the game is hard to play but rewarding when it works out.
I do wish that I’d written more examples, but the manual was an experiment in purely procedural writing. That lesson’s already been applied elsewhere, though.
Shock: applies a lot of what I learned from Under the Bed in new ways: authority is very strictly assigned and subdivided into many types (Minutiæ, Protagonist, Antagonist, Shocks, and Issues) to guide the players in ways that Under the Bed doesn’t. It also reinforces its thematic direction more strongly than UtB. I happen to know that Pook owns a copy of Shock: so I’m hoping to see a review of that, too.
Well, the interview went great. I embarrassed myself to a bare minimum despite difficulties hearing each other. The Gamestas are great fun and you should listen to their podcasts.
They tell me that it’ll be episode 14, up in a couple of weeks. I hope they edit the shit out of it.
* Actually, I can’t make armpit fart noises.
You know how cool Boba Fett is? And while we’re at it, Bossk? And, well, maybe IG-88 and Zuckuss? And you know how not cool Dengar and Greedo are?
Well, in the interest of my fans being the awesomest (and not the shot-in-the-cantinaest), I’m offering a bounty. Some, like Thor and Eric, have already turned in some heads and will be suitably rewarded.
Here’s what you can do.
Find me errors in Shock: that no one’s found before. You can track the found errors in the Shock: Errata thread on Xenoglyph and over on the glyphpress forum on The Forge. You have to own the book to gain your bounty hunter certification.
If I use your error report in the next version of Shock: you will be sent a copy of the next version of the game signed with thanks for the valuable service you have provided.
Errors that are valid for hunting and execution:
These are all subject to my judgement, particularly the “rules inconsistencies” bit. But you’ll get gold for your head if it’s what I’m after.
No disintegrations.
Hooray! I’ve finally gotten to the bottom of my Shock: shipments! That means that you should have your game in the next couple of days at the longest if you live in the US, or in a week or so if you live in Europe. If you live in rural Scandinavia or Australia, it may take a bit longer.
Enjoy your games, everyone. I look forward to feedback.
Oh, and please check the Errata before playing. There’s a really important rule that I can’t find in the book for the life of me.
Those of you who requested so in the last post are getting your copies of Shock: mailed tomorrow morning before I leave for GenCon. Pictured above is me signing and numbering the pre-orders (and, given the look on my face, trying to figure out who I missed). A lot of people I expect to see at GenCon, so I’m bringing your pre-signed copies along. Don’t pester Brennan, though, if you’ve pre-ordered a copy; only I know which Michael the books go to, for instance. I mean, pester him if you want to buy another copy, but not for your signed and numbered pre-ordered copy.
In other news, I saw Vincent’s Mechaton books today. I love its tone. The instructions are all questions and answers. He’ll be selling the rules for $7 and a kit with a bunch of mecha for like $45 (I don’t remember exactly).
I built a new mecha just for GenCon. It’s badass. It gets Yellows from its command flags. I’m pleased about that. You wanna see it, you better come play with us.
70 lbs. of orange squares just showed up on my doorstep. I’m really frickin’ happy with them. Really happy. If you’d like your copy sent out before GenCon, drop me a line. I may be able to send some out on Monday! Otherwise, you’ll have to wait a week to get them from me or through IPR. Also, if you want to order one from me now for shipping on Monday, even if you didn’t pre-order, order away!
The first supplement for The Mountain Witch will be at GenCon this year, Kwaidan: Tales of Ghostly Japan. It’s a collection of Lafcadio Hearn’s stories and poetry edited by Timothy Walters Kleinert with book design by me. You could consider it an extended bestiary for The Mountain Witch, which is how Timothy considers it. I’m very happy with the way the book turned out, in no small part due to the extraordinary cover illustration by W. Don Flores, whose work graces the pages of the game itself.
It’ll be available at GenCon at the Forge booth, #1237, alongside The Mountain Witch, Shock:, Under the Bed, Dogs in the Vineyard, The Princes’ Kingdom, The Shadow of Yesterday, and lots of other good stuff (that, unlike these, I don’t have my fingers in). Come visit us, play some demos, and pick up some creator-owned games!
