Origins debriefing

[Ron Edwards]

Hi everyone,

Here's my Origins Report! I'll start by clarifying that Origins is one of the two big player-targeted gaming conventions, sponsored by GAMA (the Game Manufacturer's Association), which also puts on the GAMA Trade Show (GTS) that I talked about earlier this year. The other big gaming convention is GenCon, owned until recently by TSR.

Okay then. This year, I attended to promote Sorcerer at the Tundra Sales Organization booth. Booth costs at Origins are pricey, and it really isn't cost-effective to get booths both for it and for GenCon; also, sales tend to be high at GenCon and low at Origins. So I did as I did with the GTS: hang out at the Tundra booth and promote as many of the games as possible, Sorcerer included.

Here are some highlights to know about.

1) The ARMA demonstration by John Clements was outstanding. For those of you who don't know, ARMA is the American Renaissance Martial Arts group which has approved the game The Riddle of Steel. John is the head of ARMA, and he's an impressive demonstrator, both in his skills and his ability to convey a lot of complex information quickly. He gave two demos at the con (and one impromptu one just for me!).

2) The awards! Check out the Origins site to learn more about them. Little Fears did not win the best game for 2001, but it did get a rousing cheer from the Forge attendees. As far as we were concerned, it won hands down.

3) New games and game stuff ... The Riddle of Steel was there in its rousing new edition, which looks mighty spiffy. The cover for the upcoming Sorcery and the Fey supplement was so beautiful it hurts. Children of the Sun is out, also very beautiful, and by all accounts heavily pre-ordered. So congratulations go to Jake Norwood and Lewis Pollack; if anyone uses the term "vanity press" or "amateur publishing" in your presence, point to these games and look smug.

Some other creator-owned stuff should be mentioned. First is Starchildren - Rich Ranallo and Scott Leaton, my favorite two glittermen, were showin' around their pre-print mockup of Starchildren, which I cannot, cannot bear to wait until GenCon for. My biggest regret of the show was not getting them to run a demo for us. But the game is at the printer, and it's gonna be there for GenCon, and I urge everyone to budget for it. I managed to beg one of their mockup copies from them, and it's incredibly well written and full of attitude.

Second is Heartquest, by Michael Hopcroft. This game's at the printer too. You know? It's a great idea. The topic is exactly that style of relationship-centered action/adventure that we've been kicking around here for a long time, set in a style of anime called "Magical Girls." Don't scoff. It looks really interesting and Michael apparently worked hard for the action stuff to mean something in terms of relationships and (in the best sense) soap opera. If Peter Parker were a girl, then Heartquest would be the game to play Spider-Man with. I also like the fact that it's a creator-owned game using a creator-owned Open License, specifically, Fudge.

Third is Deathstalkers, which I learned about here for the first time. It's a huge and beautifully rendered game. It's also a Fantasy Heartbreaker, which I hope people understand is not a derogatory term, and anything I have to say about it is already present in my article about these games.

Various other non-creator-owned stuff was kicking around as well, including Hero Systems Fifth Edition, and so on. Not a shred of WotC stuff was present, which was interesting ... I'm sure there's a story there, whatever it might be.

4) The best thing about Origins for me was the tremendous camaraderie and excitement among Forge folks who showed up. For some people, the absence of WotC, as well as the lack of Big Ass New Games from White Wolf or AEG, might have indicated some kind of "industry slump." Not for me. The underground lives and we are it. This con brought together, Jake, Jason, Mike Holmes, Ralph, Jared, and me, among others, and the result was scary. The actual play stuff is presented in that forum, but as for the con in general, it was the strategy session, as well as the pre-game pep rally, for the massive effort at GenCon.

Right now, I am extremely ready to rock.

Best,
Ron

[Mike Holmes]

Comments on Ron's points:

1) I could not agree more, John Clements was amazing, both from a skill and knowledge vantage. I would recommend going to see him to anyone.

2) The funniest moment of the Awards was when Chainmail recieved the award for Best New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Miniatures rules. In an irony that was lost on nobody, WOTC had cancelled the game after only nine months of support. Needless to say the designer was had a bit of mixed emotions upon recieving the award, and let everyone know how he felt. James Earnest of Cheapass who Emceed the event came out after the award was given and the designer had had his say, and going back into his patter said, "We had worked up a joke about this, but nothing beats real bitterness."

3) TROS Rocks! Got to play a demo and one real session with the man himself, Jake. Snached up a a copy, and I'm already trying to get a group together to play. Also demoed Children of the Sun. Lush, kids, lush. Got me one a dem as well. That copy of Starchildren looked pretty cool with some of Tom Back's artwork I noted. Ooh, and I got another sneak preview of Trollbabe.

I thought I did see WOTC there. Maybe it was a mirage, or maybe I've just been to one too many Cons.

4) As expected, great fun with everyone. GenCon is ours! Rock on, indeed.


I think Ron covered it pretty well from our angle. I played quite a few games (it's not just an RPG convention for me), and had a blast. As always, I can only recommend the major Cons.

Mike

[Ron Edwards]

Hey,

I forgot to mention Chain of Being, a game which is being produced by a new company called Limestone Publishing. These guys talked to me last year at GenCon and I think they're following a good production model. Right now, the game is planned to be released as a PDF, and the interesting part is that you can buy it using their system or as a D20 game. That's a good idea, if one is going with the D20 thing at all.

As for what Chain of Being's about, suffice to say that this is what Hackmaster should have been: fantasy-gaming parody that doesn't hesitate to seek out the soft, inner tissue.

Best,
Ron

[Jake Norwood]

John C. had a mega-swell time, and looks forward to playing and attending Cons again. I might also add that Ron and the gang did a great job of showing John C. that gaming was about more than dungeons and treasure.

I'd say the few games I played were some of the highlights of my more recent gamer career. From a playing perspective alone, Origins was great. I also really enjoyed meeting and playing with so many of the guys from the Forge whom I only knew by name.

Can't wait for GenCon. Really.

Jake

[Misguided Games]

It was a good show.  I'm still tired.  Looking forward to doing more actual sales at GenCon.  Good to see so many folks again and meet some new ones as well.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Even without a table, I found Origins utterly exhausting. But a great deal of fun. i'll have to do it again next year, only with a share of a table, better planning, and my fiance along.

I appreciate Ron's kind words about HeartQuest, and expect magic girls to be the most played genre (at least at the start). One of the highlights of the con for me was getting some original art for one of my sample campaigns. Sadly, I found out as soon as I got back that UPS had destoryed the proofs I'd sent back to the printer, resulting in a two-week delay in the production of the book. It's a good thing I didn't buy one of those swords....

I got to meet a lot of small press people, some Forge and some not. My long talk with Ron Edwards was very encouraging, and I'm glad to see he likes my book. I hope a lot of other people like my book. I got praise from, among other people, the White Wolf rep and the Guardians of Order art guru (he didn;t get to go into detail, but he enjoyed the layout).

Now if only I can get a book ready in time for GenCon. I didn;lt get to talk much to FUDGE guru Ann Dupuis, who has painted a generally grim picture of my chances recently, nor did I run into anyone from some of the other on-line publishers I've been dealing with. I was told by several people that my choice of fulfillment houses (not that I had much of a choice -- I had to go with whoevere would take me!) was disastrous bordering on suicidal.

Thanks to horrific planning regarding my lodgings, I spent about $125 on taxicabs that I should have spent on games....

I don't think I ate nealry well enough, mainly because not one person was willing to spot me for a decent sit-down meal.