Countdown to Gen Con 10 days Left Adventure a Week

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Aug 022014
 

Another day gone only 10 days left. Where is the time going? Talk about an absolutely nuts day. It started at 4:45 in the morning. My boys had to march in the Football hall of Fame parade. Took the van in for repairs and I cooked dinner for my parents! I’m tired.

 

Today I’d like to chat about Adventure a Week. If you are a role player in the D20 world this might be worth your time. Every week they publish a new Pathfinder or D&D 3.5 adventure.I’m certainly going to look into it.

 

In March they finished the Rise of the Drow on Kickstarter. It puts the previous PDF’s into print. Plus the book puts some great people,like Owen K.C.Stephens, Jen Page, and Robert Gulver. to work on the stretch goals. I will admit I’ve never seen the PDF, but after seeing the art for the Kickstarter I really want to take an in depth look at the book. I mean it’s Drow and it has a mushroom forest. Something that I had started designing myself. I love the idea and maybe I’ll be lazy and use theirs.

 

They Currently have another Kikckstarter Snow White. An adventure for 6th -8th level characters in a fairy tale adventure. If it keeps climbing stretch goals we will see some great additions from Ed Greenwood, Wolfgang Bauer, and Jen Page. I would really like to see what Wolfang has planned for that deep and dark fairy tale magic.

 

Well it’s late and I’m exhausted. I fell a sleep three times typing this.

 

Til tomorrow take care

Matt

Countdown to Gen Con 11 Days Writer’s Symposium

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Aug 012014
 

The last 24 hours have been fun. I have been hard at work writing the frame work for our Through Gamer Goggles scavenger hunt. It was hard to get through all of that while thinking about all the cool things that the Writer’s Symposium will have going on for the 20th anniversary. Before I go any further I should really share some things with you about the symposium.

Let’s take a look at the program. It starts Thursday at 9:00 A.M. and runs until noon on Sunday, taking a break every night at 9:00 P.M. That is over 120 hours of events. The events come in a variety, panels, seminars, and hands on experience. I have found that they are all beneficial. There will be times when you come away with more knowledge than others. From my experience I believe the key is to participate – engage in discussion with the teachers and attendees. That is how you can get the most from the visit. I highly encourage you to participate in the critiques next year, they are probably sold out already this year. They are your chance to have face to face time with four editors, great elbow rubbing time!

If it were not for several of the friends I made at Gen Con in 2011 through the symposium, it is safe to say I wouldn’t be doing this today. I should also note that if it weren’t for Ryan Hale Through Gamer Goggles would not exist – that’s a different story though. When I first started attending Gen Con it was for the sole purpose of learning about the craft of writing. The symposium gave me so much more. It is a valuable community (most events are free), that gives well beyond the convention.

You meet these authors that are for the most part really easy to talk to and you find them on facebook and bam you get inspired. It works like this. The writers are all about self promotion so you see a great deal of what they accomplish. Which in turn is motivational, at least to me. I figure if they can do it I can too. As a result of the volunteer authors service, I’m currently working on a novel (have to develop the world first), a novella for a very cool game world, and some short fiction. After Gen Con I’m going to pitch some adventures to Adventure a Week and Kobold Press. Oh and because Elizabeth Vaughan suggested I get into a writer’s guild, I ended up as the vice president here in Canton. See what I mean it’s a community that doesn’t end at Gen Con.

 

I’m indebted to the Writer’s Symposium, out of all of my convention experiences it has proven to be the most valuable. I really can’t say enough about the symposium and how deep it goes. I can tell you it has changed me forever.

 

Until tomorrow take care.

 

Matt

 

 

Jul 312014
 

 

It occurred to me that my count might end up off.  That isn’t because I can’t count, it’s much more likely that I might not have the time to make the posts once I arrive in Indy.

It has been a day since I shared my desire to explore The Amega Weapon. Today we will look at aliens. Is it a surprise that there will be aliens at Gen Con? I’m sure that I’m going to leave some out, but I’m really looking forward to checking Alien Uprising from Mr.B. Games, All quiet on the Martian Front, and Mars Attacks.

Continue reading »

Jul 302014
 

13 …

Gen Con isn’t that far away and I can’t wait to start talking about it. We are getting to go and enjoy the show. This is largely because I was confused; I kind of thought I was nominated for an Ennie. When the reality of it was that they hadn’t started voting yet; we were only submitted. My ignorance got the better of me, and I plotted my path to Gen Con. Which, for brevity’s sake, included a Kickstarter to fund the media expedition. It was a long road.

But that is over and the time has come to start sharing with you why I’m truly looking forward to Gen Con this year. Because there are so many things going on at Gen Con I’m going to limit this list to one item a day and it is no way a complete list of what I intend on doing at Gen Con.

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Today’s article might be little longer because it will include some tasks that will happen prior to the convention. I will be arriving Tuesday afternoon to get an early start on the convention. Wednesday I’ll be busy doing interviews and hanging with some friends. The beer tapping is going to be great, but all too short watch for the froth of Khan review on twitter while listening to Five Year Mission. Five Year Mission is the band trekking to write a song about every one of the Original Star Trek episodes. From there I’ll be heading over to the Diana Jones award.

5YM-Comic-Floor

The Diana Jones is very unique because it is awarded off of popularity.  Voting is done by an anonymous committee, which prevents a manufacturer from influencing a vote.  The award focuses on achievement, innovation, and anything that betters the hobby industry.  At least that is how they describe “excellence in gaming”.  Anyone or anything in the games industry is eligible to win.  It’s even cooler that the secret society of voters doesn’t have to give the award.   You can, and in my opinion should, check out the nominees here and be sure to thank the sponsors while at Gen Con this year.

 

Now that the pre-show stuff is out of the way, lets get down to business. These are games, or events that come to my mind frequently when I think of Gen Con this the year. We are going to start with The Amega Weapon from The Amega Weapon LLC. The Amega Weapon is a new board game that create a chaotic environment of change. Players attempt to gain complete control over the galaxy while stabbing each other in the back. It’s new, it’s different, and I want to look into it.

AmegaWeaponGameCollage

I have already talked with the game designer a couple of times about the game. It has an interesting story that starts nearly 30 years ago. Did I mention the art is by Greg Winters? You might not recognize his name but I bet you’ve seen his art, especially if you like Star Wars. You can find them in booth number 2928.

 

Well That is a lot longer than I thought it was going to be.  For reading and I hope to see you at Gen Con.  If you liked this please share or tweet it.   Everyone in our community deserves to know about these awesome events.

Til tomorrow take care,

Matt

 

 

 

Debuting at Gen Con Imperial Settlers from Portal Games

 Board Games, Gen Con 2014, Portal Games  Comments Off on Debuting at Gen Con Imperial Settlers from Portal Games
Jul 292014
 

ISImperial Settlers

$55.99SRP

 

Settlers from four major powers of the world have discovered new lands, with new resources and opportunities. Romans, Barbarians, Egyptians and Japanese all at once move there to expand the boundaries of their empires. They build new buildings to strengthen their economy, they found mines and fields to gather resources, and they build barracks and training grounds to train soldiers. Soon after they discover that this land is far too small for everybody, then the war begins…

 

Imperial Settlersis a card game that lets player lead one of the four factions and build empires by placing buildings, then sending workers to those buildings to acquire new resources and abilities. The game is played over five rounds during which players take various actions in order to explore new lands, build buildings, trade resources, conquer enemies, and thus score victory points.

 

Contains:

220 cards:

– 30 Barbarian cards

– 30 Japanese cards

– 30 Roman cards

– 30 Egyptian cards

– 84 Common cards

– 16 Attack cards

136 Resource markers:

– 32 Food

– 32 Stone

– 32 Wood

– 40 Workers

63 tokens:

– 18 Raze tokens

– 10 Defense tokens

– 24 Gold tokens

– 6 Multiplier tokens

– 1 First player token

– 4 Egyptian special tokens

1 Score board

1 Round marker

4 Faction markers

4 Faction boards

Final Hours for Through Gamer Goggles Gen Con Media Coverage on Kickstarter

 Featured, Gaming News, Gen Con 2014, Kickstarter  Comments Off on Final Hours for Through Gamer Goggles Gen Con Media Coverage on Kickstarter
Jul 192014
 

Gen con 014Our relaunched Kickstarter has been funded largely because of what our first attempt taught us.  Even though our first project was a complete bomb it has been a great ride.  Gosh, I really don’t know how much to bore you here with our experience, so I’m just going to jump into the current project that is much more exciting.   I may touch upon some of the lessons we experienced.

Our current project was funded in just under 24 hours.  Why? Because we discarded all of the promotional items that inflated the funding goal.  This was the secret to our success.   We still have a T-shirt, but we felt the backers who were major contributors needed something more than just the media coverage.  All of our backers are major supporters, by the way, the average daily contribution has been about $70.  We can’t thank you enough for that!

For those of you that have backed this project, I’m not sure if you can see what you’re a part of.   The effort you’ve put forth has opened so many doors and taught me so many things it’s not funny.  Our blog and social media has increased nearly 30% in the last fourteen days, and that is because you have motivated me.  My eyes have been opened, because of you, to what the essence of Through Gamer Goggles  media truly is.  Back to that in a minute.

I believe I will have published 300 videos before Gen Con 2015.  That’s over 100 a year, plus reviews, radio shows, and release information.  Through Gamer Goggles is a happening place.  We offer a tremendous amount of content, but I have failed you.  I have failed because the vision or essence of what is Through Gamer Goggles wasn’t realized until we attempted to fund this successful project.  Through Gamer Goggles (TGG) was born with the vision of blending or balancing our gaming worlds with our real lives.  Not only is that a monumental task but it has proven to be a very difficult one.  Especially since very early on, I became nearly overwhelmed with the processing of game reviews.  But this project has made me realize that I have failed at reflecting my personality in the content.  I mean, I’m one of the most passionate gamers you’ll ever meet.  I go out of my way for the gaming community as a whole by organizing events, judging, and blogging.   I probably know hundreds if not thousands of gamers from such experiences.   So where am I going with all this?   The Gen Con Media project has kind of brought all of this to a head.  I have realized that I want to take a very different approach to media.  We have always been a part of the community and have run events for manufacturers (since 2000), but I don’t think it was enough to make me happy.  Now, you are a part of what we do!  That is the change that I was missing before.  More than ever Through Gamer Goggles is about blending our lives with our gaming world.  Which really means connecting with the gaming community in a unique way.  We’re committed to bridging the gap from manufacturer to gamer by being involved with you!  One of the results will be more of my super stunning personality as we continue to grow.  This will include everything we have done in the past plus more demonstration content and regular radio shows.  I might be rambling so onward to excitement!

The Project is all about going to Gen Con and having a blast with you.  There are some really cool concepts we are trying to do.

The Photo Tier – every backer gets their picture taken and more.

The Coupon Book – Every backer of $20 or more will receive a coupon book (similar to the convention book but smaller).  Currently we’re working with these great companies:

  • Academy Games – Kickstarter exclusive items available from Freedom, Rebellion, and Conflict of Heroes, more details to come. Priceless!
  • Adventure a Week – one month free. Worth about $10.
  • DGS Games – Details Pending
  • Hawk Wargames – Spend X dollars (amount to be determined) and receive a bonus mini.
  • Mr. B. Games
  • And the guys from Pure Steam are offering  free music with the purchase of their alternate Pathfinder setting

This is easily worth the $20.

Coffee with the crew – just as it sounds.

The coolest goal is a backer party.  Basically this will be a dinner where all are invited to have a meal at a yet to be determined location.  I have my eyes set on a steak house.   But we will see what happens.  It would be great for all of us to be in the same place at the same time to share our experiences and just get to know each other.

To celebrate our last hours I have come up with some unique ideas.

BoxRender_STE_ForgedInFire-Small-for-Web-Site-InsertionThe first is a backer give away.   For every ten new backers we get from now until the end of the campaign we will give out prizes to a randomly chosen backer. We are currently at 17 backers, so the prize thresholds are 27, 37, and 47.   I currently have 3 prizes to give away:  Combat Barbarossa 1941 German Infantryman Versus Soviet Rifleman from Osprey Publishing,  Scoundrels of Skullport from GF9, and a signed copy of Forged in Fire for Mage Wars.

Second, I have decided to add another stretch goal – a scavenger hunt.  This will be a simple game.  It will involve backers of any pledge level to run around the exhibitors hall and do things like play games and other neat things.   How dumb is that?   At the end of the day we will meet up and have a drawing to award a daily prize.  So far we have two Mage Wars Core Set and a copy of Forged in Fire from Arcane Wonders.   That is two days of dashing from game to game.   Who knows, we may create some other wacky ideas beyond game hunting.  In either case it will be a lot of fun.

Like I said the Kickstarter is a door opener.  It has started several new friendships, given us new direction and realization.  While we’ve focused on Box Breakings, Figure Forges, Flip Throughs, and written reviews, you’re going to see more engagement from us.   Beyond that we are going to strive to connect the manufacturers with you in an engaging way, while we continue to push the pace into news and media in exciting ways.   Will we be perfect?  No, but we have already proven that we learn from our mistakes, and that result means we will see you at Gen Con 2014 AND at Gen Con 2015!   My only question is will you be part of our future?

Thanks,

Matt Lemke

 

 

Jul 082014
 

Gen con 014I’m proud to announce that our fans have backed us in our kickstarter endeavors and  we can now start safely planning our trip to Gen Con 2014.

I have to thank all of our current and future backers.   We look forward to bring you great media coverage from Gen Con .   Here is a list of some of the highlights we have planned

Interview with Uwe Eickert from Academy games on Kickstarter.

More from Catalyst Game Labs

An in depth look at the New Heavy Gear rules from Dream Pod 9

The new Mage Wars Game

and so much more.

 

There is still time for you to get in on our kickstarter.

 

Forged in Fire Signing with Bryan Pope

 Arcane Wonders, CCG, Featured, Gen Con 2014, Mage Wars, Origins 2014  Comments Off on Forged in Fire Signing with Bryan Pope
Jun 152014
 

Warning the exhibit hall is quite loud. Bryan Pope , producer and creator of the smash hit Mage Wars, from Arcane Wonders shows his support to Through Gamer Goggles by signing Copies of Forged in Fire. These copies are available as a pledge on Through Gamer Goggles Kickstarter you can find it here.     I have to put a special thanks out to Arcane Wonders for making this happen – especially Bryan Pope.

The Convention Experience is Live on Kickstarter

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Jun 092014
 

Gen con 014I am proud to announce that our Kickstarter project is live!  The project is all about what it means to attend a convention on a media level as well as an attendee.  Which is really pretty loaded.  But it is really so much more than those simple words.  The project reflects who we are at Through Gamer Goggles.

It will go beyond just footage of the convention and create personal experiences of backers.  It took me quite a bit of time to figure out a way that I could give this project back to those who support it with a little more meaning.

Check it out on Kickstarter!

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The Convention Experience a Project by Through Gamer Goggles

 Featured, Gaming News, Gen Con 2014, Kickstarter  Comments Off on The Convention Experience a Project by Through Gamer Goggles
Jun 062014
 

Gen con 014Hey Friends,

 

Real soon we are going to launch our Kickstarter project the Convention Experience.   While most of the details will be brought to you by the project I wanted to take some time and share with you why this is personal to me.   Sometimes I feel that the blog is too impersonal and you don’t get to see how passionate I am.  That is something that bothers me.   This is my opportunity to share something with you that goes beyond mere coverage and start to make the change.

When I was challenged to start this blog by my friend, Ryan Hale, it was intended that the coverage was going to be news, reviews and the blending of real life with gaming.   I think I’ve had some great successes and that I am still trying to find my footing in some areas.  With almost 300 YouTube videos published it is clear where I’ve succeeded.   But I feel a need to do more,  I am going to return the original vision and add more real life to the blog.  I really can’t think of a better place to start than Gen Con.

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