Design #24 - Warsurge Interview

It's time for another deep dive on another member of the world's wargaming scene: Asmodee. And this time, the money get really big. X-Wing and Star Wars Armada are toast, but why? Who are Asmodee? Where did their money come from and what's going on there that has led to these headline properties being dropped?

Yes, Steamforged Games has bought Warmachine from Privateer Press. I take a look at the context, the background and history of Steamforged Games and what it might all mean for Warmachine and miniatures wargaming in general.

Warning: if you're here for Star Wars content, it's very minimal.  This episode, we look at new releases from   Games Workshop  Corvus Belli  Kromlech  Heresy Miniatures, and Anvil Industry    It's a sci-fi focus, in which I talk about the issues of equipping ultramodern, near future and sci-fi characters with melee weapons, like swords and axes and, yes, lightsabers. The issues are practical, mechanical and ethical.  I reflect upon how this feeds back to my own design work and on the forthcoming Kickstarter campaign.

As a tabletop game designer, what are the factors at play in different settings that you need to be aware of? How do you develop a bespoke setting for a tabletop game? I take a typically rambling look at the subject and, naturally, tie it all back to my favourite subject: myself. Apologies to podcast listeners, because I sometimes forget that you only get the audio, while the video is on YouTube. If you want to get launch notification on the forthcoming Kickstarter, check it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/precinctomega/zero-dark-the-miniatures-line/ If you want to sign up for the newsletter, for behind-the-scenes insight and concept art, you can get it here: https://www.precinctomega.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up Or if you feel moved to support the show, go here: https://www.patreon.com/precinctomega Oh, and that blog I mentioned is here: https://marctgames.wordpress.com/    

In this episode, I look at news from:   Para Bellum Wargames  Oathsworn Miniatures  Wargames Atlantic  Krakon Games  TTCombat  Dream Pod 9 and Black Scorpion    I springboard off that to talk about the issue of mission creep in business and in miniatures wargaming in particular, and the three ways in which a small enterprise (or even a larger one) can find itself drifting into mission creep.   I also talk about how this affected Precinct Omega and led directly to my hiatus last year, and how I've responded to it with a new strategy.   If you're interested in the Precinct Omega miniatures Kickstarter, launching on 1st August, you can sign up for the newsletter here.   Or sign up to get launch notification when the campaign goes live, here.

Somewhat inspired by reference, last week, to the new Horus Heresy release teased by Games Workshop, I stumbled across a couple of other manifestations of retro-style tabletop wargaming in the form of Warzone Eternal, from Res Nova Games, and VOID Squad Tactics, from Seb Games:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... https://www.seb-games.com/ Meanwhile, I've been trying to learn about Kickstarter and how other small producers use the platform innovatively or imaginatively and that led me to the campaigns for Mega Tokyo 6mm Terrain and Hunting Packs of Dogs Miniatures:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... Finally, as will be routine for the next couple of months, I talk about my own plans for Kickstarter. If you'd like to know more, you can subscribe to the newsletter here:  https://www.precinctomega.co.uk/newsl... And you have sign up for launch notification here:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

No pun intended.   I had some technical disagreements with my recording software and after five attempts to record this week's episode I ended up going live on YouTube instead. This might end up being "a thing" in future, because it was relatively painless. If I do it again, I'll give you all some warning, Many thanks to those of you who noticed I was there all the same.   As a small entrepreneur with a markedly rollercoaster ride entering the market, I thought I'd take a look at some examples from others attempting more-or-less the same thing or who have attempted it in the past, to discuss what they have done, why I think they did it, and what defines whether or not they are successful.   I looked at Dream Pod 9, Grey For Now Games, and Para Bellum Wargames.

I've been away. But now I'm back. In this short episode, I talk about what led to me having to step away from both podcasting and Precinct Omega in general, what I learned from the experience and, a little bit, about what's coming up from Precinct Omega now that I'm back.

I've mentioned Warsurge a little on social media, and I thought it was, perhaps, time to bring it more to the fore. So I was pleased when Nick and Rich, two out of its three creators, agreed to come on the podcast and talk about the game. Warsurge is a new miniatures wargame from Australia. They call it "universal", I call it "miniatures agnostic". But regardless, they've got a unique and interesting approach to design and market access that's worth hearing about. And it might even be a pretty good game.  You can find out more here: https://www.warsurge.com/

I didn't realize this was my 50th news episode until I was finishing up the formatting. If it had occurred to me, I would've done something more interesting... and probably more coherent. Here are some links: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thatevilone/roma-ad-astra https://www.northstarfigures.com/ https://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/ https://www.sciborminiatures.com/ https://www.reapermini.com/ https://www.warcradle.com/ https://puppetswar.eu/ https://bitsofwar.com/ https://vanguardminiatures.co.uk/