Thanks to this column, I’m 2 for 5 on interviewing my Personal Heroes at this point. First Jim Butcher, now the amazing Felicia Day. I would like to point out that Felicia types faster than some authors I’ve done chat interviews with, and possibly types faster than me. And I’ve got six years data entry experience.
Abstruse: Good morning, Felicia.
Felicia Day: Good morning! We can start whenever!
Abstruse: Sorry. I quit smoking yesterday so my attention span has been shot. Thank you for taking the time out to talk with me.
Felicia: ha!
Abstruse: I know how important it is because seriously, how do you find time for everything?
Felicia: I don't hahaha. Drowning is my hobby :)
Abstruse: It's been over two months since you launched the Twitch channel. How do you think it's going so far?
Felicia: I'm blown away by how fast we've grown, but most importantly, incredibly grateful for the community that has built up around the channel.
Felicia: I have always been mostly motivated by interaction with the fans, and Twitch is a platform that really supports that in an amazing way, that one-to-one connection.
Abstruse: Yeah, the chatroom is inducting Kiki into our particular brand of insanity at the moment in #TeamNoStream.
Felicia: :) I love that! I love in-jokes, I love when people connect around something they love, that's what drives me and keeps in in the digital world.
Abstruse: You've got a lot more tabletop-related content than most other Twitch channels, who tend to be focused on video games. How did that decision come about?
Felicia: Tabletop is a big area for my company Geek and Sundry. Our biggest show for years has been my friend Wil Wheaton's show Tabletop, so we knew that gaming of that type had to be involved with our Twitch programming. I'm into collaborative and social gaming, so it's a natural area for us to explore.
Also, it provides a way for the audience to interact more, and hopefully be inspired to pick up a board game or RPG themselves. I'm not into making things people passively consume, I want what we make to be additive and different ways, and that's why I love this kind of gaming.
Abstruse: There's been a lot of people inspired. We've got I believe seven ongoing D&D campaigns at http://teamdemihooman.com already. I also noticed that your hosts are incredibly diverse. Unless I'm mistaken, the only white male host you have on the Twitch channel is Ivan Van Norman. Was that conscious, or did it just fall into place that way
Felicia: I like to look at the world around me and think, "Hmm, how can we reflect that instead of what we see on TV, which is mostly attractive young white people?" So yes, definitely conscious. Zac Eubank, who runs our Twitch channel, also brought this in as a priority when crafting and casting the channel. Representing the world more diversely with our content is important, because that's how you change the perception of what a "host" is, or what a "gamer" is. Those cliches aren't even accurate, so why play into them?
Abstruse: Speaking of Zac, how did he come to be involved? I honestly worry he might be an android as much time as he puts into the stream…
Felicia: Zac might actually be an android, I'm continually worried about him running out of batteries, haha. He actually worked as the DP on a scripted show we had, and in interviewing people to head up the Twitch channel, his experience on another channel previously qualified him as the best person. He is amazing and the channel wouldn't be anything without him. So I am glad the chat room keeps him fed well by sending pizzas.
Abstruse: And wrote him a song…
Felicia: The idea to do Twitch came from me backing up and trying to tend to my own thing outside of G&S last fall. I started streaming solo as a hobby apart from work, and the community that grew was so inspiring I knew my company had to be involved. It really harkens back to 2007 and the reason I worked so hard on The Guild: The fans felt ownership over the show, helped the show, were physically IN the show, and that sense of community got me through all the hard places. Being a YouTube funded channel was an amazing opportunity, but YouTube just doesn't foster community in any way like Twitch. I frankly get depressed going back and forth between the two, because the YT audience is so unregulatable and toxic in a lot of ways.
Abstruse: Yet the Twitch community for both your personal stream and for Geek & Sundry are some of the nicest, coolest, and most dedicated people out there. Why do you think it's so different?
Felicia: Because the audience has the power to regulate the tone. You can't have anarchy and expect anything positive to come out of it. Anarchy + Anonymity = Toxicity. The mods literally create the community, I can't be playing a game for 3 hours AND banning people AND encouraging people to subscribe to support, AND dealing with a person who might come in with a negative attitude but could be persuaded to join in the conversation more politely if encouraged. That is a ton of work that dozens of people take on for us. In turn, we create a club house with an open door to people who want to be positive and supportive. It's great.
Abstruse: Let's shift gears and talk about some of the YouTube shows. Tabletop Season 3 is about halfway over. How do you think the show is doing now that it's fan-supported?
Felicia: The show is doing great, our numbers are even bigger than last season. I think Tabletop gaming is entering a renaissance, and I'm proud of our being the first out of the gate
Abstruse: So Titansgrave has finished production as well. Were you involved in that at all, or did you let Wil and his team go free?
Felicia: I was moderately involved in the beginning and have a bigger role in post. I'm always very conscious of being separated enough from the production early on so that I can have an objective eye in editing. "Will everyone understand this? Is there an area where I'm confused?" The greatest part of Titansgrave is Wil's imagination and DM skills coming to life. He is so fun to watch and the world he's built is fantastic, I am hoping it will go on from one season into many just as Tabletop has done!
Abstruse: Do you have a release date in mind yet, or is it too early in post?
Felicia: Early to mid June.
Abstruse: What is the future of Tabletop and Titansgrave? Will you do another crowdfunding for more seasons, or try something else?
Felicia: We are looking at options now.
Abstruse: So Felicia Day. Actress, screenwriter, producer...and now Bestselling Author?
Felicia: I hope so! I spent a year on the memoir, lots of gaming background in there, and I'm very proud of it. Fancy people are blurbing it…I am pretty psyched!
Abstruse: What was the process like writing with everything else going on?
Felicia: It was difficult to carve out the time, but when I have something creative I'm passionate about, I get very focused. Going forward I'm concentrating on writing and creating, so it was a great jump start to that.
Abstruse: How did Critical Role come about? (Note: Critical Role is the biggest hit show so far from the Geek & Sundry Twitch channel, where voice actor Matt Mercer runs a game of Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition in a custom setting with house rules since they converted their 2 year long compaign from Pathfinder) for eight other actors, some of whom you’ll recognize.)
Felicia: I knew about Matt Mercer's group for a few years and was dying to work with him and get D&D on our channel. Things never lined up, but the idea of doing it live was appealing, and Matt agreed! I knew it was going to be a hit, and it has, thank goodness.
Felicia: I have played D&D in a few very long campaigns and know how riveting the storytelling can be, it's just not as well known as it needs to be
Abstruse: Does it translate to live video as much as you hoped it would?
Felicia: I think it's even better live than it would be recorded. I'd love to see a stage show tour, but I have crazy big ideas haha. Just building the group's popularity where it is is our goal, and supporting our performers so we can keep going for campaign after campaign!
Abstruse: Someone mentioned the possibility of a live stream from the G&S Lounge at SDCC I believe…
Felicia: We will see.
So Felicia is involved in a lot of stuff, so I think these are all the relevant links. Geek & Sundry’s website, Felicia’s personal website, the Geek & Sundry YouTube Channel, the Geek & Sundry Twitch Channel, Felicia’s Twitter, and a link to Felicia’s new book.
John Kovalic is a name you should know if you’re a gamer. His DORK TOWER comic strips are legendary, and if that art style looks familiar, it’s because he’s drawn almost every single MUNCHKIN card in existence. He’s also a fair hand at game design as well, especially very simple yet fun party games. And DOUBLE FEATURE is no exception. This is the movie trivia game you can pull out for your friends who don’t know any movie trivia, since the only trivia you need to know is just having seen movies.
This party game uses a judging system, and while the game box says it’s for 4-10 players, you can easily get away with as few as three. I think 10 players may be too many for this game as it gets a little anarchic, but the sweet spot seems to be 4-8 players.
Like most party games, the rules are dead simple to learn. Each turn you have a new Director, who acts as judge for the round. You set up six different piles of cards - Characters, Props, Production, Scenes, Setting, and Theme & Genre. Each card lists, well, exactly what it says on the tin. Characters lists a few different character types, like “A hippy, a yuppie, or a zombie” or “is filthy or filthy rich”. Props list a single prop (“a vehicle with unusual features”) or a few props (“a pipe, a wrench, or a candlestick”). Production involves aspects about the film, like “Based on a TV show, play, or toy” or “Title has a number in it but isn’t a sequel”. Scenes describe various scenes in the film, like “A dance sequence” or “At a birth, a wedding, or a funeral”. Setting is literally where a film is set, from abstract like “In the future” or more specific like “In the British Isles or New England”. Theme & Genre are very abstract, like “Coming of Age” or “Road trip”.
At the start of the round, the Director chooses two cards from different piles, then reads them aloud. Here’s where the chaos comes in...everyone else shouts out the first film that meets both requirements. The Director is the final judge as to whether or not it counts, and the Director doesn’t have to have seen the film in question if you’re convincing enough. In our first playthrough, I saw someone trying to argue that STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE counted as a “road trip” because of how much time they spent in the Falcon going random places. It’s up to the Director whether or not to buy these arguments, but the Director MUST go in order of answers given without skipping anyone. The first person the Director states met the two qualities gets a point, and the person on his/her left is the new Director. Whoever gets to a certain number of points (fewer points required the more people you have playing) wins.
The first chance I got to play this game was actually at Tabletop Day, and it proved popular enough that it came out three times throughout the day. Everyone loves a good trivia game, especially when they don’t actually have to know actual trivia. We had a good mix of hardcore film nerds throwing out obscure Korean horror films or silent-era films and “I’ve got a Netflix account for when I’m bored I guess” casual movie fans, and everyone had a blast without feeling left out of the action.
There are a couple of minor nitpicks. The game has what is derisively known online as the Fantasy Flight Card Box. If you don’t know what that is, it means the box is far larger than the cards and has a cardboard insert with a trench in the middle that’s supposed to hold the cards, but really just mixes the damn things up. Go buy a MAGIC: THE GATHERING large deck box and use that instead, save yourself the hassle. Also, the game scales up poorly for a party game because everyone’s shouting out answers. It gets hard once you have more than about 6 players to remember who said what in which order while you’re Director. I couldn’t begin to imagine a 10 person game. This is easily fixed by adding in something to determine who is first before answering, like playing slapjack for those who want to answer or even finding a buzz-in app for your phone.
But like I said, those are both minor nitpicks easily fixed. I honestly expect this game to become my go-to party game in the future, even over the perennial favorite of CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY. That’s about the highest praise I’m capable of giving to a party game. If you’re an Ain’t It Cool News reader and a tabletop gamer, John Kovolic made this game exactly for you, so go buy it now!
News is always slow this time of year, with Origins and Gen Con just over the horizon. Everyone loves to save up their announcements for the two big trade shows. However, two interesting things have come through Wizards of the Coast. Following the current Elemental Evil plotline running through Adventure League and the published adventures will be RAGE OF DEMONS. The first adventure, OUT OF THE ABYSS, is available for pre-order now. Right now, details are sparse but we do know that the problems are caused by Drow Archmage Gromph Baenre, who accidentally opened several portals to the Abyss. The party will interact with fan favorite (or loathed Mary Sue, depending on who you ask) Drizzt Do’Urden, a name so well known that my spellcheck recognizes it. The new adventure path starts this September (possibly at Gen Con if you’re able to attend).
If you’ve just wanted absolutely nothing to do with D&D 5th Edition and want your 3.5 back, Wizards of the Coast has you covered there now too. The Player’s Handbook, Dungeonmaster’s Guide, and Monster Manual for 3.5 Edition are all now available for purchase in PDF format for just $9.99 each! This joins the plethora of other material already released for the edition online, bringing a lot of classic sourcebooks and adventures back into print.
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With the glut on the market of zombie games, something has to be really special to make it on my radar. And of course, a new edition of the amazing OUTBREAK: UNDEAD is one of those games. This fast-playing and unique horror game puts you - as in literally YOU - in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. An online survey turns your own physical and mental abilities into a character in the game so you can find out exactly how well your zombie plan would work. Of course, there’s also traditional character creation as well. A $40 pledge gets you the Starter Kit with everything you need to play including dice. There’s upgrades for even more options, and several stretch goals to unlock before this funded Kickstarter ends on June 11.
From the horrible to the adorable, we have NO THANK YOU, EVIL! There’s only a handful of tabletop RPGs designed specifically for families and very young children, so seeing Monte Cook Games throw their hat into this ring makes me happy. Rated for 5 years old and up, the gameplay is straightforward and scalable, so that you add complexity to the characters and the system as the children grasp the concepts involved. A print and play version is available for a $20 pledge, while the boxed set is available for $40. This project is fully funded and has a few stretch goals left to unlock before June 17.
BLACKOUT: JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS takes the dungeon crawl board game genre to a dark fantasy-inspired post apocalyptic world. The system is flexible enough to allow GM-guided play, cooperative games, or solo runs as you play a group of Outlanders, troubleshooters able to survive on the dangerous surface world. There’s still a few early bird pledge levels remaining at lower prices, but no matter when you get in, you can get a copy of the game and the stretch goals left to unlock for $95. This project runs until June 20.
Our final Kickstarter is an exercise in how tone and presentation can make similar concepts completely different. Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Pinnacle Entertainment Group and designer Shane Hensley present to you a Savage Worlds campaign setting where the old west meets horror. No, I’m not talking about DEADLANDS, this is the new setting based on the Oni Press comic, THE SIXTH GUN. While the genre-bending remains the same, the worlds themselves are presented with a completely different style that makes each feel unique. However, fans of DEADLANDS will be glad to know that all the material in THE SIXTH GUN is compatible with DEADLANDS! Digital downloads of the game rules are a $25 pledge away, while $30 and $35 get you a softcover or hardcover of the rulebook respectively. This Kickstarter has blown its goal away and still has a long time left before it ends on June 25.
That’s all for this column. Next time, I’ll have a rundown of what went down at Comicpalooza from a gaming perspective and a review of PATHFINDER UNCHAINED, the new sourcebook from Paizo. As always, you can find me on Twitter @Abstruse, on my show at Gamer’s Tavern, on my Twitch channel, or on YouTube. If you have any gaming news to report, email me at abstruse@gamerstavern.org!
