[Q&A] Caias Ward (Trigger Happy)

[19:06] <+Caias> I’m Caias Ward, a designer located in New Jersey. I’ve written stuff for Aetherco (Continuum), Pinnacle (Path of Kane), SJGames (Pyramid Magazine) and Super Genius Games (Strike Force 7). I’m currently Kickstarting Trigger Happy, the RPG of Action, Crime and the World Which Hates You.

[Q&A] John Berry (Arcana Rising)

[19:03] <+J_Arcana_Rising> I am John Berry, founder of Bedroom Wall Press, and author of the currently Kickstarting Arcana Rising.

[19:04] <+J_Arcana_Rising> Arcana Rising is an urban fantasy roleplaying game that aims to marry old-school D&D with a modern setting, and is powered by the same system as the best-selling Hulks and Horrors.

[Q&A] Luke Verge (“The Quest”)

[19:11] <+LukeQuestCasting> Jasmine and I work for Profiles TV and we teamed up with an executive producer from LOTR to make the first ever action adventure show

[19:11] <+LukeQuestCasting> so basically its going to be Amazing Race in Middle Earth

[19:12] <+LukeQuestCasting> Jasmine and I are the casting team that are headed to Dallas next weekend

---

[19:12] <+LukeQuestCasting> Done

[19:12] <~Dan> Thanks, Luke!

[19:12] <+LukeQuestCasting> (done)

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[19:12] <+LukeQuestCasting> oops

[19:12] <~Dan> Would anyone like to get us started with a question?

[19:13] <~Dan> I’ll start us off, then!

[19:13] <~Dan> Luke: The Amazing Race travels all over the world. How will the Quest mirror that?

[19:14] <+Sean_Punch> What level of consulting have you done with people in the traditional pen-and-paper adventure games industry?

[19:14] <+LukeQuestCasting> you guys will be in a set secret location it is similar to the Amazing Race because it is an action adventure show

[19:14] <~Dan> (I’ll go ahead and call for a question pause there.)

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[19:15] <+LukeQuestCasting> Sean we have teamed up with one of the executive producers of LOTR and let me tell you he has gamed since he was a kid. So he has a huge background in it

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[19:17] <+LukeQuestCasting> (done)

[19:17] <~Dan> So is the show a bit more like, say, “Survivor,” except a fantasy location instead of an island?

[19:17] <+Silverlion> Sounds awesome…

[19:17] <~Dan> (Silverlion here is another of our local game authors. 🙂 )

[19:18] <+LukeQuestCasting> It is a competition reality show, but it is going to be like no other. It is the first season so I really dont know what it will entail

[19:19] <+Silverlion> Alas, I must run pick up my wife.

[19:19] <+Silverlion> BBS

[19:19] <~Dan> Do you know the sort of participant breakdown they’re looking for? For example, are you looking for one gamer, one Harry Potter guy, one horror fanatic, etc.?

[19:20] <~Dan> (Or you’re looking for, as the case may be. 🙂 )

[19:20] <+LukeQuestCasting> We are looking for all types of ppl that are fun and energetic. So no we dont have one specific genre we need to cover

[19:21] <+LukeQuestCasting> RPG players are good because this is a fantasy adventure show and we are looking for ppl interested in that genre

[19:21] * ~Dan nods

[19:22] <~Dan> Do you know how much “roleplaying” will go into the show? (As in, people actually “getting into character”?)

[19:22] <+LukeQuestCasting> no idea

[19:23] <+LukeQuestCasting> I think we want you to be you in your own character

[19:23] <~Dan> Ah… as in people being themselves?

[19:23] <+LukeQuestCasting> it is YOUR chance to be the hero of your own story not your characters

[19:23] <~Dan> I see. Cool. 🙂

[19:24] <~Dan> Are there any specific requirements regarding athletic ability?

[19:24] <+LukeQuestCasting> no not at all

[19:25] <+LukeQuestCasting> thats a common misunderstanding in competiton shows

[19:25] <~Dan> And based upon my conversation with Jasmine, I gather that the balance of “brains vs. brawn” is still being worked out?

[19:25] <+LukeQuestCasting> we are not always looking for the biggest adn strongest

[19:25] * ~Dan nods

[19:25] <+LukeQuestCasting> ya there could be a mental based challange that brains will be needed over brawn

[19:27] <~Dan> What’s your background with the fantasy genre, and was it part of what got you this particular job?

[19:27] <+LukeQuestCasting> Ive been a gamer since diapers

[19:28] <+LukeQuestCasting> literally have a triforce tattoo

[19:28] <~Dan> Nice. 🙂

[19:29] <~Dan> So, what were you working on prior to The Quest?

[19:29] <+LukeQuestCasting> I have worked on a bunch of different shows. from Supernanny to a show called Escape Routes

[19:30] <+LukeQuestCasting> so I bounce all over the spectrum but I like to do feel good shows or action adventure.

[19:30] <+LukeQuestCasting> i stay away from that Jerry Springer stuff hahaha

[19:30] <~Dan> Did the call go out for someone with some geek creds to handle casting for The Quest? Or did they know right off that you were their guy?

[19:31] <~Dan> (LOL re: Jerry Springer)

[19:32] <+LukeQuestCasting> haha I do have a background in casting first and it helps that I am a nerd

[19:32] <+LukeQuestCasting> but our entire team has some aspects covered

[19:32] <+LukeQuestCasting> example our other casting director Kristin is the BIGGEST Harry Potter fanatic on the planet

[19:33] <~Dan> Heh. Awesome. 🙂

[19:33] <+LukeQuestCasting> shes always sneaking those gross jelly beans into my candy stash

[19:33] <~Dan> Ewwww. Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. Heh.

[19:34] <~Dan> So in both of your cases, this job was something you’d be doing anyway, but that just happens to be a chance to let you draw on your passions?

[19:34] <+LukeQuestCasting> exactly

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[19:35] <~Dan> That’s a truly special opportunity. I envy you!

[19:35] <+LukeQuestCasting> I ENVY YOU GUYS

[19:35] <+LukeQuestCasting> sadly since I work on the show I cant try out

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[19:36] <~Dan> (Hello, fantomx11! The Quest Q&A in progress! Ask any questions as you like. 🙂 )

[19:36] <~Dan> Do you know how long people would need to be available to film the show?

[19:36] <+LukeQuestCasting> I wish I could be Link and tearing up some bad guys

[19:37] <+LukeQuestCasting> as of right now its 21 days in August but that could change so dont quote me on it

[19:37] * ~Dan nods

[19:37] <~Dan> How hard is that for people to do, generally speaking? Do you find a lot of people who’d be ideal for a given show but who just can’t get away to do it?

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[19:39] <+LukeQuestCasting> No not at all

[19:39] <+LukeQuestCasting> heres the thing if you are passionate about something you will find a way to do it.

[19:39] <+LukeQuestCasting> and this show is the chance of a lifetime so the ppl we want will make it happen

[19:40] <~Dan> Good point.

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[19:40] <~Dan> I’m fortunate enough to work for a boss who was an old school D&D player back in the day, so I suspect she’d approve. 🙂

[19:41] <+LukeQuestCasting> haha thats always a plus too

[19:41] <~Dan> So as you’ve dived head-first into geek culture, has anything surprised you? For example, as long as I’ve been playing RPGs, I’m still forever surprised at just how Balkanized the hobby can be.

[19:42] <+etaoinshrdlu> …

[19:44] <+LukeQuestCasting> The biggest surprise to me is the day jobs.

[19:44] <~Dan> Really? How so?

[19:45] <+LukeQuestCasting> we went to a Magic tourney in Boston. Where we met a guy who owned and was head instructor at an MMA gym

[19:46] <+LukeQuestCasting> and another guy was a special forces for army

[19:46] <~Dan> That’s a good point, actually. Geeks definitely come in all shapes and sizes.

[19:46] <+LukeQuestCasting> thats the truth

[19:46] <+LukeQuestCasting> and thats who we are looking for

[19:47] <~Dan> Actually, that brings up another question: Do you have any concerns about people who don’t seem to be “legit” geeks?

[19:48] <~Dan> I mean, I know from experience that you could have a show full of people that don’t fit the usual stereotypes.

[19:48] <~Dan> (Overweight, bearded, awkward, etc.)

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[19:48] <~Dan> Do you feel obligated to give people what they expect?

[19:48] <~Dan> (Hello, shockvalue! Here for the Q&A?)

[19:49] <+shockvalue> Just listening in.  I actually auditioned in person in L.A. a few weeks ago with a friend.

[19:49] <~Dan> (Cool! Don’t be shy about asking any questions! 🙂 )

[19:50] <+LukeQuestCasting> ok sorry boss was yelling at me haha

[19:50] <+shockvalue> Well, the first thing that comes to mind is: should I be worried if we haven’t been called back yet?

[19:50] <~Dan> No worries. 🙂

[19:51] <~Dan> (I’ll call for a question pause while you get caught up, Luke.)

[19:51] <+LukeQuestCasting> legit geeks – I think everyone can geek out at something in there life you know

[19:51] * ~Dan nods

[19:51] <+LukeQuestCasting> it could be as little as watching the Star Wars trilogy once a year with the family

[19:51] <+LukeQuestCasting> or dominating the new assasins creed

[19:52] * ~Dan nods

[19:53] <+Sean_Punch> Heh, geeky can be a lot of things . . . Learning tango right now. The good dancers are geeky in a way most gamers could only hope to be. 🙂 And I’m a bigger geek about mixology than gaming, even though I earn a living at gaming.

[19:54] <+LukeQuestCasting> ya it goes hand and hand with having a strong passion for something

[19:55] <~Dan> Well, let me rephrase: Do you feel any need to make sure that at least some of the contestants look like what people think a nerd “really” looks like?

[19:55] <~Dan> (Or acts/talks like, for that matter.)

[19:57] <+LukeQuestCasting> I cant say, just cause I dont know

[19:57] <+technoshaman> do you know if the show will be on netowrk or cable/satelite?

[19:57] <+LukeQuestCasting> Major Network

[19:57] <+LukeQuestCasting> cant say what one yet

[19:58] <~Dan> (Did you see shockvalue’s question, Luke?)

[19:59] <+LukeQuestCasting> Shock Value where are you from?

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[20:00] <~Dan> I believe he said he’s in LA…

[20:01] <~Dan> (Howdy, Gemini! Fire away with any questions for Luke of “The Quest”. 🙂 )

[20:01] <+technoshaman> can you give us an example or 2 of what type of challenges we will see on the show, since this fantasy based, if you have permission too that is? 🙂

[20:02] * &Lolth pokes her head in, does a drive-by question as she contemplates between sleeping and finding a way to kick the birds off the trees outside her bedroom. “Or, rather — not really a question, but a plea: please, in the name of all that is holy, have a good cast of female nerds and geeks.”

[20:03] <+Gemini> Lolth: You should probably specify what you mean by a ‘good cast.’

[20:03] <+LukeQuestCasting> Techno- I cant say cause its season 1 I dont know

[20:04] <&Lolth> Well, from my point of view, it would be awesome if the balance of ratios between men and women is 1:1.

[20:05] <~Dan> Any thoughts on the subject, Luke?

[20:06] <+LukeQuestCasting> no idea

[20:06] <~Dan> (re: Lolth’s observation, I mean.)

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[20:08] <+LukeQuestCasting> Def looking for good female nerds

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[20:08] <~Dan> Would it be correct to say that in the auditions, it’s all about personality, given the fact that you don’t know what the contestants will be facing?

[20:08] <~Dan> (Howdy, luc, Ettin! Q&A about “The Quest” in progress!)

[20:09] <+LukeQuestCasting> looking for fun energetic ppl

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[20:11] <&Lolth> Would you consider scouting people, say, from this channel or rpg.net’s forum?

[20:11] <+LukeQuestCasting> OF COURSE

[20:11] <+LukeQuestCasting> haha

[20:12] <&Lolth> US specific or international? Speaking as, ahem, non-US citizen.

[20:12] <~Dan> Lolth is a member of our surprisingly large Finnish contingent. 🙂

[20:12] <+LukeQuestCasting> all over the world

[20:12] <~Dan> (You know. Where they actually speak Elvish.)

[20:13] <+LukeQuestCasting> haaha

[20:14] <~Dan> Do you try to find people who will make particularly good heroes and/or villains within the context of the show?

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[20:14] <~Dan> (Because, if you need a villain, boy, do I have a doozy for you…)

[20:14] <+LukeQuestCasting> we are looking for all aspects

[20:15] <+LukeQuestCasting> if you want to be the hero you can but if you find it more fun to be evil we would love to talk to you as well

[20:15] <+LukeQuestCasting> I gotta get going tho guys

[20:15] <+LukeQuestCasting> nightly meeting for work

[20:15] <~Dan> Ah! No problem, Luke. Thanks again for stopping by!

[20:16] <~Dan> I’ll have the log posted shortly and will send Jasmine the link.

[20:16] <+LukeQuestCasting> PLEASE EMAIL : Jlegrandecasting@gmail.com and mention you guys met here in the chat room

[20:16] <+LukeQuestCasting> great

[20:16] <+LukeQuestCasting> DONT MISS OUT ON THE CASTING

[20:16] <~Dan> I know I won’t. 🙂

[20:16] <+LukeQuestCasting> THE QUEST IS GOING TO BE AWESOME

[20:17] <~Dan> I have no doubt. 🙂

[20:17] <+LukeQuestCasting> awesome guys have a great night

[20:17] <~Dan> You too!

[20:17] <~Dan> Do you have to run as well, Jasmine?

[20:18] <+Jasmine> Yes

[20:18] <+LukeQuestCasting> remember email Jlegrandecasting@gmail.com to tryout for the quest

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[20:18] <+GenoFoxx> bye

[20:18] <~Dan> Okay! Have a great evening!

[20:18] <+Jasmine> Thanks you too! Thanks again for your time

[20:18] <~Dan> Our pleasure!

[20:18] <~Dan> I’ll send you that log shortly.

[20:19] <+Jasmine> Sounds good

[Q&A] Greg Porter (EABA v2)

[19:04] <+BTRC> I’m Greg Porter, otherwise known as the guy who runs BTRC, because typing out Blacksburg Tactical Research Center gets tiresome after a while

[19:05] <+BTRC> BTRC used to do the whole distributor/store route for sales, but for several years it has been pdf only, which is much easier logistically, although substantially less profitable.

[19:06] <+BTRC> I’ve always like the flexibility of pdfs, and with the iPad, I wanted to make a tablet-centric rpg system. Moving the 1st edition of EABA over to the new platform was easy enough from a text standpoint, but I also wanted to incorporate player and GM tools into the pdf.

[19:06] <+BTRC> And finally, it’s done. I hope.

[Q&A] Henry Lopez (Witch Hunter 2nd edition)

[19:02] <+PCIHenry> My name is Henry Lopez and I’m the owner of Paradigm Concepts, Inc. We produce a few different RPG games, such as Arcanis: The World of the Shattered empires, Rotted Capes – the Superhero Zombie game and Witch Hunter: The Invisible World a game of colonial swashbuckling horror set in a slightly alternate history from ours.

[19:03] <+PCIHenry> We are holding a KickStarter to fund the second Edition and with only 3 days to go, we’re funded and hitting quite a few Stretch Goals.

[Q&A] Jason M. Hardy (Shadowrun 5e)

[19:02] <+JasonMHardy> Hi, I’m Jason Hardy, I’m the current Shadowrun line developer! Shadowrun has been around for more than twenty years, and it’s a blend of cyberpunk and fantasy with a nice noir feel running throughout!

[Q&A] Sechin Tower (The Menace from Beyond)

[19:05] <+Sechin_Tower> My name is Sechin Tower and I’m the grand poobah of Siege Tower Games. I’m also the lead developer at Exile Game Studio where I’ve worked on Hollow Earth Expedition since the beginning and been the chief contributing writer for the supplements. Also, I’m author of Mad Science Institute, a novel of explosions and robots.

[19:05] <+Sechin_Tower> The Menace From Beyond is an adventure/survival-horror RPG inspired by the classic creature features of the 1950s. It was the birth-era of sci-fi monsters as we know them with movies like THEM!, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Bloob, Godzilla, alien invaders, body snatchers, and many more were born in the 50s

[Q&A] Jason Holmgren (Myriad Song)

[19:04] <+JasonHolmgren> I’m Jason Holmgren, director of Sanguine Games.  Back in the 1990s, I illustrated Joe Genero, Fineous Fingers, and the occasional Knights of the Dinner Table.

[19:04] <+Abstruse> Oh, I’m hoping to meet Jolly Blackburn this weekend at Comicpalooza.

[19:06] <+JasonHolmgren> In 1999, my fearless business partners and I published our first RPG, “IRONCLAW”. Since then, we’ve published games as diverse as NOGGLE STONES (turn of the century magic), USAGI YOJIMBO (Stan Sakai’s cartoon rabbit samurai), and ALBEDO (genetically engineered warriors in space).

[19:06] * +RichardHughes fistbumps GoldenDemon. ‘Sup, amigo.

[19:06] <+GoldenDemon> yo dragonbro

[19:06] <+JasonHolmgren> We currently have, launching on Kickstarter, our MYRIAD SONG, a game of sci-fi exploration in the realms of 10,000 worlds.  You can see more about it on http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/704723768/myriad-song-science-fiction-tabletop-rpg-of-10000 , and I’ll answer questions here today.

[Review] Eldritch Skies

Introduction

The name’s Davenport. I review games.

So the other day I hear this tap at the window. Turns out it’s my old pal Marty the Mi-Go. He was lookin’ pretty good for a space crab bug fungus thing. I hadn’t seen’im in this level of the space-time continuum lately, so I was eager to hear what he had to say.

“Bzzzzz… I am here to prezzzzzent you with a review copy of Eldritch Skiezzzzz… A roleplaying game of Lovecraftian zzzzzzzience fiction…” he says.

“Lovecraftian sci-fi?” I says. “Interesting… So how do ya fit a space helmet on a Shoggoth?”

“Foolish ape-thingzzzzz…” he says. “Eldritch Skiezzzz takezzzz Lovecraft’zzzzz vizzzzion and carriezzzz it into the future… Explore a Lovecraftian galaxzzzzy…. Trade with Mi-Go… Battle Moon-beastzzzz… Meddle with forbidden technology and zzzzzorcery… Zzzztop vile cultzzzz on worldzzzz beyond your pitiful human imaginationzzzz…. Now READ, before I am forzzzzed to place your feeble mind in brain canizzzzter!”

And with that, he tosses the book onto my desk with one horrific claw and flies out the window.

Marty can be kind of a jerk sometimes.

But I appreciated him givin’ me the buzz.

[Q&A] Claus Bornich (Crimson Exodus 2nd edition)

[13:15] <+Claus> I’m Claus Bornich of Radical Approach, creator of Trauma, Crimson Exodus, Mahada and Fantasy Dice in that order.