The fine people at Del Rey have posted a cover for my upcoming hardcover, coffee-table book Orcs. It looks pretty sharp, and I’m told the shield on the cover will have an embossed texture and that a couple holes will appear where arrows have gone through it. Orcs should be on shelves by November 4, just in time for the year-end holidays.
Pitching Games at Conventions
Tyler Tinsley writes to ask:
I just listened to a recording of a freelancing seminar you had at GAMA. I just wanted to say thanks. While I have been sending games to companies for a few years, I just got my first gig as a freelance game designer and hearing your words have helped.
I want to start going to the big game conventions to pitch games to publishers in person. My funds are limited, so I wanted to know what con is the best to pitch to a wide range of publishers, and what is the best way to set up meetings? I make a wide range of games so any publishers will do.
I’m glad you liked the podcast. Congratulations on landing your first freelance game design gig.
There are three that are worthwhile for hobby games: GAMA Trade Show (GTS), Origins, and Gen Con.
GTS just ended this week, but you could make plans for next year. It’s a trade show, so there’s less competition with players to get a publisher’s attention. However, some of the publishers have so many business meetings that they don’t have time for freelancers who drop by the booth. Of course, that’s true of just about any show, so the thing to do is schedule as many meetings as you can ahead of time.
Origins is a good show, and it’s less busy than Gen Con. However, not as many publishers attend. Those that do, though, should have time for you. It also has the best networking hang-out: the Big Bar on 2 at the Hyatt.
Gen Con is my favorite show, bar none. It’s the biggest and busiest in the country, though, and many publishers are there to sell games rather than talk to freelancers. Again, scheduling meetings ahead of time can really help here.
Of course, if you’re trying to work on mass-market games, there are other shows to attend, like the New York Toy Fair or the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. And if you prefer European-style board games, nothing beats Spiel, the largest gaming convention in the world, held in Essen, Germany, every fall.
To set up any meeting, start well ahead of time, as a busy publisher’s schedule fills up fast at most conventions. First, hit the website of the company you’d like to pitch your game to, and read their submissions guidelines. Then contact the publisher or editor and request a meeting at the convention you plan on attending.
Good luck!
Blood Bowl Script #3 Done
I was up late last night, but I polished off the script to Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #3. To celebrate, here are some shots of some of the artwork slated for that very comic. The one to the left is the main cover, and the one to the right is for a variant cover.
The BOOM! Studios crew gave the series a mention during their panel at the New York Comic-Con last weekend. According to Comic Book Resources:
Boom! has also acquired the rights to produce a comic adaptation of what they call “The REAL Fantasy Football”, “Blood Bowl.” Slated to become a 5-issue miniseries, the game is produced by British company Games Workshop and is a parody of American football, only with far more lethal rules. Author Matt Forbeck, who has also written several “Blood Bowl” novels, will be penning the series.
Bob Bledsaw Dies
James Mishler reports that Bob Bledsaw, founder of the Judges Guild, died in the morning of Saturday, April 19. He passed away in his home in Decatur, Illinois, after a battle with cancer. The Judges Guild site has an excellent obituary.
I never met Bob, but I loved his work. He published the first-ever third-party adventures for Dungeons & Dragons, and his City State of the Invincible Overlord is one of the all-time classic D&D campaigns. He will be sorely missed.
Storytellers and GTS
My latest post at Storytellers Unplugged is up, and it’s the opening day of the GAMA Trade Show, which I’m still not at. How do the two intersect in my head? Read the post to find out.
No GTS for Me
Sadly, I am not going to make it to the GAMA Trade Show next week. I love the convention and encourage anyone interested in making or selling tabletop games to attend. It’s a wonderful experience, and I’ll miss being there–as well as the too-rare chance to see so many good friends.
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R.E.V.s Comic for Free!
A couple years back, I produced a comic for Playmates Toys‘ new line of automotive action figures: R.E.V.s. I wrote it and hired Max Bertolini to supply the wonderful art, and IDW to tackle the lettering. The comic appeared on a CD-ROM included in the box with every R.E.V.s toy. It also featured an animated version of the comic, for which I produced and directed the animation and voiceovers with the hyper-talented James Farr and the guys at JAMIT Studios.
With the line officially cancelled, Playmates has given me permission to post a PDF of the comic here for free. Enjoy!
Spiritkeeper in Japan
A little while back, my über-editor Nina Hess–who’s in charge of the young-adult fiction at Wizards of the Coast–sent me a copy of my first hardcover novel. Secret of the Spiritkeeper, which was my first mass-market novel when it hit shelves in 2004, just came out in a brand-new Japanese translation from ASCII, and although I can’t read a word of it, I love it.
The new cover art looks great. The wacky colors in the title are what you get when you scan something printed with metallic silver ink, it seems, so ignore that effect. In person, it looks fantastic.
The book is about the size of the English version, only thicker. The hardcover gives it some good heft, and it even comes with an attached silver ribbon to help keep your place as you read. It’s snazzy, and it really makes me wish I could read Japanese.
Shoujo Manga and Me
Penguin recently posted a cover and details about my next book with manga-ka Tomoko Taniguchi: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Manga: Shoujo, Illustrated. This should be in stores on June 3. Before I started work on the book, I hadn’t dealt with a whole lot of shoujo manga (Japanese girls’ comics), mostly because as an American male narrowing in on middle age, I don’t really fit the target demographic.
Still, I had a great time digging into the genre and working with Tomoko on this book. She taught me a lot about shoujo in particular and Japanese culture in general, and she’s a talented and versatile artist who knows the subject cold. If you enjoy shoujo manga and drawing–or know someone who does–be sure to check it out.
Jones on Gygax
Jeremy Jones, who sometimes posts comments around these parts, recently had an article on Gary Gygax’s influence published in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. It’s a nice bit of writing, and it features quotes from several industry folks, including Lisa Smedman, Doug Niles, Jared Sorenson, Harley Stroh, and myself.