Random Non-Gaming Info

Dead Gentlemen

The comedic gaming film series continues as Gamers 3: Hands of Fate had its theatrical debut here. It’s free to watch until the end of August, though digital downloads are available, and the DVD is expected later this year. The same quirky, sarcastic gaming group of Gamer 2 returns. The main plot of the movie revolves around the fictional card game Romance of the Nine Empires, a thinly-veiled L5R allegory, and largely takes place at Gen Con.

The ENie Awards

The ENies, an annual award for tabletop-related games, coverage and materials, announced their 2013 winners. Check them out in case you missed it (like I did).

Goko

Goko.com made a splash last year as a go-to place for playing Dominion online. The thing is, their system had issues, and they were trying to expand into too many game ports too quickly. I chatted with CEO Kate Connally, and she explained that they realized they needed to refocus their efforts. As a result, they have pulled back on the bulk of their games library and have decided to revamp their entire infrastructure. In short, they’re relaunching Goko.com. The site even says it’s in beta again. Their primary focus for the time being intends on being Dominion and Catan licenses, with the Knizia family directly involved with the latter. Other games will come online eventually (I’m watching for the Race for the Galaxy one myself), but those two are their main focus.

If you’ve been to the site since their retooling, you’ll probably notice the game is a lot nicer and less glitchy than before, and that’s the result of their efforts. Kate did mention that they are also planning on doing mobile apps of their products instead of just a web GUI, with an iOS version of Dominion first, followed shortly thereafter by one for Android. Goko focuses on porting existing games to a digital platform, and while we don’t technically follow digital games, we feel worthwhile ports are occasionally worth mentioning [when they’re going to be on Android].

Hostile Work Environment

Peter Adkinson, the founder of Wizards of the Coast and current owner of Gen Con, launched a new media company called Hostile Work Environment earlier this summer. The intent is to fund films that tell and capture the creative and fascinating stories that tabletop players the world over have been creating for decades now. Their first attempt is The Devil Walks In Salem, a story inspired by a session of Fiasco. Honestly, this sounds like a great concept idea; I’ve found many RPG retellings more compelling than most of what comes out of Hollywood these days. They could learn a lesson or two here from gamers, and so here’s hoping that HWE lands an audience.

And there you have it. Four days of expo material wrapped up into one main list. Hopefully you find this list useful when looking at your next gaming purchases, or just seeing what the industry as a whole was up to.

I look forward to give you another such rundown when we return to Gen Con in 2014.

In the meantime, keep those dice rolling!