The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi- It's funny, I originally bought this book for a family member but then I realized he bought the book for me as well. So we essentially gifted the book to each other. However, he gave me another book on Christmas but then he gave me this book later because he wouldn't get to it right away like I would. I am less than 80 pages away from finishing it. I am entertained by it. John Scalzi writes such good books. I read the Old Man's War series over a decade ago and so things are mentioned I'm like "Oh yeah"
Outer Earthy trilogy by Rob Boffard- I was given this book yesterday. I am interested to read it. Rob Boffard's other books he has written as Jackson Ford are so good. This book is over 900 pages so it might take me a bit to read it.
SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History's Greatest Screwups by Ed Helms- This is the book the family member gave me on Christmas. IT was unexpected but I do remember him telling me about Ed Helm's podcast with the same name. I wonder if I will even like the book.
How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question by Michael Schur- The Good Place is definitely one of my favorite shows so it would be interesting where this book would even go.
Josh McLain shares his experiences playing Outer Earth, a sci-fi economy game by independent designer Paul Tseng. Take charge of a corporation, bid on the exclusive rights to develop on different planets in the galaxy, and amass as much profits as you can based on the sales of these developed planets!
Outer Earth is an interesting card game in which players become heads of a terra-forming corporation looking to make a buck in the interplanetary real estate market. I wonder if it's possible to flip a planet...
Hello, one and all! I'm Jared Rosen, here on behalf of CAH to expose the seedy underbelly of Tabletop Deathmatch! Not really. I will, however, be sitting down with each of the sixteen teams to find out where they're at since the taping, what this experience meant to them, and what happens next in the long road to creating a successful tabletop game. I also get access to the tumblr, which was... not smart. I can assure you. This week I'll be talking to Outer Earth's Paul Tseng. Have fun!
Click below for the full interview!
CaH: So, as of this interview, has the show wrapped?
Paul: It has completed, but we don’t know who won yet.
CaH: And how did you get involved with the production? How did you find out about it and come into it?
Paul: I actually heard about it two months before Gencon. When I heard about it I thought, “Alright, well, let’s make this game happen,” so we pushed for two months and put out a prototype, and I ended up being lucky enough to be among the 16 finalists.
I know that a lot of people have spent more time making their games, but I like to think that we’ve compressed the process into two hard months of game making… time, I suppose.
CaH: So I’m not familiar with the board game world as much, but can it be intimidating at all when you come into a room and stand in front of these very well established producers and creators?
Paul: It is absolutely intimidating to a degree. I can’t say that I’ve been a big board game fan for a long time – I only recently got into it. So I can’t walk up there and say, “Oh, I’ve been playing this game since 10, 11, 12, 13.” It’s only been maybe a year or so. Year or two? But even these names at the panel… I know some of them, but others I didn’t immediately recognize or know. So I think it helped a little because I only knew they were very high up, very important people, not specifically who they were. So instead of worrying about it I just went in and did my best.
CaH: One of the things I noticed during the judging was that was that everyone really liked the design elements – that it was a very strong design, visually. When you were putting everything together over those two months, did you bet on that to be such a huge point of focus?
Paul: It was more about being innovative. It wasn’t about rehashing anything. The typeface I’d built into the game, the look. That really feeds into the feel of the game and how players react to the theme, and it also helps newer players understand much more quickly while still appealing to the… how do I put this? Senior gamer. No, that makes them sound old. People who have seen a lot of board games, a lot of mechanics in the past and just want to try something new.
CaH: What do you think of the judging group? Did you think they were fair, that they maybe didn’t see something as you intended?
Paul: I actually thought they were really fair. Though I did think some of the comments were harsh at the time, half a year later I can go back and say, “Yeah, the game really has evolved a lot.” One of the comments in the video was that [Outer Earth] was a big mishmash of things. I was a little hurt when I heard that, but now it’s been through a lot of iterations and a lot of game devs have looked at it, and the mechanics have been scaled down and simplified and evolved. All the feedback I received ended up being incredibly valuable in the long run, and without it I’m not sure we’d be as close as we are to having a finished product people can sit down and play. Not in a million years.
CaH: So it’s continuing to evolve as you go. Where are you in the development process as of now?
Paul: Right now I still bring it to Snakes & Lattes every month, which is where a lot of board game designers and creators come together to just sit down and play everyone’s prototypes. We’re at a stage where we need ‘wrapping up,’ like we need it to be a little more solidified, but at the same time I know we’re right on the cusp of being finished. We almost have a completed game. It’s just the process of getting there. Maybe a few more light tweaks here and there, and we might be ready for a Kickstarter. I just want to be ready so that I can throw myself into the whole ‘process’ of kickstarting.
CaH: So you’re very much interested in releasing the full version of the game, despite however the show ends up?
Paul: Oh, I think the show ended up great! I think it’ll be great publicity, moving forward, while also showing how in less than a year this game has evolved and expanded and taken critiques even beyond the episodes themselves. You won’t even recognize the components anymore compared to the things that are in the video. I think, since the game was in such an early stage in this competition, it really had room to grow in the sort of lull that happened after it was all over.
CaH: That’s actually a really good point. You’ve received some critiques from, I suppose, some of the biggest board game creators in the world. Does that kind of empower you as a creator, to have that kind of support behind you?
Paul: I think it’s a great asset. But – I think the bigger thing is the other game designers in the competition. The fifteen other game designers. The bond I’ve made with them, the kind of camaraderie and friendship, is more valuable than the bond I’ve made with the publishers. Just having this mini indie scene where we have the same deathmatch competition, where we’re all sharing the experience… that means more to me than the sort of fleeting bond I have with a publisher who reviewed my, you know, once-prototype.
CaH: What’s was that like, working with so many grassroots creators?
Paul: We had some great times, we had some beers here and there. But most importantly, we remained in touch after it was all over. We all have twitter contacts together, we’re all meeting up at Gencon together. We’ll probably meet up and try everyone’s games to see how they’ve changed since the show. It’s really nice to have this sort of mini indie scene you can go back to when you need advice or support, and really nice to have friends who are making the same kinds of things as you. Trying to get their games to be the next big ‘thing.’ You can’t win that from the publishers.
CaH: Right, you said you weren’t really into the board game scene until fairly recently. Did it shock you that there was this big community behind it?
Paul: It did. I was really shocking. [Gencon] was also my first big convention that I ever went to, and it blew my mind just how big it was and how many people were there. I also shocked me how huge the board game community could be – there are facebook groups, real-life meet ups, board game nights, twitter groups. Reddit has some great forums for game design, there are websites. But what shocked me more is that as you sort of integrate yourself into the community, all of them are super friendly. They all ask things about publishing, about manufacturing. They want to help me with my Kickstarter. It is a very indie scene, I feel, but there’s this togetherness and network of support that makes it something really special to be a part of.
CaH: How far do you think you’re out from throwing that Kickstarter down?
Paul: Maybe six months. I think we can sit on it for six months. That’s the longest amount of time I can wait and still benefit from the publicity of the show, while still having time to make those final tweaks. Make some Kickstarter videos, some prizes. Because once you push publish that’s it, your Kickstarter is out there, and you can’t exactly take it back.
CaH: How big do you anticipate the game getting? Not necessarily in terms of sales, but how big the game itself might get?
Paul: I think I kind of want to wrap it up and see where it goes, maybe get it done from A to Z before I move on to a new design. I could see myself putting out an expansion or two if it gets really big, but for now I just want to see where the game takes itself after it’s completed. I just did a board game jam in Toronto with my girlfriend, and we made this newer game that we’re really into exploring after Outer Earth is done. There are a lot of possibilities out there. I’d really like to see what I can do.
CaH: Do you think this experience has zoned you in to a board gaming mentality you didn’t have before?
Paul: It totally has. Before the competition I was planning on doing something graphic designer-y, maybe print business cards and go to a company or be a fulltime freelancer. But after this… boardgaming has taken up so much of my time that I’d really like to be able to combine my biggest hobbies together into work. That would, I think, be something that is really satisfying.
CaH: Any advice you might give to someone creating or conceptualizing their own board game?
Paul: Yes! Find groups in your community who like designs and board gaming, go to all the meetings, take a notebook and jot down notes. Don’t just nod your head. Integrate yourself into the communities near you of people doing the same thing, creating the same kinds of prototypes, and you can make a better product. More importantly, together you can all create better products, and you’ll find that the camaraderie there sort of follows you into other aspects of your life. Just take as much as possible out of it.
CaH: So overall, this has been a good experience for you?
Paul: It’s been an amazing experience. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
Interested in Outer Earth? You can see some of Paul's design changes throughout the development processes here, and sign up for the newsletter/development updates here.
