Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

In episode 91 the third chair is filled by Ross Watson. A gaming industry professional for over 10 years, Ross Watson has done work for Wizards of the Coast, Games Workshop, Fantasy Flight Games and now is a designer for video games.

First up, Ross, Craig, and Russ are joined by Teras of Geek Nation Tours to talk about Gaming Conventions. Why do we go to them? What are the different kinds of conventions?

Later the guys get a chance to interview Ed "Not the Lord of Winterfell" Stark. Ed is true RPG luminary and we get his perspective on where RPG's have been, where they're going, and even the inside scoop on some of the D&D 3.5 to 4.0 design decisions.

All that and our other not-too-horrible segments including:

- The Hollywood Minute
- Total Fan Girl
- Do You Ever Notice
- & More

Link to episode:

http://www.thed6generation.com/d6g-ep-91-convention-conversation-rpg-guru-ed-stark-interview

Please let us know what you think of the show!

Awesome episode BUT!!!

The echo drove me absolutely nuts. It was just terrible.

DSJohns wrote:
The echo drove me absolutely nuts. It was just terrible.

Same, but that's the danger that comes from using Skype! It was great to see Stark *sunglasses* keep his head while the technical difficulties were going on.

Also, Russ? Be careful when you start playing... music, like that. It's hard to explain why I suddenly had to throw my iPod across the classroom in the middle of lecture while screaming obscenities at the top of my lungs!

Ross was awesome as the third seat - a great replacement for Raef, though I was glad to still hear his bit in the middle.

Content was great as usual, but the echo was really annoying.

Sorry about the Echo. We seem to be cursed such that the quality of our audio always tanks when we have a really great guest. You should have seen all the audio problems we had with David Eddings.

Ed was a trooper, and fortunately the beginning and end weren't bad.

infinite_array wrote:
Also, Russ? Be careful when you start playing... music, like that. It's hard to explain why I suddenly had to throw my iPod across the classroom in the middle of lecture while screaming obscenities at the top of my lungs!

Too loud? Or just too surprising?

I presume you mean David Weber... unless you've done an interview I'm not aware of yet!

(If not, then, you should TOTALLY interview David Eddings!)

RussWakelin wrote:

infinite_array wrote:
Also, Russ? Be careful when you start playing... music, like that. It's hard to explain why I suddenly had to throw my iPod across the classroom in the middle of lecture while screaming obscenities at the top of my lungs!

Too loud? Or just too surprising?

Too terrifying. Like scratching one's nails against a hellish chalkboard to the ears of my very soul.

infinite_array wrote:
Too terrifying. Like scratching one's nails against a hellish chalkboard to the ears of my very soul.

Oh good, so it worked then.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

spyrer wrote:I presume you mean David Weber... unless you've done an interview I'm not aware of yet!

(If not, then, you should TOTALLY interview David Eddings!)

Right... Weber... ohh, Eddings would be cool though. Total brain cramp on my part.

RussWakelin wrote:

Right... Weber... ohh, Eddings would be cool though.

You'd best get a ouiji board, or a medium (or "ectomancer" in Dresden-ese)...David Eddings has been dead since 2009.

I have about 30 minutes to go in the podcast, but I'll go ahead and comment now...

As for the echo...nothing else to say, other than recently I heard about a skype alternative called "Facetime"...haven't checked it out myself, but there you go.

For the Convention overview, I thought it was fairly interesting...although to be totally honest, I was a little putoff that the last ~10 minutes or so turned into a Geeknation tours infomercial. I was also surprised that you guys didn't really talk about miniature-centric cons. I know in the past you've talked about GW cons and Warmachine cons, and there's a couple of big historical miniatures cons here on the U.S. east coast - Historicon being the preeminent one (also "Fall In" and "Cold Wars"). I've only started going to gaming cons in the last 3 years or so, and my experience has been a little different - I've gone to Prezcon here in Virginia and the "World Boardgaming Champships", in Lancaster PA. Those cons are run actual tournaments for the various games, including qualifying heats, semi-finals and finals. I thought the WBC was fairly large at ~1500 people, but according to you guys that's a "small" con. Different perspective.

Not sure what to think of Raef's news about his solo podcast. I am interested in hearing about PaintedFigs issues. My friend ordered a Dystopian Wars starter set from them, and the timeliness and quality of work were...less than one would hope.

Working my way through this episode now... and I am enjoying it. Ross is doing a great job, and it's nice to hear about his more general gaming interests.

And... I know that Ross mentioned this, and that I am opening myself up to ridicule... But what is that Super Dungeon Explore Tokyo music??? I want an mp3 of that tune!

I almost liked the music, but then it was in english and the magic was lost. That said, I was really expecting a review of the Super Dungeon Explore ... and it did not arrive! *sniff*

Good 'cast, guys. No drop in show quality at all (except the sound issues, and I dont want to beat that dead horse).
I liked the choice of Ross as a 3rd chair. He would have been my choice as well.
Surprisingly, though, I felt the 'cast banter and dynamic was much less interesting than normal (without weird, random Raef). I think Ross might be too reasonable and awesome a guy to make a good 3rd host to you and Craig. He certainly is more professional and successful as an interviewer, but for people who like the interplay of you three banter and flow-wise, it was less interesting.

Its no surprise that on the 1st post-Granger episode, I missed having HD in the mix a lot. Much more than I thought I would.
I'm looking forward to future episodes you get someone a little more dissonant in style- like Romeo's intense energy or Myriad Dan's acid wit.

The podcast is still awesome, and I'm interested to see your next moves on the 3d chair.

One review idea: Since Craig just played and you had an awesome guest from the era, I think you guys should do a "review" (what you liked, what it meant to your gaming growth, what you didnt like, how well it stands up) of old 2nd ed. D&D. Maybe get short audio submittals from your cool podcast buddies on the subject. Those of us who cut our teeth on the old hardcover A&D 2nd ed. books love this memory lane crap.

Sound echo issue horse receives another stripe.

Infomercial style podcasting getting more common, but at least it is an interesting subject.

Despite the issues, I really found the discussion with Stark informative and interesting.

As to the music snippets, that was one of my favorite episodes, but those guys are always outdoing themselves. (I liked the rubber bands factory number better.)

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. A few quick replies:

Skype issues: That particular segment was recorded on the Wednesday right after we got power back and large chunks of the north east were still having problems. My guess is that the intertubes where taking a few more hops than usual to get from point A to point B. There are some options other than skype, but I haven't found one that works as well. "Facetime" is an Apple product that works only on iOS devices.

What's that Tokyo Music? Just stay tuned to the VERY end of the episode. All will be revealed.

Eddings: Doh!

GNT Announcement: We're excited and flattered to be part of the GNT GenCon tour next year, so we may have spent a bit more time on it than we should have. Glad to hear most enjoyed the overall topic.

SDE Review: Stay tuned... coming soon!

I realised one question with regards to reviews. Are there going to be regular third reviewer? I mean the third chair is not normally there in person to play games. I think that was one place where a third person who thinks differently from you two would be needed.

I greatly enjoyed the Stark interview despite the echo. I use Skype quite a bit and am wondering if the echo might have been caused by someone having their speakers on too loudly? It's a pretty simple thing that a lot of people forget to check. That's the only time I've experienced echo with my set up, but I'm sure my set up isn't nearly as complex as what you are using.

For Geekley - TSR is Tactical Studies Rules. I am looking at my copy of Chainmail and it has a big G and K on the cover and the words "Tactical Studies Rules" with no TSR logo. Also, the first D&D books weren't white. The only white book in the original game was Deities and Demigods. The rest were sort of a leather color (at least the books I have). However, the box they came in was white. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one losing my memory as I get older ;-)

I loved the Birthright setting and hearing about the design of Birthright and the improvised boardgame was a plus.

The Convention Conversation on the other hand, seemed like a drawn out commercial to me for Geek World. It marks the first time I have ever hit the fast forward when listening to the D6G. The commercials in general are starting to get a bit overwhelming. I realize you need the support they bring to make the Podcast work, but there's only so many creative seques you can create before they start to all sound the same. It was great to hear from Raef, but then that too turned into another commercial for his new Podcast.

Geekgirl was awesome as always. She gets some great interviews in and this was just another typical slam dunk. One of the things that I really enjoy about the show, Russ, is the interaction you have with your kids and how involved you are with them. I really wish I had had this kind of resource when my kids were young.

sturmkraehe wrote:The Convention Conversation on the other hand, seemed like a drawn out commercial to me for Geek World. It marks the first time I have ever hit the fast forward when listening to the D6G. The commercials in general are starting to get a bit overwhelming. I realize you need the support they bring to make the Podcast work, but there's only so many creative seques you can create before they start to all sound the same. It was great to hear from Raef, but then that too turned into another commercial for his new Podcast.

I really hate to come across negatively, because I really do enjoy the podcast and truely appreciate what you guys do, but I do have to agree with this. It felt like there was a shout-out that was another ad for the Gaming Geek, then an ad by a show supporter, then Raef's Hollywood Minute in which he put out his new endeavour which would be 'paid for content', then another ad for a show supporter, then a 'convention spotlight' which was really another ad for Geek Nation Tours, then another ad for a show supporter. It probably wasn't as intense as this, but that's what sticks with me.

I think that the straw that broke the camels back for me was the convention discussion. It's the first time that I felt a little cheated by a segment, to be honest. I was looking forward to a description of the types of convention and a general guide and maybe some tales and experiences. It started with a fairly broad overview, but by about half way was pretty much just a description of what was coming up on GNT, how to book your seat, how we had to get in quickly as seats were limited, and by the end any original thread of conventions discussion in general had evaporated. If it had started off as a 'here is a segment to tell you about GNT' then it probably wouldn't have been so bad.

Again, please don't take this the wrong way. The fact that is pretty much my only disappointment in 91 episodes of 3-4 horus speaks volumes, and I sincerely appreciate the time, effort and dedication that goes in to every episode.

And, to end on a more positive note, perhaps the most inspired convention location is probably Bovington here in the UK, which is a small annual convention held in a tank museum, and so games are played in amoungst WWII armour, tanks and equipment. That must be one of the most immersive environments to play games in.

Hena wrote:I realised one question with regards to reviews. Are there going to be regular third reviewer? I mean the third chair is not normally there in person to play games. I think that was one place where a third person who thinks differently from you two would be needed.

I'm curious as to how this will work as well. Thought Ross did a great job as the first "3C" - I liked how he jumped in with all the standard stuff as if he's always been a host("are you now or have you ever been a gamer"). Looking forward to see how future 3C's do.

CyberShadow wrote:
I really hate to come across negatively, because I really do enjoy the podcast and truely appreciate what you guys do, but I do have to agree with this. It felt like there was a shout-out that was another ad for the Gaming Geek, then an ad by a show supporter, then Raef's Hollywood Minute in which he put out his new endeavour which would be 'paid for content', then another ad for a show supporter, then a 'convention spotlight' which was really another ad for Geek Nation Tours, then another ad for a show supporter. It probably wasn't as intense as this, but that's what sticks with me.

Just to add in a little more...and please take it as "constructive criticism" - the commercials in general are starting to be a little overwhelming. I don't mind the "regular" commercials so much, as you guys try and get a little creative with them. What really puts it over the edge, for me, is that the "shoutouts" have essentially turned into another 5 or 6 commercials. I so much preferred when they were actual "shoutouts" - especially folks trash-talking their gaming buddies. As I recall, when you first started them, you actually asked people to keep it to one or two lines. Now, these "shoutouts" seem to drag on as long as the regular commercials...and to be honest, you guys don't seem all that enthused about reading them most of the time. I understand that the D6G has grown a lot in the last year or two, and you guys are trying to do bigger and more ambitious things...and for that you need to maximize your income. But I sure would like to see the shoutouts return to their original intent.

Thanks for the feedback, guys, and sorry I've been out of the loop.

In retrospect, I can see how this episode did look a bit 'ad' heavy. Much of that was unintentional, I assure you. As for the Convention discussion, we wanted to strike a note as Cybershadow describes, clearly we missed the mark for him, and perhaps others. On the other hand, we really ARE excited about the inclusion of the D6G in the TNG GenCon tour . . . it feels like we're sort of hitting the next level, being included as a feature in something like that . . . and I think it's ok for us to be excited, and try to share that excitement. Sorry if it struck a false note . . . but that excitement is real, I assure you.

As for the shout-outs, we have been sharing your concerns for awhile now, actually. We've tried to keep folks riegning in their offerings . . . and they always creep back up. We would very much like for these to be going to the folks . . . but structured as they are now, they're going to the highest bidders, and about half of those are now businesses . . . short of coming up with a complicated list of restrictions, or making a blanket policy against any businesss . . . not sure how we address this to everyone's satisfaction. One thing we're seriously considering, however, is placing a hard limit on future Shout Outs . . . as much as I hate the source . . . the "Twitter Limit" seems like it makes a lot of sense . . .

So, to summarize, sorry, not terribly sorry, and me too.

~Craig

Oh, and we're as interested as you guys are in seeing how the first game review with a 3C participant will shape up . . . and it's just around the corner! So we'll all find out together! We're hoping for good things . . .

Ciao!

~c

Craig, thanks for the response. Firstly, I don't think that anyone feels that this is a deliberate move - I know that I certainly don't. It's just the culmination of a slow shift as the podcast get more recognition (which is great) and an unfortunate series of articles back to back. I only bring it up as I want the podcast to continue to grow.

Secondly, you have ever reason to be excited about the GNT. I most certainly would be, and I think that it's a great indication of the success of D6G. My point however is that it felt like it was coming under radar. if it had been billed as an 'exciting announcement from GNT' I think that I wouldn't have noticed so much. You should let people know about this. It's great.

As for the shout-outs, it depends if it is a more general thing. I originally thought that a 'one on one off' policy would work - so if someone won a particular shout-out one week, they couldn't win the same shout-out next week... But if you have two businesses then this doesn't help so much. I don't think that you can 'ban businesses' as I am sure that this would hit your income, and we all understand that this kind of sponsorship is critical. It's a difficult situation, and I don't think that there is an ideal solution.

No worries! I'm not offended in any way. I guess what I was saying, was that, rather than do an announcement, our intention really was to do a 'convention primer' and segue into an announcement . . . it was going to be a tough line to tack, and we clearly didn't come about in time to keep the sheets from quivering a bit, at the very least

As for the Shout Outs, I agree that there probably isn't an idea solution, but we did always want them to be fan-based, and we're happiest when that's what's happening. The thing about banning businesses, other than the hit (which wouldn't be THAT big at all), are all the small start ups that folks have promoted over the years in one-off Shout Outs, from hand made dice bags to Kick-Starter campaigns. Those we like, too . . . the one off/one on sounds good . . . until we remember the good old days when the Irish lads squatted on Achievements for MONTHS . . . we LOVED that too . . .

So . . . yeah . . . it's complicated. We'll start with curtailing the length, though, making that announcement for Ep 93, and hope that at least starts things in the right direction. And we'll talk up the Shout Outs and their initial purpose . . . and see if folks heed the call

And again, keep the feedback and suggestions coming. As long as its civil (and it always has been!), we're all good!

~Craig

Just to add my 2 cents.

I think "twitter limiting" the shout outs would help. They'd be shorter so whether it was a business, or the business of trash talking, it wouldn't really take up too much time.

I'm also curious to see how a 3rd chair review goes. I'm hoping it goes well. Russ has been hinting at a Super Dungeon explore review.

I really liked Ross in the third chair but I have to echo the comments on the convention segment. It's ok though, in a four hour show, one segment falling short for my tastes isn't exactly a big deal. One funny observation, I skipped forward about every 7 minutes and every time, it was Russ talking, so it combined to form a very odd run-on sentence.

Can't wait to see who the next guest host is!

Ozymandias wrote:One funny observation, I skipped forward about every 7 minutes and every time, it was Russ talking, so it combined to form a very odd run-on sentence.

Glad you listened .... then I said to ... I think he .... enjoyed so much he snorted .... fish sticks.

Another great episode, guys! Your interviews were really interesting. I really wish I could go to GenCon next year, unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to get leave at that point :(.

@Russ: Go Phineas and Ferb! My wife and I love that show (and we don't even have kids as an excuse). One of the best American cartoon shows since Pinky & The Brain, IMO. J-Pop is one of my favorite songs from "The Summer Belongs to You," right up there with the Rubber Band song. Of course, you don't get the full effect without the video:




@Craig: Whew, sounds like you have had quite a year! I'm glad to hear your father is OK; my Dad has also had some significant health problems this year, so I know how that goes.

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys...and glad you see the feedback as constructive. Just downloaded the latest Lost Chapter...looking forward to it.

And to echo Ruckdog...here's hoping for a less...um..."exciting"...year for you, Craig!

Just listening to the latest Lost Chapter...

Am I the only one who liked the "other" Voltron...with the 15 vehicles that joined together? I think there were 5 air, 5 land and 5 water vehicles that all joined together to make Voltron.

I liked both vehicle and lion Voltron, but it was tough to catch the vehicle episodes for me. It seemed they only played them at random on Sundays while lion Voltron got top billing weekdays.

To be honest, I never really liked the lion one. I had the toys for the vehicle, and watched whenever I could find it . . .

Just finished the Lost Chapter today...another very interesting topic, guys! Unfortunately, a lot of the shows you were talking about were a bit before my time (I'm 28). Things like the Real Ghostbusters, GI Joe, and Batman: The Animated Series kind of take those spots for me, though. For the most part, I think all 3 of these shows "stand up."

@Russ: I would love to "sit down" and talk to you about Star Trek sometime...I might have to type out an email to you about it in the next day or so.