| From: | Matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Chicago - Fasa Representative |
| Date: | Fri, 26 Sep 1997 05:38:46 -0700 |
> >location or traffic was, either.
> Actually, it was Discover, but that is besides the point. I mean, if I had
> something out in the open, say I posted here that I have every card
> available for trade, you go through the list and gather what you need, then
> I tell you, "Sorry, I don't have that...", what would your first reactions
> be? Here I am holding onto a good amount of stuff I haven't found
> elsewhere and then get denied at the register, then I stare at the
> Discover/Cirrus sticker.....
Gotta love it when that happens. But that's the store's fault; you just
seem to be overlapping it with all the problems FASA had. Has.
Whichever.
> And I don't know about other major cities, but some of the expressways that
> were being worked on here in Chicago were just redone less than five years
> ago.
Oh, Boston is exactly the same way. Idaho grows potatos, we grow
potholes. World's largest exporter, and all that.
> >On the other hand, I think FASA ought to know that their sales rep
> >wasn't at a fever pitch marketing the cards.
> I would say in his defense that if you looked around and saw a good amount
> of people playing everything BUT your game, after a while it would get
> disheartening. As far as I saw, I was the only one before, during, and
> after my tenure on the table. With the occasional person coming up to us
> and apparently snubbing the game...
I've learned this from the RPG, though: sometimes you have to create
your own publicity. I mean, the other gamers have to get tired
sometime, or you can start a converaton with soemone hanging on the
sidelines -- it all depends on the quality of marketer they have. But,
from your description.. well, I wouldn't've played the game either.
Definitely need another NERPS! though. That and a Maglock..
> >And, sigh, I would have to blame them for the turgid interest in the
> >game as well. Frankly, there aren't any other Boston players (nor for
> >the RPG either). A few more conventions on the calendar would help out
> >immensely...
> Personally, I think they have been slipping the last few years. Whereas
> early on you bought a source book that lasted a good couple years game time
> (and real life time too), lately the books come out for a specific amount
> of time before being concluded by another source book. "Super Tuesday"
> followed by "Dunkelzahn's Will" (forgot exact title at the moment) is an
> example. Why did they do away with the date and time stamp I don't know -
> "Street Samurai Catalog" had a running joke with that with the Smiling
> Bandit. The little stuff is what made it more real to me.
The biggest problem is relying on freelancers for all the work. (Says a
guy who's been pushing more than one subby to FASA lately.)
Seriously, though, it's a problem with all RPGs: If you leave everything
in general terms (GURPs for the longest while) then there's nothing for
the players to grasp. If you put down too much, then there's no
freedom, and they're trapped in someone else's plotline. And if you
don't update those plotlines, you're being stagnant, and if you *do*,
you make everything written before obsolete.
Honestly, I've never, not once, been satisfied with the "canon" SR
universe. It's simply not my style, though it's the closest an RPG has
gotten. So I don't buy most of the universe books, and avoid arguments
about who shot Dunkelzahn.
Nobody says, after all, that you have to buy them.
> And then add the mess with the collation problems, I have not been the
> happiest of customers lately *shrug*.
I haven't had any problems with the cards at all. I had a couple that
were severely miscut; FASA replaced them all for the trouble of a
stamp. I'm not sure I like the policy of going from the 'original set'
to an updated 'unlimited' release in less than three months, but that's
another deal altogether.
