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This is Audio EXP for the 10th of June, 2023, and the episode title is “It’s not a political statement to be a gay geek”
[The following is a transcript of Audio EXP: #199]
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Lone Colossus Games is in the Spotlight this month, as voted for by Patreons.
Contact has been made, and the ball is in my court, so we should get a feature interview live this month.
This is the first Geek Native Audio EXP podcast, a highlight show, in June since I was at UK Games Expo last week. That means I’ll highlight some news from there but first run through the candidates for July’s RPG Publisher Spotlight.
If you’re a site or podcast patron, thank you, and you can vote for;
Since I’ve been away, Apple has released their mixed reality Vision Pro. That’s a three-and-a-half grand headset with a two-hour battery life, but Apple in this market will surely mean innovation and progression.
It’s also the same week that gamers found dents in their heads and likely through wearing their headphones for so long. That’s a health hazard I didn’t have a decade ago.
Both those stories were picked up by Bronwen Winter Phoenix, who, I hope, we’ll be seeing a lot more on the blog. A second pair of eyes and a bigger brain are good things for Geek Native to develop.
It’s not the first week of June, but it is the week that KiwiRPG Week, kicks off. I won’t try and pronounce the actual name of the indie celebration of tabletop RPGs from New Zealand.
Instead, I suggest checking it out as there are deals, freebies and news.
It’s also the week that we have the nominations for the Origins Awards announced. You can find the full list on the blog, but here’s the RPG highlights.
RPG Core
- Blackbirds by Andrews McMeel Publishing
- Bladerunner the Roleplaying Game by Free League Publishing
- Coyote & Crow by Coyote & Crow
- Teatime Adventures by Snowbright Studio
- The One Ring by Free League Publishing
RPG Supplements
- Agents of Dune by Modiphius
- Blade Runner Starter Box by Free League Publishing
- Fallout Starter Box by Modiphius Entertainment
- Warhammer Fantasy: Enemy Within Volume 5 by Cubicle 7 Entertainment
- Zweihander Starter Box by Andrews McMeel Publishing
Accessory
- Call to Adventure Art Decks by Brotherwise Games
- Deluxe Board Game Train Sets by Little Plastic Train Co.
- Power Rangers Zordon Dice Tower & GM’s Screen by Renegade Game Studios
- The Deck of Many Animated Conditions by Hit Point Press
- The Deck of Many Animated Illusions by Hit Point Press
So, what was UK Games Expo like? It was jam-packed, with over 50,000 people in attendance. I know that’s not US comic con level, but my local tabletop convention, compulsion, might get a few hundred.
I saw just how diverse the geek community is, struggled to cover the event properly which I suspected was the case but surprised to get home to discover there had been a drama.
UK Games Expo have apologised for this but one of the volunteers helping with the RPG demos had been refusing to allow queer-themed RPGs.
It was a mistake, and UK Games Expo has had a disastrous situation in the past which resulted in, rightly, a GM being thrown out for running a sexual assault scene.
I suspect that incident was why the guidelines are for no sexual content in RPG sessions at the convention. The thing is, which UK Games Expo agree with, it’s not ‘sexual’ content in a game if the heroes are straight white men who go on an adventure. Equally, it’s not sexual content if the heroes are lesbian green goblins who go on an adventure.
Both groups of characters could engage in all sorts of sexual adventures, which would cross the UK Games Expo guidelines, but the orientation of the characters does not make the game sexual.
Nor, of course, does the sexual preference of players or their characters make the game a political statement. That gay people exist is not a point for politicians to debate. It’s a fact of life.
Sound obvious? It should be but the ‘no politics’ rule was the attempted defense of the moderators of the BatteTech sub-reddit when they were caught deleting every mention of the BattleTech Pride Anthology. That’s a BattleTech fanzine written by queer authors.
Pleasingly, those homophobic moderators have been removed.
Catalyst Games, who make the game, actual BattleTech authors and the original founder of the sub-Reddit have all stepped up and stepped in to make it clear; BattleTech is for everyone.
There was, I’m also pleased to say, plenty of good news from UK Games Expo 2023.
Some highlights for me include Don’t Play This Game which Parable will Kickstart later and for which you can get a free quickstart right now.
Don’t Play This Game is a solo RPG in a chain-letter style, which means you can pass it on. If you survive and want, you’ll finish the game with a weird journal that you can give to someone else who disregards the advice not to play the game.
I scribbled furiously during Cubicle 7’s session, well the one the striking train situation here in the UK allowed me to attend, and I can report that after the Inquisition supplement for the Warhammer 40K RPG Imperium Maledictum that the next one will be the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Well. That’s the plan.
Plans change.
A much less famous, in fact, a totally unknown because it was under wraps until being revealed at UK Games Expo is Breaking Infinity.
The tabletop RPG from BaffleBox Games accompanies the indie sci-fi movie of the same name. Breaking Infinity will stream on Amazon Prime, Netflix and other platforms later this year.
Drama and news haven’t been restricted to UK Games Expo, though.
There’s been an essential update from Battlefield Press.
The company boss, Jonathan Thompson, sadly passed away near the start of the year. He was the engine that kept Battlefield running.
His brother, Adam, has stepped up, but getting access to company details and computers has been a battle. This month, Adam finally got access to Kickstarter, where he discovered various unfilled campaigns.
Fans have been asked to wait while Adam tries to steady the finances and the company. This loyal brother is determined to do right and get gamers their product while saving Jonathan’s legacy.
There’s also a fight in the collectable trading card space over the likely-to-be-a-big-hit Disney Lorcana.
Lorcana is from Ravensburger, who makes other Disney games, but Upper Deck are suing.
Upper Deck say Lorcana has been stolen, and a designer who left them to join Ravensburger is involved.
If you do buy Lorcana here in the UK, or perhaps a Warhammer game from a British retailer, then your parcel might come with Warhammer stamps.
The 520-year old Royal Mail has issued an official set of Warhammer stamps to celebrate things British.
In the theme of old-things-are-geeky, Bronwen also penned an epic 18 vintage reproductions brands rated and reviewed. In this case, those vintage brands are dresses and just the sort of stylish attire you could wear to a gaming convention. Perhaps if you buy one of those online from a UK company, it might also arrive in a package decorated with Warhammer stamps.
As we hurry to the usual outro of bundles, let’s first tuck in one more free game and one which needs no postage at all.
WrightWerx has released a free starter edition to download of Mecha vs Kaiju 202x for 5e. It’s available from their DriveThruRPG store or by clicking handy links on Geek Native.
Right, those bundles are all on the Bundle of Holding and the first one is the 2nd edition of Lex Arcana. You have until the 26th to join the legions of a supernatural Roman empire.
Another, technically two separate ones, but let’s bundle the bundles, is from Goodman Games and for Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar. How badly did I pronounce that?
Lastly, there’s one from Aether Nexus for the evil world of Dragongrin. That’s a flash sale and you’ve only until the 14th to get it.
And on that note, let’s wrap up there; let people be themselves, and I’ll see you next week.
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