Geeking With the Wife – Episode 6: Public Relations

My dad and I are finishing up our VASSAL game. I’ve got Defender X on the run, literally – I’m teaching my dad to actually retreat instead of pulling in for the hit each time. Not that Defender X is a pushover in the department, what with a decent defense stat, but he just isn’t designed to go toe-to-toe with another monster. It doesn’t help that my monster is Armodax and that he keeps leaving just enough space for me to smash him.

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It’s hard to retreat, not physically, but mentally. There was a recent talk on the next big motivating factor in videogames. Rather than fun or interaction or success, the suggestion was made that embarrassment will soon be the prime motivator to play and do well at games. We’re so public now – Facebook, Twitter, MySpace (where aesthetics go to die) – that even when we’re playing by ourselves (by ourselves, you dirty-minded son-of-a-gun) we’re looking to make leader boards or gain “achievements” and “merits.” To retreat from battle doesn’t win you anything, and it can make you look cowardly. You might charge in, not because it’s the best idea, but because even when it’s just you and your opponent, you feel like everybody is watching.

* * *

It takes my dad two monster turns to reach his Repair Vehicle and heal a point of damage. Luckily for him, my groundbound Armodax can’t easily pursue him. Now I’ll have trouble taking him out in one shot as well, since all of the buildings on this side of the board (heck, the middle of the board, too) have been destroyed. I stomp the G-Tanks and Mobile Ops he has surrounding me – he’d decided the best way to buy time was to hem me in. I’m about to tell him the problems with his plan when my dice come up embarrassingly blank.

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Embarrassment keeps a lot of people from having fun. Take Monsterpocalypse. There’s a lot of potential fear in this game – fear that you’ll be seen as infantile, fear that you won’t have the strategic capacity to do well, fear of the Lords of Cthul on general principle. To counter fear, there must be a public relations campaign.

The obvious PR for Monsterpocalypse comes from Privateer Press itself. It wisely releases previews of upcoming sets to whet the appetites of those already interested in the game. It’s putting out a Voltron-themed set to encourage those who might be overwhelmed by the complexity of the full thing. It has great staff members. I had an idea for a new reaction, which I called Burster: if this monster is hit by an attack, place 1 FAC unit from your reserves adjacent to it. Floating said idea to a developer is not something that you’d think would go anywhere, but I sent a PM to Mike at Privateer Press through the official boards. He responded, and didn’t just respond but noted that he had an idea where the ability might be appropriately used someday (no, I couldn’t get any spoilers out of him). That’s great customer interaction.

The unofficial public relations campaign is undertaken by us, the players. We run demos. We get our family/friends/significant others interested. We put our geekiness on the line, attempting to get someone to smash plastic figures. The official campaign seems to be paying off. What about ours?

* * *

I advance some Bellowers, take a pot shot at one of his G-Tanks, and Extinguish a fire hazard so that I can smash Defender X on my next turn. Seeing the writing on the wall, my dad advances and fires, using Beatback to shove Armodax away from his monster. It’s not enough, though, and he’s not screened. With a mighty roar, Armodax rears up and charges, smashing Defender X with all available dice. Two points. Down for the count.

My dad has had a great time. It took us about three weeks to play his first game, perhaps three hours of playtime all told. He wants to set up another game for next weekend. Maybe he’ll field some of the G1 Strike Fighters I sent him. Maybe he’ll continue tweaking his understanding of G-Tanks. Maybe he’ll win. Maybe he’ll lose. Doesn’t matter. He wants to play.

* * *

I have two big questions for the readers out there.

One, how have you interested people in Monsterpocalypse? I’m not asking you to get involved in any pyramid schemes, and I’m not working on behalf of Privateer Press. I like the game, but there’s slight difference between reporting on fun times with it (and even admiring the way PP does business) and actually shilling for it. There are a number of folks, though, who want to get others into the game just because it’s fun. Let’s help them out.

Two, are the significant others/family members/friends-who-don’t-necessarily-play still reading this column? I’ve gotten a little more technical in the last few episodes, filling in fewer of the blanks, assuming somewhat more knowledge of the game. I do that because Kate’s advancing in her understanding, as is my dad. But this column is first and foremost for the casual players, for the people who love people who play Monsterpocalypse. I don’t want to leave you behind.

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A final bit of PR. I noted this in a response to my last column, but I have to make something clear. I will never actually ever be made to sleep on the couch. I’ve slept on the couch twice in our nearly seven years of marriage, and both times were simply because I was kicking in my sleep (bad dreams – bad). The last time that Kate beat me, in particular, she earned it. I got caught unawares on the first move of the game, not expecting her to take advantage of a barely-weak position. Then I got caught by the dice. Thanks to everybody who is cheering for me to finally take a match against her, but don’t worry, I’m not really pulling my punches anymore. I might do stupid things at various times – again, casual player here – but it’s real.