Perspectives

It's been an interesting few weeks here.

First, I've been having PC problems the past several weeks.  I have new laptop inbound from Dell that will become my main box, though the shipping from Dell's webstore seems to take an incredibly long time (yes, welcome to a society where instant gratification runs rampant).  In the meantime, neither my 2009-era desktop nor this slowly-dying laptop are up to the task of anything besides web browsing and random commenting.  I've known this laptop has been having hardware issues (in particular the charge jack is completely borked) but held off in buying the replacement laptop until after we got back from a midwinter vacation.

I'll admit that I had all but forgotten about EVE until my main accounts subscription kicked over for another 6 months of time.  To be honest, if I'd known it was about to expire, I'd have maybe not let it bill.

This may or may not be my last post here.  I'm pushing a year since I would consider EVE to be my 'main' time diversion, and in the past 6 months it's slid off my top 3 or maybe my top 5 list of ways to unwind each night.

There are several ways to wrap up a blog.  The easiest is to just post as if you're coming back tomorrow and then never do.  This results in a blog that's like that scene from Aliens where the space marines wander through the colonist's office space to find everything as if it had been left 5 minutes ago, including half eaten donuts, only the wind is howling and the roof is leaking and you KNOW that it's been far longer since anyone has touched that cup of coffee.  I'd really rather not do that, but as I said it's the easiest.

The second way is to ragequit and erupt in a manifesto of ranty nonesense.  This serves as an emotional unload, as someone tries to validate their conflicted feelings about the game.  Some might even be seeking to take players with them to help them feel vindicated in their rage.  But usually nobody says "You're right, this game sucks and CCP are dolts and I'm coming with you."  Instead, the response is an obligatory "can I have your stuff?"

And I'm really not angry with CCP, although I am disappointed that resources were diverted away from having a compelling PVE experience.  CCP has done what they think is best for their survival.  Meanwhile my life and my interests have diverged from their vision. I'm no longer their target audience, and truthfully, haven't been for awhile.  And I'm ok with that.

The third major way to end a blog is a goodbye post, which in a way is what I'm writing now.  There's neither heat nor rant included, it's just an acknowledgement that the venue has run its course and it's time to pack it in.  I've avoided this kind of post for awhile, because I really don't know when the EVE bug will bite me again and my time in New Eden will spiral back up to peak levels.  And really, as I work around the house the idea for a stray post does strike me.  I work out the theme in my head, and then when I sit down to write the result is maybe half a dozen sentences and I save it as a draft.  I'd like to think that I'll resurrect these ideas for a series of non-EVE content.

And so instead of saying "goodbye" I'll wrap this post with two such drafts.

Kingdom Death
Let's talk about Kingdom Death next.  The Kickstarter ended back in January, and in the final hours it went a little crazy, finally knocking Exploding Kittens off to become the #1 funded boardgame on kickstarter.  It continued to climb; when the dust settled it was just short of $12.4M in pledges.

Over the course of the campaign, I began following things very closely; it became part of my evening ritual to lurk on the KS comments, re-post useful links/summaries, and try to help people find information.  A little community sprang up based in the KS comments, and I felt very much included.

When the campaign ended, most of the community burst like a balloon and vanished, and I think I went though a little period of mourning.  This past week the pledge manager went active, and It's been a reunion of sorts as people reappear to process their individual pledges.  The initial flurry of activity is now over and things are returning to minimal activity.  Delivery on the campaign runs through 2020 or 2021, so maybe I should get used to this feast and famine cycle.


Real Life Stuff
I'm coming up on 20 years in "Industry."  I've seen and done more than a few things.  I've watched other people repeat the same mistakes, and I've repeated a few of my own.  While everything has been going wonderfully at the 'new' office ('new' is in quotes because it's already coming up on 18mo since my arrival), the amount of crazy has been slowly ramping up.  I was brought in, in part, to help put some sanity into the weekly work flow, and I'm beginning to realize that I maybe can't be successful. This office is always going to be crazy; it's just the nature of the beast.

I've started having conversations about my next assignment and career advancement.  I'm doing well. Some may want to fast track me to areas of more responsibility.  But while I like the idea of better pay, more stability (my current assignment is sort of at the whims of my boss' boss - if she moves on, I'm perhaps at risk), and more overall influence in the organization, there's a seed of doubt.

About 10 years ago, in another company, I got fast tracked.  I was the best candidate for the job at the time, but it was still premature for me.  The organization I was in had a few Sr. Leaders swap out and the replacements were just simply a bag of assholes.  So here I am, new in the job, dealing with vast amounts of pressure from topside.  Within 6 months, it started affecting me physically. My weight ballooned, my blood pressure was up, I was irritable and short tempered at home, and had a couple of meltdowns in the office.  I eventually quit and went to another company, and it took me about 2 years to detox from that experience.

I would hope to never repeat that cycle.  I'm older and wiser and would never do that again, right?

In late January, we took our midwinter vacation to the Caribbean.  It was one of those trips where we unplugged and turned the volume knob of the outside world way, way down.  No internets, no phones.  We were away from major news sources, and for one blissful week didn't hear anything about the politics back home.  We didn't have any social media screaming for attention.  WhatsApp was silent.  I was completely disconnected from the office.  The only days that mattered were Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow.  Everything else became a blur.

In all the trips we've taken over the years, the times that we have disconnected from everything to this extent can be counted on one hand.

It was very, very nice.

I returned to the office and things didn't feel quite the same. The crisis du jour didn't matter as much.  Others had filled the gaps that I left while I was out.  There was less load on me.  I savored that feeling, and took it with me as I met with people for my mid-year career planning sessions.

What I realized is that I've got about 15 years before my earliest retirement date.  Its in my nature to want to help, and I think I've got a reasonable talent for organizing teams and programs.  But I need to be careful that I don't become unbalanced; that I give up workload when I take on new, that I stay selective in my future assignments, and I don't get trapped in a position where I can't be successful.

Merry Christmas

Or Happy Holidays, if you'd prefer.

The frigid cold, sleet, and ice has relented, at least for a few days, which will make our holiday road trip a little more enjoyable.  As much as I like a White Christmas, it's really no fun to drive in the stuff.

So, be safe, don't eat too much candy, if you drink - don't drive.  Otherwise, fly it like you stole it and have a fabulous time.

While I'm typing, I'll add a few bullet points.  Bullet points are cool.

• The Kingdom Death campaign will wrap in 14 days.  The next week will be slow, but it managed to top $8.35M this week.  It looks like it may topple Exploding Kittens from the #1 board game slot.
• I have a few days off next week and hope to get some miniatures painted, some WoW played, and will hopefully bounce around EVE a bit killing Sanshas.
• The Man in the High Castle is on my list of streaming for the break.  Season2 was added to Amazon Prime, and we've made it to e4 so far.  I think it's moving better than S1 and I really liked S1.  My advice is to read the Wiki entry on the book so that you can better understand some of the backstory, and heck, taking a Wiki-dive into WW2 history isn't a bad idea either.
• The Expanse returns in February.  Read the books, watch the show. 'nuff said.

o7 all

Abavus

Monster

This is a post about tabletop miniatures-based board games.  It's perhaps the first of a few; as my EVE career continues to cartwheel in space like a dead frozen corpse.

My current EVE career.  In stasis, awaiting a resurrection and a splitting headache.

Back in August, we went to GenCon in Indianapolis for our 3rd year, and I scooped up armfuls of new limited release Brimstone goodness (and still have a pile of it waiting to be assembled and played with, sigh).  We had a great 'con, played a lot of games and spent a lot of money, talked to game designers of 2 of our favorite games, and had dinner with old friends.

We toured the show floor repeatedly, and there was one booth that stopped me in my tracks early on day 1.  I don't say that figuratively. I actually stopped in the aisle, blocked traffic, and gawked.

It was Kingdom Death: Monster.  Hence the title of this post.

KD:M Box Cover

The models/figures were fantastic.  The art/cards/books/packaging was all so exceptionally well done.  I lurked during game demos and the gameplay seemed to hit a lot of the mechanics on my wish list.  It's a co-op game, so it's something that we can play on game night without someone having to "lose."

I could hear my visa card buzzing in my wallet.  Abavus didn't know what this was, but he wanted it.

KD:M Core Box - weighs 17 lbs.

The Flower Knight

Alas, they were sold out, but I had been ensnared.  

There's a parallel between KD:M and CCP:EVE that only occurred to me this week - what stopped me on the floor at GenCon was how gorgeous the game was.  The figures, cards, board, packaging - all done in a style that EVE players might find familiar.  CCP's branding has always been very intentional, minimal/clean, and very very consistent (even to the level of detail of how their offices are decorated).  KD:M had a very similar feel -- artful but practical, and done with an amount of talent and care not present in any other product on a very crowded GenCon floor.  KD:M is described as a "Labor of Love" by its creator, and I believe that.  He's poured his soul into this, and it shows.  

Secondly, the content of KD:M is visceral, dark, and gritty. And intended for mature audiences.  Just like EVE.

This video shows some of the art.  These very figures were the ones I saw in the case at GenCon.  The statue-motif completely rocks it.

Ok, so why am I rambling on about this now?  That was August and it's now December.

Here's why:  The second kickstarter for KD:M is currently underway.  It's becoming a big deal.

As I type, it's north of $7.3M pledged.  For a 4-person company that is self-publishing a boutique game without any corporate overlords, centralized distributors, etc. that's a big damn number.  It's the #8 kickstarter ever by size, and #2 in the tabletop games category (Exploding Kittens being #1 at $8.7M). 

The stats of the campaign is impressive:  they blew past the first edition's kickstarter within a few hours of the start and had a first 48 hours that was simply nuts.  Even if you're not a board gamer, it'll maybe interesting to watch how the next 4 weeks unfolds.  And right now everyone is talking about what a huge success this is, but nobody has really thought through what the longer term implications for the gaming market might be.  There are implications to assumptions regarding distribution channels, expected art quality, expected figure detail.  And certainly, there are some old assumptions about 'mature' content not selling well that this seems to be balking.  I don't think I'm overhyping it by saying this the kind of thing that's going to send shockwaves through the industry.

PS:  I am, of course, pledged into the KS and will be adding KD:M to our shelf.