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Welcome => GrogHeads Feedback => Topic started by: bayonetbrant on December 21, 2016, 09:20:39 PM

Title: The Holiday Feature: Wrapping up 2016, GrogHeads Style
Post by: bayonetbrant on December 21, 2016, 09:20:39 PM
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgrogheads.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F12%2FWrapUp2016-SPLASH.jpg&hash=3fc693b8040a86d7e10015beaf4b8bbd4089f1f6) (http://grogheads.com/?p=13441)

Title: Re: The Holiday Feature: Wrapping up 2016, GrogHeads Style
Post by: JasonPratt on December 21, 2016, 09:47:24 PM
Biggest story in gaming: the ascension of the virtual tabletop -- now with VR capability -- which allows a way for old, out-of-print games to be republished in a feasibly playable format. Too bad the designers and right-owners rarely get compensated, so the massive influx of free fan-mods has become quite a double-edged sword. I feel pretty sure v-tables have been around for a year or two already, but this was the year they blossomed in potential.

Most fun I've had in gaming: gosh, it's been a lonnnng year! But I'm going to go with "getting into the survival-craft genre", a type I had never played before. This year I extensively played both Empyrion and Fortresscraft: Evolved, but despite being quite literally a nihilism simulator (how long can you stand to keep playing the game before you admit its ultimate futility and just let yourself die?!) I most played and enjoyed 7 Days to Die -- not only for the epic ambience, but in cooperation with fellow Grogs.  O0
Title: Re: The Holiday Feature: Wrapping up 2016, GrogHeads Style
Post by: Cyrano on December 21, 2016, 11:43:52 PM
Awww man...missed a deadline and missed a lot.

Well, no one reads the MTF, anyway, so I'll write it here.

In ascending order, biggest trends in gaming (from my perspective):

3.  The Golden Age of the boardgame -- including the clankity consim -- continues unabated and, in fact, grows.  GMT is only the brightest light here and "Lock n Load", Mark Walker's shop, OSS, MPP, Decision Games, &c., all compete for the Grogbuck.

2.  Game designers and producers are still struggling make peace between Kickstarter the concept and the final retail market.  As long as folks want to offer games after they've been published, as I assume most do, they cannot screw later-adopters out of key content.  On the other hand, the allure of precious up-front capital has lead to some both magnificent and absurd KS campaigns that funded some truly terrific games on the backs of those of us who cannot and will not wait even for the on-line retailer, much less FLGSs.

1.  The Ubiquity of Borg.  You will be assimilated.  Richard is far more than the creator of C&C in all its forms which is mere inches from getting its Epic iteration out the door -- not to mention the recently-announced Medieval iteration which burned through its P500 like a rocket slet on rails.  He's also got the smash hit reboot of Siege of the Citadel (MOAR TOYZ!!!) and Battle of Britain following up on the lovely "Great War" with its tank expansion.  He is a grogfather.

PRIME GAMING EXPERIENCES:

3.  Fort Kick-Ass at Origins.  Any place where "Flick 'em Up" and "Operation Flashpoint: Red Storm" are equally welcome is fair near my idea of heaven.

2.  Rediscovering my love of hex-and-counter square button games.  With rounded corners on all the counters.  And using one of those games to run a KS right here on the Groghead fora.

1.  On a personal note, I turned 50 this year.  I wasn't too nuts about the notion, but decided, in the end, it beat the pants off the alternative.  My beloved did much to make it more merry, including scheduling two solid weekends of gaming.  Over those days I saw many friends that I had not seen in some time, many of whom came from very far a way just to spend time in my company.  Likely the farthest traveler was my friend Doug with whom I ate pie and wrecked ogres.  A pearl of great price for which I am grateful.

Truthfully, given all the angst-y FB memes, I almost feel guilty about how good 2016 was...