With the exception of making truck loads of money, the highlight of every Gen Con is meeting the fans and old pals we only see once or twice a year. Without a new release debuting at Gen Con this year, we didn’t make truck loads of money (though we did do well), but we certainly had a blast with our fans.
Hundreds and hundreds of people came up to the Palladium booth to wish us well. I have to say, while Palladium is not the biggest game company around, we certainly appear to be the most loved. In fact, we had a number of fan say just that, “We love Palladium. We love your games. We heard about your problems and Palladium can’t die. We won’t let you!” Cool! Such stories were usually followed by a brief history about how that person discovered Palladium and got hooked on us (typically Ninja Turtles®, Robotech®, Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy® or Heroes Unlimited™ – pretty much in that order). It was awesome.
I also had fun talking about gaming, characters and other things too. Common questions included: What’s coming next from Palladium (Powers Unlimited™ Three is at the printers and Rifts® Sourcebook One, expanded and updated, is what I’ll work on next), when can they expect Tome Grotesque™ or new Palladium Fantasy® titles, etc. A lot of people commented on how much they liked Rifts® Madhaven™ and were glad to hear that Brandon and Taylor are busy working on other Rifts® titles. Others asked about Robotech® and how things looked regarding Palladium getting the license to do it again (which is very good). A lot of people said they were looking forward to the 2007 Palladium Open House (three days of non-stop role-playing with the fellas who make the games, in the warehouse and offices where they are created!). A number of people who said they missed this year’s will definitely be here next May 4, 5 & 6. Excellent! We hope to make the 2007 Palladium Open House big ger and better than ever. I even hope to run 3-4 games and actually be rested and awake next year. More on that later.
The Rifter® #35 was a BIG hit, especially as word spread that there were pictures of me and the staff included among the pin-up pages. Everybody got a laugh out of our goofy pictures and started to ask that Wayne and I sign our photos as well as the credits page. Even those who claimed to have been “disturbed” or “freaked out” to see their favorite publisher and editors in swimsuits, insisted we sign our pin-up pages. So they couldn’t have been too “disturbed” by it all. In keeping with the fun of the moment, I inscribed most of my R-35 autographs with “Hey Baby,” or “Who loves ya!” followed by my signature. Two people, on two different days, told me that somehow, the silly photos of me in The Rifter® #35 actually made them respect me even more. Meanwhile, the running joke between me and Wayne became, “Hey, you can’t talk to me like that, I’m a pin-up now.” To which Wayne would reply, “Yeah? Well, so am I, and I’m the sultry one.”
It was hilarious. I also made sure that I got Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley to sign their pin-up pages. My ultimate goal is to eventually get every artist to sign his or her page.
We sold something like 119 copies of The Rifter® #35 and gave away another dozen or so. A distributor stopped by to tell me he had sold out already and would be placing an order for more. A couple of stores told me the same thing, so I guess our historic (and funny) swimsuit issue is a true hit and collector’s item.
We sold a lot of Rifts® Ultimate Editions, Ultimate Golds (we’re down to our last 90 copies), a dozen “A Megaverse® United” prints and a little bit of everything else.
Twenty-one of the 22 photocopies of Powers Unlimited™ Three also sold. That worked out great, because one of our online customers who had to swap an out of print book for a different title asked if he could get one of the PU3 advance photocopies. Perfect! Each advance copy of PU3 was signed by Carmen Bellaire, me and the crew, which people loved.
Half the PU3 purchasers came back to tell us that Powers Unlimited™ 3 was the best book in that series yet. In fact, a large number of Palladium fans stated they couldn’t believe how good our books have been lately. That they seem to be more exciting, edgier, and different than what anyone else is publishing, and even better than what Palladium has been producing for the last few years. Rifts® Ultimate Edition, BTS-2™, Arzno™ and Madhaven™ were the most often cited as examples of this.
Boy, we’re we glad to hear it, because our plan is to create the most exciting RPGs and sourcebooks in the world. To challenge, excite and inspire gamers like never before. For a few years there, I feel like we got a little complacent and our books, as good as they may have been, lost some of their edge. My goal is to wow and knock people’s socks off like never before. To give gamers what they expect and then some. To reclaim Palladium Books’ spot as one of the most innovative and dynamic RPG companies in the world.
That means you ain’t seen nothin’ yet, folks. Tome Grotesque™, Beyond Arcanum™, and Warpath: Urban Jungle™, are gonna exceed your expectations (at least I hope so). I want the new Rifts® Sourcebook One, Triax™ 2, Rifts® Voodoo, D-Bees of North America™ and Minion War™ series to surprise and please, and if things go our way, to make the new Robotech® RPG line thrill and delight fans, new and old. Heck, I want all of our sourcebooks and products to excite the imagination and open up new worlds of adventure. And that attitude is shared by every one of Palladium’s staff, freelance writers and artists. Yep, the best is yet to come. Sorry, I got a little carried away there. Back to the Gen Con report . . .
We were blown away by the gent who came clad as a Rifts® Ley Line Walker. That was Steven Klett from Wisconsin. Wow, what a great job! He looked great and won First Place in the Gen Con costume contest in the Hodgepodge category. When he came by the Palladium booth I asked if I could get a picture of him. The next thing I knew, we were mobbed by a dozen or two people all taking pictures. The photos of the Line Walker continued after we shook hands and Steven shuffled off to see more of the convention. His costume really was excellent, detailed and well done, and it was very cool seeing a Rifts® character in real life. I’m glad Steven dropped by the next day in his “mortal garb” so we could see what he really looked like and admire his award.
Steven has inspired several other Palladium fans to come to Gen Con in costume next year. One fella plans to come as a Coalition Officer in dress uniform, another said he’s going to try to build a suit of Coalition Dead Boy armor and another said he was going to try to make a Juicer costume.
The rave response to the Ley Line Walker costume prompted Wayne Smith to suggest that we have a Costume Contest at the Palladium Open House 2 (May 4, 5 & 6, 2007) and at Gen Con Indy in 2007.
The idea is that fans come dressed as “iconic” Palladium characters – meaning a character from Rifts®, Chaos Earth™, Palladium Fantasy®, Heroes Unlimited™, etc., that is clearly and distinctly a character from one of our game lines. A Wolfen, Nightbane, Dog Boy, CS soldier in uniform, CS soldier in armor, a Glitter Boy, Juicer, Sunaj, Crazy, Ley Line Walker, D-Bee, etc., would all fit the bill. None of that, I’m dressed as a fan, stuff, or a generic mage in a simple robe, but ornate and wonderful costumes of wizards, warriors, superheroes, mutant animals, monsters and other “Palladium” characters.
What do you think? Kathy’s up for it and says for the Open House, the staff should wear costumes too.
As for prizes, we’re thinking if we get at least 20-30 people in costume, we could offer Palladium gift certificates and maybe a cash prize for First, Second and Third Place. Plus it would be fun to do, especially invading Gen Con with Palladium characters.
So, what do you think? Whaddya think?! Let us know. And start making those costumes!
Jeff Hansen and I had breakfast with Thomas J. Bateman, the Brand Coordinator at Harmony Gold. He, like Tommy Yune, is excited about Palladium picking up the Robotech® RPG license again, as are we.
The three of us talked about Palladium’s thoughts on the approach and format of the new series, the material to focus on at first, what the fans seem to want, Robotech history, and how exciting it is for Palladium to be working with Harmony Gold again.
Of course, this is all a little premature. The first draft of the Harmony Gold contract arrived via fax as we were walking out the door for Gen Con, so I haven’t even had a chance to look at it yet.
If things follow the usual pattern, it will take 4-6 weeks to hammer out an agreement everyone can live with, then we start research and outline Robotech RPG products, and schedule writing to begin. At this point, Palladium is shooting for a March, 2007, release date, but that target date might get pushed up or knocked back a bit depending on how everything works out. And that’s assuming we can reach an agreement (which we should; I mean, we did Robotech for 15 years and we’re the fan’s first choice as well as HG’s).
Our thanks to Harmony Gold for being willing to take a chance on Palladium despite our recent troubles and public crisis. Palladium always had a good relationship with Harmony Gold in the past, and we believe this new venture will be even more rewarding.
We have a ton of cool ideas for the Robotech RPG series and, as always, we will be looking to our fans to let us know what you’d like to see changed, updated, improved upon and covered most in the new RPG line.
We can’t go into all of our plans, but yes, we’ll be producing entirely new books, adjust to fit the commonly accepted Robotech time-line and produce RPG sourcebooks and adventures for all aspects of the Robotech time-line, including Southern Cross, Invid Invasion/New Generation, and Shadow Chronicles. In fact, this is another game line we are all chomping at the bit to sink our teeth into.
Once word spread, the free games run by the Megaversal Ambassadors filled up fast. I know James Brown, Zachary Houghton, and Lonnie Langston, ran at least 3-4 games each, Wallace Stricker ran a couple, and so did many others. It was great and we heard nothing but positive feedback about all the games.
Next year, Zach hopes to get Palladium its own room where we can run gaming events NONSTOP all weekend. Good ol’ Zach.
One of the best things about a show like Gen Con is seeing old pals and making new friends.
In the old pals category, I got to hang with Jolly Blackburn a little, chat with Mike Hummel, catch up with James Mishler, exchange ideas and information with Milton Griepp, goof around a little with Doug Lamberson and his pal Mark, sell artwork to Wallace Stricker, and say hello to Chuck and Carol Knakal, John Zinser, Don Rentz, Sean Patrick Fannon, Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Tyler Walpole, and a host of other artists and industry buddies.
The ex, Maryann, popped by to say hello, snag a copy of PU3, and drop off chocolate chip cookies, before zipping off to explore the rest of the dealer’s hall and convention offerings.
Shawn and Lisa Hall surprised us by dropping in on Saturday, with their youngsters, Little Lisa, C.J. and Isaiah. We had a great time with mom, dad and the kids, especially at dinner later that evening. In fact, I clowned around so much with Little Lisa that she wanted me to come home with them. Yep, children, dogs and Palladium gamers love me. :)
NMI (Jeff Ruiz) also drove in on Saturday, although he’s another one that I never seem to get a chance to talk with much at conventions.
James Brown was a big help running games as a Megaversal Ambassador and helping us set up the booth, tear down and load up the truck. In fact, James was so out front running games and helping that somebody asked him if he worked for Palladium Books. No, but he’s great supporter and cool guy.
Roger and Randi Cartier, looooong time friends, play testers and sometime contributors, hung out at the Palladium booth too, pitching in wherever they could.
I was glad I found time to chat with Glen Evans on a few occasions over the weekend. Glen is another fan who has become a pal. Big shows are a whirlwind for me, which is great, welcomed and fun, but I often find I don’t have time to talk much with many of the friends who come down to visit (sorry, Doug), but I lucked out and got to spend a little quality time with Glen.
Meanwhile, poor Peter Hartman wandered the convention halls like a lost waif. You see, for the first time in FIFTEEN years, Peter wasn’t running a game. Oh, he had planned to, but a few days before Gen Con and, ironically, just as he hit the print button to run off the game stats and characters . . . his hard drive crashed. The material was irretrievable (at least in time for Gen Con) and so he had to cancel all of his scheduled games. Next year, Pete, next year.
In the new friend category, I got to know Lonnie Langston, one of our Megaversal Ambassadors who pitched in big time at Gen Con. Then, of course, there was Dennis Hughes, who is always fun to hang around with, and Zachary Houghton. I’ve met Zach at past conventions and we’ve corresponded via letters over the years (and more recently, as the head of the Megaversal Ambassadors’ program, by e-mail and telephone), but it was nice to spend time with Zachary in person and meet his lovely wife, Theresa. Meeting his wife, Grace . . . er . . . Theresa (inside joke), was a pleasure. She’s a good sport and nice lady who, along with my sweetie, Kathy, managed to put up with the rest of us wisecracking, goofball gamers all weekend. Our big buddy, Dennis Hughes and the Houghtons joined the Palladium crew for dinner Thursday evening. We hooked up again at the Ennies Award ceremony.
Speaking of the Ennies (a nice, if crowded affair), Palladium managed to keep its streak alive by NOT winning a single award. (Scott Johnson was robbed, and shoulda’ won “Best RPG Cover Art.”) 25 years and counting without ever winning a single award! It’s gotta be a world record, at least in gaming. Don’t worry, we’ll try again next year and we’re confident we won’t win an award, again! Which is the way I like it! It was nice just to be nominated and Denise is very gracious.
If nothing else, the Ennies enticed Scott Johnson to come down for the day. I love this guy. Not only is he a great artist, but a great guy and a dear friend, so it was awesome to have Scott around.
Mike Stackpole shared some info about podcasting, and swung by later to introduce me to some gents who run online podcast forums. I agree with Mike that podcasts and similar online mediums are the magazines of the future and I welcome any of you podcasters who’d like to do interviews or have me or any of my staff or freelancers as guests on your sites to contact us.
I also want to say that Mike Stackpole has been a class act. He and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, but when Palladium announced its crisis, Mike was one of the first to buy a print (and I hear he asked others he knows to do likewise), and he has offered helpful information, suggestions and heartfelt best wishes. Thank you Mike, it is very much appreciated. You’re okay in my book.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Tyson McBride. He’s one of the people determined to try to make a costume for next year.
There were a lot of other people, and I hope they aren’t disappointed that I did not mention them all by name.
I want to thank Jeffry Hansen, Paul Deckert, Kathy Simmons and Wayne Smith for coming down with me this year and working the booth. Although Gen Con is a lot of fun, it is also a heck of a lot of work for us.
This was Jeff’s first Gen Con, so he was like a little kid marveling at all the sights and sounds. Jeff is also hilarious and I really enjoyed clowning around with him. I’m glad he was part of the team this year. Paul is a veteran of the shows and always seemed to be around at the right moments to lend a hand. Kathy is just a wiz who kept the booth and cash registers running like a top. Wayne was our navigator, truck driver and second register person, among many other things (like being a Rifter pin-up and editor at Palladium).
And although they were not official booth rats and were often off running games, Zachary Houghton, Lonnie Langston, James Brown, Wallace Stricker, NMI, Dennis Hughes, and others played a huge role as Megaversal Ambassadors and grunts willing to pitch in where needed.
Thanks everyone, for making Gen Con 2006 a success. And that includes the multitude of gamers who came by to chat, get autographs, make purchases and offer us words of support.
Till next year . . . keep those imaginations burning bright.
– Kevin Siembieda
President, Publisher, Writer, Conventioneer and Wildman
Copyright 2006 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
This Press Release may be used and portions reprinted with Palladium's permission for the purpose of news and promotion. Rifts®, Megaverse® and Palladium Books® are registered trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. and Kevin Siembieda. Heroes Unlimited, Powers Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, Tome Grotesque, Beyond Arcanum, Splicers, MercTown, Merc Ops, Dinosaur Swamp, Chaos Earth, NEMA and all other titles and names are trademarks of Palladium Books.