Category: Games

World War Weird

One of my biggest sources for hobby ideas is YouTube. I find SO much inspiration from the plethora of content creators there. It’s like a free subscription to hundreds of hobby magazines. Every day, new issues come out, and each puts its own spin on whatever subject that could strike my fancy.

Over the last several months, a new game has been making waves in the miniature and gaming community (and as a result, it’s been HUGE on YouTube.) There was a Kickstarter campaign that has generated close to $3.5 million for this project. I am admittedly ignorant as to the workings of crowdfunding (and, thus, have never been involved in one.) I am usually one of the LAST to know about the latest, biggest thing. That’s OK, though. Most of my interests gravitate toward the vintage and retro, so NEW isn’t usually even a consideration.

That notwithstanding, this game looks awesome. Trench Crusade (by Factory Fortress) is a skirmish tabletop wargame that combines an alternate history set in World War 1 with Gothic horror. In a nutshell, the Crusades of the Middle Ages went WAY worse in this fictional setting, and Hell was given the opportunity to join in the battles. Unlike its usual wartime participation – by proxy – in Trench Crusade, Hell shows up in person. The game sets humanity against the supernatural, and after 800 years, the conflict continues. It feels kind of like if H.P Lovecraft had taken LSD, and then fought in the first world war.

Some of the imagery from the Diablo IV video game
Cover artwork from Games Workshop’s 1999 skirmish game (now out of print.)

The project is a gaming version of a rock super-group. It was started by 3 creative forces; artist Mike Franchina (of Diablo IV fame,) Tuomas Pirinen (formerly of Games Workshop’s Mordheim creative team,) and James Sheriff (freelance sci-fi and fantasy miniature sculptor,) brought this abomination to life. The aesthetic is incredible, and I’m sure that is the major draw. It is grim and dark, but without the ornate pageantry of the “forty-first millennium.”

There are two aspects of this game that make it especially appealing to me. Although the hardback books and supplements are available for purchase, the core rules are available online for free, and the game is “miniature agnostic” – meaning, you are welcome to use whatever gaming miniatures you like. They offer “official” ones, but unlike the long-established king of tabletop wargames, they welcome variety, and don’t discriminate against kitbashers and 3rd party figures. This is a 3d printer’s dream!

 

As I’ve mentioned in other articles, I haven’t been much of a “gamer.” I paint miniatures. This new player is very tempting, though. I’m feeling a draw toward the terrain building and dice rolling. Maybe this could be a tipping point into a new(ish) aspect of my hobby.

Or I could end up reading through it, getting bored, and just painting up some WWI soldiers fighting monsters and demons. Which, in and of itself, sounds pretty cool, too.

So, win – win, right?

-Toph

The Ever Growing Pile

I was looking over a handful of miniatures from my “pile of disappointment” -it’s like what other hobbyists refer to as a pile of shame, but rather than being un-built, it’s more focused on being let down by projects I started, but never fully completed. And it also isn’t a single pile. It’s an assortment of minis, projects, bits, etc., that grows at an exponential rate. It is also not limited to miniatures – it includes model kits, action figures, book series, etc.

I’ve been pondering this phenomenon. I’m prone to such bouts of self examination, having worked for most of my career in mental health treatment. I sometimes look for maladaptive behaviors more overtly than the average person. And if there’s one thing I’ve discovered, it’s that I have a couple of maladaptive behaviors.

Like most problems, its root cause doesn’t seem to be simple or straightforward. I can get distracted by the next new, exciting thing, pushing the original project to the never-ending back burner. This sudden “SQUIRREL” moment typically happens 1/3 of the way through the current project. It’s a trait i picked up from my late father, and it was made all the more clear when my brothers and I were cleaning out our parents’ house. He had his own piles of disappointment. The only difference was that he had a 25-year head start on his collections.

I recognize that I’m an easy mark for FOMO (fear of missing out,) especially in regard to “collectibles.” Limited edition sounds pretty exciting, since they always increase in value…right? I mean, with only a few tens of thousand available, I’ve GOT to have it before they’re gone forever. But even if I did happen to trip over that signed first edition of “The Old Man and the Sea,” 1909 S-VDB Lincoln cent, or original Honus Wagoner baseball card, I can almost guarantee I’ll open it, remove it from the box, and likely, throw away the one thing that stands any chance of making it retain its value – the packaging. And the fear of missing out doesn’t seem to care about these facts.

There is also an actual, irrational feeling of need to complete sets. If there are 12 of something, people tend to feel uncomfortable if they only possess 10 of them. Sometimes it isn’t even a conscious feeling – just an internal drive. If a TV show has 4 seasons, and he’s only seen the first 3, he will feel like he must see the final season. Even if the quality of the writing seems to have gone down over the run of the series, he’ll want to “see it through.” And the very nature of being a “collector” of something implies completing the set. The problem is that most of these sets are open-ended. You will never get them all, because they always make more.

 

As I said a couple paragraphs ago, I was cleaning out our parents’ house. Along with all of dad’s half – completed projects, I found several of my own, stored in boxes in the basement, attic, and garage. It drove the point home that this tendency to leave things incomplete wasn’t going to self-correct. And rather than simply accepting my fate, I should work to improve the situation.

I have a lot of interests, and many involve creativity. But not all of my ideas need to turn into masterpieces. In fact, they probably shouldn’t. Some of these efforts aren’t worth continuing. My next project is going to involve evaluating these initial efforts, and where appropriate, ending the experiment.

So, with that in mind, I’m starting a new collection. I’m collecting things to take out to the dumpster.

-Toph