Volume 1, Issue 4

Yet Another AC Games Project in the Works!

I recently began the compilation and revision of a set of rules for a PBM (Play by Mail) game I wrote in high school, codenamed BOS.. The rules, as they exist, are spread out over several dozen sheets of loose notebook paper dating back to the early nineties. I am compiling, revising, and adding new rules to expand the game. The future of this game is uncertain, as PBM games virtually died out as the popularity of the net spread.

It will be released at some point in the future as a PBEM (Play by Email) or web-based game. At this point the possibility of it being pay-to-play is being considered. It also could end up as a free game available through the AC Games website. BOS is a labor of love, I played it extensively in high school and had a great time. I'm reviving it to share this great game with others.

AC Games Issues a Call For Playtesters

Playtesting is the process of playing a newly designed game for the purposes of finding holes in the rules that need plugged, loopholes that need corrected, muddy rules that need to be explained more clearly, unbalanced rules that need balanced, and so forth. Playtesting is a very important part of the design process. Up to this point I've relied on myself and a few friends to fill the role of playtesters, but soon I will need more people (BOS is by nature a multiplayer game requiring at least 10 players) and new eyes that haven't yet played the game (GPC, in this case).

This is an open call, everyone is welcome. Responding doesn't guarantee you'll be used as a playtester, but you certainly won't if you don't let me know you're interested. What do you have to do? Play my games and give me feedback on the areas mentioned above, and others. Your reward? Your name listed in the finished rulebook as a Playtester, and a free copy of the finished game.

How do you sign up? Send me an email at [email protected] saying you want to be included on my list of playtesters. That's all. I won't send you any unwanted emails, and I won't give your email address out to anyone else. I just keep it on file, and when I need playtesters I'll send you an email asking if you are still interested. If so, I'll send you more information. If not, I'll take you off the list and you never hear from me again. Its completely painless.

The only game I am currently recruiting playtesters for is BOS, a multiplayer PBEM game of gladiatorial combat. If you want to playtest future products in other formats, but do not wish to be considered for playtesting BOS, please indicate that in the email.

Work Continues on GPC

GPC is not dead! I am still adding new material and cleaning it up. Have faith, the new GPC will be finished soon and go into the final playtesting stage. I am working on several projects simultaneously (to save my sanity and to stay enthusiastic, which is hard when you live and breathe one project at a time), so its going a bit slower than expected, but it is progressing nicely, and I'm very happy with the new directions GPC is taking. Stay tuned for further developments, and the release of GPC for sale later this year.

As preliminary work continues on the SK RPG, I keep having more and more great ideas on how to make this game better. The first draft has not yet been started, but I am adding tons of new ideas and concepts to the design notes every day. The only bad part is that with all of these great ideas, something will probably have to be cut out when SK goes to press. However, its all too good to waste, so anything left out will be available in other SK products, or for free on the AC Games website.

I have already covered AC Games' (my) philosophy on pricing and content vs. fluff in products on the AC Games Website ( http://www.geocities.com/kazashima/AC.html ), so I'll leave that as it stands and move on to something else here. Lets talk about continuity and crossover in products.

One thing that has always irked me as a gamer is spending alot of money on a product, then finding notes all through it that refer to other products that I don't have. So, in order to effectively use this new material, a gamer would have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of other overpriced books (which presumably would have references to yet other books he or she didn't have). I find this ridiculous. The book is useless on its own, and it cost me loads of money. Needless to say I didn't buy any more of that company's products. My resources have their limits and I can't afford to buy every book the company ever produced (and some were even out of print).

There is a line of AC Games products, starting with GPC, that will have crossover potential built in. What does this mean to you, the gamer? It means you can take units from Game A and easily pit them against units from Game B, without creating a ton of house rules and changes to compensate. They are designed to be compatible from the ground up. Now, does this mean you *have* to have Game A to play Game B, or vice versa? NO. These games are completely standalone. The backstory behind them will link them together, the point costs and core rules will use the same principles and mechanics. It will be very easy to combine, or switch between all games in this line, but it is not necessary.

AC Games understands that the gamer is the lifeblood of our company. Without gamers AC Games will not survive. To that end, I am going to do my best to keep the gamer happy with my products and my company. Screwing people out of their hard earned money is just bad business (note: the company that created the game i mentioned earlier has since gone out of business. Enough said.).

No AC Games product will ever rely on other AC Games products to be usable (note: obviously this doesn't cover the relationship between rules expansions and supplements/adventures to the main rulebook). There will be no footnotes saying 'Supplement A, D, K, and L required for full use of Supplement P'.

AC games is a business, so yes, it is our goal to get you to spend your money on our products. However, I believe that spending money on our products should be viewed as an election. I'm the candidate, and I could sit here and promise you anything but if I don't come through for you (create solid, complete, and enjoyable quality products) you're not going to vote for me (buy my products).

I want your 'votes', but I'm not going to try to trick you into voting. Obviously not everyone is always going to be pleased with everything we release, but I believe that with dedication to meeting the AC gamer's needs, and giving you quality games to enjoy, that both AC games and you, the general gaming population can both be pleased with the results.

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[email protected]

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Thanks for your support. Issue 5 Coming Soon!