IP in Board Games by J the Greek
It is interesting how board and card games get made. Many of them begin as original ideas and others are created specifically for a major franchise. This panel featured game designers who discussed the process of making games. They discussed their process of coming up with new ideas and how those things can get changed such as a swords and sorcery game being turned into an Arabian knights themed game. Then there were other projects that got turned into IP related concepts such as some of The Walking Dead card games. Rarely was a concept developed solely for an IP such as the Highlander card game. This was a fascinating panel and it was great hearing about the development process of niche card and board games.
Kickstarting Your Comic by J the Greek
Kickstarter and other crowd funding platforms have grown in popularity as a medium for funding the creation of comics. This panel featured a handful of indie artists and writers who talked about their experiences. Most of them had failures, but eventually made enough money to have a small line of produced books. They discussed how most of the time it won’t be much money coming in with reaching into the thousands being a usual achievement. They talked about the difficulty of expanding rewards as making piles of pins, patches, and other tchotchkes took time away from promotions and getting things out in time. It wasn’t a very optimistic panel, but the realistic approach works well when preparing people for what they will face when dealing with a kickstarter project.
Spotlight on Joelle Jones by Eri Kagami
Blood splatter over the canvas set to metal as audience filled in seats in the medium sized panel room, you wouldn’t believe the ultraviolent imagery would come from the petite and softspoken, Joelle Jones, Joelle Jones is currently working on Swamp Thing and Catwoman. She is best known for her work for the Lady Killer series. Lady Killer, published by DC Comics, is about a suburban mid-century housewife living a double life as your typical caregiver and assassin in 1960s America. A majority of the panel talked about Joelle’s inspiration for the Lady Killer series. She talked about having a pinterest for all things midcentury from advertisements, fashion, furniture, etc. She talked about how her prints of a 1950s housewife with a killer twist went viral leading into the inspiration for the two volume series of The Lady Killer. We would totally follow Joelle Jones’ pinterest.
Being an Aurthor in the 21st Century (Self Publishing and the Future of Writing with Michael C. Grumley) by J the Greek
This panel was heavily focused on the benefits of online self publishing. Michael talked about the growing digital book market and the sheer amount of people with a Kindle out in the public. They also covered the important points of having editors, beta readers, and a talented artist take care of your cover. This panel did not shy away from the expenses that go into self-publishing online and the high risk high reward nature of the business. That being said, this panel did make it feel like this was the best way for modern writers to go. This was not a balanced look at the two main publishing options, instead it was about how great it is to self-publish and how some authors in that category have gone onto great success. This was an interesting panel, but it may give some writers a false sense of hope.
30th Anniversary of Back to the Future Part II by Eri Kagami
It hasn’t felt long since the anniversary of the first movie. Steering the panel were special effects artists and Back to the Future super fans looking back at the sequel to Marty and Doc’s bizarre time travel adventure. The team compared the imagined 2015 to the 2015 of our timeline. They also talked about hydrating pizza and how they effect was created for the movie. They also talked about how Michael J Fox had to play his entire future family, even going in on drag. They also talked about the demanding production schedule of the behind the scenes crew because they were shooting part 2 and part 3 at the same time. They also talked about the upcoming Future Fest, a convention for Back to the Future super fans. No information was given, but the hype was real!
