Stories from Shore Leave Con! (part 1)

This weekend at Shore Leave was awesome! There was a lot of interest in Solar Echoes, and never a shortage of players. I ran games from 10am until 1am on Saturday, and some of the same players as well as new players played Sunday morning and afternoon. It was a dynamic group of people, some who were veteran table-top RPG gamers and others who were trying it for the first time, ranging in age from as young as 13 up to the mid-twenties. This week I'll be sharing some of the highlights of the missions we experienced together, and I'll begin with a new player's clever manipulations: She was playing a Reln—an alien race known for their diplomatic/con-artist wordsmithing skills—and she had chosen the “good looking” feature for her character's physique. Her Reln saw that there was a lookout posted outside of an apartment the team needed to infiltrate, so she approached him flirtatiously. He was seduced by her feminine charm and lured away from his post to meet his untimely death under a nearby tree, the very tree where he had hoped to plant a kiss. It wouldn't be the last time her beauty and charm influenced the minds of those around her!

Shore Leave Convention this weekend!

This weekend Solar Echoes will be at Shore-Leave--I'll be running demo games for new players! They will take on the roles of Union Guard agents, going on missions as a team to stop smugglers, pirates, malfunctioning robots, and deadly aliens! I'll be back with battle reports next week, so stay tuned!

http://www.shore-leave.com/

Solar Echoes and Conventions (part 4)

Although it would be ideal to have miniatures available for Solar Echoes, it is expensive to mass-produce them, though that is a future plan. Most Corefun products are digital, which makes vendor sales at a convention a little tough. If we printed more of our digital products for physical sales, it would be difficult to maintain profitability—printing is expensive! However, I have been looking into making Solar Echoes posters with some of our new artwork, as well as full-color map icons to use for your characters (which will have to do until actual miniatures become a realistic investment.) T-shirts with your favorite alien is another idea, but again, this can get really expensive, especially considering there are 7 different races in the Solar Echoes universe. What types of Solar Echoes merchandise would you be interested in?

Solar Echoes and Conventions (part 3)

I would like to return to running a vendor table at some point because of the increasing number of products that may be available, and if Solar Echoes goes to Gen Con someday, I think it will be necessary. I learned one valuable lesson from my own daughter, who attended a convention with me and wandered around to spend her money in the vendor area. She later told me that she thought I needed to have a wider range in prices, with some smaller-priced items available in addition to the rule-books I was selling. In addition to this, I think capturing the attention of customers is very important at a huge con like Gen Con. I remember at one con last year a lady visited my table simply because she said my hat caught her attention (I was cosplaying as the human on the front cover of the Player's Guide.) Something like a costume or a big back-drop with posters is a good way to capture the eye of potential customers.

Solar Echoes and Conventions (part 2)

I've talked with a lot of other vendors at conventions, and have learned from them a great deal. The biggest difficulty I've had at conventions, though, is being in two places at once. I want to demo Solar Echoes so people can learn the game and have fun playing it, but convention rules are such that no sales can be conducted in the gaming areas. So, I've paid for a vending table and worked with a few helpful friends/recruits to run games in the game room while I handle sales. However, I have found that if I can be in the gaming room running games, I can answer questions and showcase the game better than someone less experienced with Solar Echoes. Thankfully, I've been able to make arrangements with Walt's Cards and Games to include Solar Echoes in their vendor area, so I can stay busy running game demos.

Solar Echoes and Conventions (part 1)

I received an email from a friend of mine, a science-fiction author, who is attended Gen Con this past weekend. She was telling me about the thrill of the convention, how huge it is, and how on her first day she sold far more books than she expected. Just hearing her excitement was contagious, and it made me dream a little about one day trying to take Solar Echoes to Gen Con. What would it take for a small, indie-publisher to capture the attention of gamers? I've taken Solar Echoes to three different cons this year, with great results, but each time I learn something new. You see, I'm not exactly a marketing expert—I'm much more a creator than a salesman. Still, considering the excited reception I've seen for Solar Echoes at these cons, I guess it's only natural to start looking at Gen Con!

The New Solar Echoes Vehicle Pack!

 

On sale at RPGNow!

Enhance your game with exciting, cinematic car chases and starship battles!