So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? - Page 3

Buzzardo · 07-31-2016, 10:22 PM

It'd be cool if both Pocket Ogre and Pocket GEV were products going forward. $10 for an entry-point game and another $10 for an expansion that's also a stand-alone game seems very reasonable, given the prices I pay for games these days.

The gummint's inflation calculator says $2.95 in 1977 is $11.73 now. $10 is a good price, IMO. :)

GranitePenguin · 08-01-2016, 09:21 AM

As someone mentioned in the KS comments, the cost of G.E.V. was not $2.95 (it was $3.95).

As you can tell by my avatar, I prefer the 1st Ed map. However, there are a few things to work out here.

If it is meant to be a companion to Ogre Pocket Ed, it should be the retro map.
If it's meant to be a sustainable product going forward, it should probably be the color map
If there are any plans to bring back Shockwave and/or Battlefields, it should definitely be the newer color map

Also, something else to think about if you go retro... Are you going to do retro numbering, too? The hex numbering on the 1st Ed G.E.V. is _really_ different from everything else. A _true_ reproduction of the original would maintain that, but it will make pretty much everyone insane trying to figure out hex numbers from scenarios. :-)

HeatDeath · 08-01-2016, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GranitePenguin

If there are any plans to bring back Shockwave and/or Battlefields, it should definitely be the newer color map

That being said, it'd be pretty awesome to see the Shockwave and Battlefields maps in the retro palette. :)

Desert Scribe · 08-01-2016, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GranitePenguin

If there are any plans to bring back Shockwave and/or Battlefields, it should definitely be the newer color map

Let's convince them to make Pocket GEV first :)

paperwarrior · 08-01-2016, 06:07 PM

My apologies for taking so long to jump in here....don't get much chance.

I would be more than happy to pay $10 for a pocket G.E.V. I think that is pretty reasonable.

Map? Well, I like the old school look (matches the OGRE map that just sold out), but I must admit I like the color map of my edition of G.E.V. So, I guess I'm neutral here. A look to the future, though. If at a later time a remake of Shockwave and/or Battlefields comes out it might be more compatible if it is in color.

My 2 cents worth.

Thank you for keeping this game alive, I've loved it ever since I first got a copy back....dating myself here....1980ish.

FJCestero · 08-01-2016, 06:27 PM

$10.95 for GEV with color map = oh yeah. Definitely at least one. No questions, take my money now.

I really like the suggestion of somebody who wants color on one side, retro on the the other. I really like that one...

I'd pay even more for new original stuff (hint, hint)...

Norsehound · 08-01-2016, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf90

Herein lies the question: am I seeing a sampling bias of hard-core GEV fans? I suspect I am. The retro map is heavily favored, but would that sell as a stand-alone product in a hobby shop for $10? I don't have the answer to that.

D.

Well, I'm a casual person with an interest in Ogre, but not obsessively. The greatest items of my devotion are the $100 collector's set and one copy of the pocket edition.

For a nostalgia version, I'd go with the classic map. I'd buy this kit at $10 with the classic map and low graphics presentation. But this clearly won't be a product to drag in the casual viewer. Neither was Pocket Ogre. If you want to drag in casual fans I think SJG is going to have more success with the 6e starter kit.

With that being the case, what is being asked here? Are you putting a nostalgia pocket version of GEV, or a 6e GEV? I feel like trying to straddle both (Pocket GEV with colored paper map... lowDetail counters?) will make this sit out as an odd duck not really compatible with Pocket Ogre or 6e. And where would Pocket Ogre fit into this, which counters would you use?

Again, I'd go with the classic map. I like the pick-up-and-go nature about the pocket version of Ogre, and I wouldn't mind having the expansion pack bag either next to it, or together in the Ogre ziplock bag to have the full Ogre experience at my fingertips. If this product isn't being pushed all the way to 6e GEV, save on printing costs and effort to do something nostalgic and revisit this after 6e Ogre has flown.

But if there's issue with how readable/clear the old GEV maps are, why not redesign them? Not full color, but redesigned to be clearer in the same spirit as the original?

selenite · 08-01-2016, 09:05 PM

If we're trying to bring new people into the game I'd want the full color map. The old-style one was a product of its time. By modern standards it's flat unprofessional.

HeatDeath · 08-01-2016, 10:19 PM

Realistically, the map question is about a deeper issue: what is this game going to be? Who is its target market? Is it a retro impulse-buy for longtime fans? Or is it a serious attempt to grow the fanbase [in competition with games 4-5 times its price]?

The answer, I think, is very clear. At a $10 price point, you can be retro, but you can't be sexy.

As a companion piece to Pocket Ogre, Pocket GEV should follow the exact same guidelines - recreate the pocket box as closely as possible, only with die-cut double-sided counters, and the various rules improvements that found their way into ODE.

This will sell very well to existing fans and retrogamers, as [I presume] Ogre Pocket Edition did. But this is not the edition to grow the brand.

That edition comes later, a year or so later, after the Ogre 6e box sells through the majority of it's first printing. Then you do a nice GEV box - the G1 map from ODE, plus 3-4 counter sheets and a die, for roughly what the Ogre 6e box sold for. That's the edition that can stand proudly next to modern triple-A games and pull in the new gamers. The pocket editions can't, really. But that's ok - that's not what they're for.

ghostofjfd · 08-02-2016, 09:12 PM

At $10 a copy, I'd buy half a dozen copies of Pocket G.E.V. and give most of them away to the people who got Pocket Ogre from me. My mild preference is for the retro map because, as others have said, it's in the spirit of Pocket Ogre's look and I already have a few copies of the color version at the original (non-DE) size.

07-31-2016, 10:22 PM	#21
Buzzardo Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Austin, TX	Re: So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? It'd be cool if both Pocket Ogre and Pocket GEV were products going forward. $10 for an entry-point game and another $10 for an expansion that's also a stand-alone game seems very reasonable, given the prices I pay for games these days. The gummint's inflation calculator says $2.95 in 1977 is $11.73 now. $10 is a good price, IMO. :) __________________ Play *Ogre? Want an interactive record sheet? Want a random dungeon? How about some tables for that? How about a random encounter? Last edited by Buzzardo; 07-31-2016 at 10:26 PM.*

08-01-2016, 09:21 AM	#22
GranitePenguin *Ogre* Line Editor Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Plainfield, IL	Re: So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? As someone mentioned in the KS comments, the cost of G.E.V. was not $2.95 (it was $3.95). As you can tell by my avatar, I prefer the 1st Ed map. However, there are a few things to work out here. If it is meant to be a companion to Ogre Pocket Ed, it should be the retro map. If it's meant to be a sustainable product going forward, it should probably be the color map If there are any plans to bring back Shockwave and/or Battlefields, it should definitely be the newer color map Also, something else to think about if you go retro... Are you going to do retro numbering, too? The hex numbering on the 1st Ed G.E.V. is _really_ different from everything else. A _true_ reproduction of the original would maintain that, but it will make pretty much everyone insane trying to figure out hex numbers from scenarios. :-) __________________ GranitePenguin *Ogre* Line Editor

08-01-2016, 06:07 PM	#25
paperwarrior Join Date: Jun 2016	Re: So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? My apologies for taking so long to jump in here....don't get much chance. I would be more than happy to pay $10 for a pocket G.E.V. I think that is pretty reasonable. Map? Well, I like the old school look (matches the OGRE map that just sold out), but I must admit I like the color map of my edition of G.E.V. So, I guess I'm neutral here. A look to the future, though. If at a later time a remake of Shockwave and/or Battlefields comes out it might be more compatible if it is in color. My 2 cents worth. Thank you for keeping this game alive, I've loved it ever since I first got a copy back....dating myself here....1980ish.

08-01-2016, 06:27 PM	#26
FJCestero Join Date: Jun 2008	Re: So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? $10.95 for GEV with color map = oh yeah. Definitely at least one. No questions, take my money now. I really like the suggestion of somebody who wants color on one side, retro on the the other. I really like that one... I'd pay even more for new original stuff (hint, hint)...

08-01-2016, 09:05 PM	#28
selenite Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Minnesota	Re: So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? If we're trying to bring new people into the game I'd want the full color map. The old-style one was a product of its time. By modern standards it's flat unprofessional.

08-01-2016, 10:19 PM	#29
HeatDeath Join Date: May 2012	Re: So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? Realistically, the map question is about a deeper issue: what is this game going to be? Who is its target market? Is it a retro impulse-buy for longtime fans? Or is it a serious attempt to grow the fanbase [in competition with games 4-5 times its price]? The answer, I think, is very clear. At a $10 price point, you can be retro, but you can't be sexy. As a companion piece to Pocket Ogre, Pocket GEV should follow the exact same guidelines - recreate the pocket box as closely as possible, only with die-cut double-sided counters, and the various rules improvements that found their way into ODE. This will sell very well to existing fans and retrogamers, as [I presume] Ogre Pocket Edition did. But this is not the edition to grow the brand. That edition comes later, a year or so later, after the Ogre 6e box sells through the majority of it's first printing. Then you do a nice GEV box - the G1 map from ODE, plus 3-4 counter sheets and a die, for roughly what the Ogre 6e box sold for. That's the edition that can stand proudly next to modern triple-A games and pull in the new gamers. The pocket editions can't, really. But that's ok - that's not what they're for.

08-02-2016, 09:12 PM	#30
ghostofjfd Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Atlanta, GA	Re: So ... any chance of Pocket GEV? At $10 a copy, I'd buy half a dozen copies of Pocket G.E.V. and give most of them away to the people who got Pocket Ogre from me. My mild preference is for the retro map because, as others have said, it's in the spirit of Pocket Ogre's look and I already have a few copies of the color version at the original (non-DE) size.