Topic: Aurigas Aldebaron's Address - January 2012

[Thom @ ICE]

Happy 2012!
 
For those who had a good year, well done and congrats!  For those who had a bad one (lets face it, times are tougher for many of us), best wishes in the New Year.
 
I always struggle a bit to find things to talk about. Most of what I work on is "business matters" (and Nicholas gets to have all the fun - actually even that’s not true as he is the "great organizer" of product development - most of the really fun stuff like writing the game is done by our team of freelancers!).  So, I always think the stuff might be a bit boring and maybe not really of interest and, as such, I try to condense it into a few descriptive bits to let you know that in fact we are constantly trying to improve operations behind the scenes that will ultimately lead to more product releases, higher quality product releases, 100%-on-time customer service (effectively insured by our partnership with RPGNow) and an increasing number of support products (whether adventure modules, computer-based support programs or VTTs).  I think we would all agree that ICE has let down an unacceptable number of fans over the last few years pre-2011 which was really driven by failures on the business side.  By making improvements on the business side, or "behind the scenes" you should see vast improvements in what you, the customer, experiences.  Hence, my view is that I should keep reporting on developments with regards to the business side for the foreseeable future.  Of course, let me know if you think otherwise!
 
Nicholas has covered much ground on the product side, so I won't go into any of that.  Thom will also provide and update on the website and forums which are going through a full revamp - we are quite excited by the early results!
 
So that leaves me scratching my head... looking around... and spotting my TO DO list for inspiration! (oh man, I know that sounds lame...but here goes)
 
As mentioned previously, I'm still mining synergies with our overseas translation partners.  That's primarily Germany where there is an active RM community and a translation partner that is actively translating existing German language modules for English release.  We are also seeking to share artwork to increase art diversity (improving product quality) while at the same time reducing costs.  I hope soon to have identified a partner in France, where there is an active Rolemaster and Spacemaster gaming community.  Italy...well things are quiet there so I need to do some work.  Where else can we go?  I'm not going to worry about it yet since we are covering languages that cover a large part of the world, but Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese will be next on the list...but that's at the bottom right now.
 
Right at the top is our initiative to hire an experienced marketing professional to boost awareness and sales.  This person will work directly for my company, Aurigas Aldebaron LLC (the owner of all things Iron Crown), to promote, in the general, all ICE products.  This is everything from help on the website, to convention support, to public relations and paid marketing strategies.  There are thousands of ICE fans out there that we no longer see or hear from and we need to let them know about the new ICE and what’s happening.  At the same time, we want to let experienced gamers who are not familiar with ICE products know there are other options besides a game that feels like a first person shooter typed onto paper (and don't flame me if you’re a fan - that's meant to be a bit tongue and cheek!).  We are starting discussions with a few candidates and hope to have the right person in place by the end of the first quarter.  This is a big investment on our part and not covered by the limited cash flow Aurigas currently achieves, but we have faith in the future, Nicolas and GCP, and our translator partners that this will ultimately be a good investment for ourselves and the fans.  It's a simple formula:  more awareness = more fans = more money = more product releases = happier fans, etc. - you get the picture
 
Next will be another detailed review of our computer based support products (character creation and GM tools) as well as our virtual table top offering currently through Fantasy Grounds.  I will want to get feedback from you all on this in the near future to make sure we are providing the tools necessary for people to play their games at the maximum level of fun with the minimum level of "work".  In addition, I want players who are having trouble finding a live game, to be able to find one online.  We think Fantasy Grounds is a great partner and a solid program, but want to see how we can make it work better for ICE fans.  This is more of a 2Q project that will run throughout the year.  I will probably focus on VTT first and follow up with computer based support products.
 
I have other things on the list – A LOT of other things...but they are pretty boring (so I'll spare you) or not far enough along to announce (so don't really know what to say yet).
 
Lots to do in 2012,
 
John

[dutch206]

Assume -- just for a moment that I am a complete moron. 
What on earth is a "VTT"?

[munchy]

I second that question, don't know either.

[Thom @ ICE]

VTT = Virtual TableTop
Fantasy Grounds is a prime example of this technology.

[Gunnar Greybeard]

Glad to see cooperation with Fantasy Grounds will continue into 2012 as I am working on a Rolemaster campaign using that specific VTT hopefully to start in a few weeks. The current ruleset is really nice but I'd love to see it tweaked and refined further to see how far the FG engine can be pushed.

[markc]

Glad to see cooperation with Fantasy Grounds will continue into 2012 as I am working on a Rolemaster campaign using that specific VTT hopefully to start in a few weeks. The current ruleset is really nice but I'd love to see it tweaked and refined further to see how far the FG engine can be pushed.

 Good deal I am sure people will like the extra options.
MDC

[ironmaul]

VTT sounds very interesting...something that might even draw me back to playing again. If not, then I see an opening for portrait artwork perhaps 

[lachancery]

The activity around the Rolemaster Classic implementation in Fantasy Grounds has picked up quite a bit lately. Hop over to the Fantasy Grounds forums @ http://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=65 to read the latest news, updates and discussions from the community.

I ran a demo of Rolemaster with Fantasy Grounds in December to show how it plays. If there's enough interest, I'll run another one to show more people how fun in can be!

Send me a PM here or over at the FG site (I use the same userid) if you have any question about it.

[Gunnar Greybeard]

I'm starting up a RMC game on Fantasy Grounds however, truth be told though, its primarily Arms/Law Claw/Law ported from a homebrew conversion of HarnMaster with lots of house rules. If anyone is interested in checking it out let me know and I can set up a generic PC for use in looking around. I have the Ultimate Fantasy Grounds License so you would only need to install the demo/unregistered version to connect.