In this episode we played and review Zombies!!! by Twilight Creations Inc.  After all the brains were eaten and all the zombies destroyed who reached the helipad first and survived?

 

You can check out the game Zombies!!! here     http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/zombies/

 

We apologize for the audio problems lately.  This episode is just a bonus show where I ask 20 questions to the group.  A regular episode will be posted soon hopefully.

In this episode we review Slasher Flick by  Cynthia Celeste Miller  published by Spectrum Games.  Listen and find out how you can win a signed copy of Slasher Flick.

You can purchase Slasher Flick pdf version here http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=60714&src=FrontPage

or you can purchase the hardcopy here http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/slasher-flick/6526592

 

You can also check up what other games are available from Spectrum Games here  http://spectrum-games.com/default.aspx

 

 

 

 

Orig 1. How did you get into writing role-playing games?

I was introduced to "red box" D&D on my 13th birthday in November, but I quickly became dissatisfied with it. In January, I decided to design my own game; theoretically one that was better than D&D. It was called Intergalactic Wars and in retrospect, it was purely derivative garbage. Seriously, I borrowed from every source imaginable, from Star Wars to Flash Gordon. Hell, I even included Wookalars from the Tim Conway/Don Knotts comedy, "Private Eyes". But as bad as the game was, my friends loved it and we played the hell out of it. That's what got me into designing games.

The obvious answer is the slasher films, particularly the ones from the 1970s and '80s. However, there's something a bit deeper than just that. The truth is, I'm a sucker for the underdogs and the characters in Slasher Flick are the ultimate underdogs -- normal people trying to stay alive while being stalked by an unstoppable killer. So, I guess my inspiration comes from the classic underdog story.

More than is probably healthy. I'm well-versed in slasher movies to begin with, since I've been a fan for as long as I can remember, but I wanted to watch or re-watch as many as possible so that I could analyze them. Luckily, I didn't have to do this alone. Shelly Bateman, Eric Hudson and Brian Wylie helped me out a lot. We would watch slasher movies and take notes. They were picking up on things that I didn't sometimes, so between the four of us, we hit pretty much everything. We studied the length of "kill scenes", how many characters died during the first attack made by the killer, how often kill scenes happened, and of course looked for all the cliches and tropes associated with these films.

But to answer your question more fully, here is the list of slasher movies we studied: Rest Stop, Halloween, Black Christmas (both versions), Shredder, Midnight Meat Train, Midnight Movie, Popcorn, Friday the 13th parts 1-6, Cruel World, Amusement, Alice Sweet Alice, Prom Night, Student Bodies, Christmas Evil, The Burning, Girls Nite Out, Terror Train, My Bloody Valentine (both versions), Happy Birthday To Me, Cry_Wolf, Dark Ride, Evil Laugh, Vacancy, Stump the Band, See No Evil, Serial Killing 101, Hatchet, and likely a few more that I can't recall.

4. Did you consider any other way of doing character creation?

Not really. I've always wanted to design a group-based character creation system, so I saw this as my golden opportunity to do it. The character creation system went through some changes, but the overall format stayed the same throughout.

When I design a new system, the first thing I do is sit down with a huge pile of dice and start hashing some rough ideas out. While tinkering around, the dice pool mechanic just kind of happened. It felt right, so I ran with it. I wish I could give you a more technical answer, but that's the truth.

One the first things I decided was that I wanted to avoid traditional combat, as the slasher films never really had that element when the killer hit the scene. Plus, I sought to devise a system that actually created its own suspense. The idea of obtaining a certain amount of survival points in order to escape a kill scene came to me right off the bat. 
I don't often get the chance to play RPGs. I'm almost always the Game Master for whatever game my group and I want to jump into. Not that I mind.

As for running Slasher Flick, I've acted as Director numerous times, especially during our marathon playtest sessions.

Recently, I've had a few opportunities to be a player in Slasher Flick, which felt odd (in a good way), because I have never been a player in an RPG that I designed.

    9. What supplements and other follow-up material do you have planned, if any?

The first mini-supplement is already out. It's called Deleted Scenes and offers a lot of new options for your games of Slasher Flick. We have an adventure coming out in a few weeks called "Midnite Cinema: Horror Island". Another planned sourcebook is "Casting Call", a book that offers dozens of pre-made characters that players or Directors can use without having to go through the character creation process.

Spectrum Games has a lot of upcoming products.

Wild West Cinema (June/July) is an RPG based on big screen western movies. It's going to offer a fresh take on the Old West, in terms of RPGs. It's designed by the talented Dave Bezio.

In late summer, we're releasing a non-collectible card game called Urban Manhunt that pays homage to films such as The Running Man, The Warriors and Escape From New York.

We have a plethora of supplements coming out for Cartoon Action Hour: Season 2 as well. The most ambitious of these is "After These Messages", a supplement that really expands the horizons of the game.

Early next year, we will release AfterShock, a card-based skirmish-level miniatures game set in a bleak and desperate post-apocalyptic future.

Please stop by our website at www.spectrum-games.com and discover what we have to offer.

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