The Giant Monster Series, part 20...

From 2009 through 2010 Privateer Press was trying to make Monsterpocalypse one of the most popular tabletop game systems ever. They used a grassroots approach to appeal to the community. They incorporated player feedback from local game stores during play testing. They maintained a certain level of transparency at every step of the process. They would answer questions, share notes and post previews right on the company website. They used word of mouth to help build a following. They toured the country visiting all the major conventions and showed off this system alongside their flagship Warmachine and Hordes systems. The studio had incorporated new manufacturing technology to help streamline production. They created pre-painted miniatures with built in counters and made the game board out of paper maps to help cut costs and appeal to entry-level gamers. For the most part they did everything right by the system and for the system. Any company trying to get noticed in the gaming world should study what Privateer did during those early years.

It was hard to ignore the appeal of the game. Who would not want to try monsters versus aliens versus robots? The mix of genres seemed like a perfect fit for tabletop gaming. Giant monster games were rare for the community and miniature based systems even more so. The attention to detail that Privateer put into the sculpts and paint jobs were amazing. Players could enjoy watching their monsters fend off an invasion or level a city with reckless abandon. The system managed to become so high profile that it got some unexpected attention from the government. The Series 3 All Your Base expansion was flagged by Homeland Security and could not be distributed in the country until it got cleared.

This immediately started debates on various tabletop gaming sites both in and out of the US. People couldn't believe that tax dollars were being wasted investigating a game, especially when gaming was supposed to be protected by the First Amendment. Players questioned the reasoning behind this and wondered what other games and systems the government began keeping track of in the name of security. It was possible that the post 9-11 world made some groups very paranoid. Players speculated it was because the game was dealing with mass destruction and some high profile landmarks, copies of the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty, were targets in the game. Others said it was because some of the factions were against the military industrial complex and expounded radical thinking. The government agency never revealed the findings of their inquiry. The expansion was cleared by Homeland Security a few weeks later. Store owners were put off by the delay but not as much as gamers were. Privateer relished in the free publicity.

After three expansions the system had hit its stride. The middle of 2010 saw the introduction of Block 2 and the first of the six new factions. It was far along now and could hold its own against the original games created by Privateer. Monsterpocalypse was unlike the other systems though. It was unique in the scope, scale, production and genre. Tabletop games could be lumped into one of two genres, the fantasy or science fiction type. Even with the advent of pre-painted miniatures the genre was still mostly either fantasy or sci-fi. Pre-painted superhero Clix-type games were growing in popularity. The Marvel, DC and even Halo universe were each licensed for their own Clix game. Privateer found a way to combine the best elements of the Clix system with their own design philosophy. They ended up building a game that had no parallel. It was not quite sci-fi or fantasy but a mix of the two set in a modern world. No other studio was savvy enough to address the wants of veterans while making a system that appealed to beginners. No studio even considered the giant monster as the perfect template for a new type of game.

The popularity that Monsterpocalypse enjoyed helped validate for the work of Privateer. The system was gaining momentum at a record pace. Within two years the world Privateer created had established its own canon. The factions were rich with history, strong personalities and defined objectives. It had a distinct style that rekindled memories of classic cinema while also pulling in influences from comic books, animé and modern features. People could be fans of the game without being familiar in any other series. Perhaps Privateer got a little too comfortable with their position. The game possibly grew too quickly for its own good and was pushed too hard by the company on players. The expansions were beginning to come one after the other, leaving little room for players to get used to the changes in game play. Buying new factions was proving to be a costly gambit. The buildings, monsters and support were randomly boxed in each case. Players had to buy several "blind" boxes in order to find the figures that they needed or had to pay marked up prices on eBay. Privateer then began looking for licenses to make the game even more appealing. For some players the game "jumped the shark" when the studio announced that they would be featuring a crossover with Voltron. The robot was made popular in cartoons from the 1980s. The Defender of the Universe got a big push by Privateer and was forced into Monsterpocalypse canon in July 2010.

It made little to no sense why the studio would adopt a cartoon character. As cool as he was, especially to kids that grew up in the 1980s, the premise of a giant robot made up of lions seemed a little too campy for the Monsterpocalypse universe. The studio had gone out of their way to create art, articles and rules with a certain tone. The world of Monsterpocalypse was fairly serious, any humor in it was a bit dark. The monsters, robots and aliens were created in earnest and maintained a certain level of realism. The inclusion of Cthulu-like creatures that cursed the ground they walked on and turned humans into abominations pretty much summed up the established canon. All of a sudden there was a new brightly colored robot in the world, brandishing a huge sword, not representing any faction but himself.

Privateer used the same basic rules of Monsterpocalypse to build a standalone version of the Voltron game. His main rival was an evil dopplegänger named Lo-tron. Instead of fighting over a city the pair were dueling out in the cosmos. Interest in the expansion was almost nonexistent. It marked the moment that interest in Monsterpocalypse began waining. Monsterpocalypse earned good reviews on the BoardGameGeek and was ranked the 578th most popular game on the site with over 700 votes. By comparison the Voltron game did not manage to rate nearly as well. The stand alone version was ranked at 3278 on the list and had garnered only 59 votes from editors and visitors. The title seemed to hurt the brand more than help it. The seeds of doubt for the franchise were actually planted earlier.

A few months before Voltron arrived Privateer posted a press release with a major announcement. On May 2010 DreamWorks had secured the rights for a film adaptation. This was the same studio that had marginal success with Monsters versus Aliens. People that remembered the animated film winced at the news. By July 2010 the studio announced that Tim Burton was selected to direct the feature. Burton would be joined by long time collaborator and screenwriter John August. Fans of the game gave mixed reactions. They appreciated Burton's directing style but were concerned that he would completely redo the canon to fit his artistic vision. After all he took the trading card series Mars Attacks and turned it into a campy, big budget mess. Many were afraid that he would do the same thing to the Privateer game.

Spring of 2010 saw the 5th expansion to the game released. Big in Japan was actually delayed due to production issues and growing global consumer demand. Players were expecting to see a sixth update by the end of the year but it never came to fruition. After the Voltron and the movie announcements the system seemed to stall. Privateer stopped updating the Monsterpocalypse website any news. The studio seemed to drop all articles or mentions of the game from their No Quarter magazine as well. Only fan-organized events and tournaments seemed to keep the game alive. The gaming group Team Covenant took to hosting online games for the community. The continued to ask anyone and everyone at Privateer what had happened to the system. For over two years the company stayed tight lipped. It was as if everything they had worked so hard on no longer mattered. Worse that they built up the community and suddenly pulled the game out from under them.

John August hinted on his Twitter feed that the reason the company had become so quiet was because they were waiting for the numbers on Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim movie. If the Warner Bros. produced film generated good buzz and a huge box office then DreamWorks would push to get Monsterpocalypse done. If not then they might just let the rights expire. This was terrible news for fans of the game. It seemed that Hollywood had killed the system and community. They cared little for Monsterpocalypse at all and just saw something that they could exploit for a quick buck. Those that grew up with the Transformers animated show in the 80s and compared it to the Michael Bay movies knew what Hollywood was capable of. Audiences wondered what type of deal Privateer had signed up for. Why couldn't they continue to support and build expansions for the system? Was development halted on the IP because of what DreamWorks or Tim Burton had planned? Was the game really going to change direction, game play or factions based on what the movie established? One of the last posts from Privateer was a preview for the next wave of creatures. They appeared to be expanding the Tritons, Savage Swarm and Empire of the Apes factions from the Second Block. The figures were very far along in the process but never made it to market. Four years after that post most players had given up hope.

Fans felt burned by Privateer and for good reason. They had invested their time and money with the promise that the system would continue to be supported. They had previously never come across any publisher that dropped an entire system without warning. It was actually unheard of! Even Games Workshop, the huge studio from England, had developed and dropped a dozen great titles. They slowly weaned players off of a system before putting them in the "Specialists Games" section of their catalog. It was a warning that the system would no longer be supported. Privateer Press was the alternate to Games Workshop. They were the little studio that made big waves because they cared about the community. Every game they had developed they had supported to their fullest. At least they had let on that they did. The company had built their reputation by winning over players at many conventions. One by one the employees would look a player in the eye, shake their hand and introduce them to a new game. Monsterpocalypse had started out like this and certainly deserved a better fate.

All of the hype that the company had put on the community turned out to be nothing but that… hype. Many players had ended up sitting on hundreds of models. Those figures stopped being collector items rather quickly. The miniatures not kept for their novelty value were sold off for a loss. The independent game stores were burned by Privateer just as much as the fans. They had stocked shelves thinking that the company would keep running with the line as they had with Hordes and Warmachine. The energy that followed the system from convention to convention had dried up. The company stopped featuring the game altogether and employees did not bother to acknowledge its existence. Privateer kept the system in a shallow grave, hopeful that they might be able to resuscitate it and turn a hefty profit should a movie ever be released. Fans were also hoping for a return of the system but had no guarantee that it would be the same. For all they knew the company would start all over, drop the rules and factions and turn it into a board game. Nothing that Privateer or the fans did would hurt or help the chances of seeing a film. The movies were coming despite whatever plans Privateer had made. If there was a silver lining for the genre was that it would never disappear. In fact some of the best animated work in the past decade was created by teams that loved the genre. Find out about one of these artists on the next and final blog in the series.

The Giant Monster Series, part 19...

Privateer Press did the same thing for giant monsters and tabletop games in 2009 that Incog Inc. had a few years earlier for video games. Both studios started a game project as a love letter to the genre but then it evolved into a great contribution to the genre in its own right. The studios had created their own legacy, they introduced players to enormous creatures layered in personality while battling for supremacy in fun locations the world over. The only difference was that Privateer was working on a tabletop system instead of a video game. I had talked about the little American company that could back in 2007 when they were offering tabletop game players a fresh perspective. They were challenging the status quo of the big overseas studios that seemed to dominate the market.

Game designers Matt Wilson and Erik Yaple wanted to create a miniatures based game system that could rekindle the memories of the classic monster films. They started off by making a list of all the things that they enjoyed about the genre. Big monsters fighting, cool military weapons, detailed buildings and plenty of destruction were at the forefront. The system they put together was lovingly called Monsterpocalypse. It had a straightforward play mechanic which allowed for plenty of back and forth action between the gamers. The best portions actually predated some of the design elements that Richard Garfield incorporated into his King of Tokyo game. The creatures in Monsterpocalypse could evolve, grow powers and abilities but they did so by controlling buildings and areas in the game instead of through randomly played cards. I had been keeping tabs on Monsterpocalypse back when they were play testing it at various gaming conventions.

In the early days Privateer took their paper templates, unfinished resin models and rough plastic buildings to local game stores in the Pacific Northwest as well as the larger conventions. At the time Privateer had earned a dedicated following through their grassroots campaign. The Warmachine and Hordes systems quickly grew and the company expanded to create their own line of paints and even magazine to support the community. Players were eager to see what new projects they were working on, especially since the company had a reputation for being fairly open and transparent. As Monsterpocalypse evolved the maps went from graph paper to colored pencil illustrations and eventually laser printed pages. The studio was running on a very tight margin and deadline. As the miniature sculpts were being finished the company was using all the feedback they received to clarify the rules and balance the game. Like many of their systems the goal was to keep players engaged at every level of the development.

Privateer was going to release this system as their first pre-painted miniatures game, this decision raised the ire of many traditionalists. Fans of classic tabletop systems believed that all great systems required a hobby element on top of a solid play element. Role-playing audiences were supposed to keep track of character stats and unit special abilities with character sheets that they created and updated by hand with every game. Participants of tabletop systems were supposed to assemble and paint their own miniatures and models, anything less than that was considered a product for the toy store. To further set things apart Privateer would also be using counters and ability markers on the miniatures themselves.

This approach to tabletop gaming was made popular by Wizkids Heroclix series, which licensed characters from Marvel, DC and other properties into an easy-to-play tabletop system. The Clix games were a great way to introduce younger gamers to the genre. The built in counters on the bases of the figures were cleverly designed to keep tabs of important things for the characters. Strength, stamina, movement, powers and agility could be found right on or under the models. As players battled they could wind down the stats on the miniatures until an opponent was defeated. No more keeping track of stats on a separate sheet! Hobbyists were worried that Privateer might "dumb down" all of their systems and switch to pre-painted plastic models. Privateer assuaged their fears by reminding them that Monsterpocalypse was a unique stand alone game and that the other systems would not be affected by the new manufacturing techniques.

The hobby aspect itself was not affected by the use of pre-painted miniatures. Thanks to new production methods the largest and smallest figures all received great paint jobs. Those that were not experienced painters did not feel put out when starting a collection. However those with some skills and a great imagination were more than welcome to recolor and repaint entire armies. For example, the largest monsters in the game can undergo a transformation in their power level, these "Ultra" forms of the character were represented by by clear or sometimes opaque plastic models. Many in the gaming community thought that the Ultra figures were lackluster. By going with a completely transparent color all of the great details from the sculpt were lost. That was until artists began coloring portions of these Ultra forms. The custom Monsterpocalypse paintjobs by Martin Whitmore were a prime example of what could be done to make the miniatures more interesting.

The default paint job for Defender X was great out of the box. The character was inspired by classic Japanese mech designs including Mazinger-Z who was a member of the Shogun Warrior robots. The blue tint Ultra version lost a lot of the detail, especially as light passed through the surface. Mr. Whitmore picked out some details in gold and silver with a paintbrush to make his figure stand out. He did the same for several clear and pre-painted figures as well. He demonstrated to the community that even by using one or two extra colors a model could be made to stand out. His gold and black highlights to Ultra Xaxor inspired many players, especially newcomers, not to be afraid to customize their own figures.

The success of Monsterpocalypse was certainly due more to just the great miniatures that Privateer was putting out.

The system may have begun trying to recreate the battles from classic cinema but it grew to include influences from the science fiction and horror genres. Godzilla-like creatures could do battle with giant humanoid or Ultraman-like robots. It was daikaiju nirvana but the universe turned out to be far more expansive and violent than that! There were at least two alien species had decided to invade the Earth at the same time. One group was comprised of the classic UFO ships and War of the Worlds machinations. The other group were more like the daikaiju villains, giant sentient beings bent on total destruction. These aliens were met by another inter-dimensional being, an ancient creature that was a reminder of the monster from classic HP Lovecraft mythology. The creatures and robots were given purpose which helped shape the factions of the universe. Some monsters could partner up while others were strictly enemies. Players learned to field the armies that appealed the most to them. The first wave of factions were released over three expansion sets. The original release of Monsterpocalypse was titled Rise! The following was I Chomp NY and third was All Your Base. Readers could probably guess what the focus was on each release.

The first six factions were introduced in Block 1. These teams included GUARD, whose scientific consortium had built a giant robot that acted like a UN peacekeeper. The Lords of Cthul, the ancient creatures focused on enslaving the planet. The Martian Menace and Planet Eaters who needed no further explanation. The Shadow Sun Syndicate was a powerful organization founded by the Yakuza. They had created the ninja-like titans. Finally there were the Terrasaurs, the dinosaur-like creatures that wanted to restore nature by reclaiming civilization. Each of these factions were supported by different sized units. It was actually the smaller troops that made Monsterpocalypse unique, especially when compared to the other games I had been writing about.

Giant monsters were supported either by organic or inorganic creatures. The smallest creature would be the size of a military transport truck while the largest would be as big as a skyscraper. The giant robots had traditional military weapons backing them up. Some were supplemented by incredible science fiction technology, think of the Maser Cannon and Super X from the Godzilla films, variations of these fantastic weapons were in the game. The diversity in scale for the creatures, robots and weapons made this universe among the most robust ever created. Imagine a videogame where characters from Rampage, War of the Monsters, Earth Defense Force and King of the Monsters were all playable. Now imagine if that system had miniatures produced for everything, including the levels and landmarks. It was the ultimate celebration of the genre in tabletop format.

The popularity of the game took off as the studio released wave after wave of scenarios and supplemental miniatures. They continued to push the system at gaming conventions, as well as PAX and the San Diego Comic Con. The word of mouth was tremendous for the game. Privateer continued on expanding the universe to include a second set of factions. Fans of the genre were surprised with how many obvious choices comprised Block 2 and the expansions Big In Japan and Monsterpocalypse Now! These new units could help make a great game even better. There was the Empire of the Apes, consisting of gigantic intelligent apes and the Savage Swarm, made up of enormous insects. Those two were pulled from some of the oldest film influences. Then there were the giant mole creatures that made up the Subterran Uprising and the Elemental Champions which were monks that created weapons out of the elements. Think of the monks as each having the powers of Ang from Avatar: the Last Airbender. When they combined their forces they could create giants made up of fire, water, earth, air and metal. Creatures from the deep ocean were even turned into giant monsters through the Tritons.

It was very clever how Privateer explained some of the new factions while appealing to the classic kaiju formula. For example, UberCorp International were comprised of multinational military contractors, they were selling defensive units modeled after the monsters and aliens themselves. Only the richest nations could afford to purchase the massive weapons of destruction. This jab at profiteering was not too subtle but appropriate considering that the other corporate faction in the game was founded by the Japanese mafia. UberCorp was a way to get "mecha" versions of the most popular creatures in the game. The miniatures that Privateer created for them were very unique, they did not simply look like silver versions of the existing characters but were instead built of translucent material and white armor. These giant machines mirrored the Planet Eaters, Lords of Cthul and Terrasaurs.

As the system expanded players learned that games did not have to be limited to 1-on-1 battles. The maps, buildings and rules could be scaled to include 2 vs 2, 4 vs 4 or even all 12 factions at once. The game play usually revolved around the monsters controlling or destroying buildings on specific maps, when these maps were laid side by side they could create gargantuan layouts encompassing several tables. The battles that gamers had during tournaments was bigger and badder than what any other system promised. Those new to tabletop gaming were blown away by what was possible on certain systems. The best part was that players did not have to build scenery or carry around delicate models in order to enjoy the game. Each map was double sided and could be folded and stacked. The miniatures were already painted, light but very sturdy. The time and cost of getting into the system was less expensive than any of the more popular games. Players could still invest their time and money and continue to build and collect the various factions. The best part was that players could set up a game anywhere there was a little bit of space available.



The little game about big monsters had quickly built a dedicated following. It was a unique convergence of giant monster fans and tabletop gaming fans that helped build a reputation in the community. Yet it seemed to disappear almost as quickly as it popped up on the convention circuit. Find out how internal decisions and outside interests killed the momentum for Monsterpocalypse in the next blog.