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A Simple Moment of Reflection
I was sitting around my
store earlier this week and talking with my customers
and employees and was thinking about what the game
industry has become. It really amazes me that one
product has had such an impact on one industry. I'm
sure it's occurred in others, but this is something
that I've been able to witness first hand over the
past few years.
When Richard Garfield
created Magic, Wizards of the Coast was a small group
of people working out of a guy's basement. Literally
working out of a basement. That's cool, because I
guess everyone has to start somewhere.
The funny thing is though,
according to popular stories and rumors, is that
Magic: the Gathering wasn't even Garfield's first game
of choice to be printed. He first presented RoboRally
to be printed. It's not that RoboRally isn't any
good. It's just funny to think back and consider the
fact that it was his true first love. They just
couldn't make a bunch of copies of RoboRally at that
point, because of the prohibitive cost to such a small
company. He was told to come up with something else,
and they would work with him.
As a side note, copies of
RoboRally sell for $100+ if you have a new or good
condition one on ebay. It obviously can't be THAT bad
:)
I really wish I could have
been there at GenCon when Wizards of the Coast
released Magic on the world for the first time. I
wouldn't want to be there for the monetary reasons.
Hell, it's not even for bragging rights. I would just
loved to have been there to see people's faces. To
see how strange and awkward it was to have this whole
knew style of game that was creating a buzz
overnight. It would have been neat to see people
ripping open packs. People trying to decide if
Fungusaur was better than Personal Incarnation.
Imagine the decks. That
had to have been horrendous. Only, no one would have
known any better. They would have all been bad. But
with good reason. There was nothing to compare them
to. There was nothing to reference. Think back to
when you first started playing. I'm sur some of your
first decks weren't that good.
I actually used to keep my
good decks in a little file box on note cards. I
figured it would be good for going back and building
the decks again. Granted, we are talking about back
in 1995 before we had tons of websites dedicated to
the game. But as I got better and I went back to look
at the decks, I realized that many of the decks were
terrible. I was (or maybe my decks were) just the
best of the bad players (or decks) in my area at the
time.
The game has been around
so long, that I have been able to spot different
patterns of progression within different playgroups
and progression within the skill levels of players. I
could go into detail, but that's another article for
another time. But that being said, I know how to deal
with certain customers, because I can relate to the
point at which they are in their learning
progression.
It's crazy that we can
even talk about a game in those terms. Really...think
about it.
Outside of casinos, how
often would you see a tournament played for big prizes
before Magic? Now, all card games that come into the
market have to push some large tournament series, or
give away trips, they need to have some gimmick. The
prizes have gotten so big that on a large competitive
scale, some games aren't worth your time it seems.
But even with he Pro Tour
going on, there are still a ton of casual players. I
have been saying it for years and I still stick by
this statement: Casual players support every game on
the planet. If any competitive player believes
otherwise, he's killing himself. I know for a fact,
from game industry forums I'm on, and from speaking to
lots of store owners, that they make more money from
their casual crowd than their tournament crowds. The
casual players support games.
But now, I'm getting waaay
off the subject and beginning to rant.
Back to the point.
When I look at different
items in my life, I can look at Magic and say with all
honesty, that Richard Garfield truly captured
lightning in a bottle. In over ten years, nothing has
even come close to replacing it as far as variability,
competitiveness, community, complexity, or even game
design.
Think about all the
different card games that have been released in ten
years. I would say it is seriously about 150. Think
about any other item on the planet that has had even
50 like items released over a ten year stretch.
sooner or later, one of those items was found to be
superior to the original item. For some reason,
that's not the case with Magic.
In ten years, not a single
card game has come along to match the elements of
Magic. Even with people involved with the game going
to other companies. Even with some of them going off
and designing other games. Even with the economy
changing. It's really something spectacular.
The game has only gotten
better as time has gone by. More players are into the
hobby. The game is available in more countries than
ever. The Pro Tour is giving away more money than 'm
sure even WotC had imagined they could support.
All of this is easy to
take for granted. That's why I wanted to bring this
to your attention.
Regionals is coming up
this weekend. People are busy playtesting and working
on last minute strategies. Players are doing
everything they can to get the upper hand.
They are reading magazines
for strategy tips. They are also getting prices for
cards they may need to buy for decks.
They are going to their
local store a few more times to get some practice in.
They are getting a chance
to go to a National Championship Tournament for a card
game that's not poker.
They are probably reading
three or four different websites for strategy content.
They are reading reports
from various National Championships and copying and/or
testing against decks from those events.
All of these things are
aspects of a hobby that has slowly developed over
time. Honestly, it's an entire game genre that was
created over ten years.
Take a little time this
year to just take in the experience of Regionals.
It's easy to get wrapped up in the whole thing. Dig
your nose out of the competitive sand for just a
little while. Give yourself a chance to truly enjoy
it. You are part of something special, whether you
realize it or not.
I've been involved in all
types of sports, clubs, and hobbies, and nothing has
come close.
I wanted tot take a break
from the normal weekly articles to post this for the
public. It's just a bit of reflection on the game.
It's something that's always there, that many of us
just haven't given any serious thought to.
I expect to see a lot of
Good and Bad Plays of the week in my e-mail box. I
will be itching to send out more prizes next week.
Make sure you send them to me. I've only gotten a
couple each of the past few weeks, so your odds of
winning a special prize are pretty good. Also, some
readers thought I was joking apparently, but I REALLY
do send out prizes.
Also, for those of you
that want to stop by and chat, I will be in Dallas at
the South Regionals this weekend. I'll have a dealer
table set up, so if you needs some sleeves or cards,
come look me up. If you ask nicely, I'll even
autograph some cards for you. I'll only autograph
creatures though :)
South Regionals are at:
Sheraton Park Central
7750 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, TX
- for directions call
972-385-3000
Remember to send me those
Good and Bad Plays of the week.
Enjoy Regionals.
Until next time,
DeQuan Watson
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