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'Scaper of the Month - December 2018

Posted December 8th, 2018 at 03:52 AM by HS Codex

’Scaper of the Month
Arkham
Author: quozl

Arkham is one of the legends of C3G, the Heroscape comics custom group. Read on to learn more about this mysterious masked vigilante!


PROFILE

Who are you really?
Stephan Johnson. I’m just a dude that likes creating.

How old are you?
28

What is your occupation?
“Business Analyst” would be the title. I work for a company that has a website and automated system when customers call in. So I work hand in hand with the developers of those systems, to make sure that what is developed is working as it should. I’ll write acceptance criteria, detailing how it should work, then test and make sure it works once it is created.

What’s another board game/RPG you enjoy and why?
I enjoy D&D. Played for a couple of years with friends as well as another game with family. Role playing and managing stats etc. is a lot of fun, and I enjoy the fantasy element. The current character I play is Fizz Nimblewitz. He’s a mystic (mental powers) gnome who is quite eccentric. The take-your-clothes-off, douse-yourself-in-oil, lighting-a-match-nearly-catching-yourself-on-fire-to-light-your-pipe, rolling-around-making-wisecracks type of guy.

What other interests do you have besides HeroScape?
I like to spend time with friends and family as much as possible. That may entail local gaming, online gaming (I play on Steam, Xbox, PS, and Switch), board games, D&D, or just hanging out. Love comics, movies, and shows as well. I run a YouTube channel called Netherkast where we mainly cover fighting games, primarily Mortal Kombat and Injustice, but sometimes get into others like Street Fighter, Tekken, Smash, and Soul Calibur etc. We generally do long form podcasts, but we’ll occasionally do videos such as Top 10s and the like.


HEROSCAPE

When and how did you get into Heroscape?
Back in early 2012, I was looking for a superhero tabletop/board game to play. I had looked into Heroclix, even buying a starter set, but before it arrived I also stumbled across the Marvel Heroscape game online. So I purchased that as well. Ended up enjoying the Marvel Heroscape base set so much that I never ended up trying the Heroclix starter set I bought.

It wasn’t long after, maybe a week or so, that I discovered Heroscapers when doing searches for expansions for the game. I saw they cancelled the planned expansion, but then through digging around the forum found that there was a whole index of customs on here. I started off in the customs section picking and choosing which designs to add to our base game. Grey Owl’s designs stood out to me the most due to the quality card designs and being loosely balanced. I’d cherry pick between his and C3G designs, until I got more serious about C3G and the balancing, to which we eventually dropped the Grey Owl cards and went strictly C3G to maintain consistency and integrity in terms of cohesive balance. A slight tough pill to swallow for one of our friends who grew fond of the different Sentinel versions specifically.

At that point I had already started posting on the forums here, mainly to ask questions on a design, to give thoughts if I felt something felt overpowered or underpowered based on our experiences, and then ultimately getting involved in playtesting as a means to check out some up and coming characters we had interest in as well as to provide input. I believe Mystique II and Smoke Pellets were among the first couple units Gutudak (another member on here that’s a local friend) and I tested.

We’d go on to expand our collection, I think we’re at around 500 figures, and more terrain and such than needed. We would play every Sunday for about a year straight, ranging from 3 – 7 man free-for-all, teams, multi-teams etc. Quite often doing large point games, anywhere from 2,000 – 4,000 point teams. For a while there, Gutudak and I had a winning streak as a team, going 20 – 0 until finally toppled. Team building was one of my favorite parts, trying to come up with crazy combos.

Our weekly sessions died down. We were running D&D and Heroscape every Sunday there for quite a while, and I think it ultimately burned out. We’ve occasionally played some games over the past few years but the number of times can probably be counted on 2 hands.

Favorite unit
In the Marvel base game I really liked Captain America. Loved his tactician qualities, offering synergy to the team. In terms of C3G, it’s hard to pick only one, but I’ve said over the years that Captain America, Wonder Woman, and Oracle are favorites that always come to mind.

Describe your favorite HeroScape moment.
My favorite moments were always the team games. From the larger army building to the strategy discussion, those were always fun times. Gutudak and I would look at cards online and just spitball ideas. Then in the games, which would sometimes last multiple sessions, which we’d leave as is sprawled out in the basement on large tables, I’d have fun analyzing the situation we were in when we left off and come up with approaches to get ourselves out of a hole. The moments of whispering to your teammate as the opponent takes a turn and you see them opening themselves up to a trap, or the smile you’d get when you had a master plan in mind ... those were my fondest memories and moments.

Is there anything you would change about the game (unit, rule, mechanic, etc.)?
Some units could use a re-look if they aren’t ever played, or feel a bit overcosted or what have you. I feel each character should be worth using more often than not, and if there are designs that fall into the abyss due to whatever reason, I’d like to see them re-evaluated, re-costed, or a new version created.

What is your favorite aspect of HeroScape?
In general, I’m fond of building synergy as I find it to be one of the most enjoyable aspects and opportunities of the game. Ultimately though, just being able to see all these awesome characters interact and form armies around them is my favorite aspect of the game, and is what got me to try Heroscape to begin with as mentioned above. I wanted a game where I can play any character I like and not have it confined to the restrictions and scripting of a video game.


COMMUNITY

Favorite experience as part of C3G.
Love the entire process of designing. The brainstorming and collaboration, ironing out ideas that are thrown out and attempting to come up with something that gets people excited, which I always try to have at least one unique aspect or power on each design that adds something new to the game. Testing out the design and seeing how it fares in practice. Designing the art for the card and finding an aesthetically pleasing finished product. I minored in Game Design and majored in Graphic Design, so this just feels like it encompasses everything I’ve done in that regard.

Other groups—what got you started?
I’m not involved in any other groups on here. I’m pretty much an “all in” type of guy, and don’t have the time to jump in anywhere else.

Can you tell us the story behind your title?
I’m more of a dog person.

Can you tell us how you’ve gotten to where you are now in the community?
Perseverance, self-improvement, and lots and lots of hard work dedicated to the project. Started off overly ambitious and overly passionate to a fault, but in time I calmed, and found that nice balance of how to be most effective. At this point, I’ve playtested close to 200 designs, created about 100 cards, and have been the lead designer on almost 38 designs. I’ve done just about everything I could have wanted, and am thankful for the opportunity and engagement from all involved.

What do you enjoy most about Heroscapers.com?
I enjoy the fact that the game has been able to continue to thrive for any fans new and old. Being able to look forward to new designs is awesome, and it takes a lot of work the keep that going. Impressive.

Is there any member of Heroscapers.com you’d really like to play against?
I’d go with Ronin. He and I have paralleled in a lot of ways over the years, but we contrast in styles and preferences. A bit of an Xavier/Magneto dynamic.


LIE DETECTOR

Three truths and a lie
  • I have a dog named Zatanna.
  • I saw Avengers: Infinity War 4 times in theaters in 1 week.
  • I am married.
  • I’ve gone skydiving from 10,000 feet.

LAST MONTH’S LIE (johnny139)
  • I have a form of synesthesia, and only learned it a year or two ago.
  • I’ve visited every continent except Antarctica.
  • Before joining C3G, I’d never bought a comic book.
  • I’ve eaten dog meat before.


THREE FUN FAVORITES

Favorite Movie Genre and Movie
I really like thrillers. Movies that really get you thinking, usually with a nice twist or reveal at the end. My favorite movie is The Dark Knight.

Favorite Book Genre and Book
Comic books. I don’t read any book books. My favorite comic is Batman: The Long Halloween.

Favorite Song Genre and Song
I like anything that improves your mood. Red Hot Chili Peppers come to mind.


CLOSING

What message do you have for the ’Scaper community?
Have fun, be cool, and chill. Find a reason to play the game, and be proud of everything the site has accomplished.

Whom do you pick for the next ’Scaper of the Month?
Lazy Orang. I hope she can find peace and figure things out. I think there’s great potential there if some personal growth can be achieved.
Total Comments 5

Comments

Old
superfrog's Avatar
Always fascinating to read about the people behind C3G. Although isn't there also a C3G Member of the Month too?
Posted December 8th, 2018 at 07:35 PM by superfrog superfrog is online now
Old
Ronin's Avatar
There is also a C3G interview that happens monthly-to-bi-monthly. However often Tornado can manage. A lot of times he dusts off an old interview and publishes it as a sort of time capsule.

I think the last few Scapers of the Month have just all been C3G because we're a bunch of weirdos who mainly talk to each other, and don't know who else to pass the baton to.
Posted December 8th, 2018 at 08:10 PM by Ronin Ronin is online now
Old
Tornado's Avatar
Tell me more about Fizz!
Great interview.
Posted December 10th, 2018 at 11:09 AM by Tornado Tornado is online now
Old
japes's Avatar
I'm going to pick the Skydiving one because I know he's married and the other two seem really plausible...which is probably why I'm wrong.

Good choice on Favorite Movie and Comic Book...both are in my top.
Posted December 10th, 2018 at 03:34 PM by japes japes is offline
Old
IAmBatman's Avatar
I started typing my response and saw @japes pretty much said everything I wanted to, so I'll just him!

Fun interview! So glad you came into our community, Arkham.
Posted December 13th, 2018 at 08:59 AM by IAmBatman IAmBatman is offline
 
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