C3G Interview - May 2017
Posted May 20th, 2017 at 10:24 AM by HS Codex
C3G Interview
Lazy_Orang
Author: Yodaking & Tornado
How did you get into Heroscape, C3G and Heroscapers?
Heroscape:
I got into Heroscape in 2007: my Mum was looking for a game for me online that would hopefully go for a few more than a couple of games before collecting dust, saw this, thought I might like it (partially on account of the semi-Norse theme) and that the expansions had a shot at giving it some longevity, and checked it with my brother, whose response was that it was “worth a shot.” So, she gave me Rise of the Valkyrie for Christmas, and all it took was a look at what it was, a look at the figures and one game with the basic rules on an extremely poorly designed, amateurish map before I decided that I loved it. Over the next few months, I got increasingly into it, getting expansions and even Swarm of the Marro within a couple of months, until it became a real thing for me fairly quickly. It’s really lasted well as a game we all really enjoy, though it’s safe to say I do so the most.
Heroscapers:
Heroscapers, fairly simple: my brother told me there was a site for Heroscape, I believe we started looking at the Books and Power Rankings in order to make decisions about what to get next, before I eventually found my way to the customs forum, which I lurked in for years before I ever actually considered joining. When I actually joined, it was originally only in order to vote in the C3G Public Design Nominations, and I got increasingly involved from there.
C3G:
I got into C3G in early-to-mid 2011 ... those were the dark days: Heroscape had been discontinued, C3V and SoV were far from releasing anything, and I’m fairly sure snakes were falling from the sky like hailstones. I had little interest in superheroes at that time (though that didn’t stop me from having The Conflict Begins ...), and I was only vaguely aware of C3G beforehand, honestly never really frequenting the Marvel forums ... then I stumbled across this thread, Grishnakh’s Poor (and Lazy) Man’s Way to Rebase Heroclix Figures, I believe through this Week@Heroscapers entry. The tutorial looked intriguing, and it’s the method I ended up using, and that led me to take a closer look at C3G, particularly the Books of Index ... and what was there really impressed me.
Now, under normal circumstances I may not have taken the plunge, but with no new Heroscape on the horizon and my birthday on the way, it seemed worth a shot. So, I made a quick test run by picking up Green Goblin (because he looked fun to play and I remembered the character from the Spider-Man cartoon I watched when I was younger) and Jonah Hex (because of synergies with the classic lawmen which I believe I still haven’t ever used), before asking my Mum for the World’s Finest master set for my birthday. (A master set that, I can safely say, is in just about all ways superior to The Conflict Begins ... even though I still haven’t got round to playing the campaign—I really should at some stage). Within about one game, I knew that Superscape was now just as much fun as Classic, if not more. In an attempt to get more of a feeling for the themes I was playing with, I started watching a few superhero cartoons and films, including getting back into the Spider-Man cartoons I used to watch and watching the films in what would become the MCU for the first time—so, C3G is directly responsible for getting me into the whole genre!
Marvel, DC or Indy? (Though I know you have not read comics ...)
Marvel, without a doubt. Don’t get me wrong, I do still love the Justice League cartoons and the Dark Knight Trilogy, but even without the Spider-Man, X-Men and Silver Surfer cartoons on Marvel’s side, DC just can’t compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and never will, following the Martha incident ...). The only Independent stuff I’m really into right now is TMNT (specifically the 2003 cartoon version), which I love, but ... yeah, Marvel’s pretty dominant when it comes to this question.
Over the years I have found that I like quite a few BBC programs, many of which I have discovered via Netflix, but I suspect most Americans would not be familiar with the high quality of entertainment being produced “across the pond.” Do you have a favorite BBC program or two you think most Americans might have never heard of?
Honestly, I don’t watch that much TV, and what I do watch is usually on DVD, so I’m not up to date with most programming that’s coming out. That being said, one of my favourites has to be their modern take on Sherlock (even if a couple of the episodes are, in my opinion, pretty disappointing), though I get the impression that’s decently well known in the States. Of what’s running recently, the only other thing I can say I really love is Have I Got News For You, a topical comedy/panel show that’s been running for decades and is absolutely hilarious (particularly if you like cynical/political humour). Other than that, it’s a handful of fairly old sitcoms that I’m not sure how well known they are in the U.S.: Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, and, my present favourite, Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister. I Claudius is also a really impressive old Roman period drama, especially considering the miniscule budget they were working with. Oh, and how could I forget A Bit of Fry and Laurie—best comedy sketch show I’ve ever seen.
Also, not BBC, but if you want to see some bizarre observational stand-up comedy, I can highly recommend Dave Gorman’s Modern Life is Goodish. Also, speaking of the BBC’s modern take on Sherlock, Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of Sherlock in the old ITV series is probably the definitive portrayal of the classic, Victorian era version of the character.
In the U.S. we have many, many restaurants that cater to ethnic, regional, or foreign foods but outside of a few English themed pubs I can’t say I’ve seen any specific British restaurants. What is your favorite meal that you feel is uniquely British? I suspect that when most Americans think of British food the first thing that comes to mind is “fish and chips”; do the British have a similar view of “American” cuisine? Is there anything you like to eat that you think of as “American” in origin?
To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t eat much in the way of traditionally British food, instead generally preferring other cuisines, Italian and Thai being particular favourites of mine. I can say that fish and chips are definitely a thing, though, being probably the most common/defining takeaway food in Britain, only really matched by Indian takeaways, and, while I’m vegetarian and therefore do not partake in the former part of the fish and chips combination, there is something truly satisfying about proper, chip shop chips. When it comes to a meal I can think of that feels particularly British that I enjoy, there are a few things I’ve had from time to time that were lovely but haven’t had enough to name/describe in detail (such as one, I believe it was a some kind of cider hot-pot, that my Mum cooked once that was pretty much divine); what probably sticks in my mind most would be a Cornish Pasty (or Welsh Oggie, they’re pretty much the same thing)—I absolutely love them! A full English breakfast is also pretty nice at times, but I’m not a massive fan of a couple of the ingredients personally and it’s really more my brother’s thing than mine. Moving slightly away from meals to ingredients, though, I could pretty much wax lyrical on the array of cheeses available over here, from your standard Cheddar, to nutty Red Leicester, to Shropshire Blue and Stilton for blue cheeses and then the crumbly cheeses, like Cheshire and Wensleydale. Man, I love cheese!
When it comes to the perceptions of American food over here, I’d say it was of burgers and hot dogs, things like that ... the burger probably fills the same role in British consciousness of American food that fish and chips fill in the other way around. Being vegetarian, as I said earlier, I don’t actually eat the regular versions of those types of foods, but I do enjoy the meat-free alternatives of them (not sure if you have Quorn over there, but that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about). Bagels are another American food I quite enjoy, but what really sticks out to me as an American food I love would be a New York baked cheesecake: put it with yoghurt and raspberries, and that’s pretty much heaven.
It was once said that “the sun never sets on the British Empire” and I have long been in awe of that historical fact. Taking the U.S. out of consideration, what current or former piece of the British Empire are you most intrigued by or most interested in one day visiting in person?
Ah, yes, the British Empire ... like most empires, simultaneously an extremely impressive logistical achievement and a truly horrifying blight on world history. I wouldn’t say that countries really interested me inherently, honestly, most of the time: I’m interested in history, in world politics, even in the differences between cultures to a degree, but I don’t think there’s really any country (including my own) that I’m interested in by virtue of it simply being that country, at least at present.
Honestly, I can’t say there are many places outside Europe I’d really like to go, either through lack of interest or health/safety/liberty concerns. I would be rather interested to visit Canada at some stage, though, as I’ve heard some good things about it, and it’d be quite interesting to experience a culture that’s similar enough right down to the language to make the numerous minor differences noticeable and intriguing. There’s also a part of me that’d be somewhat interested in seeing New Zealand—I’m a big fan of the Lord of the Rings films, and the landscape over there seems stunning—but I don’t really know enough about the country to confidently say I’d want to go there.
For someone who has never worked with a custom group, how would you describe your experience with C3G?
Absolutely terrible: that’s why I’ve been consistently testing for about a year now, am currently on my second design and have no plans to stop.
In all seriousness, I’ve greatly enjoyed being a part of C3G recently. Testing has been really enjoyable, more so than I expected when I first started—usually it’s been fun and interesting, and there are a large number of unreleased figures I’m really excited to see drop, as well as a number of units that may have passed my attention had I simply seen them released rather than having an opportunity to try them out specifically. In all honesty, there have been a small handful of times that testing has felt like a chore, but those have been in a definite minority, and I can highly encourage people to get involved. It’s great to be able to feel like I’m doing something to help expand on the game I love, and the forums have had a generally fairly relaxed, friendly and creative feeling to them. All in all, I think this is a pretty amazing project, and I’m really happy that after years of loving the game I can get to be a part of the team expanding upon it ... so, yeah, as I said, it’s been horrible.
You mentioned once that you had no need for roads. Would you care to elaborate on that?
That’s ... an extremely odd way to put it (which probably means that that’s exactly how I did put it ...). It’s less that I have no need for roads (busses and, to a lesser degree, taxis are still pretty vital at times), and more that I have absolutely no interest in driving, or really any need to.
Now, I’m not going to lie and say that the British public transport system is wonderful: it really isn’t, rail fares are unreasonable and constantly hiked, there are odd gaps in services in certain places, the rare yet bizarre occasions where bus services available mean you can get somewhere but can’t get back the same day ... you get the idea. It needs some serious improvement, but, for my purposes, it’s generally serviceable, and despite the unreasonable prices, taking public transport in my case is still significantly financially preferable with the costs that would be associated with car ownership. This is compounded when you consider that I live in a small market town just east of the Border Marches, not a massive city like London or New York, or even somewhere like Edinburgh or Birmingham—when you can get from any one point in town to any other in well under an hour (almost certainly not even quite half one) on foot, the need for vehicular transportation is fairly minimal.
Plus, honestly ... I really have no interest in it. If I’m traveling somewhere, I’d much rather do it by train or by bus, where I can just sit back, relax, chat with my family and watch the scenery whizz by ... not constantly concentrate on the road ahead, painfully aware that the heavy yet confining metal box I’m strapped into and presently in control of requires that I be very careful about not making a mistake lest I kill someone. Also, cars have always made me queasy from time to time, ever since I was a kid—I don’t know why, I think it might have been the smell, or maybe the sense of confinement, or perhaps both, but something never really sat right with me—and finally, to be honest, I have appalling hand-eye coordination and concentration much of the time: keep death off the roads, I say!
Is there an upcoming event, holiday, trip, etc. that you are looking forward to this year?
To be honest, life has been fairly ... chaotic recently, so holidays haven’t really been possible; while that seems likely to change soon, a proper holiday this year seems highly unlikely, though my family and I are pretty much certain to be taking one next year, probably down to St. Ives (a small, lovely Cornish seaside town that I remember many a holiday in as a child). When it comes to this year, though, I’m hopeful that I might be able to take an overnight in Borth (another beautiful, even tinier seaside town, this time in Wales, that appears to be stuck in a time-warp from the 1960s) at some stage.
When it comes to events, still not massive, but there are a couple of things. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to make it to Shrewsbury Pride later in the year: never been to anything like that before, and it should at the very least be interesting. Somewhat more relevant to this forum and to C3G, though, I can also say that I am quite excited by the new C3G online tournament that’s been posted—I greatly enjoyed the last one, even though I got my arse handed to me in three out of four games, and it should be a lot of fun, especially if I can get to experiment with some of the new releases, including, hopefully, one of my own designs! (Considering I have literally one released, try to guess one of the figures I’ll be taking—the answer may not surprise you.) Other than that, it’s the usual things that you get every year: birthdays, celebrations, things like that.
If you could have any one superpower, which one would you want to have? Why?
Well, my brother suggested money, and in a way, I’m actually inclined to agree. I would like to clarify: I’m in no way an avaricious person—the acquisition of money for its own sake seems rather pointless and vain to me—but this superpower would not only mean that you needn’t have to worry about financial troubles ever again if you’re reasonably astute and guarantee you to be set for a reasonably comfortable life, but, if used responsibly, you could actually realistically probably help far more people through charity than any attempt at superheroics would achieve. Now, you may be thinking that money isn’t actually a superpower, but to that I would say that Bruce Wayne and, more importantly, Tony Stark, are inclined to disagree with you.
Okay, in all seriousness and going for an actual superpower now .... it’d probably be something like flying, simply because it would be nice to be able to look over the landscape from a birds’ eye view ... it must be quite beautiful. Other strong contenders would be telepathy and telekinesis: the reasons for the second can likely be extrapolated from my moniker.
Tell three truths and a lie to be revealed later.
- I’ve only had to see a doctor once since infancy.
- I once played a game where a 4 Life left Superman was shot down in a single attack from a Street Thug.
- I always make sure to pick up a new C3G unit within a year of it being released.
- I have a genuine phobia of dogs.
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Great interview! Though call on which one is a lie. #3 means you would have a very, very large collection and I've never seen you post questions or answers about how to keep such a large collection organized. While #2 just seems far fetched, I mean that Street Thug would need to be boosted just to the 4 dice needed to roll 4 skulls, then Superman would need to whiff on defense. I suppose that is possible, so I'll go with #3 being the lie.
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Posted January 10th, 2018 at 04:11 PM by Yodaking
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