Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Q&A with Stephen Schubert

From this thread on maxminis.

How many maps are in the works for 2006?
Many. Two new Fantastic Locations products are on the announced schedule, which would be 6 total more maps. While I can't comment on unannounced products, there's a good chance you'll see more maps. After all - I want a map where the trog captain really shines!

Can we start getting design and other articles from the designers on the WotC site?
Yes. Many of the ideas already mentioned are good ones. The key is finding time to produce the content. Matt and I have full workloads, and webwork typically falls in the "extra work" category. I'll keep doing the previews (to start in a couple weeks), but maybe we can throw in a few more things.

I heard that the designers of the minis game had trouble of coming up with minis game stats for the rust monster?
Stats for the rust monster are pretty easy, actually... This is one of those questions, along with the "how are minis chosen" question, below, that has a more complex answer. I'll see if we can't get some sort of article put together to address this. The question you must first ask yourself is: who gets to have fun when the rust monster is put on the table?

Are there going to be low point uniques again?
Uniques are an interesting animal. For the most part, we'd like our uniques to be something cool from our novels or classic adventures. In the skirmish game, early uniques typically got a "discount" because we'd know you'd only have one, and allowed us to create abilities that could be restricted due to the unique status. But at the same time, uniques in the common or uncommon slot sort of suck, because you end up with many but can only ever use one. Uniques work best as rares, and as rares, will likely be well into the double-digit point costs.

Will the huges in WotDQ get only epic cards, or "normal" ones too?
The Huges in Dairy Queen will get only one card. They are all epic, and have no "jr." version.

How are the non-set themed minis determined for an expansion. Is it by paint pallete? Just pulling minis at random from a hat? Is there an interview process? Or do all the minis in a set have some underlying theme to them that even we aren't aware of?
Many factors, really. Something that would make a good article (or two). Everything from what products can we support to what we think might be cool.