Heya Shamblers,
Holy fuckin’ fuck!?!?! Marty made a game, and it kicks ass! Many of you already know Martin Whitmore as the creator of Zombieinfo.com’s ‘Crawler’ image (which we LOVE by the way) and his kick ass web comic Tasty Flesh is STILL taking names (and kicking other stuff) out there (and they have tee-shirts too!) Marty is kind of an honorary ‘Zombieprince’ around here… he pretty much can do whatever he wants (and usually does) and I’ll gush… so let me tell you about his new game ‘Against the Dead’… it’s a Zombie survival RPG, yeah… the old school pencil/paper D20 games that rock so hard, especially with a few like minded friends (and perhaps a few beverages???) actually… no, fuck this, I’m not going to tell you about the game, oh, no… I’m gonna make Marty do it! MARTY!!!! Get in here!!! It’s time to whore yourself to the masses here and pimp your game!!!!
MW: Mwahaha! Always happy to sell my soul for a little exposure – and it’s always good to be here with you, ZK!
ZK: Ok Marty, stop lying…you have no soul… welcome back and all that crap- you already know we love your stuff, so tell the people all about your new game!
MW: Like you said, it’s an old-school d20 RPG. Create a character, roll some dice, and chainsaw your way through unholy hordes of the undead! The game takes your characters through 3 stages of the zombie plague… from the first days, where you start as an average chump, through the battle for survival where you become a master of combating the undead scourge, through the apocalypse – if you survive that, then you become the new masters of a world wiped clean by the ravenous blight of zombies. So, gather some friends, bring some drinks, order a pizza, and join the fight!
ZK: So… now that I got you here, instead of just hanging out in the King’s TV room… you might as well answer a few questions! Like how I totally roped you into an interview? That’s not the question… this is- what have you been up to since we last talked?
MW: I’m lovin’ life as a freelance illustrator. I’ve been working as the illustrator half of Ideaschema (http://ideaschema.org/) with my partner Megan Elizabeth Morris. We’ve been having a great time working with all kinds of great people. I got interviewed by CNN about Geek Sex at SXSW this year (http://bit.ly/glcPPM) – watch that for a laugh! …in addition, I’m working on another zombie book right now, as well as putting together expansions for Against the Dead.
ZK: I dig the sweet Tasty Flesh and other new tee shirts! (see above- Marty models too!) Looks like lotsa new stuff going on… so what the hell is ‘Creative team in a box?’
MW: ‘Creative Team in a Box’ is our answer to hiring a design/advertising agency for businesses on the web. Megan and I specialize in solo entrepreneurs and small businesses, and we help their web presence really smack people in the face – we use eye-popping illustration work, integrated into people’s websites, to really bring them to life. So, it’s a bit like necromancy. …but instead of gutting a chicken and chanting in Latin, I make sweet artwork for ‘em.
ZK: Back to the game, it’s (and here’s your ‘Zombieking says’ quote) more fun than stuffing a muskrat in yer pants! …no, I can do better: Zombieking says: This is the kind of game I can REALLY sink my TEETH into! …yeah, better. Anyhoo, it’s fun and all that- how did you go about testing and developing it?
MW: Sergio Vandel is the guy I went to when I wanted to make this game – he’s an amazing game designer, and he helped shape my wild ideas into a solid RPG system. …he’s also the guy who runs my weekly D&D game. We have some of the most amazing gamers I’ve ever met in our group, people who are known for working within the rules of a game to break it from the inside out. We put ‘Against the Dead’ through the wringer by playing game after game of it with these guys, working out the kinks, adding new mechanics to make it better, and we refined it down into the book we’ve got today. We also had a great idea: the ‘Against the Dead’ book contains *everything* you need to play the game, except for a set of dice and friends. You don’t have to buy three separate books like a lot of systems out there just to get started… we wanted you to be able to buy one book and start busting heads!
ZK: So, when do you actually sleep? Oh..wait… ON MY COUCH! (just kidding!) For reals though, what have you got coming up this summer, and WHERE can we get your game?
MW: You can get your hands on a digital copy of the game at RPGnow.com by following this link: http://bit.ly/dCxEZV Also, if you’d like to get your hands on one of our remaining print copies (we’ve only got about 20 left), you can email me (marty@ideaschema.org) to see if I have any left. They’re selling for $30, plus S&H. We’ve got several expansions planned, so you can get a little extra carnage to add to your game. You can always visit http://martinwhitmore.com for more information on what I’ve got coming up.
ZK: Ok man, go back to your stuff… I got people to kill and stuff to see… Drop by anytime Marty!
MW: It’s been great talking with you! If you’re ever in Austin, you’ll have to stop by for game night and meet the guys! Just bring a few bucks to chip in for chainsaw gas…
ZK: As long as no one tries to saw me…you got a deal Marty! By the way… a certain ‘Crawler‘ makes an appearance in the game too… OR SO I’VE HEARD!….
(Not the Crawler… but damn if it doesn’t freak me out a lil…)
I’m ‘the Zombieking’…and I’m getting sick of all these ‘repeat’ visitors! …Naw, I kid… but they ARE fucking up my catchphrase! Screw it… I’m ‘the Zombieking’ and this topic is now DEAD to me!
-ZK.
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