My Acquisitions Inc. game at PAX East was an absolute blast! The players were totally over powered and cheated constantly but it didn't matter because in the end, I am the DM and I can do whatever I want. And boy did I! You can watch the entire thing right here on the Yub Tub:
This game was so much fun to put together. Obviously there was a lot of work that went into the production, and I wanted to share some of it here with you guys. I also wanted to give you an idea of how many people it took to pull off.
If you like your reses high, you can click on all these images to get the big boys.
This was the first scene and it was the most complicated to make. I knew I wanted these scenes to be animated and so I had to build them differently than I normally would. In this case, each character and all the set pieces/effects are on their own separate layers. My finished PSD files were then passed over to the ridiculously talented Jon Bennett who did all the incredible animations for each scene. I have no idea how he did it, but I love the 3D effect he managed to get when you fist walk into this room!
The players and the NPC's were also all drawn separate. These I gave to Penny Arcade designer and fancy dresser Dabe who created all the cool intro and exit animations for them.
On stage I had a small Stream Deck that I used to control the NPC's. I could press a button and make them pop up and then press it again to send them out. Back stage, AI producer Elyssa had a second Stream Deck that she used to control the actual players. Then we had more people working on the scene transitions and audio cues!
While I was doing all this art I pitched the idea of a T-Shirt to the PA design team and they loved it. We didn't have much time, but I did a drawing of Baby Jim that I passed over to Gavin who designed the shirt. Somehow Lidija was able to get it made and shipped to PAX without Jerry finding out. We even did a photo shoot one afternoon while Jerry was streaming Acquisitions Intoxicated.
Kris Straub NAILED the intros and the music. Better yet, By getting Kris to help I managed to secretly steal not only the company from Jerry, but his dear friend as well.
If you watch the game on You Tube, I ask that you please stick around for the credits. It was a last minute addition but when I told Dabe that if we really wanted to do it right it needed closing credits he agreed. He then busted his ass to make them happen and they turned out awesome! You should also watch those credits because those are all the people who made me seem way cooler than I am that night. I don't know how I ended up with this job you guys, but let me break it down for you. I designed an elaborate D&D game that is one big joke about a popular Star Wars television show. Then, a team of highly capable producers, artists, and engineers helped me turn those ideas into a stage show that I then performed live with my friends in front of thousands of screaming fans. That's what I did last month when I wasn't making PA. It's good work if you can get it. Thank you guys.
-Gabe out
