Members,
I suspect that Kelley will be sending out some more details on the
announcements made at ICC Closing Ceremonies. For those that were not
in attendance, these are the highlights (closing ceremonies will also
be available on youtube.com but I do not yet have an ETA):
1. Kelley Barnes is moving from Marketing to an HR position. This is
a very nice thing for her and a growth opportunity. She is still and
will continue to be the CD in the immediate future. The time line for
her transition is in the year+ time-frame. Kelley is still our CD and
will be so for the foreseeable future. Panic = zero 
2. White Wolf/CCP recognizes the shrinking print business. The number
of dedicated brick and mortar gaming stores that sell a variety of
game products is rapidly shrinking. They are actively pursuing the
electronic publishing model and are looking at technologies like the
Kindle DX, the Nook, and the Apple Tablet. The main focus there is
that they refuse to tie into a product that requires a single vendor
point for their clients (like being forced to use itunes to vend
books). In short, WW is not getting out of publishing, they are
being
realistic about the future of paper publishing. They also want to
enable their members to have a library at their fingertips. They are
doing this for their ENTIRE library, not just the NWoD.
3a. WW/CCP is taking off the apron strings. This is two separate
items really. The important note is that WW is being honest with us -
in the past the Cam has been told what to do to sell books. That time
is over. Now WW is doing what they are doing to build a community of
raving fans. We can play what we want, how we want, and the way we
want. We can play any and all games in the manner and systems we
want. This is not just for the Cam – this is for *any* fan org, not
just the cam.
3b. More than just game, we are free to govern, regulate, and
configure our club however we please. We will always be the official
fan club of WW and therefore always be their ambassadors. Other than
that and a sense that we should represent ourselves to the public with
maturity and poise, we can make the club what we want. Prestige,
handbooks, governance structures, all of it is in our hands. Down to
how we envision and embody this new structure is even in our hands.
This is where the coordinators will go into more detail, but wanted to
get that information out there for members.
4. Technology tools are being created for the entire fan community,
not just the Cam. The tools are ‘world-builders’, campaign managers
with clear, easy to use,
approachable interfaces. There will be a hierarchical visibility
interface where officers can set levels of visibility on items and
reveal them based off time and access. The framework is already done
and beta will begin spring 2010 with the product ready to launch
tentatively at the end of 2010. The short answer here is we will be
getting something that will act as our approvals DB and much more.
So, what does that mean for us?
First, we now have the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation
(NSTs and MST staff) about what games make sense for the Camarilla. I
do not have any plans to remove any venues in the NWoD, so that’s not
a concern. However, now that we have the flexibility to consider
adding something from the OWoD to our suite of games we play, I want
to have that discussion. I have a proposal that I will be getting to
the NSTs within roughly a weeks time that I think will give us a place
to start. The primary things that are on my list of discussion points
revolve not only around what venue (if any) we should consider first,
but how adding any new venues will impact our ability to offer solid,
well-supported games. Just because we are technically able to run
every game that WW has ever put out, doesn’t mean we should.
Volunteers run our games and any decision about what choices we make
with our new found flexibility should be considered with all aspects
of its impact in mind. I intend to be conservative and cautious about
what and when we add any new venues to our organization. I wish every
venue we support to have not only a robust group of enthusiastic
players, but a strong storytelling chain to ensure its success.
When will anything happen?
I do not anticipate any major changes to come into play for us in the
storytelling side of the house before Spring/Summer 2010, however, I
will provide updates to our members on our progress and decisions as
we move forward. Not only do we need to ensure that there is support
and enthusiasm for any venues we add, we need to ensure that those
additions are not rushed. I would rather take my time and get it
right the first time than rush any decision and have to change it
later. In this case, it is generally easier and more satisfying to
add stuff than it is to give you too much and then take it away later
and I would like to keep that mindset as we go forward.
In addition, the technology elements coming in 2010 will allow us to
offer more robust support and tools for not only the current games
that we run, but those we may run in future. I would like to have
more of these tools in place (or at least in beta) before we add more
to our already taxed programming infrastructure.
So, in summary, nothing will change now. Dialogs have to happen,
ideas need to be argued, torture tested, etc, before we make any
additions to the venues we currently support.
Michelle Webb
WW2002021096
MST
