I appreciate your confidence in me to deliver a high quality product. Unfortunately there is a big issue.... I'm not a judge. much less an RA. so I really cant be the one to make any videos official. If the videos are not going to be official then they could have errors. Thats why I chose to put this up on the realms in the first place. This idea needs wizkids input and support. If they wanted me as a host or educational consultant.... well sure... but I'd want your help too surfer13.... See, I find it hard to totally respect that anyone that calls others out to work wouldn't be being willing to help themselves. I want to give you the opportunity to keep my full respect. If you don't take up the challenge, it'll be ok... I won't disparage you, I just won't really put much weight to your words. ... I imagine you're the same way. (I hope that you're not hurt by these comments.... I would rather you consider it a side effect of my desire to grow the game, enthusiasm, and friendly competition.)

Back to your points, There is a general tenet in education. it applies here because it speaks to human nature and provides an important direction in how teachers are to teach.

People tend to do things that they understand even if the activity is hard.

The contrapositive is also true, If people do not understand an activity well, even if it is easy, they will tend not to do that activity.

the idea is that not many people like to not understand and fumble around with a new active

This research then begs the question how can we help people understand?
We'll get back to this.

I never said that the FAQs had to be video only... but the complete list of FAQs could be on the video as a sort of end credits. The presentation doesn't have to look slick. It would just provide another place to look something up.

As for the amount of rulings that might need some visual clarification, well ok lets take the viewpoint of someone new or even young. Watching something is way easier for many people than reading and interpreting what the heck the intention was on some of these rulings.

Quick start rules/Adjacency/line of fire/elevatiion/ placement/special powers issues are happening right now even with this set... HOT CAP, Starlord, and the bifrost bridge have brought up a lot of issues.

Other topics that can come up for a new player include: use of barrier vs use of smoke cloud. old school Map rulings, Map and special power interactions (ie... space map and running shot; how does speed get modified; how does range get modified), giant adjacency with mastermind or poison, two gun kid... ( how the heck can two gun kid make close combat attacks as a ranged action), super adaptoids (parasite is the same right?) attack drain timing.. Defend vs Shared defense Team abilities cards/ powers that require you to put tokens on top of a card. in contact with oracle w/ fig (you dont know how many times i've seen people try to place her on the board despite the fact the rules are on the card.) JL batman OOTS. jericho's possession power, no mans land territories placement, infinity gauntlet placement/ event dial play, and pariah dial play. I know that there is probably more that can be discussed very quickly in a video.

These are all things where a quick example could quickly show the new or confused community how to play these rules
You see how daunting that is for a new person, dont you?

I envision most sections would show two people in a mock match and the host commentating over the action. People that wanted to support the videos could even send their clips to the host (I presume chosen by RA.) Heck a list of rules that need postings could even be posted to have volunteers film particular matches.

(for the following numbers lets not count the procedure time it takes to make the FAQs we are talking about additional cost.)

Realistically how long would it take to have a 20 minute video... which by the way is a huge length for what would be needed. say 20 times the amount of time on the video is needed to produce it.... 400 minutes = 4 hours 40 minutes .... Lets say maybe they have a skeleton crew... A host, a cameraguy, and an editor.... the camera guy would work for maybe 2 hours. and the editor would be on the project for all 400 minutes. Hopefully the host would be a volunteer. that comes up with a cost of 100 dollars at a super low ball rate, 30 dollars for the cameraguy and 70 for the editor .... One of the middle schools I worked at had a TV station... the kids were able to make a killer morning announcements show.

The trick is the equipment. That is where I could use a bit of pricing help.. we arent really shooting for a control board ala a tv station.($30,000) but we would need a pc software or a mac ( I think that the program comes the mac) to borrow. That mac software makes it really easy and it comes in straight off of the webcam. I'll bet that an I phone can also input its video.

Lets say that we get sponsors for clix boosters to those that send usuable videos and get used.


Jumping topics now
Have you noticed starting this christmas season lots and lots of books are being placed on extreme permanent discount.... discounters and/or hardback book publishers are lowering their initial msrps... newsstations have reported that this is causing a lot of reduced royalty problems for the writers and companies. what is causing this? ... multiple factors, not the least of which is Amazon.... It probably is cheaper to give a kid, a parent insured kindle than give them them a full set of school books. District purchasing managers are going to start to catch wind of this.

Heck, while writing this I saw a kindle ad during the football game. ...

We still have a few cycles of moores law left... computing power (transistor density) doubles every 18 months/2 years.... now the computer engineers are starting to conduct nano level molecular bonding to create circuits.... It is reasonable to say that when kindles/e-readers get to the 100 dollar level it is going to be very attractive for school districts as well as readers in general especially with reduced cost for reading material. they are going to get in peoples hands.

It is coming... when I saw ipods I thought they were a joke because they were so expensive..... Now they are everywhere. It is a good idea to take a look at trends because they can be ridden to success... Predicting needs and then filling them is what makes product managers successful. if sales levels are at a particular point that hasn't hit 2 percent market saturation then the game stays small. (Once most products hit 2 percent they typically jump to 70 or 80 percent saturation within 10 years.)

Dubious connection?.. Sorry, but I respectfully disagree... in education there is documentation and research that demands teachers deliver content in multiple modalities. I suggest you go to a website like the education resources information center (eric database) and take a look at the use of different modalities to help students of all ages learn.... In sales understanding what is going to be done is very important... the game can be marketed as having video rules. that will help some people that are on the fence and dont typically play at a LCS venue.

What's more the FAQ videos themselves could attract younger kids to the game, thereby allowing wizkids to produce more cases of clix because they could understand the procedure easier through a procedural visual modality rather than having to imagine what the rules are, get to a particular conclusion and possibly get to the wrong conclusion. It's why young sesame street/PBS watchers tend to be more successful than their non watching counterparts. Watchers see rules procedurally and they get the opportunity for correct repetition.

That being said I 'll put you down as a no vote. Thanks for your time.

I see little merit in your idea. It would only help a small portion of the audience, if that, while drawing away resources from NECA. So you "calling me out"? Doesn't work.

Since you think this is such a great idea, then all I am saying is that you can do it and show me and all of the other nay-sayers how wrong we are. Otherwise, you are just talking about what other people should do to solve what you perceive to be a problem.
You don't have to be an RA to do this, you just have to be right about what you are explaining. Anyone can post a video explaining what powers work in conjunction with a charge.

But what makes you think that the segment of the player population that won't read the rulings will watch a video demonstrating the rulings? If they have questions after reading the information they can ask their local judge for clarification.
And in my experience, that is the bottom line. My players would read or not read FAQs, but they would all happily ask me questions as they arose and I would do my best to explain them at that time. A Youtube video wouldn't have helped me, and it wouldn't have helped them.

If you wish to continue espousing the virtues of RA videos, then fine, but I am done debating the issue and I am done bumping your thread.

I think its a good idea!

I think post #46 was waaay to long.

Sorry but one would need the support of Norm, the judges and wizkids because if there is a mistake.... then it is all gone to poop. the amount of time to hit it between release and the marquee is just too small to get the video done. I do have a job.

It is going to need help.. straight up. I would also need access to the FAQs before the set was released... in order for the video to be done quickly....

I dunno maybe the same people that prefer watching TV over books would prefer video FAQs over paper ones... they do exist in lots of numbers... I've taught a bunch of them.

I dont appreciate the twisting of words. RA/wizkids supported videos ... Norm would just be the dude who stamps off on the videos. ... why make things if they might be wrong... Maybe you asked if videos would help your players but it sounds like you didn't. most LCS do have a computer. whats to stop a small group of people that maybe arrived too early from watching the FAQs before the tourney if they want to?

Certain FAQs have been really long.. correct me Hair, Norm if I am wrong, but i believe we seen 30 pages of FAQs released at once. I usually did them at my parents house.. the amount of ink was insane.. saving them on Pdf was ok but my computer then was slower than molasses.

The effort to click on a button isnt the same the effort to read stuff and comprehend multiple steps.

Again I am also aiming for the people that dont play at venues to learn. maybe eventually after watching videos they can see that the rules are not that hard. the game can grow outside of venues.

Unfortunately the point of view you chose precludes that kind of access in a kind of vague way... ( it is not important, so it doesnt deserve early access and judge/ra support; you just have to be right... being right is a matter of interpretation.... that is why norm and the judges are around.. otherwise I could be wrong and hurt players strategies, team builds etc.

If Im going to do something its gotta be right from the getgo.

I wish you well with your life. thanks again for your time.

I'd like to see a single game covered like poker or billiards, where the battlefield is shot from overhead, and we occasionally switch to different angles (Player 1, 2). Also, there could be screen overlays that keep tabs of the score, KOs, etc.

Even if this is a one-time deal, it would be interesting, especially with some elements of humor (having commentary, surprise guests, etc.).

I wonder if the last 3 pairings at a convention tourney could be video recorded. I dont know if Norm would allow it.

It could be advantageous as the players already know what they are doing. Most everybody that isnt playing in the other matches are watching already. It could build up a bigger fanbase. It might even be considered as an extra reward to be on the net as a top 4 finalist.

I like your idea... if I can/ am allowed to help ..i'd like to (at wwla or whatever takes it's place.)

Would you believe I was very quiet as a child?