Privateer Press at SDCC 2012: Will Shick Talks Level 7, Gen Con, and More

Retribution of Scyrah Warmachine Miniatures at Comic-Con 2012

Privateer Press has become something of a mainstay at Comic-Con. Games Workshop has not been seen since 2004 at the latest, though Will Wheaton notably noticed GW’s presence back in 2000 or 2001 when they were promoting their Lord of the Rings miniatures game. This year at Comic-Con I couldn’t even find a WizKids booth promoting HeroClix, so Privateer Press was it in terms of any kind of miniatures company.

“Big Blue” the Ironclad Defends the PP Booth

With them they brought their Cygnar Ironclad statue, which is not quite life-size, but which they refer to as “Big Blue”. Big Blue debuted in 2011, but still gets some gearheads quite steamy, but Privateer Press also delivered the goods for fans of Huge bases, showing off the company’s newish Colossal figures in the glass display cases lining the booth. Inside games of Heap and Warmachine were being demoed. One of the big advantages of visiting Privateer Press at Comic-Con is access to prerelease miniatures before the general gaming public can get them. Another is the opportunity to actually meet most of the creative forces within the Bellevue, WA-based company. Company owner and Chief Creative Officer Matt Wilson can oftentimes be found in the booth along with a handful of creative underlings, as well as another handful of Pressgangers recruited to demo games. You also don’t have to feel rushed: 99% of the Comic-Con population isn’t there for Warmachine, Hordes, or Monsterpocalypse. I imagine at Gen Con that it’s a different story.

Survival-Horror Board Game Level 7 Escape on Display at the Privateer Press Booth

Level 7 Escape, Privateer Press’s new board game and part of its new Level 7 intellectual property, will be available at Gen Con in Indianapolis as a pre-release. The science fiction game was also on display in the glass case though I don’t think it was being demoed. The game uses cardboard standees to represent the players as they flee a facility. theco-operatives.com has a lot of great information on Level 7 from an interview they did with Will Shick, Director of Business and Brands for Privateer Press.

I also recorded an interview with Will Shick myself. He highlighted the upcoming Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy RPG, which uses a 2d6 mechanic just as Hordes and Warmachine do. He also said that at Gen Con, Privateer Press will “have plenty to see, plenty to do, and a lot of surprises.” He answers questions in the video below about his background with Privateer Press, the statues of the Ironclad and the Iron Lich, his own armies, and how Warmachine compares to Hordes in terms of popularity, as well as explaining how the armies and forces for the Warmachine Two Player Starter set were chosen.