Article By: Pugilist
As Friday's Exhibit Hall hours drew to a close, we stopped by for a word with Mark Anticole, one of the founders of Eye Level Entertainment (ELE) and co-creator of the award winning Nature of the Beast. What award? Spewgilist.com own 2007 Spewgie for the Game of the Year. You're welcome to read our review of the game here.
We had wanted to catch up with Mark and talk a little about how the convention was going for him, how sales have been doing, future plans for the company, and not insignificantly, how his participation in the Cheese Weasel Logistics' Quest Game was turning out. Let's dig in, shall we?
Firstly, Origins is a big success for ELE. They are getting great exposure and have an impressive PowerPoint presentation that demo's their game. Their participation in the Quest game is helping to drive people to their booth and the presentation and the proudly displayed 2007 Spewgie, is driving sales. On a cost basis alone, the show and Quest are a success. The additionally benefits of exposure for the game and company and the interaction with vendors and convention attendees is an axe for the fish.
OK, you need to have seen a demo of Nature of the Beast or read our review to get that reference, but trust us, it was friggin' great.
In general sales for Nature of the Beast are going well enough that an expansion, Prairie vs. Polar, is in development. Mark let us know that they are really taking their time with the art and card design, making sure the feel of the original game is maintained and enhanced. The prints we saw on display were a testament to the effort and Prairie vs. Polar. Simply beautiful artwork and great depictions of how the animals fit into the game.
Prairie vs. Polar continues in the Nature of the Beast vein of Animal Farm meets Machiavelli and is due to hit the shelves in 2008.
ELE's first board game, E.T.I. (estimated time to Invasion) is going through it's final twists and kinks and is due to hit the streets this year. The game focuses on the imminent invasion of the planet by an alien species. Your job is to research and develop the tools, technologies, and armaments required to ultimately be the faction on that defeats the horrid beings who are, no doubt, bent on enslaving the planet, draining, it of it water and women, and forcing our film makers to digitally modify classic movies to be in tune with their tapioca brained shift in stances moral and social.
Of course, once you defeat the aliens, you will go on to rule the world, which is only right? Why is it only right? Because history is written by the winners.
There are other things on the plate for ELE. They are in talks to develop a line of educational games and although nothing is finalized and everything may fall apart faster than a Robert Downey Jr. parole hearing, right now things look promising and there's a chance we may see something in the 2008 time frame. The important thing to note for all of you current and prospective designers is that this whole deal is a result of a contact they made through Origins 2006.
It's like these shows actually work.
And then there's Killjoy Comics. Why? Because Mark has started contributing a comic for KillJoyComics.com. It bills itself as "Sufficiently Cynical" Comics for Cynics and our short perusal of the site leads us to ask but a single question:
Does the world really need more cynicism?
To which we answer and enthusiastic:
HELL YEAH!
But we may have additional, undiagnosed, social issues.
You check it out and decide for yourselves, but we loved the variety offered.