On the other hand (pun???), you looked very relaxed in the video, perhaps being comfortable with your "screen presence." Worrying about your hands might affect that.
That's kinda what I'm worried about. If I get too worried about not moving my hands, making sure my hair looks 100% perfect, etc., it's not going to be fun anymore and will probably look terrible. I'd rather be relaxed and just be myself than be all nervous because I don't look like a professional television host.
I think you hit upon the solution in your last sentence up there. Honestly, I seriously doubt Mark was trying to make you self-conscious. From my perspective, it looked natural, and I would probably never have noticed the hand movements even after repeated viewings if Mark didn't point it out. Mark has powers of human observation beyond mere mortals (possibly because I suspect he's been heavily trained to read body language as part of his profession). Seriously, "Bush's asymmetrical hand movements" is on a level way above my understanding!
But in general, people tend to gesture with their hands when making a point (at least in America, maybe not so much elsewhere, I don't know). If you were flailing away like an epileptic octopus on a hot plate, that's different. Maybe Mark will clarify what he means, because it seems like a non-issue to me. But since you are working on perfecting your presentations (lighting, editing, cinematography, personal presence, etc.), Mark was just trying to give some pointers on that level from the presentation viewpoint. That's how I took it.
Matt Barton wrote:
Quote:
As for concerns about "book pimping," I am actually disappointed that there wasn't more of it!...Oh, I don't want to be seen as pimping our book......" Well then what the hell did you write it for if you don't want people to know about it, buy it, and read it???? Seriously, "Bush's asymmetrical hand movements" is on a level way above my understanding.
Wow, thanks for posting that, Rob. I've been getting a few odd remarks here and there, but reading your posts always clarifies things..
What I was REALLY trying to say was: don't let a few naysayers try to intimidate you guys into shutting up and not saying anything at all about your books! You are not "carneys." It's not in your nature, and as far as I know, you are not spamming anyone. Such practices are indeed annoying, and you guys are aware enough not to do that. It's unfortunate that we've latched on the word "pimping" in reference to your book, because that word has such a negative connotation. People visit the game-oriented forums like this one because they like to read about games. You wrote a book about games. Therefore, it's a no-brainer, in my mind, to mention the book. Many people will like to read it, and will probably enjoy it, give or take differing tastes. People who are not interested will ignore it.
Quote:
Check out Vega Strike if you can; I interviewed the developer awhile back and was really intrigued. It's a freebie.
Not many people realize that all these games go back to Traveller, the sci-fi tabletop boardgame. I haven't played that either, though it sounds fantastic.
Thanks for the heads up on Vega Strike, it seems totally up my alley!
As for Traveller, I "refereed" it briefly as a teen, and was the first one I knew who purchased the set and introduced it to my friends. One of my friends also ref'ed his own Traveller campaign briefly. Traveller wasn't a "boardgame," it was a D&D-style pen-and-paper RPG. It was much "drier" than D&D, though, lacking all the exciting mythos and monsters, so we all just shifted back to D&D. I don't see the influence of Traveller in these Elite-style games beyond superficial things, and those similarities might be coincidental more than anything.
Unfortunately, I no longer have any of the original Traveller materials, other than a "module" booklet (as they would call it in D&D terminology, I forget what the Traveller term is). The module booklet is probably in poor condition. I also have a TSR "Top Secret" RPG rulebook in poor condition, and I once new the daughter of the creator (or one of the creators) of TSR's "Boot Hill" roleplaying game. Ironically, she didn't approve of RPG's or his involvement (I won't go into details).
On the other hand (pun???), you looked very relaxed in the video, perhaps being comfortable with your "screen presence." Worrying about your hands might affect that.
That's kinda what I'm worried about. If I get too worried about not moving my hands, making sure my hair looks 100% perfect, etc., it's not going to be fun anymore and will probably look terrible. I'd rather be relaxed and just be myself than be all nervous because I don't look like a professional television host.
I think you hit upon the solution in your last sentence up there. Honestly, I seriously doubt Mark was trying to make you self-conscious. From my perspective, it looked natural, and I would probably never have noticed the hand movements even after repeated viewings if Mark didn't point it out. Mark has powers of human observation beyond mere mortals (possibly because I suspect he's been heavily trained to read body language as part of his profession). Seriously, "Bush's asymmetrical hand movements" is on a level way above my understanding!
But in general, people tend to gesture with their hands when making a point (at least in America, maybe not so much elsewhere, I don't know). If you were flailing away like an epileptic octopus on a hot plate, that's different. Maybe Mark will clarify what he means, because it seems like a non-issue to me. But since you are working on perfecting your presentations (lighting, editing, cinematography, personal presence, etc.), Mark was just trying to give some pointers on that level from the presentation viewpoint. That's how I took it.
As for concerns about "book pimping," I am actually disappointed that there wasn't more of it!...Oh, I don't want to be seen as pimping our book......" Well then what the hell did you write it for if you don't want people to know about it, buy it, and read it???? Seriously, "Bush's asymmetrical hand movements" is on a level way above my understanding.
Wow, thanks for posting that, Rob. I've been getting a few odd remarks here and there, but reading your posts always clarifies things..
What I was REALLY trying to say was: don't let a few naysayers try to intimidate you guys into shutting up and not saying anything at all about your books! You are not "carneys." It's not in your nature, and as far as I know, you are not spamming anyone. Such practices are indeed annoying, and you guys are aware enough not to do that. It's unfortunate that we've latched on the word "pimping" in reference to your book, because that word has such a negative connotation. People visit the game-oriented forums like this one because they like to read about games. You wrote a book about games. Therefore, it's a no-brainer, in my mind, to mention the book. Many people will like to read it, and will probably enjoy it, give or take differing tastes. People who are not interested will ignore it.
Check out Vega Strike if you can; I interviewed the developer awhile back and was really intrigued. It's a freebie.
Not many people realize that all these games go back to Traveller, the sci-fi tabletop boardgame. I haven't played that either, though it sounds fantastic.
Thanks for the heads up on Vega Strike, it seems totally up my alley!
As for Traveller, I "refereed" it briefly as a teen, and was the first one I knew who purchased the set and introduced it to my friends. One of my friends also ref'ed his own Traveller campaign briefly. Traveller wasn't a "boardgame," it was a D&D-style pen-and-paper RPG. It was much "drier" than D&D, though, lacking all the exciting mythos and monsters, so we all just shifted back to D&D. I don't see the influence of Traveller in these Elite-style games beyond superficial things, and those similarities might be coincidental more than anything.
Unfortunately, I no longer have any of the original Traveller materials, other than a "module" booklet (as they would call it in D&D terminology, I forget what the Traveller term is). The module booklet is probably in poor condition. I also have a TSR "Top Secret" RPG rulebook in poor condition, and I once new the daughter of the creator (or one of the creators) of TSR's "Boot Hill" roleplaying game. Ironically, she didn't approve of RPG's or his involvement (I won't go into details).
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