The BattleTech Pandemonium Memphis Chapter at the Midsouth Hobbies and Games of Memphis, Tennessee may or may not seem like any other wargame-friendly game store on the planet. But I’ll tell you one thing I haven’t seen before. A Duncan Fisher worthy hit by hit; round by round commentary of the games played there on YouTube for the rest of the world to see.
And enjoy – When I first ran into Anthony Wilson’s Ouchies BatRep videos I felt like I was watching ESPN SportsCenter. Given the less-than-speedy nature of BattleTech the video is in fast forward the whole time. Rather than miss anything however, Wilson keeps pace with the flow of the game, speaking in an almost professional broadcasting voice that keeps eyes and ears on the screen yet has the occasional humorous quip that most BattleTech or sci-fi fans will know.
Angel ECM: Abandon all hope, C3 who enter here…
Visual cues presumably created in an After Effects-type program really pinpoint the action since there’s really no way to zoom in. Between the use of technical-looking cursors and indicators to ‘Awesomeface’ memes along with his witty banter and mannerisms, He might just be able to hold the attention of even the younger, notoriously short attention-spanned videogamers.
So far I’ve been watching among other things Clan Chromium Pigeon get its rear end handed to it by Word of Blake. A lot. All to light jazz or the always epic MechWarrior 2 soundtrack. Besides on YouTube you can also keep tabs on the action on their official Facebook page.
I think tactical/strategic wargaming needs people like this anyway to act as face men to draw the interest of this mainly untapped pool of new blood who are familiar with BattleTech only through the videogames.
Wilson also has a handy three part video BattleTech tutorial, narrates Flames of War, Heavy Gear and other tabletop games Speaking of Heavy Gear, I wonder if any official MekTek league play will need a live commentator since they appear to be doing a lot for match spectators. Someone like Anthony could turn Assault into a real spectator sport.
Well bargained, and done.