What is Tom vs. Bruce?
Tom vs. Bruce was a series of articles written by Tom Chick and Bruce Geryk for Computer Gaming World. The series began in January of 2002 and ran monthly until May 2008, when the magazine shut down. Each article was about a different game, usually describing a multiplayer match. At first, the articles were intended to provide strategy tips, but the series evolved to include humor, narrative, and the distinct personalities of Tom Chick and Bruce Geryk.
Why are Tom and Bruce on Kickstarter?
Tom vs. Bruce was extremely popular during its run in Computer Gaming World. One internal Powerpoint of the magazine's metrics listed Tom vs. Bruce as the second-most-popular item. It was behind only reviews as a category and well ahead of the third-place item, which we think involved Jeff Green jamming his finger up his nose. We still get asked about the articles a lot. Bruce, who's a surgeon these days, even got accosted in the operating room once.
Previously, we've pitched the column to websites, but among the sticking points to possible deals were limitations on what we could do and for whom we could write. We feel that even though we can be a bit obscure, verbose, or obscure and verbose, we have a specific style and sense of humor. We'd rather not do Tom vs. Bruce than compromise it. So by working directly for you, our Kickstarter benefactors, we get the same freedom and trust we had with our editors at Computer Gaming World.
And we really love doing this stuff. Even though they were a lot of work to produce, we both looked forward to doing them. We enjoyed the gameplay and the writing. We really dug creating something in a unique format, based on an interpersonal dynamic. We'd love to get that going again.
But the bottom line is that they're a lot of work. Hence, Kickstarter.
What is the funding for?
The funding is for ten brand-new Tom vs. Bruce articles to be delivered roughly monthly over the next year. We chose this goal because it's what we would have been paid by Computer Gaming World for ten articles.
We've spent a lot of time on Tom vs. Bruce over the years. Believe it or not, it's hard to sound off-the-cuff, breezy, and conversational. And to schedule time to play these games. And to figure out how best to relate them without simply turning in a boring old AAR. And getting the best screenshots to illustrate our points. You'd never know from the way 1up chucked the text online and inserted random screenshots, but we were pretty proud of our visual assets. That's not a euphemism.
