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Showing posts tagged as "QandA"
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I recently interviewed Scott Palter via a list of questions. Scott was the force behind the original incarnation of West End Games back in the day. He is responsible for publishing the original Star Wars D6 roleplaying game, Ghostbusters, Hercules/Xena RPG, Paranoia, etc. -- some amazing games. He was kind enough to oblige me. This should put a few rumors to rest.
1. What was the first RPG you published through WEG?
Paranoia
2. What was your favorite WEG RPG?
Paranoia
3. Did you scream or jump up and down when you scored the Star Wars RPG license? Be honest.
Actually it was mostly shock. I never expected I could beat out MUCH bigger companies.
4. Is the rumor true that Torg stands for "The Other Roleplaying Game?" I've only just heard this one a few months ago.
Yes. Name was a placeholder only we could never agree on a better one.
5. Is the rumor true that Shatterzone resulted from having a lot of rejected ideas by Lucasfilm? I don't see it, but lots of people seem to believe that.
No. It was supposed to be a darker space opera more to my taste than Star Wars. My favorite series is Cherryh’s Company Wars. Not an unlicensed steal but more the way I would have done such a military space opera. I had a template. Sadly I didn’t supervise it well enough [one of the running stories of my life] and it drifted from my vision.
6. Who came up with the idea of the value scale for Torg, Shatterzone, and MasterBook? I believe that Mayfair's DC Heroes game was the first to use such a scale. Was that an influence or something that came about independently?
Honestly don’t remember.
7. How did MasterBook come about? Was it specifically intended to be a generic version of Torg's or Shatterzone's rules?
Making the TORG rules generic was my idea. In retrospect one of my stupidest. The default house system should have been D6. The rest of the Masterbook project was Rich Hawran.
8. Did you have a favorite MasterBook worldbook?
Tharkold. I was into dark, spiky. ::: Brett's Note: I believe this was a Torg sourcebook, rather than for MasterBook.
9. WEG had a number of hugely popular licenses, including Ghostbusters, MIB, and Hercules & Xena (not to mention Star Wars). Were there any licenses than you were not able to secure that you still think about or regret?
Regret not getting – Star Trek and we tried multiple times. Regretted getting – MiB and Xena. I was chasing those rainbows when I should have been shrinking the company to survive the MTG tsunami. Instead I bankrupted the company.
10. WEG also produced several Star Trek board games. This was about the time that FASA was licensed for the RPG. Was a license to publish an RPG for this property something you tried to acquire?
Didn’t try before the success of Ghostbusters. Never was able to land it after. | | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permanent Link | See All Posts Tagged as "QandA" | | Read more... | |
I recently interviewed Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton of Cakebread & Walton, the company behind games like Airship Pirates, Clockwork & Chivalry, and the OneDice series. I like their work and wanted to find out more about the duo. My thanks to them for indulging me.
1. Cakebread & Walton publishes a number of interesting stand-alone RPGs. Which was the first and what was your inspiration for it?
Pete: Our first actual setting was Clockwork & Chivalry, which is set in an alternate English Civil War, where the Roundheads have clockwork machines and the Royalists have magical alchemy. The initial idea was all Ken's - he'd already started on a short piece of fiction set in the world. It possibly came to him in a dream - a lot of his ideas do! We did a great big corebook and a stack of adventures. But originally it used the MRQ2 rules so wasn't standalone. I've failed to answer the very first question properly, haven't I? Anyhow, when Mongoose lost Runequest, we decided we needed our own set, so we designed Renaissance - it meant we could use it for all our D100 games, as well as tweak it to do exactly what we wanted. Clockwork & Chivalry was re-released as a standalone 2nd edition, and it is still doing rather well. But I might have gotten the order wrong - Ken, was Renaissance or Airship Pirates our first completely standalone game? I have a memory like a sieve when it comes to some things. If it was Airship Pirates, I'll leave it to Ken to answer...
Ken: I *think* C&C 2nd Edition came before Airship Pirates, but I wouldn't like to swear to it. I know the idea definitely *did* come to me in a dream -- I was doing a degree in the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science at the time - not the most useful degree for most things, but great for role-playing writers as you get to study the history of magic :-)
2. A D100 system is used in most of your games. Is this an adaptation of the D100 RuneQuest or OpenQuest rules, or your own creation?
Pete: Newt's excellent OpenQuest formed the basis of the ruleset - though we tweaked it a bit and added quite a bit of our own material to make it fit how we wanted it.
Ken: We liked the streamlined approach of OQ, but wanted it a *bit* more gritty. We came up with a combat system that involved a lot less tracking of body parts than standard RQ but still allowed for those "ooo, you've caved in his chest" moments that you get with the original Warhammer FRP.
3. Which is your favorite of the D100 games and why?
Pete: Ooh, that's a tricky one - do you mean out of our own games? If so, they are all the favorite at the time of writing. It's like making me choose between my babies.
Ken: Ditto.
4. OneDice is your rules-light system, which includes a number of stand-alone genre books now. Are these geared for a particular audience or merely for a simpler experience?
Pete: Originally they were designed with a junior or newbie audience in mind. But it became clear pretty early on that a lot of older and more experienced players appreciated the stripped down ruleset and simplicity of the system. What started as an experiment in how much you could take out and still have a full on old school experience, and an attempt to get my junior group running as well as playing, has ended up as a go to game for GMs in a hurry, for one-offs, or simply for when you want to put the story front and center, not the mechanics.
5. Another favorite question. Which OneDice is your favorite?
Pete: OK, I'll risk offending my other babies and say World War One. I love running it, particularly behind-the-lines games; and I really enjoyed writing it, because I find the period fascinating. It'll probably never be the most popular, but it's a personal favorite.
Ken: I think my current favourite is Urban Fantasy (sorry Pete, I know it's not one you wrote! Nick Clements is responsible). I like the way it incorporates a lot of British faerie lore into the setting, and has suggestions on how to run the game in your own home town. One of these days, when I've got the time, I'll run a game set in Lancaster...
6. What does Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton each bring to the table when creating games? In other words, what are each of your strengths?
Pete: Ooh, I'll answer for Ken. Hopefully then he'll say nice things about me too.
Ken has a great handle on mechanics and all things gaming. He was also a professional proof reader. All of which means he is great at editing and proofing copy. He has also become increasingly involved with the production of our books - both from an aesthetic and technical point of view - I haven't a clue about such things. But probably the most important things he has brought to the table, from the beginning, are his ideas. Ken generates ideas for whole new games and settings at an incredible rate. And the ideas are usually fantastical, wonderful and always great gaming fodder. Many of our projects have started with a phonecall from Ken, starting "I had this idea last night for a game, what do you think of this? ... "
I'd add that working in partnership with Ken is great. I think we trust each other as writers and designers, but we're also not afraid to advise or challenge each other. Generally, if we don't both like something, we don't do it; and if we both like something, we get carried away and develop our ideas quickly, bouncing off each other as we go.
Ken: And Pete brings all the nitty-gritty to our games. I tend to come out with grand game world ideas, but Pete's the one who comes up with all the weird and wonderful characters that inhabit them, and the little details of the world, from strange customs to weapons stats. He's also got a head full of history, which a useful attribute when writing historical fantasy games.
7. All of your D100 settings are pretty fantastical and seemingly dark. Is this by design or just a natural byproduct of the settings?
Pete: Both. It is a byproduct of the settings, in as much as Abney Park's Airship Pirates, for instance, is set in a dystopia which occurred due to a screwed up timeline; Clockwork & Chivalry in a bloody civil war with fantastical elements; Dark Streets on the grim streets of eighteenth century London, a stinking hell-hole if ever there was one, but with the addition of Cthulhu Mythos creatures and plots, etc. But I guess we chose to run with those ideas, and not with lighter or more mundane ones. That said, most of our games hopefully strike the right balance between dark (and often gently satirical) and heroic; and while fantastical, a lot of our stuff is set in a slightly twisted version of our own world, rather than on a completely alien one. When I think on it, Ken is more into epic fantasy and sci-fi, and I probably veer towards the dark and satirical.
Ken: Our games do tend to be dark and gritty, but we generally try to steer the Player Characters toward being the good guys. In the Kingdom & Commonweath adventures for Clockwork & Chivalry, we could have had the PCs be fighting for one of the two main sides, but instead we have them fighting the extremists on both sides, trying to put an end to the war.
8. Most people want to design games, but actually producing them is another story. What got you to actually pick up and do it?
Pete: Ken had already written RPG books and numerous RPG articles. He co-wrote GURPS Celtic Myth and Realms of Sorcery for Warhammer. When we got together, I think we both thought we could write some cool games - and I think from quite near the start, we had the idea that we could write a fair few of them. At the beginning we had the support of Angus at Cubicle 7, which meant we could get on with the writing and didn't have to worry about the publishing or distribution. Nevertheless, they wanted a finished and set book - luckily Ken knew what he was doing. Since then, we (well, I say we, but like I mentioned, Ken does all the technical stuff) have worked out how to self publish; and, more recently still, we've linked up with Studio 2, who deal with our distribution into stores and at conventions. All our books are available print on demand from us, and over the coming months they will also be available in stores through Studio 2 - the first few are out already.
9. What's next for Cakebread & Walton? I assume more OneDice games.
Pete: We have a very long list. Yes, more OneDice games - Winter of the World RPG, based on the fantastic series by Michael Scott Rohan (which is going to be a big spectacular production, also compatible with D&D 5th edition); OneDice World War 2 is just finished, and OneDice B Movies, OneDice Supers and OneDice Martinis & Masterminds are on their way; and we've been promising Space, Wild West, Rome, Toys and various other titles which are at various stages of completion. We are lucky to have some great writers joining us on the OneDice range - Nick, David and Talon all deserve a mention - as do Bob (our first artist who worked on the line, and who came up with the initial pitch for Twisted Tomorrow) and David (another one) our current artist - aside from OneDice Airship Pirates and OneDice Pirates & Dragons, they are responsible for the art style in the line. I should also mention Vicki - who came up with the idea for OneDice Raptors and contributed to that book. Vicki won an auction in which I promised to write someone's dream game - probably the weirdest way one of our books has come about!
But we do have other things on the horizon. We have some more stuff we'd like to do with Pirates & Dragons (we have an adventure book to finish writing); more Dark Streets adventures; we have a couple of folk writing new Renaissance material; more Airship Pirates supplements; and we have the Kingdom & Commonwealth series that we'd like to finish. Personally I'd also like to find time to write sequels to the two novels I've written too. Whether we get round to everything, who knows? We are a small company, but we'll give it a bloody good go!
Oh - and we're about to dip our toes into producing a neat little series of story card games. Ken was involved with writing and distributing a series of card games years ago (photocopied and distributed at conventions), and we'd like to resurrect them. I've played them and they're very good!
10. Do you have a favorite old school RPG (2005 or older)?
Pete: It's a tough one. I started playing D&D in about 1980/1 (yes, I'm getting wretchedly old, not as old as Ken though!) - so it probably wins on nostalgia. That said, Warhammer wins when it comes to my favorite old school campaign (The Enemy Within). But I love Cthulhu too - I'm introducing my junior gaming group to the delights of Horror on the Orient Express - and they seem to be having as much fun with it now as I did all those years ago.
Ken: I'd have to say Warhammer FRP too. My first published article was a WFRP location for White Dwarf, and I've run the Enemy Within campaign at least twice. I'm very fond of HarnWorld too - I ran a campaign there that lasted six and a half years, and I know the geography of that island better than I know the geography of Britain! I mostly ran it with GURPS, which was my go-to rules set for many years, though I tend to like my rules a bit simpler these days - I tend to think of OneDice as GURPS for lazy GMs | | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permanent Link | See All Posts Tagged as "QandA" | | Read more... | |
I interviewed Ray Winninger, creator of the Underground RPG and author of Mayfair Games' Chill Companion back in the day. He was gracious enough to answer my questions.
1. You've worked on a number of popular game lines, most notably Torg, DC Heroes, and Star Wars. Which of the older lines (before 2005) was your favorite when it came to writing for them?
There are a few that standout. I really enjoyed working on D&D, STAR WARS, and TOP SECRET, for instance. All considered, though, I probably had the most fun with DC HEROES. I love the basic game system that Greg Gorden designed (I still tinker with it to this day!), I got a chance to greatly expand the DCH rules to turn into exactly the kind of game I wanted to play, and I really enjoyed diving into the comics and working with so many of DC’s talented writers and artists. Alan Moore once spent a couple of hours walking me through the WATCHMEN story before the second issue was on the stands!
2. Your credits extend to products from a number of game companies, including Mayfair Games, West End Games, FASA, and TSR. For which book and RPG company do you have the fondest of memories?
I really enjoyed working with all those companies and had many good friends at each of them, but again, Mayfair is the real stand out. I lived nearby so I regularly visited the offices, and I went on to run the R&D department there for a few years. Good times.
3. Underground is a wild game. My impression of it is cyber-supers in a gonzo America. From where did the inspiration for the setting come, what made you actually put it on paper, and was there any resistance to getting it published by Mayfair Games?
The original idea behind UNDERGROUND was to create my own “grim and gritty” superhero world in the mold of DARK KNIGHT, WATCHMEN and some of the titles that were pretty popular in those days. As I started to work on it, though, I gradually realized just how goofy the idea of treating superheroes “realistically” really was—that’s where the humor came in. Eventually, it became an examination of America’s peculiar notion of heroism.
4. One of my old RPG favorites is Chill. And one of the best parts was the monster descriptions. What part of the writing you did for the line was your favorite and what other material would you have loved to have created for it?
I wrote all of the flavor quotes for the line and the CHILL COMPANION, the book that presented rules and advice for expanding the system to cover various types of horror stories and sub-genres. I really enjoyed working on that book. I was proud to contribute a forward to the CHILL’s recent third edition.
5. What sort of games do you consider the ideal when it comes to writing? In other words, is it the gonzo fun of Underground, operatic quality of Star Wars, or some other style (like dark or mysterious)?
I’m of multiple minds on this one. First, when it comes to RPG work, I see myself as more of a game designer than a writer—I love to tinker with rules and systems, and construct my adventures around puzzles and such. That said, like everyone else in my generation, STAR WARS was a big part of my childhood, so that was particularly fun to write. My personality shines through most in UNDERGROUND.
6. Are there any games or game lines that you regret not being a part of the design or supplemental team?
I would have jumped at the chance to work on one of the new editions of D&D.
7. Role Aids was sort of a controversial product, because TSR didn't take kindly to non-licensed, third-party AD&D support. Was this an active product line during your stint at Mayfair Games? If so, how big of a headache was this for the Mayfair staff?
I reactivated the ROLE AIDS line when I joined Mayfair, and wrote most of DEMONS, the first product in the new line. Most people don’t know that the ROLE AIDS products were actually officially licensed by TSR. Mayfair’s original owner, Darwin Bromley, was a lawyer, and he knew there was really nothing that TSR could do to prevent 3rd parties from producing products that were compatible with D&D, so long as they followed a few simple rules. TSR sued after the first couple of products appeared, but their lawyers soon realized they were likely to lose the case. Rather than risk a judge openly declaring that compatible products were legal, TSR gave Mayfair a perpetual, royalty-free license to produce the ROLE AIDS products, and the two companies agreed on some ground rules for how the products would be presented. While I was at Mayfair, TSR sued again, claiming we weren’t following those ground rules correctly. That lawsuit led to TSR buying out the ROLE AIDS line and releasing a few of the products we commissioned. The litigation certainly caused some headaches, but nothing that really affected us on the R&D side.
8. Is there one roleplaying game (any game from any publisher) that you'd like to go back and rewrite?
I’m currently in the process of redesigning and rewriting UNDERGROUND, and I’m enjoying it immensely. As I mentioned earlier, I always wanted to take a crack at tinkering with D&D, my favorite RPG.
Brett's followup: Looking forward to this!
9. Do you have a favorite Mayfair Games RPG? Other type of game?
My favorite Mayfair RPG is DC HEROES, hands down. The game system is so clever and elegant, and it recreates the flavor of the DC Comics so well. I still tinker with that game, thirty years later.
10. This may be the most important question of all. Do you know what ever happened to Cyber Chill? I still remember the advertisement in the back of the Chill Companion.
I’m honestly not sure. I think it was a casualty of CHILL’s cancellation. I’m pretty sure there was a completed manuscript and everything. If I recall, Matt Forbeck worked on that. You might ask him.
Brett's followup: Cyber Chill was never completed (about half done). It seems that personnel reassignments at Mayfair doomed the project. | | 2 Comments | Add Comment | Permanent Link | See All Posts Tagged as "QandA" | | Read more... | |
I interviewed Richard Iorio, creator of the Colonial Gothic RPG and the operator of Rogue Games. He was gracious enough to answer my questions.
1. What was the first roleplaying game you played and first (if different) that you owned? How do you think it shaped your perceptions of roleplaying going forward in life?
Like most my age the first RPG I played was Basic D&D. I was living in Pocatello, Idaho in 1979 and my friend Chad had the game. My friends and I had no idea what we were doing, but we played it, and from there I was hooked. From there a whole new world opened up to me, and I have not left that world since. As for the impact it made on my life, here I am 40 years later not only playing these games but designing them and building a life with them.
2. How was Rogue Games formed? Did you have a mission when it was started or were you more focused on getting a specific game published?
It was formed by my then business partner and myself as a reaction to being tired of freelancing. We had two ideas we wanted to pursue, and neither of us wanted to go the traditional route, that is, find a publisher and deal with that. For me, I felt if I was going to fail, I wanted to fail on my terms.
3. Colonial Gothic is a setting not common in RPGs, one taking place during the American Revolution (the Colonial Record supplement for my own Coyote Trail RPG also delving into that era). Are you into historical games? And if so, what would be your favorite era other than American colonial? If not, what is your favorite genre of RPGs?
For me, a historical game has to have a hook. I am a historian, and I have played many games set during a specific point in time, and most historical gms I have played never grabbed me. Well, I take that back, I love TSR's Gangbusters, but I realize that is not actual history. LOL
4. Shadow, Sword & Spell is a rules-lightish fantasy game. What would you say it brings to the table to stand out amongst the vast crowd of fantasy RPGs? In other words, tell me why I want to buy it.
SS&S was a reaction to my growing boredom with fantasy. I was, and still am, tired of the tropes of high fantasy and the baggage that comes with it. With SS&S I asked myself if I was going to create a game that is fantasy base what would I do.
So I stripped out the typical fantasy trappings and went with a human-focused game. I wanted pulp and the type of fantasy inspired by Howard, Lovecraft, and Smith. Instead of orcs, fuzzy footed gluttons, and the like, wanted people. The best monster is humans, and that was what I wanted.
I also wanted a game that would take you from a lowly sellsword to the potential king of your own country (think Conan). Yes, in some ways, I was inspired by D&D (hell the first Edition was two books "Basic" and "Expert") but not D&D.
As to why buy it? SS&S is a toolbox. Everything you need to create a pulp fantasy game is between the covers. You do not need anything else.
Now I look at the game, and I am inspired to do more with it. Bring more ideas, more tools, and more possibilities. I think this is a good thing.
5. Why do you like the 2d12 mechanic for your games? I know of only a few games that primarily use the d12. This brings a longer dice curve to the game. Did you choose this mechanic for the curve, larger number of outcomes, or another reason?
I like the mechanic because of the spread and larger outcome possibilities. I tried the game using d6s, d100, and d20 (I will not talk about the d4s). I also wanted a system that made combat more deadly. The reason is the two games that use it (Colonial Gothic and SS&S) both games are designed with an eye toward one hit one kill. To do this, I needed to make sure there was a better chance to succeed.
6. Colonial Gothic is now in its Third Edition, which means that it's been around the block a few times. What have you learned between editions to a) make your games better overall and b) perform better in play?
Every new Edition was to make the game better.
1E (2007) had many faults, that is where Revised (2008) came into play. That version was played for a long time, and by 2011 the game showed its wear. I released 2E in 2012 because the game needed to be cleaned up again. A lot of material had been created and there needed to be a way to bring everything in. Also, how could you resist releasing a d12 game at 12:00 AM on December 12, 2012? Yes, the game went 0n sale at Drivetherurpg at that exact time,
3E came about because the more I, and others played the game, the low roll aspect did not work. Also, it made it hard to hook people. I was experimenting with a new version of 12 Degrees that I was using for SS&S 2E, and the more I used it, the more I realized Colonial Gothic needed to be in synch.
If you have followed the game since the start, each version has been done to make the game better, fix the broken areas.
Now, I did not invalidate anything, and I always made sure that what you bought before, would work with each version. I also gave each new Edition of the game to everyone who purchased the game's PDF. I also gave the newer versions to those who got the PDF via buying the book.
For me, each new Edition needed to be in the hands of those who bought the last. That way no one would feel as if I was making them purchase something new.
7. Didn't Rogue Games publish Thousand Suns at one time? I believe it even uses the same 2d12 system. Can you explain the story behind that?
Yes, that game was my previous business partners game. It was the second game we released.
8. Do you have any other games or supplements currently in the works?
Well, if you did not know, Colonial Gothic has been licensed by Grim & Perilous Studios (publisher of ZWEIHANDER), and a new edition will be released in 2020. I am part of this deal, and I am writing the new game with the Grim & Perilous. This is something that I would never think possible, but now it is. Colonial Gothic, as well as myself, have a whole team to work with, and the game will be bigger, better, and available to a broader audience.
August 2019 Fairyland is released. It is a departure from all of my other designs, and it is something personal to me. The game is what the title says and deals with imagination and playing in a world of imagination. I wanted an easy game. The reason is I wanted families to be able to play it together. Roleplaying games are such an excellent means to express yourself, and I wanted a game that all could play. I feel I did it with this game.
After that, I have a couple of ideas. One is for SS&S and the other is a new game in a similar vein as Fairyland. Before all of that, I am writing the first Storybook (adventure) for Fairyland, The Curse of the Licorice Witch, which will be out by year-end.
I also have an idea for something else. This is a byproduct of Grumpy Old Gamers (the podcast I co-host with jim pinto). I challenged myself publicly to put my money where my mouth is, and, well, I never back down from a challenge.
9. Are there any other game designers from which you take inspiration when writing and designing games and/or supplements?
Dave Arneson.
James Wallis.
10. Your approach to game design appears to be very similar to mine: easy-to-learn and use rules that don't detract from the story. Is this your approach to gaming in general or do you also enjoy more complex games (assuming you still get a chance to play)?
I have never liked complex roleplaying games. For me, I want a little setup time so that I can play. That is why such games like Big Eyes Small Mouth, Warhammer FRP, TSR's Marvel Superheroes, Mayfair's Ghostbusters RPG, and the like always clicked with me.
Now that does not mean I have not played more complex games; I do, heck I do so with my group. We switch off GM duties every 4 to 5 weeks which gives us a chance to play something else. Yet, at the end of the day for a roleplaying game, I want rules lite.
Now, I am a wargamer also. That is where I get my complexity. Wargames are vastly different, and they need the complex.
I get the best of both worlds. | | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permanent Link | See All Posts Tagged as "QandA" | | Read more... |
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