I think I'm getting a bit behind in knowing the illustrious RPG industry personalites. Some of the old guys are still around (EGG, SJG, Dave Arneson, Greg Stafford ...), I got to notice that some of the better D20 products are bound to be authored by the same persons (Mearls, Cook, Baur...), then there's the artists I like or don't, but I'm sure there's a lot missing.
So tell me about the guys and gals behind the games. No plain "suck"/"rule" stuff, I'd like to know what's so wrong/great about them.
Example:
Dilly McPrissyhats is my favorite game designer! His insight into multi-dimensional narrative angles is only surpassed by his supreme inner beauty. He manages to get some innovative dice pool management in each of his games, his prose is suberb, his taste in subject matters unsurpassed. I want to have his babies.
Dilly McPrissyhats can't design his way out of a paper bag! The Swine!
:D
-clash
Tom Moldvay's work (editing '81 Basic D&D, module X2 Castle Amber, Lords of Creation) combined workmanlike design, clear instructions to the reader, and a geniune love for adventure gaming.
S. John Ross manages to combine gushing fanboyishness and perfectionism of craft. You'd think that would be obnoxious, but most of his work is utterly charming.
Greg Costikyan has more pure talent in his pinky than most designers have in their whole body. A good case could be made that he's the single most underrated talent in the hobby. I've heard game designers refer to him as a designer's designer.
Justin Achilli - Perhaps one of the only writers Pundit would kill on site(j/k). One of the prominent writers near the end of the old World of Darkness, lead designer on the new Vampire: the Requiem. At one time he was the line manager (or something like that) for the entire WoD. Him and Bill Bridges are the ones mostly considered for the reinvention of WoD. He now freelances for ummm.... White-Wolf and is currently working on the new Changeling.
Greg Stolze - One of the two creators of Unknown Armies. Creator of the Ransom business model. Writes a decent Vampire novel. Currently does feelancing for White-Wolf and some other stuff.
Quote from: KrakaJakJustin Achilli
this guy is one of the biggest assholes in gaming.
EDIT:Oh...........that one! TSR, nevermind.
Quote from: Mcrowthis guy is one of the biggest assholes in gaming.
That's a pretty elite crowd that you put him atop. I must ask what he did to deserve that rating from you, show up at your house and urinate in you car's gas tank?
Quote from: blakkieThat's a pretty elite crowd that you put him atop. I must ask what he did to deserve that rating from you, show up at your house and urinate in you car's gas tank?
more like pissed in my cornflakes.
I don't know if you ever seen him around on any forums before, but all he does is insult all of the WW fans. Not to mention he might be the king of elitists and major swine. It seems pretty dumb to insult the people who are sticking up for your company.
Justin Achilli may be a dick, but I'm pretty sure Lorraine Williams had him beat back in her day.
Personally, Justin Achilli is awesome :). I think he's more taking the piss out of people that take shit too seriously. That's always been my impression. Besides, everyone knows the biggest asshole in online gaming is Gareth-Michael Skarka. You can't mess with the king.
Rebecca Borgstrom is another big name, and is either loved or hated by those that know her. She created Nobilis and has worked on several books for Exalted. She's known for very flowery, imaginative gaming materials, but can tend towards obfuscation, often having little in the way of examples and mixing rules and flavor text. Nobilis is pretty much king of the hill in pretention anyway, the thing looks like a coffee table art book or something.
CJ Carella is probably my favorite. He's the creator of the Unisystem, author of Buffy, Angel, Witchcraft, and Armageddon among others. He doesn't tend to get too involved in online discussions, I like him purely for his writing ability. Clean and straightforward, with a lively style that makes even combat modifiers easy to read.
Quote from: jrientsJustin Achilli may be a dick, but I'm pretty sure Lorraine Williams had him beat back in her day.
not sure who that is. Who did she work for?
Quote from: MaddmanPersonally, Justin Achilli is awesome :). I think he's more taking the piss out of people that take shit too seriously. That's always been my impression. Besides, everyone knows the biggest asshole in online gaming is Gareth-Michael Skarka. You can't mess with the king.
Rebecca Borgstrom is another big name, and is either loved or hated by those that know her. She created Nobilis and has worked on several books for Exalted. She's known for very flowery, imaginative gaming materials, but can tend towards obfuscation, often having little in the way of examples and mixing rules and flavor text. Nobilis is pretty much king of the hill in pretention anyway, the thing looks like a coffee table art book or something.
CJ Carella is probably my favorite. He's the creator of the Unisystem, author of Buffy, Angel, Witchcraft, and Armageddon among others. He doesn't tend to get too involved in online discussions, I like him purely for his writing ability. Clean and straightforward, with a lively style that makes even combat modifiers easy to read.
Justin seems to be a love'm or hate'm type of guy.
man, I forget how many jerks ther are in the RPG business. Skarka & Borgstrom, those two set the standard.
Quote from: Mcrownot sure who that is. Who did she work for?
More thany anyone else, she is responsible for running TSR into the ground. She reputedly had absolute contempt for the customers.
Quote from: MaddmanShe's known for very flowery, imaginative gaming materials, but can tend towards obfuscation, often having little in the way of examples and mixing rules and flavor text.
Incidentally, the second edition of
Nob did add a wealth of clarifications, including the 20-page "Example of Play" which is still available for download (http://www.guardiansorder.com/downloads/) (just scroll down to the bottom of the page).
Quote from: Mcrowman, I forget how many jerks ther are in the RPG business. Skarka & Borgstrom, those two set the standard.
Really? I can't say that I've ever seen Borgstrom to be anything other than unfailingly polite, even in the face of pure trolling.
Quote from: GrimGentReally? I can't say that I've ever seen Borgstrom to be anything other than unfailingly polite, even in the face of pure trolling.
hmmm........ Myabe I'm mixing her up for someone else.
Whos the female RPG designer who talks about how she has a degree in role-playing design? I think she either lives or lived in Minnesota @ one time.
that's the person I'm thinking of.
Quote from: jrientsMore thany anyone else, she is responsible for running TSR into the ground. She reputedly had absolute contempt for the customers.
And then moved to Germany, presumably to get away from gamers.
Moving to Germany to get away from gamers is like when David Bowie and Iggy Pop went to Berlin to get off drugs. "The heroine capitol of the world" they called it.
Quote from: McrowWhos the female RPG designer who talks about how she has a degree in role-playing design?
Hmm. That sounds vaguely familiar, for some reason... Someone associated with D&D? It's not Borgstrom, in any case: she has a doctorate in computer science.
Quote from: Jack Spencer JrAnd then moved to Germany, presumably to get away from gamers.
Moving to Germany to get away from gamers is like when David Bowie and Iggy Pop went to Berlin to get off drugs. "The heroine capitol of the world" they called it.
:rotfl:
Quote from: GrimGentHmm. That sounds vaguely familiar, for some reason... Someone associated with D&D? It's not Borgstrom, in any case: she has a doctorate in computer science.
Possibly someone listed here? (http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/theory/gender/womenauthors.html)
Who's the moron(s) who put Lorraine Williams in charge of TSR anyway? How did she manage to stay there if she so clearly hated gamers? Whoever that(those) person(s) is(are) is who I'm getting my hate on for.
Quote from: SigmundWho's the moron(s) who put Lorraine Williams in charge of TSR anyway? How did she manage to stay there if she so clearly hated gamers? Whoever that(those) person(s) is(are) is who I'm getting my hate on for.
IIUC, she was when she bought control of TSR.
Quote from: Jack Spencer JrIIUC, she was when she bought control of TSR.
Keeping this simple...
Lorraine Williams bought her way into the company. At the time the two main blocks were the Blumes (a pair of brothers) and their allies, and Gary Gygax and his allies. Both sides were determined to see the other ousted.
Williams formed a third block, brought in people of her own, and gained allies from the other two blocks. A big change came when Gary's first wife agreed to give her support to Lorraine. (She and Gary were going through a divorce at the time, and it was nasty.)
Then came the golden opportunity.
We all know, now, that Lorraine Williams was bad for TSR. Believe it or not, the Blumes were worse. I was once informed by Gary that the
Dragonlance trilogy and module series saved TSR's ass. For all the bone-headed moves Williams made, at least she didn't do what the Platypus Brothers of RPGs did, offer to sell their shares to somebody who wanted to take over the company.
I kid you not. Kevin and Brian Blume made an offer Lorraine Williams could not refuse. They sold her their shares.
Apparently they thought she would take TSR over, then sell the shares back to them, after which they and their allies would oust Williams. Didn't work out that way.
Some of their allies went with the Williams block, others aligned themselves with the Gygax group. After some legal wrangling Lorraine wound up with a majority share, and ousted both Gary Gyagx and the Blumes.
That's right, she decided she was going to keep the shares Brian and Kevin sold to her, which was her right.
Gary brought suit in court, claiming that Williams' use of his wife's stock was improper because the divorce had not been finalized at the time. The court ruled against him. He was forced to sell his shares back to the company and removed from the board.
And that is the
short version of how Lorraine Williams became head and owner of TSR.
My God. It's like every game company in history was run by starry-eyed fatbeards who thought the Money Fairy would bail them out at the first sign of trouble.
I like Sean "Dr. Kromm" PUnch, he's a great guy both as a game writer and as a person. His work is excellent and he's quite pleasant and intelligent.
Dave Pulver is a genius and does great work.
Loren Wiseman is a true veteran of the game biz, going back to the 70's with traveller and is still a nice, personable fellow.
Steve Jackson is a pompous ass who lets his fucking conservative social and political views contaminate the projects he works on.
Quote from: Dominus NoxSteve Jackson is a pompous ass who lets his fucking conservative social and political views contaminate the projects he works on.
Steve Jackson (I assume you mean the American one) is still working? I thought he basically retired and just puts his name under some projects. Where do I find these conservative views in the GURPS Basic Set or Banestorm ;)
Quote from: SosthenesSteve Jackson (I assume you mean the American one) is still working? I thought he basically retired and just puts his name under some projects. Where do I find these conservative views in the GURPS Basic Set or Banestorm ;)
In the basic set, under the character description for the chinese woman whose name escapes me just now, it talks about a paralell earth literally, physically dieing because (GASP!) most of society went socialist in the 2oth century.
That's pretty far out on the whacko right wing fringe, to assume that if socialism became prominent, the earth would just literally, physically die as a result. Only a neocon could come up with something like that and just expect people to automatically believe it.
In the current Murphy's rules compendium there's a reference to unemployed people as 'parasites', another conservative viewpoint. (BTW, it's funny that conservatives would look down on the unemployed so much, as it's often the conservatives and their policies that result in so much unemployment.)
It is a fact that (the american) Steve Jackson has some pretty strong political views. However, in my experience I can't recall ever having seen anything in any GURPS book that actually seemed to reflect that, in comparison to a whole swath of ultra-leftwing RPGwriters who's work regularly stinks of liberal fashion-of-the-moment.
I don't recall seeing either of the instances that Nox mentions, not saying they're not true; but even if they were that's two small instances in hundreds of GURPS book, which strikes me as a pretty strong record of being able to keep his personal political views out of his games.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPunditIt is a fact that (the american) Steve Jackson has some pretty strong political views. However, in my experience I can't recall ever having seen anything in any GURPS book that actually seemed to reflect that, in comparison to a whole swath of ultra-leftwing RPGwriters who's work regularly stinks of liberal fashion-of-the-moment.
Dude. Crack open any GURPS Autoduel book. It's basically NRA post-apoc porn.
Quote from: jrientsDude. Crack open any GURPS Autoduel book. It's basically NRA post-apoc porn.
In other words, the stuff good post-apoc games are made of? It can be a nice coincidence when your projects match your interests. :)
QuoteCJ Carella is probably my favorite. He's the creator of the Unisystem, author of Buffy, Angel, Witchcraft, and Armageddon among others. He doesn't tend to get too involved in online discussions, I like him purely for his writing ability. Clean and straightforward, with a lively style that makes even combat modifiers easy to read.
...he also is one of the most clear and imaginative Palladium Books writers. Nightbane, South America, Pantheons of the Megaverse, Phase World or Juicer Uprising are staples of PB-Gamers, as well as bright stars in the adventure gamers background-book heavens.
Yea, I mean, come the Apocalypse, I'm going to be going all Charlton Heston myself.
The difference between normal people and right-wing nutcases is that they're all Charlton Heston right now.
RPGPundit
Quote from: Settembrini...he also is one of the most clear and imaginative Palladium Books writers. Nightbane, South America, Pantheons of the Megaverse, Phase World or Juicer Uprising are staples of PB-Gamers, as well as bright stars in the adventure gamers background-book heavens.
In fact I would venture to say that CJ's RIFTS books were the best of the bunch, and it didn't take long after he left (CS War Machine, the very next bookIIRC) for the quality of the series to drop.
Quote from: Dominus NoxThat's pretty far out on the whacko right wing fringe, to assume that if socialism became prominent, the earth would just literally, physically die as a result. Only a neocon could come up with something like that and just expect people to automatically believe it.
Or alternately, it could simply be a reflection of the fact that both the USSR and PRC had such poor records on environmental policy that Dubya looks like the president of the Sierra Club by comparison. Hardcore Communist states were (and are) not big on protecting nature at the expense of the Workers' progress...
I am not denying that SJ is an obnoxious right-wing libertarian and that, like Heinlein, his views colour his work. That said, the example you picked isn't a good one to prove your point.
KoOS
Well, if you need more examples there's the fact he allows right wing assholes like paladin to run rampant on his board, insulting other countries, preaching american supremacy, abusing non-conservatives and generally reinforcing every negative stereotype of americans in general and marines in particular while banning people who are openly left of center for any, or no, reason.
Quote from: King of Old SchoolOr alternately, it could simply be a reflection of the fact that both the USSR and PRC had such poor records on environmental policy that Dubya looks like the president of the Sierra Club by comparison. Hardcore Communist states were (and are) not big on protecting nature at the expense of the Workers' progress...
More likely, given that Ken Hite wrote the iconic backgrounds, and Mr. Hite has extensive experience with alternate histories (see GURPS Alternate Earths 1 and 2).
And dystopian themes are rather common in alternate histories, especially in settings with dimension-hopping. What use is playing in a world with only subtle differences (apart from the "I'm back!" - "You're not!" theme).
Quote from: Dominus NoxWell, if you need more examples
I don't. I don't disagree that SJ's political biases are noxious (as bad as anything Pundit rails about from other publishers, and arguably worse). I just think the specific example you picked was a very poor one.
KoOS
Quote from: Dominus NoxIn the current Murphy's rules compendium there's a reference to unemployed people as 'parasites', another conservative viewpoint. (BTW, it's funny that conservatives would look down on the unemployed so much, as it's often the conservatives and their policies that result in so much unemployment.)
For what it's worth I just got a job after a almost two weeks without, and I didn't enjoy not having one for more then just the money issues. I don't have a prob with people who are actively looking for jobs or would look if they were capable of holding one. (I also count schooling to get a job down the line in this) But if you can hold a job and choose instead to take gov./public money for an extended time period instead, how is this not being a parasite? Oh, and in MI where I was before my move, the min. wage just went up (be a Rep. state gov.) as a defense against a worse plan to raise it supported by the left/unions/democrats. Thanks to that the store where I was working (that started people off at more then min. wage) is now only paying the new min wage, and is losing people/hours as payroll doesn't go anywhere as far as it did when they were paying over min. wage.
Quote from: jrientsDude. Crack open any GURPS Autoduel book. It's basically NRA post-apoc porn.
Quote from: JamesVIn other words, the stuff good post-apoc games are made of? It can be a nice coincidence when your projects match your interests. :)
QFT That is what the genre is built on, at least the bulk of what I've seen.
So I'm the only one who thinks Autoduel America looks more righty than most post-apocalypses? Weird.
Dude, every postapoc anything, ever has the underlying theme of "bet you wish you'd joined the Rangers instead of going to college!" Even Steven King had a big rant in The Stand about how useless modern education is in the face of emergencies.
In the blighted wasteland of Teh Futar, it's better to know how to rebuild a 400 small block and coordinate fields of fire than it is to know how to write a villanelle.
Or is the political end somewhere else?
And getting back on subject...
Chris Pramas - Head of Green Ronin Games, that excellent d20 company that produces Mutants and Masterminds as well as a host of other great products.
Speaking of which, Steve Kenson - developer of Mutants and Masterminds.
Shane Lacy Hensley - creator of Deadlands and Savage Worlds
PS - ah... my first post. *pop* goes the cherry