I just transcribed and submitted my interview with Anthony Zuiker to Games Quarterly Magazine. Anthony made for a fantastic subject. My favorite quote from the whole thing:
My sights were set so if I could just one time walk in and buy a game that had my name on it, I could’ve just died there.
Brant Guillory writes:
Hey there!
Back in the Spring, you guys graciously helped get the word out about the GAMA-Wargamer-Ohio State games research survey.
I’m happy to report the first of the non-academic articles is now available at Wargamer.com.
Thanks.
Take everything you read anywhere with a shaker of salt, of course, but this shows some intriguing results.
I’ll be at this year’s Wisconsin Book Festival, wandering around beautiful downtown Madison on Friday, October 20. I’ve been scheduled for a short reading and signing as part of the Wisconsin Publishers Showcase. You can find me in the Memorial Library Auditorium from 2:30 to 2:45 PM. I’m happy to sign anything you might bring, although I should have a few copies of my books on hand if you need one.
Robert Farmer wrote to ask:
I’m a longtime fan of yours, in fact dating back to your work on Mutant Chronicles when I was just getting into the hobby. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the upcoming movie and the new RPG being developed by Center of Gravity.
Ah, thanks for the name. I’d been told the RPG was in the works, but I didn’t know the name of the new publisher or if it was public information yet or not. Glad to see things are moving along on that front.
Given the wildly different take on MC that the movie seems to be working from (judging from the 7 web documentaries currently posted), are you still looking forward to seeing it in the theaters?
Very much so. I know it won’t match up with the original property from the early ’90s, but it’s many years since the game went out of print, so I expected as much. Also, any translation of a setting into another medium requires changes to make it fit the new medium better. I’m not put off by that.
And how do you feel about the re-imagining COG is taking? Are there any phantom pains from the game you put so much time into, or is it a case of “your job is done”?
My job was done a looooong time ago, and I never was the game’s publisher. As much as I loved it, it was never truly mine. Also, no matter what happens with the movie or the new game or anything else, I still have the original books on my shelves. I can always take them down and read or play with them as much as I like.
I’ve known about this for some time, but it wasn’t my news to announce. Now that the secret’s out (thanks to Robert Farmer for alerting me to this), I can tell you that a new edition of the Mutant Chronicles roleplaying game is in the works. A new company called Center of Gravity Media Group is working on this third edition of the game and hopes to have it out sometime next year.
The new publisher is Swedish, just like the original publisher, Target Games. I don’t know much about them yet, but Fred Malmberg has wonderful things to say about his countrymen. I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
The official website for the upcoming Mutant Chronicles movie is now live. It’s a bit thin at the moment, but it has information on the key cast members, plus a number of featurettes on the film’s production.
One of the highlights of Comic-Con for me was chatting with Fred Malmberg and Thommy Wojciechowski of Paradox Entertainment about the film. They had a book filled with stills from the shoot, and it all looked fantastic.
While poking around for links on Western Hero, I spotted this tidbit on the website of fellow Black Library author James Swallow. It’s under the notes for his weird western novel Ghost Town, published back in 2001:
* Forbeck Pass, one of the towns Doc Harper mentions, is a nod to Matt Forbeck, whose Western Hero was a useful resource book.
It’s wild to see how interconnected everything is.
Those of you familiar with Deadlands, the roleplaying game I helped Shane Hensley produce at Pinnacle, might remember the main hero in many of the books: an undead gunslinger by the name of Ronan Lynch. Before he hit the big time, Ronan was the name of my character in the first Deadlands game I ever played. Before that, though, Ronan Lynch appeared as a reporter in Deadwood in two other western RPGs I wrote: Western Hero and Outlaw.
Before even that, Ronan Lynch was one of my best pals at the University of Michigan. As an Irish exchange student, he wrote some of the funniest essays I’ve ever read, published regularly in The Michigan Daily. We shared many a pint of Guinness in those days, including one in the shadow of the St. James’s Gate Brewery.
A while back, Ronan left for the University of Texas, pursuing a doctorate, and we lost track of each other. Just a few weeks ago, we finally got back in touch. He’s gone in and out of investigative journalism, speaking truth to power wherever he goes, and suffering the consequences for it. In the meantime, he’s written a novel or two (yet to be published), works on other books, and writes songs for and sings in a roots reggae band (based in Dublin and Berlin) called Sealion. I just ordered the band’s first CD, Spirit Live, and can’t wait to listen to the full thing.
Wizards of the Coast just started its annual open call for fiction submissions for its upcoming speculative fiction imprint. You have until January 1, but if you have a manuscript that would fit, I suggest getting on it sooner than later. If they accept your submission, which includes the first three chapters of your book, they’ll want the whole thing within ten business days. Unless you can write that fast, stick with works you’ve already completed instead. Good luck!
The Dead Gentlemen just posted a report of their incredible experiences at this summer’s Gen Con. Their early cuts of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising were packed and got several standing ovations. I can’t wait to see the final cut.
They kindly name-check me as one of their friends too, although they misspell my last name. That’s the nature of conventions, of course. You know the people—you love hanging out with them—but things like spellings can slip your mind a month later. Even names. On Gen Con Sunday, for instance, I ended up calling Matt Shimkus (Rogar the Barbarian in The Gamers) Brian as I said good-bye. I know better and corrected myself, but such slips are too easy to make when working through the con fog.
They have a Flickr stream with pictures from the convention set up. You can spot me in a few of them, as well as a lot of other industry folk—if you know who you’re looking for.
I had a fantastic time with the crew, hanging out with them and getting to know them all better. This is a truly talented group of people, and I wish them all the best in bringing Dorkness Rising to screens of all sizes soon.
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