On the other tentacle, wouldn't all the energy being put into speculation be better spent gaming? But, as Dennis Miller says, "That's just my opinion, I could be wrong."
Oh goodie. Okay, I’m going to say 30 messages before the thread gets closed.
Yea, that’s a little high, but the whole Wizards/Decipher/LUG/d20 stuff was so long ago, I’m betting that it will take a little while for it to get out of hand.
I speculate that if they want me, I'll write at least a book a year for them. While my current plan is to retire from freelancing almost entirely, I still want to do one or two books per year for other publishers of stuff I enjoy, and I really enjoy writing TrekStuph.
Sjohn is working on a nifty-cool swords-and-sorcery setting (anime style ... or rather several anime styles) for GOO's splendiferous and magnificent Big Eyes, Small Mouth RPG (with more GOO work to come, most likely - I love their game and I love working with them). Beyond that and a few articles, the rest of Sjohn's efforts are being poured into Cumberland Games & Diversions, his eBook-and-Fonts house, as a full-time venture. Anyone who tells you that eBook publishing lacks risk has never tried to make it a full-time gig
Upcoming titles include:
Sparks: Critters with art by Dan Smith (available in March)
Fief, by Lisa Steele (available April or May) - groovy "peasant's-eye-view" of life in medieval Europe
Steve, aside from the volumes of free fan material he is working on, finished up Wheel of Time for Wizards, was doing some Dune stuff (prior to its demise), and knowing Steve, was probably working on at least five other projects simultaneously. I know Steve was up to write a world book for the Shards of the Stone RPG that came out at Gen Con 2K, and then, of course, there’s that little game you might of heard of called Champions.
Ken, if memory serves, did Suppressed Transmissions II, and was working on d20 Chuthulu. I don’t know if the December Hasbro/Wizards shakeup affected that, however. There was some In Nomine stuff and GURPS: Horror is on his plate according to a recent article of his.
Ross, Christian, and Owen were working on d20 Dune until the Wizard’s layoffs.
George V. (Eden Studios) is trying to get things back on track after the robbery that really hurt Eden and All Flesh. I think they’re back on track now with Hack! (KOTDT card game), new All Flesh product, and some d20 OGL stuff.
Matt Colville designed Hack! for Eden and is working on one of the aforementioned d20 books.
Charles and Tammie elected to stay with Wizards and move to Seattle.
Don runs a web site, finished his degree, turned down a nice job from Wizards, and is working on “some writing stuff.”
Look guys, I didn't mean to open a can of worms or anything. Actually, I had just purchased some LUG Trek stuff from Gamer's Realm, when Rob (the owner), relayed what he had been told by Warren Holland (Chairman and CEO of Decipher). Rob knew I was a huge LUG Trek fan and thought I might be interested in the news.
I for one hope it's all true. To me, it only makes sense Decipher would approach former LUG employees and freelancers... they have no in-house RPG department, and there's a pool a highly qualified Trek game writers/developers that have suddenly become availible... it's a no-brainer.
Now, legally how does this all work out??? After all, WoTC did acquire LUG (and with it Icon), but WoTC did release the staff and gave writers back the materials they were working on... soooo, at best the future of an Icon-based Trek is murky at best. But, then again, that's a Hell of a sight better recently.
Honostly guys, I just really want to see you rewarded financially for all of the hard work you've put into LUG Trek since WoTC lost the license... and I'd really like to see Spacedock in a hardcover format... with lots of pretty pictures....
For the record, I can officially and without concern about rumor-mongering state that Decipher has not approached me to do any work for them, freelance or otherwise. But if they do, and the terms are at least quasi-reasonable, I'll be very open to the idea.
Especially if the other rumors are true. I deny having any knowledge of that
<font color="orange">To me, it only makes sense Decipher would approach former LUG employees and freelancers... they have no in-house RPG department, and there's a pool a highly qualified Trek game writers/developers that have suddenly become availible... it's a no-brainer.</font>
I agree. If the guys at Decipher are smart enough to pull of that scheme last summer, they should be smart enough to take advantage of the opportunity regarding WotC layoff.
For some reason, I think Decipher is keeping the whole Trek RPG on a low profile (hush-hush) until they have something concrete.
------------------ Anyhoo, just some random thoughts...
[This message has been edited by REG (edited 02-22-2001).]
Makings saving throw vs. speculation....
[1]. Failed. DOH!!!!
The following just represents something that I see as possible. Don't have any inside info at all...
Obviously former LUGgers are something of an asset to Decipher. It's a bit different than the situation with FASA to LUG, since then so much time had passed and also by the end FASA's relationship with Paramount had foundered. That said, I do recall that the LUGgers had talked a little with Guy McLimore, one of the creators of FASA-Trek. I'm sure the LUGgers have signed non-compete agreements, but those all have time periods - six months being common for the ones I have signed.
As for the game system... Well, WotC does own ICON. But it is worthless to them. Selling it to Decipher is a possible business decision - they have to decide if possible money lost from Decipher producing a game with the Icon system is less than the price they can get for it. And Decipher woud have to decide if such money would be well-spent or if they'd be better off making it themselves.
With regard to the LUG version of the universe... Who owns it? Not the "words" but the concepts. The LUG version of the Tomed incident for example? True Paramount has forbidden its licenees from sharing a universe, but there'd be no sharing in such a case, since there is no LUG. That's a choice for Paramount. It is interesting that since WEG contributed to the Stat Wars expanded universe, the WotC game has background created by WEG.
What have I been doing since LUG's demise, you ask?
Well, let's see. During my tenure with WOTC (July 2000 - Dec. 14, 2000), I wrote two-fifths (45,000 words) of the planned DUNE epic scenario, Voice From The Outer World, read all of the Robert Jordan novels then available, and did a good bit of writing on the Wheel of Time RPG. I also acquired three of my LUG manuscripts from WOTC and, with Don's help, started makin' 'em available here online.
Since the layoff, I've been pecking away at various freelance assignments while in semi-vacation mode (after all, I still have severance pay coming in ). These include part of the VIPER Sourcebook for Hero Games, more Wheel of Time RPG stuff for WOTC, some articles on law school for a friend's education website, a scenario for the forthcoming Haven: City of Violence RPG, and the like. I've also written two more Ship Recognition Manuals for you folx here (Cardies and Klingons), and am working on two more (TOS and Rommies). And I've also been fiddling with various other projects, as the mood strikes me, and attending conventions.
So, though not employed full-time by anyone, I remain quite busy....
Sorry to go off topic, but Steve, you mensioned Haven: City of Violence.
Is that in any way related to the old City of Haven stuff from a long time ago?
I've been waiting for someone to re-do that stuff for a while, so here's crossing my fingers.
___
Now, I hope that Decipher takes as much time to integrate Icon into their game as WotC took integrating WEG star wars into WotC's version.
Not to butter anyone up, but I like the way you guys set up the Trek Universe, and I don't particularly want to have to change anything over. Especially since I just finished re-writing my character background (alien upbringing +1) with the Andorian book.
Ya know, it is great to see Don, S John and Steve post on this forum and interact with us end-users. I think keeping us up to date with what you're doing is a great idea. I know I'm now more prone to pick up a new game/book if I see a familiar name attached.
Thank you and keep up the good work!
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