Doing it ourselves

Mike writes:
> My two cents' worth on the "let's do it ourselves" idea is simple:
> I don't think it can be done. Witness TDR.
>
> People have too many divergent opinions and are too willing to argue
> down into the level of the trivial without agreeing on generalities to
> ever produce an alternative to what's published by GDW. People are on
> this group because they love to talk and to argue, more so than to
> listen.

I think you may be right, but possibly not. Half a year ago I solicited
help in developing a true frontier (as in: The PCs are the first people
of the Imperium who's been here) in the sectors immidiately spinward of
Spinward Marches (Beyond, Foreven and Vanguard Reaches). It didn't get
very far, true, but the reason wasn't that people argued it to death.
Scott, Steve, Juergen and I had some very fruitful exchanges and I took
some decisions based on those discussions. Mind you, none of the others
agreed totally with me on very much; Scott thought that the TLs of the
area ought to be lower than what I eventually decided on, Steve didn't
quite believe in the gimmick I used to open up this frontier, etc., but
my impression was that they were willing to agree to disagree and go on
with it. The reason why it ground to a halt was that I were too busy to
keep up my end of it (I functioned more or less as an editor, I guess).

I think that such projects can succeed, but only if one or two persons are
willing to function as "primus motor" for each project, which will entail
a lot of work for said "editors", and only if the other people involved are
willing to let the editors take decisions. The last bit also requires
the editors to be flexible enough to let go of their own pet ideas once
in a while.

> We could
> then, as an intellectual enterprise, write the equivalent of a GURPS
> sourcebook, based on the simple premise that Strephon never died. But
> I predict that this won't get any farther than an argument over
> whether the first new historical item should be the declaration of a
> new Emperor in Ilelish (assuming Dulinor tried and failed) or
> something else (assuming he never tried).

I have a complete framework for a "putting Humpty-Dumpty together again"
adventure that I think is pretty damn ingenious. The aforementioned "New
Frontier" project was actually my first step in getting this campaign
going, as the initial impetus comes from one of the unknown planets.
I'd love to have some help developing it if only I had the time. Oh well,
one of these days I will TAKE the time...

> People will accuse me of cynicism and of being a "wet blanket." Well,
> maybe. But everyone seems to be in the habit of getting all fired up
> about these grand designs and then suffering major letdowns when they
> go flat;

I think the trick is to give these things a try, but not to get one's
hopes up too much. Most projects may flop, propably will, but before that
happens some useful stuff will almost certainly  be produced. I've already
gotten a lot of neat ideas for the New Frontier from Scott and the others.
Even if nothing more ever comes of it, I've had some fun and profit from
those three or four weeksit lasted. And who knows? Maybe I can revive it
someday.

> I think we should enjoy doing things on a small scale, like
> Gamba, and enjoy the victories of which we ARE capable.

By all means let us get on with Gamba. But in keeping with my idea of
the extreme importance of the "project editor", I suggest that it is
quite necessary for Rob to issue occasional updates of which of our
many ideas he has decided to make "official". I for one would like to
see a revised set of world descriptions soon, as there have been a lot
of different ideas, some mutually exclusive, presented. I know that he
has said "we'll go with this" on several occasions, but I'd like a
coherent update of the whole thing.

> I believe that
> if a Strephon-never-died book for GDW is ever going to get written and
> published successfully, it'll be done by one person with one vision.

Or possibly by a group of people guided by one person wih one vision.




      Hans Rancke
University of Copenhagen
     [email removed]
- ------------
        "This gives a possible range of 56 to 178 starships
         total  in the three Terran starport facilities,  a
         believable quantity for such a star system."

        "We have a maximum of 178 ships in port, and (as it
         is a busy star system)  we will say that there are
         70 docking berths at the Phoenix facility."

                        ---Journal of the Traveller's
                           Aid Society # 18