I agree with the writers to TML that have said that GDW is part of a trend in
the entertainment industry (Movies, Books, TV, Games) towards darker, more
violent stuff. I can't blame them, though, because it's probably what they
need to do to survive.
I'm new to the list, so I don't know if there has been any discussion of
Space:1889. This game had the hopeful themes of Edgar Rice Burroughs and
Victorian Sci-Fi. I really like the game. It was, by all accounts, a
financial disacter for GDW. A couple of industry people I spoke with
thought that it had almost bankrupted GDW.
So, any company with a strong sense of survival will learn from
these lessons. I can't think of a currently marketed game with
the Hi-Tech Wonderland theme... even Star Wars has that Dark Empire
thing now... Even the comic book game, Champions, no has a Dark Champions
suppliment.
Dane said:
>I dunno, maybe I'm not giving GDW enough credit. Loren has mentioned that
>'many people' are extremely overjoyed with the new setting and direction.
>However, I don't think I've seen or heard from *one person* who has this
>opinion. Either these gushing fans are (IMHO) incredibly clueless (ie,
>have tastes in gaming universes in violent disagreement with my own, which
>is, of course, the most informed POV in existence) or are from the
>aforementioned 'More Blood, Less Dialogue' crowd.
Hmmmm... well, I guess I'm the one person. And this is hearsay, but the
people in my gaming group are pretty excited about it too. Let's see, am I
"incredibly clueless"? Can't rule it out :) My campaign currently is sort
of an interactive screenplay for a Sci-Fi series -- Dialog, with occasional
violence. I'll send more info about it to the list later.
As other people have said, you can use the rules to run whatever kind
of campaign you like. Don't like the rules? Make your own. The only
people this change REALLY, SERIOUSLY effects are people who want to
write Traveller Adventures for publication. GDW's interest in pre-Rebellion
or alternative universes is probably pretty low, but who knows? Has
anyone asked them?
But then again, I thought the TNS page in 70 was funny.
As to Jo's
>*That* is my Traveller. I could not better put it. Endless
>posibilities in a limitless world. The bright joy and wonder.
>Shining spaceships, dubious traders, mysterious aliens.
>But then, that was then.
This sounds like a perfect description of Space:1889. I'm the only person
I know who bought any of the stuff for this game, and I bought it all. I
had a fun campaign. GDW almost went bankrupt. (Anybody know where I
can get the unpublished Venus Sourcebook?)
They have to do what they have to do to survive. As to the writers
who are unhappy about the Virus, just think of it as another Alien
life form. Heck, in my campaign, one of the PCs is a Virus.
And about the bendy robot toys: I was pretty surprised myself, but other
signs in the issue (70) point to a real problem in 1) ad revenues or
2) publishible material. The most glaring instance of this was the ad
that said "This could have been a Challenge ad", but there were others:
the "Starship Combat" ad, for instance.
What they really need is an "Absolut Traveller" Ad, designed much the
same way as Goldman of Chaos's "Traveller Workstation".
I have a posting for an alternate anti-grav technology, but this list
seems to be pretty serious...
I also finally worked out the penetration system. Yuck! I'm working on
a fix...
Matt GOODMAN, not GOLDMAN, not of Chaos, but of Entropy.