Thanks for the post! I love these interviews with influential members of the early gaming movements, whatever my feelings about any particular games and systems (not criticizing GW, I think 40k and Warhammer Fantasy are some of the most fully-realized gaming universes around).
I just picked up the board game for Warlock of Firetop mountain at the weekend and played a game against my girlfriend... and died in the first fight against a vampire! hehe
My first exposure to RPG's in the mid 1980's (& my gateway drug to D&D) were through the likes of Fighting Fantasy, TSR's Endless Quest, & Joe Dever's Lone Wolf series. I still have my collection, & even read a title from time to time. Unlike the interviewer in the article, I played my books properly, enjoying the challenge.
Too bad the re-releases of Fighting Fantasy & Lone Wolf aren't sold here in the U.S. Hopefully, Stateside distributors will rectify that soon.
I also got my start with the Fighting Fantasy books, and their home system was the first real RPG I DMed. Even to this day, after all the fantasy I've consumed, their prose and book illustrations are still my iconic ideal of the genre alongside the Square Enix franchises.
As I recall the books were crammed with what I now understand as old school goodness. It was a funny feeling to read (much later) old D&D modules like Castle Amber and In Search of the Unknown and realize they were just like the FF gamebooks!
FYI anyone with an IPod/IPhone can enjoying Fighting fantasy as there are currently apps that have ported both _The Warlock fo Firetop Mountain_ and _Deathtrap Dungeon_ as apps. They are also set to realease the First _Sorcery!_ book, _The Shamutanti Hills_
Interesting but flawed: those two change their stories all the time and the interviewer is clearly clueless.
"In 1982, childhood friends and über-nerds Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone started selling Brits the first ever Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game from a tiny flat in Shepherd’s Bush, west London."
erm.. *rofl* is the only answer to that, sorry. Ca'n't even summarise the answers provided correctly.
The reason for naming Owl & Weasel is "interesting" but contradicts all previous interviews and similarly the tale behind how they got into D&D and those "first six copies" (10 copies rarely) varies from time-to-time.
> (not criticizing GW, I think 40k and Warhammer Fantasy are some of the most fully-realized gaming universes around).
Most of GW's games are fair enough, even those they ditched; GW's concept of fair game, however, was/is similar to L. Ron Hubbard's policy of the same name... Please do feel free to criticise the company that pretty much killed "the hobby" (not (TM) GW, much as they'd wish it...) in the UK. :)
Thanks for the post! I love these interviews with influential members of the early gaming movements, whatever my feelings about any particular games and systems (not criticizing GW, I think 40k and Warhammer Fantasy are some of the most fully-realized gaming universes around).
ReplyDeleteI just picked up the board game for Warlock of Firetop mountain at the weekend and played a game against my girlfriend... and died in the first fight against a vampire! hehe
ReplyDeleteMy first exposure to RPG's in the mid 1980's (& my gateway drug to D&D) were through the likes of Fighting Fantasy, TSR's Endless Quest, & Joe Dever's Lone Wolf series. I still have my collection, & even read a title from time to time. Unlike the interviewer in the article, I played my books properly, enjoying the challenge.
ReplyDeleteToo bad the re-releases of Fighting Fantasy & Lone Wolf aren't sold here in the U.S. Hopefully, Stateside distributors will rectify that soon.
I also got my start with the Fighting Fantasy books, and their home system was the first real RPG I DMed. Even to this day, after all the fantasy I've consumed, their prose and book illustrations are still my iconic ideal of the genre alongside the Square Enix franchises.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall the books were crammed with what I now understand as old school goodness. It was a funny feeling to read (much later) old D&D modules like Castle Amber and In Search of the Unknown and realize they were just like the FF gamebooks!
FYI anyone with an IPod/IPhone can enjoying Fighting fantasy as there are currently apps that have ported both _The Warlock fo Firetop Mountain_ and _Deathtrap Dungeon_ as apps. They are also set to realease the First _Sorcery!_ book, _The Shamutanti Hills_
ReplyDeleteOMG. I /adored/ Shamutanti Hills, and the whole Sorcery series. This is great news!
ReplyDeleteInteresting but flawed: those two change their stories all the time and the interviewer is clearly clueless.
ReplyDelete"In 1982, childhood friends and über-nerds Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone started selling Brits the first ever Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game from a tiny flat in Shepherd’s Bush, west London."
erm.. *rofl* is the only answer to that, sorry. Ca'n't even summarise the answers provided correctly.
The reason for naming Owl & Weasel is "interesting" but contradicts all previous interviews and similarly the tale behind how they got into D&D and those "first six copies" (10 copies rarely) varies from time-to-time.
> (not criticizing GW, I think 40k and Warhammer Fantasy are some of the most fully-realized gaming universes around).
ReplyDeleteMost of GW's games are fair enough, even those they ditched; GW's concept of fair game, however, was/is similar to L. Ron Hubbard's policy of the same name...
Please do feel free to criticise the company that pretty much killed "the hobby" (not (TM) GW, much as they'd wish it...) in the UK. :)