Alright, get ready for an interesting ride, y'all!
Mike Pondsmith is a role model to me. For those of you who don't know who he is, please allow me to introduce him (and several others, eventually within this article). This is the man who created R.Talsorian Games, publisher of the infamous Cyberpunk 2020, Cyberpunk Red, and Cypberpunk 2077 table top role playing games, among others! Before I read the Wikipedia article about Mr. Pondsmith, I knew that he had written Mekton and Teenagers from Outerspace as well. He developed the Fuzion, and Interlock systems. He had published countless anime-related games throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. This is a man I endeavor to become like. Then this morning, I read the Wikipedia article about Mike Pondsmith. I needed to know how he did it. How did he become a game publisher. I think I got my answer, and I'm not finished reading yet. But I'll tell you in a minute or two.
So, I'm reading the history of Mike Pondsmith. His early career. And I think this is what allowed him to do what he does now. Back in the day, before he created Mekton, he worked for a company that had access to advanced technology involving Typesetting. You know, the process for text formating and placement in books and magazines? He worked directly on this stuff. He learned those skills as a young man, fresh out of college. One of the companies he worked for, had a role in bringing Japanese games over to America. Hence why Mike was able to publish so many Anime related games using his Fuzion system. Mike also worked on some Forgotten Realms (Dungeons and Dragons) stuff along with Monte Cook (you know, the man who heads Cypher System, Numenera, and other cool games?) Mike worked with ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises)-- a British game publishing company that released RoleMaster (back in the late 1990s, the first game I actually owned after I "became an adult"). Mike also worked with Hero Games. The same Hero Games that published Champions (aka HERO System). Fuzion (and Interlock) was a system that was a collaboration between Hero Games and R.Talsorian Games. So, today, I see all these game publishers running their own companies, and it turns out that they all have worked with one another on various projects decades earlier.
Mekton, Mike Pondsmith's first game, was written in an attempt to fix Traveller-- another game that I adore. The entire Life Path system that Traveller (Mark Miller) initially created back in the late 1970s! In fact, Mekton initially didn't have any role playing aspect to it. It was simply a tactical game involving heavy mecha and anime sources. The game was rewritten like three times over the span of a decade or so.
Anyway, I've spent the last five years procuring a massive collection of TTRPGs. I guess I shouldn't be too shocked to learn that there's been quite a bit of collaboration amongst various game publishers. Many of these people know one another, have helped out one another, despite being competitors to each other, competing for us, the player's attention, our time to use their products. I never would have imagined that Mike Pondsmith had contact with Steve Jackson Games (GURPS), or Monte Cook (Numenara). I'm scared to see what else links back, because with every link that I follow, every connection I see, that just makes it seem all the more improbable that I'll actually be able to make a dent in this Industry. Me as a nobody, with no connection, no professional skills in Publishing, Game Design, or even Psychology.
Deep Breath...
But what I lack in connections and skill, I make up for with creativity.
Like Mike Pondsmith who set out to fix Traveller, I too aim to use the inspiration of Traveller in my own game system. Mike, Monte, Mark, and countless others, the current pillars of the Gaming Industry all have wonderful products, but I know that there's people out in the world who are just like me. Burnt out. Not from gaming so much, but just exhausted from ... everything. We desperately want to play within fictional realms too. I need a system that I can grab and go. Something that assists with character creation, something that I don't have to think too hard on. Something fun and playful, maybe whimsical. Mike Pondsmith created R.Talsorian Games to fill a void of dark, gritty gameplay. I see a similar void, but in a lighthearted, whimsical way. Maybe it's the Pendulum swinging the other direction, but I feel that the Table Top realm needs more sustained comedy in it. Not more Beer and Pretzel stye games, but games that are designed to host enduring campaigns.
I've got creativity, passion, patience, and a plethora of software tools on my side. Maybe after a while, I'll make some of those much needed connections too. Maybe someday... I'll be a part of the tight-knit game publishing community too.
Mike Pondsmith is a role model to me. For those of you who don't know who he is, please allow me to introduce him (and several others, eventually within this article). This is the man who created R.Talsorian Games, publisher of the infamous Cyberpunk 2020, Cyberpunk Red, and Cypberpunk 2077 table top role playing games, among others! Before I read the Wikipedia article about Mr. Pondsmith, I knew that he had written Mekton and Teenagers from Outerspace as well. He developed the Fuzion, and Interlock systems. He had published countless anime-related games throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. This is a man I endeavor to become like. Then this morning, I read the Wikipedia article about Mike Pondsmith. I needed to know how he did it. How did he become a game publisher. I think I got my answer, and I'm not finished reading yet. But I'll tell you in a minute or two.
So, I'm reading the history of Mike Pondsmith. His early career. And I think this is what allowed him to do what he does now. Back in the day, before he created Mekton, he worked for a company that had access to advanced technology involving Typesetting. You know, the process for text formating and placement in books and magazines? He worked directly on this stuff. He learned those skills as a young man, fresh out of college. One of the companies he worked for, had a role in bringing Japanese games over to America. Hence why Mike was able to publish so many Anime related games using his Fuzion system. Mike also worked on some Forgotten Realms (Dungeons and Dragons) stuff along with Monte Cook (you know, the man who heads Cypher System, Numenera, and other cool games?) Mike worked with ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises)-- a British game publishing company that released RoleMaster (back in the late 1990s, the first game I actually owned after I "became an adult"). Mike also worked with Hero Games. The same Hero Games that published Champions (aka HERO System). Fuzion (and Interlock) was a system that was a collaboration between Hero Games and R.Talsorian Games. So, today, I see all these game publishers running their own companies, and it turns out that they all have worked with one another on various projects decades earlier.
Mekton, Mike Pondsmith's first game, was written in an attempt to fix Traveller-- another game that I adore. The entire Life Path system that Traveller (Mark Miller) initially created back in the late 1970s! In fact, Mekton initially didn't have any role playing aspect to it. It was simply a tactical game involving heavy mecha and anime sources. The game was rewritten like three times over the span of a decade or so.
Anyway, I've spent the last five years procuring a massive collection of TTRPGs. I guess I shouldn't be too shocked to learn that there's been quite a bit of collaboration amongst various game publishers. Many of these people know one another, have helped out one another, despite being competitors to each other, competing for us, the player's attention, our time to use their products. I never would have imagined that Mike Pondsmith had contact with Steve Jackson Games (GURPS), or Monte Cook (Numenara). I'm scared to see what else links back, because with every link that I follow, every connection I see, that just makes it seem all the more improbable that I'll actually be able to make a dent in this Industry. Me as a nobody, with no connection, no professional skills in Publishing, Game Design, or even Psychology.
Deep Breath...
But what I lack in connections and skill, I make up for with creativity.
Like Mike Pondsmith who set out to fix Traveller, I too aim to use the inspiration of Traveller in my own game system. Mike, Monte, Mark, and countless others, the current pillars of the Gaming Industry all have wonderful products, but I know that there's people out in the world who are just like me. Burnt out. Not from gaming so much, but just exhausted from ... everything. We desperately want to play within fictional realms too. I need a system that I can grab and go. Something that assists with character creation, something that I don't have to think too hard on. Something fun and playful, maybe whimsical. Mike Pondsmith created R.Talsorian Games to fill a void of dark, gritty gameplay. I see a similar void, but in a lighthearted, whimsical way. Maybe it's the Pendulum swinging the other direction, but I feel that the Table Top realm needs more sustained comedy in it. Not more Beer and Pretzel stye games, but games that are designed to host enduring campaigns.
I've got creativity, passion, patience, and a plethora of software tools on my side. Maybe after a while, I'll make some of those much needed connections too. Maybe someday... I'll be a part of the tight-knit game publishing community too.
