Topic: What Happened to Gygax Games? (Read 4,950 times)
kenmeister Level 5 Thaumaturgist member is offline
Joined: Jun 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 337 Karma: 10
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #30 on Dec 7, 2009, 9:25pm »
For me, I've just learned so many ways to play the same game (i.e. different versions of D&D) that I'm just not interested in more rules. The important thing is finding a set of rules that support the kind of stories I want to tell, and I have that in spades already. So as philotomy said, if LA evokes the same feel as D&D, and I already know D&D - why bother? Maybe the push for a different system will come from the players who demand more flexibility. Right now I don't have those kinds of players.
Joined: Jun 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 646 Location: Herrin, IL Karma: 28
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #31 on Dec 7, 2009, 9:40pm »
LA is just better.
Naw Marv, I wouldn't open up the forum to LA. The twelve of us LA fans haven't even posted or talked about LA in over six months. And there is already a forum (with tumble weeds) that is just for LA that we will use if it ever comes back.
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #32 on Dec 7, 2009, 10:07pm »
Lejendary Adventure, if they promote this well, it will be something NEW to pick up at hobby shops. New and veteran gamers will be able to sit down together and play the game. For those who are not thrilled about 4E, it will be a great alternative. Or you could just use your older books. Either way the whole point was to have fun, no matter what rule system you use. Even though it has been out for a few years it hasn't really had a feeling of being on stable ground, I bought the first book, but when I went to look for the other ones, the publisher was changed. It would be nice to go to a shop and see something new with Mr. Gygax's name on it. And it will be easier to find some new gamers that way as well. They can pick up the materials as well and they can take turns running it, like the good ol days. When it becomes more available, I'd have another go at it!
Does anyone know if they ever published the ending to the short story The Gnome Cache? - gygax's first story based in greyhawk.
Has there been talk of a biography of some sort, maybe with pictures, a bit about Mr. Gygax and various notes. Loosing your own design must have been a bit harsh and it may not have been a happy period and when he needed a body guard from being threatened due to all that cult paranoia, which today has almost become myth on its own. It would be a pretty interesting concept for a book.
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #33 on Dec 9, 2009, 8:28pm »
I've never even seen LA. I am a fan of C&C, though, and bought the CZ items I wanted while they were available (Yggsburgh, Dark Chateau, and the Castle). I'm glad I did, as they are excellent products. I really, really wish at least one more box set had been published, though, as the main set barely scratched the surface.
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #34 on Dec 9, 2009, 11:13pm »
I had the 'Basic Set' that TLG put out for LA and after reading it wasn't interested. It seemed cool enough but incomplete. Maybe if I could stumble on the original books and play around with the rules a more complete game could emerge.
Sadly, I don't have the time or money for that and am pretty happy with S&W and my tweaks to it.
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #35 on Dec 10, 2009, 7:55pm »
Jeff's statement about Gary's preferences is pretty much correct. LA was his favorite, but he did not abandon D&D either.
Knowing Gary for a long time--starting with the Dangerous Journeys era--when I initially knew him he really tried to distance himself from AD&D discussion. However, as time wore on he got more comfortable with it. I guess in part he accepted the fan bases appreciation of it, and as D&D changed he grew to appreciate the Dragonsfoot and other legacy audiences. Unlike DJ, which he abandoned completely, he was comfortable running old white box adventures. This last decade he was very comfortable spending time answering questions of the fan base. In fact, maybe he could have gotten more done but he wanted to spend time answering mail and message boards, especially when he knew he didn't have that long left to live.
As far as the whole "game system preference" goes--well, the whole thing about C&C was this. Gary was sued by TSR over DJ, and if you ever read the claims DJ is as far as you could get from D&D. That really made him risk adverse. I know people don't like to bring it up but there's still concern over OSRIC being "legal" because of how it was developed, OGL SRD or not. Gary would not risk another lawsuit--even if today's WoTC regime ignores the OSR clones new owners may not. I guess he trusted the Trolls to develop what they felt was best from a legal and game standpoint. Internally, my experience was Gary used just the abbreviated format from the G and D series (like just listing monster hp) and TLG filled in the rest of the stats. I should point out that I did not involve myself much with the work that Jeff did, so his experience could vary.
Regarding the future of the projects...keep in mind that while there is an original notes meme, does anybody know how strong the market is for OSRIC and other OSR projects? Maybe LA is smaller, of course, but who's to say an "original notes" version of the castle would sell well? How many units did TLG sell? To be honest, I doubt many of us know how much profit or loss was involved in printing these projects.
I think people are ignoring some of the potential options. Stuff like LA would be perfect for a computer game--it was even originally designed as such (that's where the term Avatar came into play). In today's marketplace, the computer games drive development of PNP games, usually not the other way around. I could see, for instance, having a game design firm combine LA rules and the Castle Zagyg levels as a computer game, and the work could also help fund the PnP side of things, plus it would give Gary's creative gift to the widest audience. You would not believe the amount of work Gary did in the 1990s trying to get a computer game, and that also include DJ which was supposed to have one as well. I think in all efforts Gary did in this last decade he was pretty under-capitalized, I believe in part his choice because he wanted Trigee ownership and he was more concerned with "back end" deals that advances up front. So I think you have to look at some of Gail's probably efforts from that standpoint--getting Gary's work to the maximum potential people without sacrificing quality.
Regardless, I agree with Jeff in that we shouldn't dwell on this. You are not likely to hear a "why it was cancelled" from either party--even if there are disagreements between parties sometimes time can heal the wounds, and having this stuff out in public just tends to hurt the chances of any reconciliation. Gail is not going to announce anything until she has firm solid plans, and that's part of the reason for taking down the site--Gail will not be rushed into a rash or quick decision. The fan base IMO needs to see it akin to what happens when a license is cancelled--this stuff is usually measured in months, not weeks. (For instance, a Star Wars RPG license gets cancelled, three years later a new project happens with another publisher).
Falconer Level 9 Sorcerer Cleric of OD&D member is offline
OD&D, Middle-earth, Star Trek TOS
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Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #36 on Dec 10, 2009, 8:39pm »
Quote:
Regarding the future of the projects...keep in mind that while there is an original notes meme, does anybody know how strong the market is for OSRIC and other OSR projects? Maybe LA is smaller, of course, but who's to say an "original notes" version of the castle would sell well? How many units did TLG sell? To be honest, I doubt many of us know how much profit or loss was involved in printing these projects.
It is precisely because we don’t (and can’t) know the numbers that this line of speculation is useless for those of us who are not on the inside. As a fan, all I or just about anyone else here can do is speak for our own preferences. Not only is it useless to do otherwise, but probably counter-productive. If I were to say “Although for me personally it would be best if it were published for OD&D or AD&D or something compatible, I advocate going with 4e or LA because I think it makes better business sense” really muddies the waters. Regards.
A man may do both. For not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day! —J.R.R. Tolkien
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #38 on Dec 14, 2009, 3:56am »
Hey, you LA players:
One of the things I like about LA is EGG's approach to money and the economy. My current OD&D game is using his approach (although I re-valued gold into a 10:1 ratio with silver, in my game). Consequently, I had to re-do all the prices in the game. My question: does any of the LA material cover costs for construction? (I have the Essentials and the three Hekaforge rule books, but didn't see it in those.)
One of the things I like about LA is EGG's approach to money and the economy. My current OD&D game is using his approach (although I re-valued gold into a 10:1 ratio with silver, in my game). Consequently, I had to re-do all the prices in the game. My question: does any of the LA material cover costs for construction? (I have the Essentials and the three Hekaforge rule books, but didn't see it in those.)
That is found in Gary Gygax's "Nation Builder," pp. 135-137 (Part of the Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds from TLG) *email sent*
« Last Edit: Dec 14, 2009, 11:40am by John Adams »
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #40 on Dec 14, 2009, 2:05pm »
Thanks!
If you emailed my philotomy.com address, I'm still having problems with it. Please email my yahoo.com address. (Same thing, just replace philotomy.com with yahoo.com)
You’re right. I played LA with Gary (the Living the Lejend module) and it felt 90% the same as OD&D with The Keep on the Borderlands. The common denominator, obviously, is Gary Gygax’s refereeing style, which permeates both games. That suggests to me that most OD&D referees would be reasonably happy with LA. But we are creatures of habit, and that extra 10% is part of what makes D&D D&D—the classes, ubiquitous terms like “hit points” and “armor class”. So while I am abstractly “a fan of LA,” I am not so enough to really have a stake in it and to want to abandon D&D. Regards.
Falconer is right on here, IMO. I played both LA and OD&D with Gary and was sort of amazed at the way both game sessions had the same feeling. Yes, that's partly Gary, but then it did open my eyes to how free wheeling and "old school" LA can be. Once one gets past the different terminology, one realizes that it's simply a great version of D&D.
Someone mentioned that you have to play the game after looking at the rules, but I think you just need to roll up a character and you can quickly get the feel of the game and then decide if it's for you.
Btw, LA has been around for what, 10 years? Methinks there are thousands of fans.
I sincerely hope Gygax Games has a bright future, and I wish Gail all the best, both personally and professionally, and I look forward to seeing her and the family in March at Gary Con II.
Very excellent to hear this Jeff! I look forward to meeting you, finally.
Joined: Oct 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 1,556 Karma: 87
Re: What Happened to Gygax Games? « Reply #43 on Jan 24, 2010, 3:18pm »
Perhaps this is old news to most of the rest of you, but I just discovered that Gail Gygax has the same profession that I do: She's a real estate agent:
All this time I (ignorantly) imagined that she was retired.
Well, good grief. If Lake Geneva's real estate market is anything like mine (i. e., pretty darn bad), then Gail has to work hard to make ends meet. Then no wonder that Gygax Games isn't going gangbusters. It's a wonder that she has ANY time at all to devote to Gygax Games.
I about drove myself silly getting CARCOSA done and filling orders, and I have the advantage of having a wife who also brings money into our household. If I didn't have that "safety net", CARCOSA would never have been published. Goodness knows that if I found myself in Gail's position, I'd probably never have the time and energy to publish even one single thing.
Of course I hope to see plenty of stuff published by Gygax Games, but even if we never do, I fully understand. Gail is undoubtedly (like me) a hard-working real estate agent with not a lot of time and energy on her hands.
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