Rick Priestly on redd.it talking about his new game and some about GW

[url]http://redd.it/172inz[/url]

Here's part of the conversation, follow the link for more

I think I read somewhere that Necromunda was the game you were most proud of at GW. Nowadays, Necromunda (along with many of the other Specialist Games) receive almost no-love from GW, yet remain in print -- do you think GW will ever do anything with them, or will they just eventually die as the moulds wear out?

Yes I loved working on Necromunda it was one of my fave projects from the days when design and games were leading the way for GW - and it did really well for us too! Sadly the bigger GW got the less able it became at handling new games - estimating print runs started to get difficult - and the pressure from the sales part of the business started to become the driver for the business - and all they wanted or could sell were reprint and reissues. I don't think GW will get back to what it was - there's loads of other companies filling that role now - and I hoe to do some of that too!

Rick

I'd just like to say thank you for Necromunda, my favorite game.


The Necromunda fluff was amazing, I can still remember reading about some mad captain sailing out for his 'white whale' pond spider thing, amazing.

a great game with lovely models and a lovely setting. It deserves to live on.

Perhaps the new skirmish version of GoA will overtake Necromunda, and replace it. Is that A plan Mr P?


Plan - no not yet - Dream well yes - one can always dream!

Rick

Hello everyone - I'm pitching in a little early -I am new to this so bear with me - fingers crossed and all that - we'll see if it works.

Meantime if you are reading this and have any questions about any games I've done or anything about my work at games Workshop - then don't be reluctant to ask. I can't help much with the UK's role in the UK or solving the financial crisis - but then who can eh?


Are there any design flaws or weaknesses in the rules you designed for Warhammer Fantasy or 40k (or other GW games you worked on) that you want to approach from a completely different angle with Gates of Antares?


Interesting question! All games have strengths and weaknesses, and that's always going to be the case because when you design a game you have to decide what it's 'about' - and a game can only be about a limited number of things. So - you have to decide where the emphasis goes to make sure the game is clear as a game, with clear objectives, options, and so on. Those GW games may have weaknesses (limited stat range being vulnerable to 'tinkering' is one of those) but the strengths speak for themselves - if Gates of Antares can sell one tenth of what WH has sold over the years I would be very happy (actually one hundredth would be a runaway success!).

The biggest limitation that WH has (aside from commercially driven content which is not really a design issue) is the IGOUGO turn sequence - which is a good system that works when done right but it really dictates how the game plays. With GoA I'm going for an interleaved action based sequence that is just so different - I'm really enjoying how different it is - and it really keeps both players playing all the time without anyone having to hand around whilst one side finishes a turn. I think that's the main limitation that I'm addressing here.