Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A View From The Wasteland's Edge - TSR & Gygax Magazine



First of all let me say that I have nothing absolutely, nothing to do with any of what's been happening with the formation of  the new TSR company. This has been a long time coming though. Gygax Magazine is  Ernie Gygax, Luke Gygax, Tim Kask, James Carpio, and Jim Wampler.
 
So what does this actually mean though? Well basically the folks who have been carrying the torch for the Gygax legacy for a very long time have form a company & are going to cover OSR ground & beyond. These folks have all been a part of community for a very, very long time.
Here's how the company was formed 
"Just to address some of the questions, I thought it was best that I leave a reply. We do own the trademark for TSR, and have since December of 2011. We are a new company, not the old TSR, as they were purchased by Wizards in the '90s. The trademark was abandoned about nine years ago, and we registered it in 2011. 


We decided the best thing to release first as TSR was a gaming magazine, because we wanted a way to bridge the traditions of the old guard with the awesome new games that are out today." 

Right out of the gate we can see exactly what's going on here. This a brand new take on what came before. I've read interview after interview by the above gentlemen. It  comes always comes down to the old way of doing things & they always loved  working with Gary Gygax. So it seems to me that the company is going to be trying to pull from that legacy while maintaining the ideals of today. I'm also familiar with the quality of their work independently so it will be interesting to see the product that comes out now. 
 The part that is also is intriguing is the gaming magazine as the heart of the company. The Dragon's Heart if you will.  Lets take a deeper look into 
 
 From Wave your Geek Flag Here

Tim Kask from Facebook...

Here's a snippet from our ad prospectus.....
so now you all the official word there is at this time.

Gygax is a gaming magazine for new and old players alike.

We are looking forward to the games of tomorrow and today, while preserving the traditions and history that  got us where we are now.

Our articles and features cover current independent and major publisher games such as Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, The One Ring, Shadowrun, Godlike, Labyrinth Lord, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Warhammer 40k Roleplay, Traveller, and others, as well as classic out-of-print games with a modern following, like AD&D, Top Secret, and Gamma World.

Our features include comics by Phil Foglio (What’s New With Phil and Dixie), Jim Wampler (Marvin the Mage), and Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick). Contributors include Jim Ward, Cory Doctorow, James Carpio, Ethan Gilsdorf, Dennis Sustare, and many more.
As gamers we've seen this lineup before & its a very interesting line up indeed. For those readers of Dragon these are the power hitter old school games : AD&D, Top Secret, and Gamma World.
The others named are top DrivethruRpg games : 
Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, The One Ring, Shadowrun, Godlike, Labyrinth Lord, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Warhammer 40k Roleplay, Traveller, and others.

The bottomline is that this a very clever marketing strategy & one that's been ignored by others in the hobby. The contributors that they've got lined up isn't an accident either. These are the backbone of the older gamer's bookshelf.
 The folks involved with this have been supporting GaryCon for a very long,long time. This is a solid marketing move & one that you can see being positioned in such a way to fill a very clear niche in the gaming market at a critical time.
 I'm not kissing rear in this. I've seen the usual suspects at the moment. Podcasts, interviews,etc. This isn't an OSR organ its a brand new venture.  So its a case of wait & see.
There are already places to talk about the new TSR  right over Here
Gail Gygax has stated that the project is not supported by the Gygax estate.
 The bottom line is that some great folks are involved in this project & I wish the Gygaxs nothing but the best.
 Some material taken from my friend Harvard Blackmoor's blog which can be found Here

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