Changing of the Guard Options

[Rob Boyle]

http://www.shadowrun4.com/wordpress/?p=216

Every runner should know when it's time to cut and run, right?

In a sense, that time has come for me. I've been working on Shadowrun for 10 years now -- half of its lifespan. I started as an editor at FASA, moved on to be assistant SR developer under Mike Mulvihill until FASA closed, took over the line a few months later for FanPro, and then jumped ship with it to Catalyst. I started right before the conversion to Third Edition, and then three years ago led the charge to Fourth Edition. Three editions, three game companies.

I'm not the type of person who sticks with jobs I don't like. In fact, I pretty much refuse to work on anything that I don't gain some sort of personal satisfaction from. No mundane wage slavery for me. So I think it says something about what a fun and interesting job this has been that I've stuck with it for so long. There have been some glitches and low points of course, but overall it's been a very enjoyable experience.

To be blunt, however, I'm burnt out on Shadowrun. I've been burnt out for awhile, actually. It happens. Unfortunately, this is not the type of job that's easy to take a break from -- the deadlines don't stop coming, and I haven't had a backup person who could take over full time. Even though I've been feeling the need to move on, I've also wanted to see Fourth Edition along at least through the core rulebooks. Now that Unwired is off to layout, I feel complete. Especially as that book goes a long way towards dealing with some of the shortcomings we've still faced with the SR4 matrix rules.

So the time has come for me to step aside as lead SR developer. I'll be staying with Catalyst, of course, but I'll be switching gears and taking point on a new game line -- you'll hear more about that in a few months. I'll also still be working on Shadowrun, but in an auxiliary capacity, at least through some of our 20th anniversary stuff -- can't miss that, after all. The very competent Peter Taylor will be taking on the lead SR developer job -- he's been a pleasure to work with since he started as a freelancer and we adopted his Euro Sourcebook project and transformed it into Shadows of Europe. He's been working as an assistant developer for over a year now, and we're pretty excited to have him on board and taking the helm. This switchover has actually been in the works for awhile, so you won't see any changes in the upcoming schedule.

Who knows, I may even have time to do some actual writing for Shadowrun now, rather than always being busy with the editing and dev work.

Before I sign off, let me take the opportunity to say thanks to all of the fans who have stuck with the game over the years, and also to the new players who were drawn in by the revised Fourth Ed. rules. Thanks also to the freelance writers, artists, and editors who I've worked with over the years and who have helped to maintain Shadowrun as a vibrant and explosive universe -- couldn't have done it without you!

So, this won't be the last you hear from me, but this is the last time I get to take the credit and/or blame for Shadowrun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) . I hope it's been as fun and interesting for you as it has been for me.

-- Rob Boyle