A message from the new line developer, or, Shadowrun has everything it needs--except Twinkies Options

[JM Hardy]

[Cross-posted from Shadowrun4.com]

Hey folks! I’m Jason Hardy, the new Shadowrun developer. I’m excited to be in this position, and the first thing I want to say is thank you—thanks to all the fans, writers, artists, and everyone else who kept Shadowrun alive for twenty years, long enough for me to first work in the setting as a writer and editor, and now to develop products for it. The fans deserve a special thanks—your dedication and patience has been extraordinary. I look forward to seeing your energy, passion, and—inevitably—criticism as Shadowrun moves into its third decade.

I also want to thank the Shadowrun developers I’ve worked with—Mike Mulvihill, Rob Boyle, Peter Taylor, John Dunn, Jennifer Harding, and Adam Jury. Just the fact that they’ve let me play in this sandbox is enough for me to thank them, but they’ve all been generous with their knowledge and enthusiasm about the setting. Adam actually was the first to break the news to me that I’d been hired when he pulled me aside and told me that that if I f----- up the game he’d been playing for decades, he’d kill me. You don’t get kind of support and dedication just anywhere.

I know why fans care about Shadowrun, because it grabbed me just like it grabbed them. It started, like it often does, with the art, the images that defined “cool� a thousand different ways. And then the text, with the attitude, the edge, and the corner-of-the-mouth cynicism. I saw this stuff, and I fell in love.

So back in the early part of the decade, I wrote a couple of books for the late lamented Crimson Skies game, and the editor liked them. She asked me if there were any other FASA games I’d be interested in writing for, and my answer came quick—Shadowrun. She said okay, and I got to work plotting a novel.

Then FASA shut down, and that seemed like that. There are a lot of tangled stops and starts between now and then, but the end results were that Shadowrun continued, and I’ve had a ball contributing to it in different ways, including a novel (Drops of Corruption), contributions to many sourcebooks, and an April Fool’s Day joke that got nominated for an ENnie. Now I get the chance to push the Shadowrun world forward, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I’ve said this many times in the past few weeks—I’m moving into a game with some tremendous strengths. The rules are award-winning and popular, the art is becoming more eye-popping every month, and the talent pool for writing and art is deep. And the setting—ah, the setting that has kept people playing even when the rules were cumbersome, even when product releases were sporadic at best. My shorthand description for the setting is “magic cyberpunk noir,� and usually by the time I get to the third word of that phrase, I’m smiling broadly. It’s everything I love in the world in one place—except it’s missing “Twinkies.� Add that to it (“magic cyberpunk noir Twinkies�?) and it would be perfect.

So my job isn’t to reinvent the rules or the setting. My job is to help as many people dive into the greatest RPG setting there is—and to make sure all the fantastic ideas people have for this setting get out the door and into your hands. One Shadowrun freelancer, Mark Dynna, summed it up well when he said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that our job is to add value to the players’ games. That’s what I want to do—provide storylines, characters, gear, magic, and anything else that makes your game more varied, more interesting, more fun.

And this is where you come in—what would add value to your games? We’ve got plenty of ideas in the works, but I’m happy to add more. Throw in a comment and tell me what you’re looking for!

Thanks for playing!

[tsuyoshikentsu]

Crunch. The more, the better.

[RunnerPaul]

One thing that struck me recently about this 20 year old game is that there's still design space that can be tapped that would make even a first edition veteran like myself go, "Wow! I hadn't even considered the possibility that they might introduce something like that in the game, but I LIKE IT!" Specifically, I'm talking about Running Wild adding emergent critters to the game, but that's just one recent example. An AI taking over the Arcology. Elevated mana levels from a periodic celestial event making it possible to mine for orichalum. Electing a dragon as president. Keep on throwing us the occasional curveball, it keeps the game alive and vibrant.

[Rasumichin]

And this is where you come in—what would add value to your games? We’ve got plenty of ideas in the works, but I’m happy to add more. Throw in a comment and tell me what you’re looking for!

Well, first of all, the usual stuff :

-the abandoned weird science sourcebook Frank Trollman once mentioned
-a new London sourcebook
-Shadowrun IN SPACE!!!
-an updated version of Shadowbeat

What i'd be personally interested in :
-a collection of locations for the metaplanes/the resonance realms

Crunch. The more, the better.

And that as well.

[Cardul]

My own cross-post from shadowrun4.com/holostreets.com(since they both, right now, link to same place)

First, Jason Hardy, allow me to say: Congratulations! I also hold Drops of Corruption as one of the better of the Wizkids novels(Aftershocks is the other good one!)

Now, what would bring value to my games? Honestly…As a person who went to GenCon with “High tech and Low Life� among the list of “I am looking for these!� books, I can say: art. Personally, I would love more art of both genders of Orks, Trolls, and Dwarves(humans and elves get all the women, it seems, most of the time). Art is how you sell the game, but also a piece of art can inspire a character concept.

Second is: fiction. More fiction. It is hard for me to articulate the setting at times, as, for me, what fits is instinctive. I got this feel for the setting from the novels. With the new novel line in development hell, fiction in sourcebooks like the Anniversary Edition of the corebook, and the Seattle 2072 book, are the best ways for me to get my less experienced players to get some of the same touch for the setting.

And, OK, I admit: for the Seattle 2072 and a Hong Kong book to be made “Core Books,� since, honestly, they ARE important for new GMs, and, I liked that we had someplace other then Seattle to be the core of our games..But with Runner Havens being out of print, as well as all other location books but Feral Cities and Seattle 2072, it is kind of limiting for people just getting into the edition.

Finally, of course, I have to say that I am among the people who really want to see something giving us information, that does not rely on having the previous books on them, on what has happened with the Tirs. Honestly, not everyone has those books(they are very hard to find in dead tree, even now), and, honestly,
I felt that Runner Havens expected one to own New Seattle or, at least, the original Seattle Sourcebook, and that Feral Cities expected one to own Bug City.

[Cardul]

Although, Jason..since you are the new line developer for this year...can you maybe get Adam to finally put the SR4A character sheet up on the site? It is a much better sheet then the just plain SR4 sheet that is still up there..I hate having to tell my players that if they want to use the better sheets, they need to buy the SR4A pdf, even if they
bought the SR4A dead tree...

[The Dragon Girl]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) An expanded book on the LA setting, more info on shadowcities and countries outside North America for 4th.

Are you the nice man at the CGL booth I met at D*C this past weekend?

~The Dragon Girl

[Adam]

Although, Jason..since you are the new line developer for this year...can you maybe get Adam to finally put the SR4A character sheet up on the site?

Been up for awhile, although I haven't gotten around to posting about it because, well, more important news was coming, and I wasn't sure exactly when. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

http://shadowrun4.com/resources/previews/C...ractersheet.pdf

[Adam]

And, OK, I admit: for the Seattle 2072 and a Hong Kong book to be made “Core Books,� since, honestly, they ARE important for new GMs, and, I liked that we had someplace other then Seattle to be the core of our games..But with Runner Havens being out of print, as well as all other location books but Feral Cities and Seattle 2072, it is kind of limiting for people just getting into the edition.

Corporate Enclaves is not OOP.

I seriously don't know how you can't look at Seattle 2072 and see "core book," even though it doesn't say so on the title. Full color, hardcover ... what else do you need?

[Grinder]

So Tiger Eyes quit?

[Adam]

No. Jennifer is still writing for Shadowrun, and still working development on the Artifact series of adventures. But we needed someone full-time in the role, which was why Jennifer/myself/John Dunn handled things for a few months while Catalyst talked to and then formally interviewed various people for the job.

[tweak]

Some street level stuff. I'd like to see a Sons of Anarchy meets Shadowrun type book. Give me something edgy and not safe. Give me a book that doesn't feel like a reprint of past edition books. And stop trying to be so politically correct. I mean, seriously, must I read the personal pronoun she in a book about criminals. Rebel a little. It feels weird to read Shadowrun books that talk about wetwork but read like some editor cut out all the feeling from the text. I mean Seattle 2072 is a great book, but it reads like a Fromers guide to the city. What would that book read like if it was from a Shadowrunner's point of view?

Core-wise, I think, I'm in pretty good shape. Lotsa of great crunch. But setting-wise, there are a lot of onion peels to pull back. I still feel like I have a 20 thousand feet view of things.

[Bull]

So Tiger Eyes quit?

Jennifer is still working with CGL. She was only a temporary co-developer (along with Johnn Dunn, Adam, and Randall Bills), filling in until they got someone. I think she was sane enough that she didn't actually wznt to be the full time dev.

Really, low pay, tons of hours, whiny freelancers, and a largely ungrateful fanbase? I don't know how anyone could turn down benefits like that (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

(Good luck Jason! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )

Bull

[Evilref]

Congrats on one of the best, and worst, types of job in publishing (RPG line developer)

For me, looking long the list of Shadowrun sourcebooks I've got going back to 1st ed:

SOTA 207X/Updated Sprawl Survival: Going wireless has changed a lot of things and it would be nice to see a more in depth tech viewpoint on life in 207X as well as how wireless has changed running the shadows.

Hong Kong: I'd love to see the Seattle 2072 treatment for Hong Kong, maybe a couple of other cities as well.

More dual-city books - how's the Tir fairing, Denver, London, Berlin?

Gangs/Mobs/Crime - a new organised crime/criminals book starting at the bottom with street gangs and working up to the various OC outfits.

PDFs Catalyst is great at making their books available as PDFs but there's definitely a market out there for smaller, even niche, products to be released as pdf only. 32 pages or less, more product, without the shipping and printing costs (or needing to get them into your printers windows of availability).

A good idea of what's coming up, planned, in development, art assigned, in editing, in layout, gone to the printers etc. White Wolf does a good job of this, for that matter so does Arc Dream and a number of other companies.

[Cardul]

Been up for awhile, although I haven't gotten around to posting about it because, well, more important news was coming, and I wasn't sure exactly when. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

http://shadowrun4.com/resources/previews/C...ractersheet.pdf

OK...so, Adam, not to sound nit-picky, but...um....what page does it link off of? I mean, I go to the resources page(implied by the path), and I do not see a "previews" page..I click the thing that says "character record sheet" and only see...the old one... Not to sound nit-picky, but...well, it would make sense if one could click on something that will always be there to get to the sheet...

Corporate Enclaves is not OOP.

I seriously don't know how you can't look at Seattle 2072 and see "core book," even though it doesn't say so on the title. Full color, hardcover ... what else do you need?

Ah..OK..I heard a comment at GenCon about "not reprinting Corporate Enclaves," and thought it was OOP..

And, why would I think Seattle 2072 was not a core book? Well...this is the 20th anniversary year..It could just be a promotional thing. And, of the corebooks, only SR4A is full colour... Just saying: it seemed more like an Anniversary Product then a Core Book type product..(since, after all, Seattle Sourcebook and New Seattle were not considered corebooks, either..and went out of print)

[Grinder]

No. Jennifer is still writing for Shadowrun, and still working development on the Artifact series of adventures. But we needed someone full-time in the role, which was why Jennifer/myself/John Dunn handled things for a few months while Catalyst talked to and then formally interviewed various people for the job.

Thanks for the info - somehow I missed the part that Jennifer is doing the job only temporarily.

[Grinder]

Hong Kong: I'd love to see the Seattle 2072 treatment for Hong Kong, maybe a couple of other cities as well.

Hong Kong has been featured as one of the two main sprawls in Runner Havens

Gangs/Mobs/Crime - a new organised crime/criminals book starting at the bottom with street gangs and working up to the various OC outfits.

Look forward to Vice then. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[[jackal]]

I was honestly a little skeptical when I first saw that Shadowrun was getting a new line developer but Bull caught me up on a few things and I did some of my own research and now feel confident that the game is in good hands.

As for what I’d like to see in the game, I’d honestly like to see a book that is sort of a consolidation book, maybe something like Neo-A 2072 or something basically covering information similar to what was presented in Lone Star, Corporate Security Handbook, Neo Anarchist Guides, and Sprawl Sites. Obviously not the information that has already been covered in Runner’s Companion but basically more security options and tools for preventing people from getting in as well as ways around said security. Basically a book that is focused on the details of a runners daily life. Of course, it would need a nice crunchy selection of new equipment, drones, vehicles, and cyber just to keep things interesting.

[Larsine]

First: Congratulations Jason

Second: More books like SOTA, it's a great way to add new things a bit at the time. That way you can add some new spells, metamagic, weapons, vehicle, critters etc. without having to devote a whole book to one subject. More location books, but not dealing with a single location, more like Target: Awakened Lands, Target: Wastelands, Shadows of Europe, Shadows of Asia and Shadows of L....

Third: More time to proofread. After the deadline for proofreading Running Wild I've found so many errors it's embarrassing to have been a proofreader.

Lars

[ravensmuse]

Like someone said, more curveballs. Give us some State of the Art: 2072 books. Update Shadowbeat. Keep the art as fresh as it was in SR4A.

And I'll get killed for it, but let's hear what's going on with the dragons too. They've been too quiet lately.

[Athenor]

(Crossposted from SR4.com)


Congrats man!

On a purely rules side, I’d love to see some of the more advanced vehicular stuff. I know that 4th edition leans towards smaller, less world-shattering play, and I also realize that 2nd and 3rd edition rigging rules were incredibly complex. But damnit, Cyberpirates is one of my favorite books, both in fluff and in mechanics!

(Also did you know that between SR4A and Arsenal, there are only 2-3 T-birds? I checked, mostly because I wanted my players to have one but 300k was excessive for a starting running team!)

I can’t say I’ve been following the lore of 4th edition as closely as I have the earlier runs. I’m not sure why, to be honest. I guess what I’m missing right now is an “arch-villain.� Maybe he or she is out there, but my time learning Shadowrun was in the shadow of Deus and Ghostwalker (although he isn’t a villain, per se). These were the big movers and shakers, with Pax in the background and Villers being.. well.. Villers. From what I’ve seen in 4th, the stories are all more personal, all smaller. The intro to the 20th anniversary edition, for instance, focuses on the tragedy of one man. It’s -perfect-, but you could drop it into any other era of Shadowrun outside of the technomancer. I love that kind of thing, but again, I’m looking for bigger villains. Some AI has to step up to be the next Deus. Pax has to return somewhere. A dragon needs to get pissy. I’m still a bit saddened that we won’t see the end of the Yucatan war in print. All of that.. all of it is what makes Shadowrun special for me, when it comes to the scaling of the world. I miss that.

(Just try to stay away from Earthdawn if you can, eh? )

[Evilref]

Hong Kong has been featured as one of the two main sprawls in Runner Havens

And so was Seattle...

Look forward to Vice then. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

This is one of those issues I mentioned. For example - is Vice being worked on, if so when's it coming out, what stage is it at etc. Now I entirely understand a 'when it's done' mentality, but rpgs aren't MMOs/Computer games and it's not that hard to have a working schedule with deadlines for development, writing, art, edit, layout, proof, print, ship, delivery etc. Moreover, if you look at the Shadowrun website there's no hint of Vice there to be seen. You have to search through Dumpshock postings to get any clue of what might be coming up in the future. The website, as far as future books is concerned, is woefully out of date.

[Kumo]

Congratulations!

New version of "Shadowbeat" would be nice.
London, Berlin (err...Poland?... We have some ideas about our little noisy country, which could be useful...) - perhaps a new sourcebook for Europe? Maybe some part of "Dawn of Artifacts" or next campaign will take place in Old World?

[JM Hardy]

Thanks to everyone for the fine replies to this point! There's lots of great ideas in there, and plenty for me to think about. A few responses to things that were brought up:

* While CGL policy is to not give specific dates until a firm street date is known, I plan on providing updates on where products are and how they are progressing. Those will come here, through the Shadowrun4.com blog, and through Twitter using the Catalystgamelabs handle. I can tell you that Vice should hit the proofreading stage before long, so progress is being made.

* I unfortunately was not at DragonCon, so the nice person The Dragon Girl met was someone else.

* Adam and Jennifer will remain involved with CGL and SR in particular, for which I am very, very grateful.

Keep those thoughts and ideas coming--based on what I'm seeing so far, I think a lot of you will be pleased by some of the work in the pipeline!

Jason H.

[Penta]

Jason,

Congratilations.

Since you asked for opinions...I'll give some.(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

First: I'm a geek with a niche, but...more politics! Geopolitics in particular!

When SR has touched the subject recently, there haven't been any wallbangers (I've had ample disagreements with, say, Peter over things, but there was nothing that made me go "Who the hell wrote this?")....In fact, since SR3, it's increasingly become something that FanPro/CGL is very, very good at. I may disagree on where you go, but I can see clearly how you might get there.

Second: Readability. I love the writing of Shadowrun...when I'm not squinting to see it. I realize the tradeoffs that have to be made between PDF and print, but (perhaps this is my own visual difficulties coming into play) there are plenty of times I've wished for higher contrast. Often, it feels like Adam (or someone) went nuts on the background color, and they seem to wash out the text.