Phew...lots o' readin'
Hi Joe. *insert obligatory praise here* blah-blah-blah
I'll echo the praise and frustrations with the MT system, and give a neutral pass on the Rebellion. Our group, believe it or not, didn't see much space combat as we saw fire fights. And a quantification of skills via the TASK SYSTEM was a definate must have. Our group mucho appreciated this, as well as the hits-verse-penetration deal, which was another absoloute must for our favorite game system.
You wrote something in your first response that I'd like to comment on before you leave.
Originally posted by Joe Fugate:
Another reason is the vast adventure possiblities in the game. Its background is compelling with the level of detail it has achieved, and its a refreshing change from more Star Trek or Star Wars.
And speaking of Hollywood, I think the Traveller genre is a great undiscovered third major SF storyline people would stand in line to watch on the big screen. If the producers of SF movies wanted to discover the next Star Wars, I think this is it. Oh well, dream on.
Traveller was a nice break/abstraction from everyday sci-fi offerings for our group. As a young teenager I often thought the Traveller universe would've made a great setting for a flick of any sort, provided the production values were sufficient to tell a story (no flying saucers hanging from fishing line as an example).
In the last fifteen years the blockbuster model for the motion picture industry has really held audiences, and specifically American audiences, to a whole swath of B-grade SFX extravaganzas. And when I was PA-ing, gripping, stage manageing, etc. back in the mid 90's I often feared that someone (maybe the same guy who sold and/or produced the ill-fated D&D movie) would get MWM to sign his soul to Hollywood, and crank out another sub-par flick. Yet at the same time I really wanted to see a Traveller movie, and, if possible, be part of it.
That never happened, and never will (or at least I won't be part of the effort), and upon reflection I think this may be a good thing in the long run, but dissapointing news for Traveller fans.
Hollywood's psychology is not that of pre-1973 studios, where studio heads were essentially running the show, knew what it took to make a good film, and invested talented folks and other resources to make those films and keep the businesses alive. Nowadays it's all test-market driven stuff. According to the market data most of the movie going public are teenage boys, so the mindset is to make movies that appeal to teenage boys. So what you have is this whole slew of second rate pictures with lots of action, lots of FX, lots of 20-something babes in skin tight costumes, running, jumping, shooting, and shouting witty dialogue as they do some "feat." The idea being that this is really what teenage boys (and what they take their dates to) really want to see, so it's manufactured and put on screens across the nation and globe.
D&D had the benefit of having access to a large fantasy market. Sci-fi, as exciting as it can be for mainstream audiences, is still a niche audience when all is said and done, so any sci-fi property is usually an original creation (from serialized Flash Gordon installments to the Phantom Menace). Meaning that Traveller, because of its small, however loyal, dedicated fan base is, will probably never see frame one unless a really good story comes along that can be demonstrated to recoup studio expenses. And currently the blockbuster business model is keeping such ventures at bay.
I heard Robert Redford speak last week about Sundance and the industry in general; his observation being that the studios still think blockbusters are good business, despite what's happening to the ever shrinking movie going public. So, were a Traveller picture ever to get green lighted, it probably wouldn't be called Traveller (or rather the studio in question would buy the rights to the property to produce it, but then shelve the name, and take the core concept of Traveller to make a picture from which they would refuse to pay royalties; all because it wouldn't be a "Traveller" picture that got produced in the end). It would probably be called something like "War in Space" or "Oblivion" or some other tantilizing title, and have a group of people flying around in a Traveller like ship (though redesigned to look different), who go around looking for jobs and/or action, and getting into the occasional fire fight.
And so it goes. That's a pretty cynical view point, but of all the jobs I've ever had, working in films was the only time I felt I really had to look out for myself in terms of not getting screwed over (which happened anyway). And this is from a guy who worked in marketing and also did video depositions for lawyers.
It's not always the studio's fault. When George Lucas embarked on his Star Wars project he initially wanted make the films using the Flash Gordon license, but King Features (reportidly not a very generous company on any footing) wanted some outrageous price for the license, and so Lucas had to go create his own set of characters and circumstances. And that's not an unfamiliar story, though I use Lucas's example because that's the one that's probably most pertinent to this thread. Despite the Van Helsings, Elektras, Starship Troopers, and all the rest, Traveller, by comparison, is a niche market of a niche market, or a niche market. That is unlike the other big sci-fi/fantasy franchises out there, however rich Traveller is in terms of content, it's a subeset of a gaming genre, which itself is a subset of another gaming market, which itself is a subset of the sci-fi venue. From what I saw at the gaming stores last year and the year before RPGs seemed to be making a resounding comeback, but even then the books don't move like best sellers. And that's what the studios want.
I don't know if any of that makes any sense to you, but to me those are the reasons why a Traveller picture would be difficult to produce. Not impossible, but a hard sell all the same.
Like yourself I'm pretty much through with Traveller as a game (though I have purchased the reprints to fill gaps in my collection), and just gaming in general, but I had oodles of fun reading your work and that of other Traveller authors, and exploring the Traveller realm of reality. Those are very previous memories for myself. I'll treasure them always.
Anyways, some great insights, Joe. I'm not a big game-designer wannabe (I prefer the fiction in games more than the actual gaming content), but it was interesting to read your thoughts as expressed here, and like others I appreciate it.
When we all pass from this Earth maybe we can all meet in MWM's 3I in the hereafter
This way we'll be able to play Traveller for real.
p.s. I really dig the half submerged scout ship sketch from the referee's screen
If that was you guys, then thumbs up!
