Marc W Miller Interview June 27th, 2022

[Dragoner]

Marc Miller Interview & Transcript - Luke Gearing

Below is an edited transcript of the conversation I had with Marc Miller. The edits mostly cut out interstitial material and are for clarity. This

lukegearing.blot.im

 

[Grav_Moped]

Thanks for the link!

 

[Garnfellow]

Great interview. I love this bit:

[This] hobby of tabletop games . . . it’s just about the best hobby in the world. I mean it’s affordable, it creates relationships with people that last a lifetime, it’s enjoyable, it challenges your mind and it’s a hidden secret because not enough people understand how much fun this can be or how much fun this is.

 

[Dragoner]

It is a great interview, Marc proves he is a great person as well as a great game designer.

 

[Ildefonse]

Very nice, thanks for the tip: always great to hear from Marc, especially about the origins of Traveller.

 

[bookwyrm]

after reading the interview, I feel that I have a better understanding of the Traveller Universe as a whole. I really enjoyed the history of Traveller and how it has changed and grown over the years. and being able to 'see' his and others thoughts of how they see Traveller has helped me to see the game in a new light, which is a very refreshing thing.

 

[aramis]

It's interesting to note that En Garde! was intended to be "Generate PCs, play them one evening, then move on to new ones next session." And Classic Traveller, 2 years later, seems well suited for that mode. An adventure or two and on to new characters...

 

[mike wightman]

After a couple of adventures most of my players were up to their second character anyway...

 

[Grav_Moped]

It's interesting to note that En Garde! was intended to be "Generate PCs, play them one evening, then move on to new ones next session." And Classic Traveller, 2 years later, seems well suited for that mode. An adventure or two and on to new characters...

Very much a wargame mindset, with the PC being a customized unit figurine/counter. Not surprising given where they (and to be fair, all of the RPG writers at the time) came from.

 

[Condottiere]

A movie experience, compared to watching a television series.

 

[Ildefonse]

Or very much after the pulps, too: episodic, with not necessarily much character growth/progression, as character development.

 

[Condottiere]

As I recall the pulpish experience, the characters were established protagonists, with backstories that somehow connected the plots.

 

[Ildefonse]

Yes, and I guess the point with respect to Traveller is that there's not much in the way of "progressing" (in terms of skills or attributes) in the pulps (e.g., Dumarest raising his Blade skill from 5 to 6) as there is the continued development of his "character", defined by where he's been, what he's overcome and what he's lost or gained (in terms of knowledge, power, companions, items, etc.).

 

[Dragoner]

+6 vs unarmored targets w/autorifle would make quick work of most everyone, social finagling vs combat had to be the thing

 

[robject]

after reading the interview, I feel that I have a better understanding of the Traveller Universe as a whole. I really enjoyed the history of Traveller and how it has changed and grown over the years. and being able to 'see' his and others thoughts of how they see Traveller has helped me to see the game in a new light, which is a very refreshing thing.

Marc's book, Agent of the Imperium, also reveals a bit about how he thinks of the Traveller universe.

 

[bookwyrm]

I read AotI. I really liked seeing the unfolding of the Third Imperium through the eyes of a 'time jumper' from a first, second, and third person perspectives.

the Wafer technology was kind of creepy and interesting at the same time, and Mr. Miller did a great job with the plot and flow of the story. I also liked being able to track where the Agent travelled on Traveller Map.

in a way, I kind of would be interested in a sequel, following the Agent further into the Traveller Timeline.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Yes, and I guess the point with respect to Traveller is that there's not much in the way of "progressing" (in terms of skills or attributes) in the pulps (e.g., Dumarest raising his Blade skill from 5 to 6) as there is the continued development of his "character", defined by where he's been, what he's overcome and what he's lost or gained (in terms of knowledge, power, companions, items, etc.).

It's also plausible, for what that's worth.

But personal growth isn't really provided for in the rules. I'm not sure how it could have been at the time, and think it would be difficult to do even in the current world of RPGs. Additional stats for maturity, sanity, introversion/extroversion, empathy, accumulated emotional trauma, and so on? Of course the optimal mental state (in an in-game min-max sense) for a PC may not be a well-balanced individual in an objective sense.

 

[MyndkryM]

And there is another interview that was posted today.

 

[Ildefonse]

It's also plausible, for what that's worth.

But personal growth isn't really provided for in the rules. I'm not sure how it could have been at the time, and think it would be difficult to do even in the current world of RPGs. Additional stats for maturity, sanity, introversion/extroversion, empathy, accumulated emotional trauma, and so on? Of course the optimal mental state (in an in-game min-max sense) for a PC may not be a well-balanced individual in an objective sense.

Yeah, I see no reason for anything in that second paragraph to be anything other than just "the game unfolding".

 

[Grav_Moped]

And there is another interview that was posted today.

Interesting remark -- that Marc thinks the original game could have used conflict resolution rules.
T5 now has them in the form of the Personals rules.

I also had no idea that "Kinunir" was pronounced "Kih-nyu-near" (I thought it was "Kinoo-near").