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

[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.
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.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...
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.
It's also plausible, for what that's worth.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.).
Yeah, I see no reason for anything in that second paragraph to be anything other than just "the game unfolding".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.
Interesting remark -- that Marc thinks the original game could have used conflict resolution rules.And there is another interview that was posted today.