After reading over the rpg I think its very absorbing and very much like the way it's written. If you're new to role-playing it reads without making one feel like they will never catch on, and if your more familiar to role play it keeps your interest and gets you reading even the bits you might allready know.That quote is attributed to Bruce Wells of Niberu.org. Who is Bruce Wells and what's a Niberu? A little Googling revealed that Niberu is Mr. Wells's band. Further Googling also revealed that he is an illustrator and cover artist for Immanion Press, publisher (if indeed it gets published) of the Wraeththu RPG. What gives? Does no one outside the staff of the publisher have anything good to say about the manuscript? Given my report from yesterday, is there actually a manuscript for Mr. Wells to comment on? Shouldn't Mr. Wells's close ties with the publisher be disclosed near his endorsement? The whole thing looks dicey to me.
I discovered Mr. Wells's attachment to the publisher via a googled link to the Immanion Press staff page. Very interesting stuff there, including an impressive array of hot chicks. Gabby2600's picture shows him wearing a kitten T-shirt and wielding a kukri, the traditional machete of the gurkhas. I wonder if there are any equally ridiculous pictures of me somewhere on the internet? Probably. The staff page also revealed that gabby has a co-writer for the RPG, a Ms. Lydia Wood. The link from the staff page to her website led me further to her livejournal. From what I glean of her blogging, it seems that she is letting gabby do most of the RPG writing while she works on some Harry Potter slash fanfic! Okay, that's not a totally fair assessment of the situation. She's also OCRing Storm Constantine novels for reprint by Immanion Press, working on arrangements for DragonCon (where there's a big Constantine sub-con), and obsessing over David Bowie. Both her and gabby seem to have too many irons in the fire. I can't help but suspect that getting an RPG to print, especially a first-time project like this, requires way more fanatical obsession than they can spare right now. I could be wrong. They may be hyper-energetic people. They may do well when they are forced to cram at the last minute. Maybe their publishing experience gives them a leg up over others in a similar situation. If I were a betting man, I'd be torn between putting my money down on 'vaporware' or 'final product reads like a book report written ten minutes before class'.
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Storm Constantine, Gabriel Strange and Lydia Wood have all worked hard on the project and are creating an immersive, detailed world. The Wraeththu rpg game has taken 3 years to write and is nothing like 'a book report written ten minutes before class'.
ReplyDeleteIn October of 2003 Immanion Press was looking for an artists to illustrate the RPG. I was picked for two reasons, 1. because I am a fan of Storms work especially the Wraeththu series and 2. Because my art fits the scope and mood of the project. Those are the reasons Im involved with this project despite your suspicions.
Reexamining Storms books and creating images from her descriptions has been no small task. The eight distinctly different tribes have been a challenge to render as have the backdrops, cultural clothing, weapons and cityscapes that define the post apocalyptic world or Wraeththu. Another challenge has been that the Wraeththu are androgynous creatures. Gender neutral figures are a balancing act to draw, but nonetheless one that pushes my imagination to another level.
Speaking to your statement regarding the manuscript. Yes, I have read it and receive the updated and edited versions as they are completed. Its important that I know what Im illustrating inside and out and that my work fits into context there.
See: http://www.immanionpress.wox.org/storm/home.htm Under Downloads for sample PDF file of the game.
In addition to being an artist I also create music. 'What's a Niberu?' Niberu is my hybrid project mixing electronica, progressive metal and ambient sound spaces. I've written and released 3 albums to date and am currently recording my fourth album. Feel free to examine my site: www.niberu.org for more details and new updates on myself and my work. Art and music are two of my passions in life.
As to the comments about Immanion Press having too many irons in the fire, I have to say that they have been an indy publishing house for over a year, continued to publish new and established authors, toured the globe to promote their 30 plus books and find perverse pleasure in irritating critics.
Bruce Wells - niberu.org
Great article! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for interesting article.
ReplyDeleteExcellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will bookmark!
ReplyDelete