So another
interview with Rick Priestly has shown up.
I hope he feels good knowing that he
inspired an interest in sci-fi and fantasy for hundreds of thousands of people
over the years. The concepts that
himself, Bryan Ansell and Richard Halliwell came up with inspired a gaming
generation and I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that much of
the current plethora of sci-fi miniature companies and kickstarters can
ultimately be sourced back to the inspiration their brilliant rules spawned in the 1980s.
I can well remember the Christmas of 1987
when I received a copy of Warhammer 3rd Edition (for the princely sum
of £14.99), which still sits on my shelf 28 years later. Quality.
This
interview was different because previously Rick has contained himself to not
talking much about Games Workshop and Warhammer – perhaps there was a clause
where he could not speak about them. Or
perhaps, just as likely, it does not exactly look good for one of the Warhammer
creators to start bad mouthing his former employers, and games which he was
responsible for, when he wants to develop more games and potentially have
working relationships with others in the industry. So he just did what he does best, moved on and focused
on getting creative with
However there is a hint of what must really be felt, most telling in the line, when
referring to Beyond the Gate of Antares
“It’s a game with a future, which I don’t think 40K is.”
Ouch!
I am not sure I can agree with this one. I have been interested in Warhammer for
nearly 30 years and I fully expect it to be here in another 30. The games may be completely different but the
fluff will live on and is a very valuable setting. Games Workshop is ripe for
being picked up by another company someday.
Maybe in ten years – but some day.
There is a myriad of ways which 40K can expand and change and I think
that the new Specialist Games division can be part of that, along with Forge
World. The 40K miniature universe has already
expanded with the 30K Horus Heresy fluff and figures being huge. This is a future for the 40K universe which
ten years ago did not exist. So in 20
years who know what new will be on the shelf.
The second thing, and a slight conundrum is his sentiment,
echoed by many today, that Games Workshop has set it out as a company for
miniatures collectors first, gamers second.
They are clear that they are a miniatures company, not a games company
(despite the name!). In consequence the
rules are no longer the focus.
But it has always been the case that GW was a miniatures
company. The whole concept of Warhammer,
as Rick explains, was to sell more figures.
“Bryan told us: ‘We need a game to sell more
toy soldiers, get on with it.’ He’s like that,” Priestley said.
The current rules may not be as strong as they could be according
to the (21 year old) Grognards, but the premise of drawing people in to play a
game with miniatures is still central to their business model, and central to
them selling models. If after 6-7 years
people come to the conclusion the game is no good, it does not really matter after
they have bought six armies. Games
Workshop has a large ‘churn’ of people, pulling in 10-12 years olds and then
losing them by 18-21.
It relies on this, but it is the fact that the game exists at all which is important to
pulling in new young players and future collectors, not whether it is any good. Warhammer is a bit of a drug – you will try
and wean yourself off but always come back for more, even if it is years
between ‘hits’.
The Warhammer 40K universe was a brilliant
concept, as was the fantasy Old World (before they blew it up). I hope Rick is rightly proud of it all, it
has given me much enjoyment.
And if he
wants to send me a free review copy of
Beyond the Gates of Antares then that would be great :-D.
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