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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SurgicalSteel" data-source="post: 5173916" data-attributes="member: 5611">For me at least, the frustration stems from the following:We are told the Teeth of Barkash Nour is about to be published, that the next installment of of CZ is on track.  Then we are told a new agreement has been inked with Mongoose, and...nothing.We go to Gygax Games webpage and read:"Hang tight folks we have something good in the works!"and we have more than a year of silence.Virtually everything you have said here is very disappointing.But I thank you for it nonetheless, because at least we now have the truth, which is: we should expect nothing for the time being, and it is possible we will never see any more of Gary's work, ever again.I don't think any reasonable person would object to a widow honoring her deceased husband.  I think that's something we can all agree is a good thing.What I find deeply troubling is, here is what I am hearing: "Gail's preferred outcome for Gary's properties is: the LA system and all associated works be published (ostensibly by Mongoose) making a significant profit, and upon this foundation, the licensing and production of a CRPG based on the LA license into the electronic entertainment market."That is one hell of a mountain to choose to climb.  Lets start with the system.  The more I read and think about this, I get the sense this is why Gail broke things off with the Trolls: the LA system and Gary's frustration with the Trolls.  Here's the problem: from the moment of D&D's inception, it has always been on top; its supremacy unchallenged.  Only one game came close to challenging it: White Wolf's WoD, which managed to outsell D&D for a single month back in the early 90s.  WoD is a radically different game, and achieved its success in large part by bringing new people into roleplaying.Now consider this.  The architect of the system is no longer with us.  Unless someone picks up the reins, LA is a bona fide dead system.  Who is going to be interested in a system that is "finished"?  There will be some who are actually attracted by this.  But not many.  For most, assurance that their system will continue to grow is a good thing.Now lets say, in spite of all this, GG launches LA, and it meets/exceeds expectations.  Now comes the CRPG part.  First, consider that Gary tried for a very long time to make this happen.  Now examine the CRPG marketplace.  Lets first consider Bioware/EA.  Considered by some the best makers CRPGs in the world, they in the past made AD&D and Star Wars games.  They have since dumped both properties and replaced them with their own in-house developed RPG properties: Dragon Age and Mass Effect.  Dragon Age is now being published as a PnP game, competing with D&D.  True, those paying attention know that since Bioware was acquired by EA in a nearly billion dollar deal, they are working on Star Wars again, but this occurred only because of the purchase with a specific goal: replace World of Warcraft with a Star Wars MMO as the #1 money making property in all of electronic gaming.  Aside from Bioware, the only major maker of single player CRPGs is Bethesda.  Once again, Bethesda owns the property they are developing, whether its Fallout or the Elder Scrolls.  In Japan, we also have Square with Final Fantasy.  Again, the publisher owns the property.Then consider MMOs.  The number one is WoW.  Again, owned by the publisher/developer.  Are there MMOs based on licenses?  Definitely:  Lord of the Rings, Eberron/D&D, Final Fantasy, and Age of Conan.  And a WoD MMORPG is in the works.  Aside from those, we see again, a number of properties that are owned by the developer/publisher.  And notice, all of those licensed properties have very strong settings.In short, this is what Lejendary Adventures is up against: -Star Wars -Lord of the Rings-Final Fantasy-Dungeons and Dragons/Eberron (a FREE mmorpg no less)-World of DarknessAnd these companies are fighting for WoW's scraps.Yes, it can be done.  Its true: that mountain can be climbed, just as anything else can be done.  But that is dependent on determination, on having plan or path, and on someone doing the work to reach that goal.  And the architect is no longer with us.  So who is going to do it?If I have assessed matters correctly, and the above formulated mission statement is generally accurate, that means one thing: Gygax Games is dead and done.  And that is truly disheartening.  I devoutly hope I am wrong, and I would love to be proven wrong.  But I am trying to deal with the facts as they are.There are plenty of people (me among them) who would pay good money to see the notes to CZ/Greyhawk Castle, even raw, with Greyhawk trademarks expurgated with a Sharpie.  And there are several independent mechanisms that can be used to raise money and gauge interest, whether a ransom model of fundraising, a Patronage project like Baur does, or a Fundable, like Arc Dream did with Targets of Opportunity.What I am really feeling here is a lack of will to make this happen.  What makes CZ more of a sore point is how badly the whole thing has been treated over the years.  The way people abandoned the project, the way it has been kicked around.  And now its happening yet again.You know, one of the best things about reading the Upper Works is hearing Gary afresh, his "Gygaxian prose", his irreverent wit, and groan inducing punnery.  I have no doubt Gail will create a fitting memorial of her husband, but it bears noting, the work Gary leaves behind will be significant part of his legacy as well.Especially when one considers the nature of the roleplaying game, after a group finishes a classic module that Gary wrote, the DM can tell his players about Gary, the founder of the hobby.  I can't think of a better way for Gary to live on than in the stories that he told through the things he wrote.Thats more of a legacy than most people ever leave.</blockquote>

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