Pramas
Explorer
[Reposted from www.greenronin.com]
First let me say happy New Year from everyone at Green Ronin. 2003 was a pretty exciting year for us, but rather than dwell on that I'd like instead to look at the year ahead.
If I could sum up 2004 in one word it would be diversity. This partly reflects my own gaming proclivities (I play and enjoy RPGs, card games, board games, war games, minis games, etc.) and partly reflects the current game market.
We have been known as a "d20 company" and we are of course proud of daring to take a chance on d20 while others took a wait and see attitude. We were also one of the first companies to do OGL products, proving you can have a hit like Mutants & Masterminds without using the d20 license. In the coming year you will see books that take both approaches. We'll be publishing the Advanced d20 Rulebooks and continuing to support our established d20 lines, but we'll also be experimenting more with the OGL. This summer, for instance, we'll be launching the Blue Rose RPG. This is an OGL game of "Romantic Fantasy" that is solidly based on the d20 core rules but uses the Mutants & Masterminds damage mechanic.
Speaking of Mutants & Masterminds, it will receive increased support in 2004. The M&M Annual should be heading to print shortly, and the Nocturnals book will follow soon thereafter. In May Steve Kenson and Steven E. Schend delve deeper into Freedom City with Foes of Freedom, a villain book for the ENnie Award-winning campaign setting. We also have a special product in the works for San Diego Comic Con and an M&M sourcebook being written by Mike Mearls. You should also see many M&M Superlink products by other publishers, so this year should be a great one for supers fans.
We'll be rounding out our roleplaying lines with several licensed game books. In addition to the Nocturnals, we've already announced an agreement with Archangel Studios to do a d20 campaign setting book based on their amazing Red Star comic. We also recently inked a deal for a literary license that is very exciting. This is a series of fantasy novels I started reading in 1984, and I couldn't be happier to be bringing the setting into the RPG world. Look for an official announcement later this month.
The licenses point to another key for Green Ronin's 2004: partnerships. We made a deal in 2003 to publish books by the Game Mechanics, and that has been great for both companies. They have provided us with excellent books and have allowed us to develop a robust line of d20 Modern support. Don't be surprised to see us announcing more partnerships and licenses as the year goes by.
All of which leads to the last part of our 2004 plans, board and card games. We did our first non-RPG product, Torches & Pitchforks, last October, and it has gone over very well indeed. As I mentioned above, I love games of all sorts, so it makes perfect sense for us to expand our horizons. If all goes well you'll see a Green Ronin board game this year, and hopefully another card game, too.
As you can see, we have some pretty ambitious plans for this year. We always do our best to publish games of the highest quality and we hope they've given you endless hours of fun. We deeply appreciate all the support you've given us over the years. We know that ultimately we wouldn't be here if you, the gamers, didn't trust the Green Ronin logo. And if you like what we do, there's an easy way to show it. Go to your local retailer and tell them what books of ours you'd like them to stock. I know that may sound funny. When I was a young gamer in the early 80s, it never occurred to me to do such a thing. I just assumed that if I went to a game store, they'd carry everything. Well, those days are long gone. There are a huge number of new game products, and especially d20 books, coming out each month. Retailers have to pick and choose which companies and products to support. If you let your local store know that you are a part of the "GR Army," it sends all the right signals.
Thanks again for all your support. We hope you stay with us in 2004. This is going to be a good one!
First let me say happy New Year from everyone at Green Ronin. 2003 was a pretty exciting year for us, but rather than dwell on that I'd like instead to look at the year ahead.
If I could sum up 2004 in one word it would be diversity. This partly reflects my own gaming proclivities (I play and enjoy RPGs, card games, board games, war games, minis games, etc.) and partly reflects the current game market.
We have been known as a "d20 company" and we are of course proud of daring to take a chance on d20 while others took a wait and see attitude. We were also one of the first companies to do OGL products, proving you can have a hit like Mutants & Masterminds without using the d20 license. In the coming year you will see books that take both approaches. We'll be publishing the Advanced d20 Rulebooks and continuing to support our established d20 lines, but we'll also be experimenting more with the OGL. This summer, for instance, we'll be launching the Blue Rose RPG. This is an OGL game of "Romantic Fantasy" that is solidly based on the d20 core rules but uses the Mutants & Masterminds damage mechanic.
Speaking of Mutants & Masterminds, it will receive increased support in 2004. The M&M Annual should be heading to print shortly, and the Nocturnals book will follow soon thereafter. In May Steve Kenson and Steven E. Schend delve deeper into Freedom City with Foes of Freedom, a villain book for the ENnie Award-winning campaign setting. We also have a special product in the works for San Diego Comic Con and an M&M sourcebook being written by Mike Mearls. You should also see many M&M Superlink products by other publishers, so this year should be a great one for supers fans.
We'll be rounding out our roleplaying lines with several licensed game books. In addition to the Nocturnals, we've already announced an agreement with Archangel Studios to do a d20 campaign setting book based on their amazing Red Star comic. We also recently inked a deal for a literary license that is very exciting. This is a series of fantasy novels I started reading in 1984, and I couldn't be happier to be bringing the setting into the RPG world. Look for an official announcement later this month.
The licenses point to another key for Green Ronin's 2004: partnerships. We made a deal in 2003 to publish books by the Game Mechanics, and that has been great for both companies. They have provided us with excellent books and have allowed us to develop a robust line of d20 Modern support. Don't be surprised to see us announcing more partnerships and licenses as the year goes by.
All of which leads to the last part of our 2004 plans, board and card games. We did our first non-RPG product, Torches & Pitchforks, last October, and it has gone over very well indeed. As I mentioned above, I love games of all sorts, so it makes perfect sense for us to expand our horizons. If all goes well you'll see a Green Ronin board game this year, and hopefully another card game, too.
As you can see, we have some pretty ambitious plans for this year. We always do our best to publish games of the highest quality and we hope they've given you endless hours of fun. We deeply appreciate all the support you've given us over the years. We know that ultimately we wouldn't be here if you, the gamers, didn't trust the Green Ronin logo. And if you like what we do, there's an easy way to show it. Go to your local retailer and tell them what books of ours you'd like them to stock. I know that may sound funny. When I was a young gamer in the early 80s, it never occurred to me to do such a thing. I just assumed that if I went to a game store, they'd carry everything. Well, those days are long gone. There are a huge number of new game products, and especially d20 books, coming out each month. Retailers have to pick and choose which companies and products to support. If you let your local store know that you are a part of the "GR Army," it sends all the right signals.
Thanks again for all your support. We hope you stay with us in 2004. This is going to be a good one!
