Hey there FASA fans,
For those of you following us on Twitter and Facebook, you will already be aware that Andrew has decided to leave us. We all wish him the best. Even outside of work at FASA, I am proud to call him a very good personal friend, and as long as I’ve known him, the work he has done has been inspirational to me.
With that said, I am stepping in to take up the position of Line Developer for 1879.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been working on the line since back before we had even started developing CoreStep for use outside of EarthDawn. I’ve done a fair amount of creative writing for the line, and a LOT of math, though most of my work has been on the mechanics end of things. I’ve also been running demos at GenCon since the first year we did them, so you may have met me in person at one of those.
I’m sure the burning question is, “What does this mean for the game?”
In short, a lot of things! Not all of which I know the full details for certain just yet.
What I can tell you is that our first priority is getting the GM’s and Player’s Companions wrapped up and out in your hands, and we are making good progress in that regard. The writing and compilation for them both have been complete for a long time, and we are getting them through layout now. I have already looked over an initial layout of the GM’s Companion, and we are expecting the Player’s to be back to us soon (hopefully by the time this post gets published). Once necessary tweaks are made there, we will get a Kickstarter rolling!
Where we go from there is what our current discussions are on. We have TONS of material already written. What do we use first? Where do we need to fill in the gaps? What do we want to start from scratch? All of these are, as of this point, still being deliberated. What I can tell you is this: I want the focus to be on fun. What we are making is a game for people like you to sit down with your friends to play, escape reality for a little while, and write your own adventures in our world. This is where you come in.
I want to hear from you, the fans, about what you want out of the game. What have you enjoyed and want to see more of? What do you think is missing? What aspects are your favorites? We design the stage, but all of you are the players that act on it, and without you none of this would be possible. Leave your notes in the comments below, join us on Discord, or shoot me an email directly if you like. I may not always be able to respond to everyone right away (time zones are a thing, and I do still have a day job), but I will address everything sent my way as quickly as I can. I do also plan to set up some hours on voice in Discord as soon as my schedule allows, so keep an eye out for announcements on those.
Lastly, I want to give a big thank you to everyone that has come along on the journey with us in getting 1879 to where it is today. Whether you’ve been with us since the very beginning, or if you’re a new face popping in to say “What’s all this then?”, no game can survive without its fans, and from what I’ve seen, fans of FASA are some of the best in the industry. I also have to thank you in advance for bearing with us for a bit while we transition; I know we’re going to come through it on the other side with a great big new horizon of exciting things to come.
Stay Safe Everyone, and Happy Gaming!
Brad Decker
Line Developer, 1879