Looking Into the Future (A timetable… of sorts)
We’ve been getting a big spate of inquiries lately about the Dresden Files RPG and its release date. While we’ve tried to rest solely on the phrase “Coming Soon!” I want to take a few minutes to drill front and center to why the game’s release date — far as we’re concerned — is “It Will Be Finished When It’s Done”. Here’s a sampling of the reasons…
Reason #1: Takes a While for the Radiation to Calm Down
Back when we first got the license for the game, we had a completely different idea of where to take Fate 3.0, the system we’re basing the Dresden Files RPG on. We put together a local campaign or two, ran our ideas through the paces, and took a look at what the result was.
It was garbage. Seriously — this was not a game we were going to be proud of, and it wasn’t going to produce the kind of fun we wanted it to produce at the table.
So we nuked it all from orbit and started over.
This was a hard decision — hard on us because there was a lot of effort we had to toss, and hard on you, the fans, because it has pushed out the release of the game by, well, an awful lot. For this, we apologize, but we’d also like to ask for your trust here … we’re doing it to make a better game, the game we want, and hopefully, the game you will want.
As a part of this process, we also produced our game — which has turned out to be quite a success, including an Ennies nomination for Best Rules — called Spirit of the Century. This was the sort of fun we wanted at the table for the core system, Fate 3.0, and based on the feedback we’ve gotten from folks since that game was released nine months ago, we got it right. Since then we’ve been working on figuring out how to alter the Dresden Files RPG specific parts of the system to give us that feel of crazy danger permeating the novels.
It’s quite a ride. It’s quite a long ride, yes… but a good one, too.
Reason #2: We’re Frickin’ Cursed, Here!
Every time we’ve stated an actual release date for the game, we’ve missed it — by a lot. This has made us pretty paranoid about talking about release dates at all over here at Evil Hat. We don’t want the game to get hit by any more entropy curses than it already has. So we draw a circle of obscurity around the date! None shall pass!
Reason #3: You Can’t Predict What Playtesting Will Do
We’re hoping to start assembling “blind” playtest groups sometime (shortly?) after GenCon. Once that ball gets rolling, there’s no telling how long it’ll roll before we’ve gotten all we need to out of the process. And on top of that, there’s some writing yet to be done that simply can’t be done until the playtesting process is over. So in a very practical sense, there’s no way for us to conduct an “honest” playtest to the extent we think we need to and be able to state an honest release date at the same time. Each would cause the other to suffer.
On that playtesting note, we’ll be putting up an announcement here, on this blog hopefully within the next month outlining the playtest sign-up process. We’re likely to do the playtest thing in batches, selecting 2 to 4 groups at a time based on certain criteria (in signing up, there will be a questionnaire to answer) — things like play experience, familiarity with Spirit of the Century, group size, frequency of play, and so forth. We’re likely to want folks from both ends of any particular spectrum, at some point in the process — small groups and big groups, inexperienced and veteran, familiar and unfamiliar. Depending on the amount of response we get to the program (and based on the inquiries, I’m betting it won’t be small) we probably won’t be able to get everyone to playtest, but we do hope to make it a pretty sizeable endeavor.
But in the meantime, we’ve been running ragged over at Evil Hat to do the Summer Convention trifecta — Origins, DexCon, and GenCon — in support of our two current products, Spirit of the Century and Don’t Rest Your Head. Evil Hat Productions is a part of the Forge Booth, so you can drop on by at most times during GenCon’s four days, in the dealer’s hall near the “quiet area”, and look us up (when you get there just ask for the “Evil Hat guys” — most folks will be able to point you our way). We’ll also be attending the Ennies award ceremony Friday evening. As a fundraiser for the Ennies, they’ve put up a seat at our table for auction — so if you’re that particular kind of fanatic, and want to grill us about the Dresden Files RPG in person, consider placing a bid!
Hopefully this post has given folks a bit more of an insight into where we’re at with the game’s release date, and why the delays have been what they’ve been. We know it’s been a long time, and it’s going to be more time yet — but we think in the end y’all will be happy with what the time investment has done for us.
Do you plan to run any Spirit of the Century games or have a booth at Atlanta’s Dragon*Con this year?
Hey guys. Glad to hear that you are actually trying to put out a game that will be easy to use and a joy to play. What I would like to know is,
(Patience silence) Will you guys be coming to Dragon*Con this year?
Sadly, we just don’t have the room in our time or monetary budget to do another convention this year — GenCon will be the last of it.
You will be missed at Dragon Con. Missed by the fans, missed by the hot Atlanta chicks in skin tight and barely there costumes, missed by the drunken stubling fans in the hotel at 3am with SAS(Souhtern Anger Syndrome).
I am not going to try to boost my rpg cred with a lot of name dropping here, nor will I pester you about when the signing up will begin. I’m just gonna say…Uber!
Okay.. Now?
now?
How about now?
Signup now?
………..
How about now?
now?
okay, I guess I just wait for, NOW?!
It’s gotta be hard to completely scrap your work so that you can rethink a game system. It takes a lot of guts. Glad to see you make the hard choices for the betterment of the game.
I’m willing to what, that way I wont have to kick your butts for getting it wrong.
er um wait, well you get my point
i’ll be at gencon, and will probably stop by and say hi.
i’m looking forward to this game. i’m not familiar with the fate system, so i’ll be interested to find out more about it, and maybe pick up a copy of spirit of the century if you have ‘em.
My only real question at this point is… What area(s) of the country are you going to be looking for playtesters in?
I know I’m probably out of luck on this one, being in the armpit of nowhere (Wyoming) but I figure it’s worth asking for anyone who wants to know…
And as an aspiring rpg maker, I can only say – Best of luck boys, and I’m rooting for you.
If I can ever get anything remotely near finalized I’ll send a copy your way
Tricky
Thank you for wanting to make a great Dresden Files
RPG. This will be the first my first game but I know it will be a since it will be a part of the Dresden Files. I am willing to wait.
Jackie
And what about a playtesting group a little outside USA’s borders, like say… for example… Barcelona, in Spain?
We’re fans of Mr. Butcher’s novels (we’ve had to read them in english since the only one translated to spanish is the first one, Storm Front) and we really like roleplaying (in fact one of our group runs a local rpg’s ,and the like, store).
Selenio
We’re not focusing on any one specific playtest area (except maybe Baltimore, but that’s within our local grasp).
Woot! Baltimore here!
Can’t wait guys. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; “When it’s done” has always worked for Blizzard. It took a couple of releases, but fans have finally realized that it may take a while, but they always release excellent products (computer games).
Another is, of course, “measure twice, cut once”. Anyway, it works, and I’m sure we’ll be glad you took the time to measure again. Thanks!
If SoTC was what you got after nuking – then well nuked, Evil Haberdashers, well nuked indeed!
And I’m one of untold zillions dying to get in on the playtest. Since I found SoTC and loved it, I became curious about the Dresden Files. I just finished _White Night_, I’ve only got a couple of episodes of the show left to watch, and can’t wait to play the RPG! You’ve created a houseful of Dresden fans. I hope his fantasy books are half that good.
His fantasy books ARE that good too.
My regular gaming group plays in the Seattle area and each of us has over 25 years of role playing experience. One of us has GM’d SoTC at our local conventions, and most of the rest of us have played in his scenarios. Most of the group have also acted as playtesters for several RPG systems in the past. There is a good chance we might want to use the Dresden RPG for our big event that we run next year in August at our local gaming convention, Dragonflight, where we will have 6 GMs and up to 24 players. If you want some skilled role players, experienced with your system and with a history of playtesting to act as one of your playtesting groups, then please feel at liberty to contact me.
First, let me say that I am a huge Dresden Files fan and Secondly, I can understand about the delays. I don’t have any idea how you are going to get the starting players from the basic chants and rituals to the kinds of tricks that Harry Desden can do. Atleast in game thru an actual campaign.
I have a small group that I have introduced to the Dresden Files novels, we are all quite interesting in playtesting an RPG. We range in experience but are truly interested.
Heh. Okay, I guess it’s worth the wait, if Spirit of the Century is representative of FATE 3.0. I’ve been been chomping at the bit to run SotC since I got it in my hands.
Point of irritation: How come the site updates haven’t been going out over the mailing list?
So I’m in no trouble of having to incorporate any existing rules when I run more iterations of the Dresden Files LARPs I’ve been doing. Well, not THIS December, anyway. [wipes sweat off forehead] [tee hees!]