Introducing Ryan Macklin
Hi. I’m Ryan Macklin.
Evil Hat has this cool tradition of bringing on excited fans into the fold. That’s the story of Leonard Balsera, who went from “fan of FATE” to “lead system designer of the Dresden Files.” And that’s my story now, too.
Unofficially, I started my job in early ‘08, when DFRPG was out to the first round of playtesters, the Bleeding Alphas. From time to time, Lenny would call me up while he’s driving somewhere in order to bounce Dresden ideas off of someone. Or we’d debate some element of magic over Skype. Over the past few months, we developed this unconscious working relationship on the project, and Dresden work got done (at least, until Lenny’s computer problems hit). We joked that I was the “unofficial developer” on the project, but really I was just happy to help a friend out — we all need sounding boards with projects this big.
Fred saw this, and saw that I started getting busy with my own work as they were hitting a big part of the project: the post-playtest revisions. That’s when he stepped in and offered me a spot on the Dresden devteam. He called it “writer-wrangling” or “developer-wrangling,” which was basically what I was already doing but with one additional duty: keep an eye on everyone and the schedule.
So, I’m assisting Lenny in development, and I’m assisting Fred & Amanda in managing the schedule. That’s my job on the project. I was initially hesitant to mention my involvement on the project, because the making of this book has been going on for quite some time, and I know that some folks will likely read “someone new is on the project” as “man alive, how much longer is it going to take?” But the truth is, I’m here to get stuff moving, to help Amanda oversee the production, to get the book people are looking forward to done.
If you want proof that the book is moving, I humbly submit this:
I’m so seriously excited about being on this project. Expect more posts from me in the future, where I keep you up to date about where we are with the book. We’ll be doing that around once a month, with the first one in January.
- Ryan
Ryan Macklin is the mastermind behind the game design podcast, Master Plan. He’s also worked previously with Evil Hat Productions, editing the Don’t Rest Your Head supplement Don’t Lose Your Mind.
Holy crap.
Umm…
Yeah, that looks okay I guess. Y’know, it’ll do.
Glad to know you’ve got the jazz like everyone else!
Yeah, this keeps getting better and better.
So, what, will the Evil Hat assimilate us all? Does one need to *try* to not become a FATE developer?
Congratulations on joining the crew, and good luck with surviving it.
I am going to second Daniel on this one. Every time I find something out new about this RPG, the better it gets.
Welcome aboard, Ryan!
Hey I Amped to hear that this game is being made and Will be picking it up once its out. My only request honeslty is Don’t skimp on the binding of the book i hate it when i invest my hard earned money on a book that doesnt last threw one or 2 readings, and because this is a book that in theory will be used alot that means it needs to last even longer than most. Just my 2 cents thanks for listening.
@Alan, we’ll certainly keep a close eye on the issue of binding quality.