Tellus
August 22, 2017, 9:26pm
10
Hope you're reasonably OK by now?
The panel was primarily about the historical elements of the creation of the game, as Jonathan Tweet was there and hadn't done so for several previous years. This meant we spent the lion's share of the time talking about early design choices, elements he was glad to see emerge from those choices, and considerations of the early setting. There was a lot of talk about how it evolved out of perceived deficiencies of Vancian casters in play and why the panel felt those differences in the game gave it such longevity. The panel itself was better attended than in years past, as well.
Wow! I'd have loved to be there! Did anybody record it?
The state of Magic Shoe was briefly discussed. It is primarily in the hands of Jeff Tidball, the COO of Atlas, and former Line Editor for ArM4. Magic Shoe has enjoyed some early, small-scale playtesting, but requires further work on expanding and completing the magic system. It is not yet complete, and does not have a projected target date at this time.
irrelevant, as far as I'm concerned
Ars Magica 6th Edition is not yet more than a concept on the horizon; Magic Shoe and Pillar of Fire are both ahead of it on the production schedule. I do know there was another meeting about some Ars options which went well, but I won't be able to talk about that for a while-- until I find out what the final decision is regarding the topic of discussion.
Very curious here, but NDAs I assume
I know there were at least a half-dozen Ars Magica games at Gencon, more than I've seen in years, which was encouraging. I also met up with Eric Vesbit and some others at Gencon, and that conversation was very exciting; we have some great ideas for Ars Magica which hopefully we can get moving in the coming months.
Encouraging indeed.
Fire-and-forget casters, alá "That Other Game". You know what I'm talking about.