I can still remember how thrilled I was back in February 2004 when a random Google search revealed a new edition of Paranoia was in the pipeline. I was grinning for about a week.
That was about three and a half years ago. We've had a wide range of supplements that cover more ground than West End Games ever managed, while also reprinting and updating the best of WEG's line. Even though I don't regularly RPG at the moment I've still bought a few of the books, such is my enthusiasm for Paranoia...
So: what next? The licence got renewed last year, and the press release for that mentioned a couple of new books (The Big Book of Bots and The Thin Green Line) but the line is pretty comprehensive now, with few obvious gaps for new material...
It's generally around this time that publishers start thinking about the new edition
But! Personally I think Allen Varney's current rules set is excellent stuff, and that seems to be the prevailing opinion, so I don't see the need for a major overhaul.
That said I *would* like to see improvement in the production values, which can occasionally be a little amateurish... I like me some "three-column clutter" rather than arty whitespace and decorative angsty borders, but sometimes the typesetting/layout gets a bit random (the HIL Sector Blues material in Extreme Paranoia springs to mind), the illustrations too low-res, and the covers, while showcasing some good Jim Holloway art, sometimes look like they've been designed with MS Paint. I expect the 2nd edition WEG style is seen as old hat now, but IMHO it actually looks smarter - late 80s circuit-board two-tone prints and all. Also, here's a tip: if you start out colour coding book covers to match the security clearance spectrum, try not to skip or repeat any
Still, it'd be crazy from a business perspective to fund a cosmetic redesign without changing the content. Where's the audience? Any other ideas for keeping momentum going? Or is it best, indeed is it natural, for Paranoia line support to simmer down to the odd Signs & Portents article, until such time has passed that a new edition is deemed appropriate, and cross fingers that production values will creep up then?
That was about three and a half years ago. We've had a wide range of supplements that cover more ground than West End Games ever managed, while also reprinting and updating the best of WEG's line. Even though I don't regularly RPG at the moment I've still bought a few of the books, such is my enthusiasm for Paranoia...
So: what next? The licence got renewed last year, and the press release for that mentioned a couple of new books (The Big Book of Bots and The Thin Green Line) but the line is pretty comprehensive now, with few obvious gaps for new material...
It's generally around this time that publishers start thinking about the new edition
But! Personally I think Allen Varney's current rules set is excellent stuff, and that seems to be the prevailing opinion, so I don't see the need for a major overhaul.That said I *would* like to see improvement in the production values, which can occasionally be a little amateurish... I like me some "three-column clutter" rather than arty whitespace and decorative angsty borders, but sometimes the typesetting/layout gets a bit random (the HIL Sector Blues material in Extreme Paranoia springs to mind), the illustrations too low-res, and the covers, while showcasing some good Jim Holloway art, sometimes look like they've been designed with MS Paint. I expect the 2nd edition WEG style is seen as old hat now, but IMHO it actually looks smarter - late 80s circuit-board two-tone prints and all. Also, here's a tip: if you start out colour coding book covers to match the security clearance spectrum, try not to skip or repeat any
Still, it'd be crazy from a business perspective to fund a cosmetic redesign without changing the content. Where's the audience? Any other ideas for keeping momentum going? Or is it best, indeed is it natural, for Paranoia line support to simmer down to the odd Signs & Portents article, until such time has passed that a new edition is deemed appropriate, and cross fingers that production values will creep up then?
