Thursday, April 19, 2007

Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. Hunts the Supernatural

I find this to be a very surprising choice. Maybe it's just because I don't watch the show but this choice of a license just surprises me. It isn't that I doubt the gameability of the setting, it just seems an odd choice as a license to pursue.

It isn't like this "genre" isn't popular among gamers. I think that the apparent popularity of White Wolf games like Hunter or mortal campaigns using the new World of Darkness rules demonstrates that there is an interest in this sort of gaming. Time will tell.

I notice that DC Comics is named as an involved party. I wonder what their part in these things is?

Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. Hunts the Supernatural
Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics to produce role playing game products based on the hit television series, Supernatural.

'We like role playing games that feature a great mix of character, action, and story,' says Margaret Weis, New York Times best-selling author and game publisher. 'Supernatural delivers on all three, and the show's premise is perfect for games. The show is like a new horror movie each week, and now we'll be bringing that experience to the game table.'

Supernatural is a hit television series that airs Thursdays on the CW Network, and is produced by Warner Bros. Television in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision, with executive producers McG ('Charlie's Angels,' 'The O.C.'), writer/executive producer Eric Kripke ('Boogeyman'), Robert Singer ('Midnight Caller'), Kim Manners ('The X-Files'), and John Shiban ('The X-Files'). The show follows two brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), as they hunt ghosts, demons, and other things that go bump in the night. The Winchesters drive a black 1967 Chevy Impala across America, discovering dark secrets wherever they go.

Jamie Chambers, author and designer of the best-selling Serenity Role Playing Game, is very excited about the project. 'My grandmother raised me on ghost stories, monster tales, and local legends,' he says. 'Supernatural struck an immediate chord with me from the first episode and I'm a big fan. I want to really bring the feel of the show to our game, including the attention to folklore, a dash of humor, and a classic-rock soul.' Chambers is leading a team of writers and designers to create a game where players can become hunters of monsters— either taking the role of the show's characters or creating an entirely new monster-slaying group.

The role playing game will offer an exciting game experience, as well as serving as a thrilling companion product for fans of the show. The game will make use of the Cortex System rules created for the Serenity Role Playing Game and the Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game (also produced by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.). The first product will be a Quickstart Guide, which will provide a preview of the game, including introductory rules and a short adventure. The next release will be the Supernatural Role Playing Game Core Book, a self-contained collection of rules and source material that will contain everything a group needs to start playing. Additional products will follow the release of the core product. The entire line will be supported by an interactive website.

More information will be released in the near future with further details about the upcoming line of Supernatural role playing game products.

About Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd.
New York Times best-selling author Margaret Weis continues to lead her company into carefully selected ventures in book and game publishing. The company has enjoyed great success and won multiple awards including an Origins Award (Gamer's Choice for Best Role Playing Game in 2006) and the Gen Con EN World Awards (Best Production Values). Recent successes include the Serenity Role Playing Game and the Paths of Doom series of adventure fiction. The company will be announcing several new exciting initiatives in the book, card game, board game, and role playing game categories over the next few months. Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. is based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the birthplace of hobby roleplaying games.

About Supernatural

Supernatural is now in its second season, and is one of the CW Network's top five series, and its second highest-rated scripted series in all key male demos, trailing only veteran drama Smallville. It stars Jared Padalecki ('Gilmore Girls,' 'House of Wax') as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles ('Smallville,' 'Dark Angel') as Dean Winchester, and was created by Eric Kripke. Twenty-two years ago, Sam and Dean lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father John raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America... and he taught them how to kill it. Supernatural is a Wonderland Sound and Vision production in association with Warner Bros. Television and airs Thursdays on The CW.

SUPERNATURAL ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.