Robotech And Writer Brian Wood Are Coming To Titan Comics

Next year, Titan Comics will bring to comic stores a Brian Wood written Robotech comic set in the continuity of the classic Harmony Gold USA cartoons. First airing in the States in 1985, Robotech was the gateway to anime for many fans – capturing their imagination with its epic generational story line involving war, romance, and, of course, the transforming Veritech fighters that defend the Earth against extra-terrestrial attacks. Produced by Harmony Gold USA, the original 85-episode series delved into humanity’s struggle against a series of alien invasions, from the gigantic Zentraedi to the mysterious Invid, battling for control of advanced alien technology that crash-landed on Earth.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to work with Brian to expand the Robotech universe." said Robotech's Tommy Yune, "His bold approach to storytelling is thoughtful and will be full of surprises for fans."

Mecha: Kaiju RPG Kickstarter

Heroic Journey Publishing's Kickstarter for Mecha: Kaiju is over half-way through its funding period and in sight of its funding goal. The giant monster themed supplement for Mecha includes all the stompiness that you will likely want from the genre, with plenty of art to show various types of kaiju.

The Mecha RPG works off a d6 dice pool with a roll-under mechanic and features players piloting mecha (giant robots). Mecha: Kaiju follows in this style, but introduces another staple of the genre -- the kaiju (giant monsters) that players can play as, with or against.

Hopping onto the Kickstarter is pretty easy, with the PDF of Mecha: Kaiju sitting at US$5. For US$10 you can get the Mecha Core PDF as well as the Mecha: Kaiju PDF. The US$25 tier(s) see the softcover copy of Mecha: Kaiju (along with the PDF) or an all PDF tier that also includes two other Mecha supplements.

For some critiques on the Kickstarter page -- the funding price point seems fine. There is a video that has an appropriate length (though could be a bit shorter) and gives a bit of flavor, but the text can be a bit hard to read in some shots. Both the video and the page could stand to give a bit more information on the game, especially for those who have no idea what it is. Plenty of artwork, though, which was very nice. Having some additional imagery for tier rewards would be nice.

If you want to get your stompy, giant creature and mecha-ness on, be sure to check out Mecha: Kaiju's Kickstarter page or Heroic Journey Publishing's website.

How The Live Action Gatchaman Trailer Leads To Thinking About Game Design

My love for Gatchaman is pretty well known. I've loved the idea since I watched Battle of the Planets as a kid with my little brother. Back in the day, Gold Key even did a comic based on the American version of the cartoon. We had a couple of issues of it back then. Now, there's been a live action movie made of Gatchaman in Japan. By all that is holy I hope that there is an English translation.


Along with Speed Racer, this has always remained one of my favorite anime series since I was a kid. These are also the two properties that I would most love to design official tabletop RPGs for. However, don't be surprised if Gatchaman or Speed Racer sneaks into my new edition for HeartQuest. These guys may have to sneak into 4C Space. I already have an idea for one Earth-based group that deals with aliens. Adding Science Ninjas would make the sneaking even easier.

This is a great trailer. Watch it over and over.

The things that can inspire us as game designers are many and varied. The trick is to retexture them in such a way that they are new and fresh, while still having a nod to the originals. That can be a thin line to tread a lot of the time, and it isn't always successful. Some say that there really aren't many original ideas anymore. This is probably true, but there are ways to present things that are new, or at least new to you. I think that a game designer should have their own unique viewpoint that they stamp on things, so even if you are just doing a knock off of someone else's creations you can still do it in a way that makes things look new. Developing that viewpoint is what can be difficult.

Designers should look outside of the comfort of what they would want to do in their everyday life. Look for new books, new movies, new music, new voices that speak of different perspectives that will enrich what has already formed your worldview. A lot of designers and gamers are anti-anime, so taking a concept like that from Gatchaman and turning it inside out, so that it doesn't look like anime to the unbelievers, can take some work. Look at the characters from a horror viewpoint, and turn them into occult investigators. Make the giant monsters into something summoned by unscrupulous necromancers. There are many ways to take something old and turn it into something new.

This is how game designers should be thinking, always outside of the box. Look beyond the fantasy novels, and mouldering books of the Appendix N, and make your fantasy worlds something different. Look into the science fiction of other nations, cultures who might not speak English, for clues as to how to take your own ideas into new directions. There's a big world out there, just outside of the zone of what we may normally read or watch...embrace it.