As others, I emailed Tim Kask and I asked for an interview. He graciously agreed (luckily he didn't ask for a 'phone call' as other people did - from Italy, that would be costly   ). I was thinking about the questions, then an idea surged: why don't I ask for questions from The Acaeum regulars and make this a 'group' interview? A truly multilateral, European approach    instead of that brutal, Americanish way of interviewing (I'll do all the questions! Now!  ) . So, if anybody cares, please send me the questions and I'll credit everybody in the interview as soon as it's posted (I suppose on EN World in English and on DM Magazine in Italian). There is no money in it, but it could be fun, interesting and - who knows? - becoming a regular feature...

jagd wrote:Burning questions...

1) Is it stupid to pay $500 for a white boxed set?

2) Is Ebay sniping ok?

3) Is it ok for D&Ders to wear female "Hello Kitty" underwear?

Hmmm... I'll reserve myself the right to make unilateral actions in defence of my interview      

This sounds like fun.  I'll post my questions here so people don't duplicate their effort.


[1]  What is one of your favorite memories from your time as the editor of The Dragon?

[2]  Do you still collect games, or edit gaming materials?  What are your current interests?

[3]  Whatever happened to Finieous Fingers?

[4]  And whatever happened to Dave Trampier?

Here's what happened to DAT:
http://newshound.de.siu.edu/online/stor ... eader$1382

More Qs for Kask:  

• was Dave Anderson as terrible a writer as I've heard through the grapevine?
• is Tim involved with any of the 30th anniversary planning for D&D?
• has Tim kept in touch with any of the other old hands at TSR---EGG, RJK, REM, Len Lakofka, David Sutherland, etc.?
• what's Tim up to now, and what has he been up to since leaving The Dragon?

When I think of more, I'll add them!

bbarsh wrote:I really only have one question for an insider:

How on earth did (whoever was running TSR) run the company into the ground?

You can read Gary Gygax's version of the story behind TSR's bankruptcy at EN World RPG News & Reviews - Morrus' Daily News Blog (check the Interviews section). It's pretty long, but it's extremely classy and well done. Did I mention I did the interview?  

Questions:

Historical;

How did you get into gaming back in the early days?

Was Dragon your first 'game related' job? What did you do before that?

Have you stayed involved in the gaming industry the whole time or in a related area?  If not, what do you do now? Since Dragon?

What were the EARLY days like at TSR.  Did they know they had a great thing going or were they oblivious to the road ahead?

What was the best Dragon feature you put out under your tenure.

Topical:

What's your opinion of 3.0/3.5?  The OGL? D20?

Do you think that people who play RPGs today are different than the old D&D'ers of old?  It's my opinion that the 'new comers' are far more likely to be powergamers than those of old.  Do you agree?  

Do you think the industry will be around for another 30 years?  Is it stronger or weaker than it was in the late 70s early 80s?

What's your favorite AD&D adventure of all time?

What's your funniest tale from the game table?

Tell us about your favorite character in as much detail as you like.

Do you collect old D&D stuff?  Do you want to buy some?

What's the COOLEST D&D related artifact that you have from days of old?(IE, Gygax's original dice set, Arneson's DM notes, The first scrap of paper ever with the words 'dungeons and dragons' on it..etc.)

Was gaming EVER a good way to get girls?  Will it EVER be?

What do you think of Dragon now, run by Paizo and the current crop.  My feeling is it's kind of like Saturday Night Live.  Same label, not bad.. but it'll never be like it was.

Just read the R. Dancy column via the above link. Wow.

I know I was ranting in my earlier post, and just had a few hunches. But damn it, I think I was close to reality. But what is fascinating is the fact that TSR had no marketing department to speak of. How in the hell can you have a retail-based company of that scale and have no connection to your market? Let me say that again. Ego.

I really want to read the Gygax article. I have spoke to him lightly on the subject - about 8 or 9 years ago. He still had some ...eh...uh...angst. Of course, who could really blame him?

I do find it ironic that WotC made the connection the D&D is at its best when it let's the "players/DM" feel they are in control, then they came out with the most complex rules system I think I have ever seen.

First edition AD&D was so popular because it was extremely flexible. That flexibility came from what was not there, more than what was there.

Yes, Gary lost his site because his web master did not renew his name. That sucks for him. He has had so many things go bad for him, as far as business is concerned. Of all the people, he deserves a break sometime in the near future.

Here is an interview that is also very enlightning about many things concerning TSR, including the ouster of Gygax. I would have to say it is indeed the "Ultimate Gygax" interview:
atlasofadventure.com/Archive/gygaxinter ... erview.asp

Dale

Just finished reading the Gygax interview from the above link.

Again. Wow.

What the hell was going on up there (Lake Geneva). It's like a bad soap opera.

Ok, I'm no Donald Trump, but I do own a construction company. I build 8-12 new residential homes a year. The price range is $350,000 to around $450,000. I have to be focused, up to date and in constant contact with my customers and industry or I am done. I have to know what customers are looking for, how much they are willing to spend, current trends, etc. Something I knew very little about when I started. But you learn real quick in this business that trend (and location, of course) is everything. When one of your spec houses finishes and sits for six months, you take notice.

The bottom line is, when in business you need to know your customer and your market, even if you have no desire to do so. I like building houses, not tracking hot trends in flooring colors. But that is part of the business. TSR never seemed to grasp this very simple rule. Gygax had a handle on it; but only because he got down on the gamers level...he loved to game... and that gave him insight.

Next comes the really boring but highly critical stuff. Who is tracking the money. Yep, I mean the accounting end. Accounting sucks. It is boring, difficult to fully grasp, filled with tax BS, and did I mention it sucks? But again, it is key to business survival. I have my books checked quartely by my accountant. I don't think anyone in that company knows the first thing about construction. But they know cash flow and taxes. Without them, I would have gone belly up years ago. It is key to know how well your business is doing on every level. Accounting does this. You may think you are making money, but the reality could be the opposite. TSR, again, had some serious problems here.

Gamers running game companies seems to be a bad formula. Without professional business advisors, the messes abound.