From: [m j g] at [panix.com] (Mitchell Gross) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.announce Subject: [Advert] ANNOUNCEMENT: Visionary Games Date: 31 Oct 1994 00:13:35 -0500 * VISIONARY GAMES * 45 Valentines Lane Old Brookville NY 11545 [m j g] at [io.com] "Roleplaying not Roll-playing!" Visionary Games is a new company that will be producing roleplaying games and other materials for various genres. Several projects are currently in development, while others are under discussion. A number of these games use a standard deck of cards as opposed to dice, and some of them are set within the same world. While others are not. There is no standard project. If it fits within the shared world and/or deck system, then we will use those, but games will not be forced into a mold. Two of the projects we are currently working on are: REMEMBRANCE - A game of death and eternal love. From beyond the grave you return, sustained by the power of your true love. Fulfill your Promise or suffer unending agony. But beware, the very forces of the universe will seek to thwart you. Two players, a Judge and a Tortured Soul weave stories in which death is just the beginning, and true love conquers all. Hopefully. URBAN LEGENDS - Voodoo women sell charms on the corner. Gypsies curse those who bump into them on the subway. Creatures of legend stalk the alleys. Elves ride motorcycles and perform in nightclubs. Enter a world of modern urban fantasy where doorways from the land of Faerie flood the city streets with magic and where miracles can be found in the commonplace. More information on these games, as well as announcements of other projects, will follow shortly. All of our games will stress mechanics that are easy to learn and do not require players to constantly refer to the rules. Most of our games will use the same basic mechanics to make this even easier. Roleplaying is the focus of our games and will never be superceded by the rules. Please feel free to contact us if: - You have any questions or want more information. - You wish to be put on our email list for future updates. - You are a writer or artist interested in working with us. - You want to send us a project for evaluation. - You are running a con in the Northeast. Reach us by email at [m j g] at [io.com.] Visionary Games started, aptly enough, with a vision. The Vision is a mission statement, promise and dream all in one. It is the heart and soul of the company. We hope you enjoy it and agree with it. THE VISION "...the fundamental themes of mythological thought have remained constant and universal, not only throughout history, but also over the whole extent of mankind's occupation of the earth." - Joseph Campbell, Myths to Live By Myths fill our lives. Our ancestors created them, Joseph Campbell wrote about them, television and film echo them and we relive them everyday. These myths and legends come to us from the early days of our race and are the dreams that lead us to enlightenment. We all want to be part of these myths, or even better, to create our own. In all of the myths and legends of the world there are certain archetypes, roles that are played by the characters of the ancient legends: the Hero, the Mystic, the Trickster and many more. When we roleplay we are taking up these archetypes, thousands of years old and steeped in mythology, and making them our own. This vision, of reliving the myths of the past, is what Visionary is all about. THE PROMISE Visionary is a company started by fans of roleplaying games for fans of the same. We are open to any and all comments from the players of our games and encourage feedback. Furthermore, we will always seek to please our customers and stay true to our vision. We will always be as accessible as possible to our players. Whether by mail, phone or email, you will be able to get in touch. You will get a call back. You will get a letter. You will get an email reply. We will not sit in an "ivory tower" and ignore you. Your voice is important to us, it is a vital part of our creative process and we will not deny it or set ourselves off from you. THE GAMES Roleplaying games have been around for some time now, and are pretty well established. Unfortunately, many games get stuck in the same old concepts that have been around since the beginning. Not that these concepts are bad of course, but many designers cannot seem to see beyond the original ideas. We are going to strive to expand the concepts of how to play roleplaying games. Maybe we will succeed, maybe not. But we intend to explore and question the fundamental design basics of roleplaying, instead of just publishing another game featuring hit points or utilizing dice to tell the story. We will always stress playing a role and telling a story over mechanics in our games. We will also try to produce mechanics that have some depth to them, but are easy to utilize. The focus will always be on playing the game, not learning the endless details of the rules. We also will always try to be true to high standards of art and layout. If a game does not look the way we envisioned it, if it is not something we ourselves would not want to see on the shelf, it will not be published until we, and hopefully the players, are satisfied. Above all else, our intent is to make games that we want to play, books and magazines we want to read, never just a product or something to merchandise. Copyright (c) 1994 Mitchell J. Gross. All rights reserved.