FleaInNYCbanner.jpg

? Sickness unto blech | Main | A murder in Carlisle ?

January 26, 2004

The end of the world

And I feel fine. House and Clan Tremere always survives through to the end no matter what White Wolf HQ has to say.

The End of the World for the Damned... the prophecies of Gehenna are true. The world teeters on the brink of an unead apocalypse, the night when the progenitors of the vampire race rise to consume their childer amid a rain of blood and fire. As their fated Armageddon arises, what can the Kindred do?

White Wolf is a publishing outfit based in Atlanta, Georgia known for role-playing games including Werewolf, Mage and Vampire. The games are set in an alternate reality known as "the World of Darkness," and, in an unusual move for any hopeful business, they promised us from the outset that one day that world would come to an end. Now the time of judgment is at hand. The first of three books detailing the end, or rather ends, of the world is "Gehenna", setting out several possible apocalyptic scenarios for the world's vampires. I confess I had stopped collecting WoD books as earnestly as I once did due to erratic storytelling and an increasingly much-of-a-muchness design. I was almost worried to buy Gehenna for fear of an anticlimax. It is with some relief I can report the book is excellent, among the best the company has ever produced. The Time of Judgment is here. Next up... Vampire: the Requiem, a new rulebook and new world of darkness featuring black and white illustrations by Tim Bradstreet. We can expect a debut in August 2004.

So why, then, have we “canceled” the World of Darkness? At least that’s how some people are translating what we’re doing. Either that or this is a gimmick to make money and then everything will go back to being exactly the same. I won’t deny that the ToJ makes both artistic and business sense, but though it’s been to our detriment many times in the past, the artistic usually wins out at White Wolf just as it does for you. Numbers have a place because White Wolf is now a “real” business with about 40 employees and many of those with families, but mainly, it’s irrefutable that the WoD has been leading to its own demise. It’s always been true that the thing that makes the best artistic sense for the legacy of the World of Darkness is that it end. As storytellers, if we don’t deliver on this fundamental promise, then what kind of integrity do we have in the future? None.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at January 26, 2004 09:06 AM

Comments

Livejournal: online diaries for people too lazy and self-absorbed to handle a real blog. To be non-snarky for a moment, I prefer several of LJ's features for my personal writing, in particular the ability to screen posts for specific reader groups and the strong sense of community.

I've also been too lazy/busy to figure out MT until recently.

Nice place you have here - I stumbled across it via a link on Rick McGuiness's municipal election blog, but was unsure if I should really look around.

Anyway, um, hello. It's good to hear from you.

S.

Posted by: Stacy at January 26, 2004 08:49 PM