And the award goes to...
OK, I am over my pessimistic view of the future, at least for today, so I wanted to take a moment to praise my favorite card game: Star Trek Second Edition. Why am I doing this today? Things have happened in the past few days that initially made me wonder about the future of this game and I, for lack of a better word, got nervous. I mean, it would be like if Parker Brothers stopped printing Monopoly, or USCF stopped playing Chess and closed up shop. Sure ST: 2E is not that big (yet?!) but the principle is the same regardless of how many people play the game.
So I wanted to talk about all the great things about this game and make a toast to those that made it happen. First you have to start with the beginning:
Brad DeFruiter & Evan Lorentz: These two took an old, broken and almost dead game and created a new one. Now there were obstacles, and some players were revolted at the site of a game that was only like the game they loved, but Evan and Brad endured and created a game with such solid mechanics and with such balance that it is the greatest game on the market today. However their work did not end with setting the game in motion and then letting it go to crap, they wanted to improve it. They constantly were striving to make the game better, more complex, more strategic, more of what the players wanted.
And they succeeded. They did such a good job, they were pulled off of the game (Star Trek) to save the other games that Decipher had let spin out of control. So when they were split between multiple games, did they let their devotion to make Star Trek great, falter? Absolutely not. They were still around to answer rules questions, work with the playtesters, and hear concerned letters from the players. Now you both have moved on and I am left with an empty feeling, and can only wish you both the best in your new adventures. So to Brad and Evan, I tip my glass to your devotion, and service in creating a great game, that is still here and continuing to build from the foundation you created.
Erika Stensvaag: We only knew you for a short time but you were able to set in motion more in that time than even the most optimistic of us could hope for. You came in when Star Trek had only limited support (outside the game studio) and brought the players their due. You listened to the players concerns, requests, and lets be honest whines. You sifted through the good and bad and then began to act on it. You were not a gamer in a world crowded with them, and you brought an ounce of realism to our world. You worked so hard to get the players rewarded for our devotion, and if something went wrong you were up-front and frank about it.
You didn't give us any company line crap, nor did you try to float our boat with what we wanted to hear. You were honest almost to a fault, and now that you are gone, you will surely be missed. I lift my glass to what you have done, and can only hope and pray that you land on your feet in where ever you end up in your career.
Michael G. Girard: (You knew that giving me your middle initial was going to come back to haunt you, right?) You had huge Thing sized shoes to fill when you took over design and development, and you have performed greatly. While Brad and Evan were responsible to creating a solid foundation to build a game, your job is just as important because you are responsible for continuing that legacy. You have worked without a net (and largely without much support) in keeping Star Trek alive and have performed marvelously. You have evolved the simple basic game into something that former Star Trek players have started to develop interest in. While you owe much of this prosperity to Brad and Evan, your innovations to the game are noteworthy on their own merit.
Your job is just as impossible as in the beginning because not only are you responsible for creating the ideas, but also developing, choosing pictures, writing lore, and proofing the cards. With the continued cuts to the staff, you are one gamer among management. Instead of bouncing ideas off of others in your field, you must depend on your own gaming experience to develop this game, and for that you will always have my respect. To you I lift this glass and hope that you will always be gifted with great ideas and the means to pursue those ideas.
This list is by no means complete, as there are numerous supporters of Star Trek Second Edition at The Company: Mark Tuttle, Dan Bojanowski, Trevor McGreggor, Scott Gaeta. All these people deserve to be recognized for their support of a game that was always just asking for a chance to survive. I want to thank each and every one of you for your support, and only wish that The Company would recognize your contribution as well.
3 days left! Columbus here I come!
Game On!
So I wanted to talk about all the great things about this game and make a toast to those that made it happen. First you have to start with the beginning:
Brad DeFruiter & Evan Lorentz: These two took an old, broken and almost dead game and created a new one. Now there were obstacles, and some players were revolted at the site of a game that was only like the game they loved, but Evan and Brad endured and created a game with such solid mechanics and with such balance that it is the greatest game on the market today. However their work did not end with setting the game in motion and then letting it go to crap, they wanted to improve it. They constantly were striving to make the game better, more complex, more strategic, more of what the players wanted.
And they succeeded. They did such a good job, they were pulled off of the game (Star Trek) to save the other games that Decipher had let spin out of control. So when they were split between multiple games, did they let their devotion to make Star Trek great, falter? Absolutely not. They were still around to answer rules questions, work with the playtesters, and hear concerned letters from the players. Now you both have moved on and I am left with an empty feeling, and can only wish you both the best in your new adventures. So to Brad and Evan, I tip my glass to your devotion, and service in creating a great game, that is still here and continuing to build from the foundation you created.
Erika Stensvaag: We only knew you for a short time but you were able to set in motion more in that time than even the most optimistic of us could hope for. You came in when Star Trek had only limited support (outside the game studio) and brought the players their due. You listened to the players concerns, requests, and lets be honest whines. You sifted through the good and bad and then began to act on it. You were not a gamer in a world crowded with them, and you brought an ounce of realism to our world. You worked so hard to get the players rewarded for our devotion, and if something went wrong you were up-front and frank about it.
You didn't give us any company line crap, nor did you try to float our boat with what we wanted to hear. You were honest almost to a fault, and now that you are gone, you will surely be missed. I lift my glass to what you have done, and can only hope and pray that you land on your feet in where ever you end up in your career.
Michael G. Girard: (You knew that giving me your middle initial was going to come back to haunt you, right?) You had huge Thing sized shoes to fill when you took over design and development, and you have performed greatly. While Brad and Evan were responsible to creating a solid foundation to build a game, your job is just as important because you are responsible for continuing that legacy. You have worked without a net (and largely without much support) in keeping Star Trek alive and have performed marvelously. You have evolved the simple basic game into something that former Star Trek players have started to develop interest in. While you owe much of this prosperity to Brad and Evan, your innovations to the game are noteworthy on their own merit.
Your job is just as impossible as in the beginning because not only are you responsible for creating the ideas, but also developing, choosing pictures, writing lore, and proofing the cards. With the continued cuts to the staff, you are one gamer among management. Instead of bouncing ideas off of others in your field, you must depend on your own gaming experience to develop this game, and for that you will always have my respect. To you I lift this glass and hope that you will always be gifted with great ideas and the means to pursue those ideas.
This list is by no means complete, as there are numerous supporters of Star Trek Second Edition at The Company: Mark Tuttle, Dan Bojanowski, Trevor McGreggor, Scott Gaeta. All these people deserve to be recognized for their support of a game that was always just asking for a chance to survive. I want to thank each and every one of you for your support, and only wish that The Company would recognize your contribution as well.
3 days left! Columbus here I come!
Game On!
posted by BubbaJoe at 7:57 PM
4 comments
