Clinton R. Nixon is a designer and publisher of indie role-playing games.
He is the designer and publisher of The Shadow of Yesterday , [1] Donjon , [2] Paladin , and others.
He co-administered the Forge with Ron Edwards, [2] after they brought the site back in early 2001 at indie-rpgs.com, and they spent the next six years making the site successful. [3] Nixon is a proponent of independent publishing in general and independent game publishing in particular.
Nixon has worked in software development, including programming for startup companies such as Lulu and directing a team of developers for the web consulting firm Viget. He started his own web development company in 2011. [4]
Greg Costikyan, sometimes known under the pseudonym "Designer X", is an American game designer and science fiction writer. Costikyan's career spans nearly all extant genres of gaming, including: hex-based wargames, role-playing games, boardgames, card games, computer games, online games and mobile games. Several of his games have won Origins Awards. He co-founded Manifesto Games, now out of business, with Johnny Wilson in 2005.
Harvey Smith is an American video game designer and writer, working at Arkane Studios.
Level-5 Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Fukuoka. The company was founded in October 1998 by Akihiro Hino after he departed from Riverhillsoft. Early in its history, the company enjoyed a close relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment, with many of its games then funded by and produced in conjunction with them. Level-5 began self-publishing its games in Japan by the late 2000s, with other companies such as Nintendo handling publishing worldwide. The company is best known for their Dark Cloud, Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, Ni no Kuni, Yo-kai Watch, and Snack World franchises.
Ronald Edwards is a game designer involved in the indie role-playing game (RPG) community, and a game theorist. He created the Sorcerer role-playing game, the GNS theory of gameplay, and The Big Model. Edwards is also co-founder of The Forge, an online community to support indie RPG design and publication.
Peter D. Adkison is an American game designer and businessman who is the founder and first CEO of Wizards of the Coast (1993–2001).
Skirmisher Publishing LLC is a publisher of wargames, roleplaying games and historic reprints based in Spring Branch, Texas, USA. It was founded by the author, editor and game designer Michael J. Varhola and is co-owned by Robert "Mac" McLaughlin, Oliver Cass and Geoffrey Weber.
An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published outside traditional, "mainstream" means. Varying definitions require that commercial, design, or conceptual elements of the game stay under the control of the creator, or that the game should just be produced outside a corporate environment.
Donjon is an independently published role-playing game by Clinton R. Nixon, published by Anvilwerks.
Indie Press Revolution is a sales network that acts as a fulfillment house for publishers of indie role-playing games. It was founded in 2004 by Ed Cha of Open World Press and Brennan Taylor of Galileo Games. IPR represents over 100 author/publishers involved in role-playing games. It offers games directly to the public and to game retailers.
James M. Ward is an American game designer and fantasy author who worked for TSR, Inc. for more than 20 years.
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. However, the "indie" term may apply to other scenarios where the development of the game has some measure of independence from a publisher even if a publisher helps fund and distribute a game, such as creative freedom. Because of their independence and freedom to develop, indie games often focus on innovation, experimental gameplay, and taking risks not usually afforded in AAA games, and may explore the medium to produce unique experiences in art games. Indie games tend to be sold through digital distribution channels rather than at retail due to lack of publisher support. The term is synonymous with that of independent music or independent film in those respective mediums.
Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games and other tabletop games. Chief among them is the free indie RPG, Fate, which has won numerous awards.
David Brevik is an American video game designer, producer and programmer who served as the co-founder and president of Blizzard North. He is best known for the critically acclaimed Diablo franchise. Currently he serves as game designer and founder of his independent studio, Graybeard Games.
A tabletop role-playing game, also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a set formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game.
The Indie RPG Awards are annual, creator-based awards for Indie role-playing games and supplements. They were established in 2002 by Andy Kitkowski, and are the most sought-after awards in the Indie RPG community.
Brennan Taylor is an American role-playing games author and publisher.
Jeff R. Leason is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.
Jared A. Sorensen is an indie role-playing game designer whose works include InSpectres, octaNe, and Lacuna Part I.
David Vincent Baker is a designer of tabletop role playing games and the owner of Lumpley Games which also hosts the archives of The Forge. His most notable games are Dogs in the Vineyard and Apocalypse World.
Cam Banks is a game designer known for his work on the Cortex System line of roleplaying games as lead designer for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, and the Big Damn Heroes Handbook supplement to the Serenity Role Playing Game, among other titles. He is the Cortex Creative Director for Fandom Tabletop, the publishers of Cortex Prime.