Jamie Chambers

Last updated
Jamie Chambers
JamieChambers.jpg
Felicia Day (Left) and Jamie Chambers (Right)
Born
James Edwin Vartanian Chambers

January 25, 1975
Atlanta, GA
Nationality American
Occupation Game designer

Jamie Chambers (born January 25, 1975) [1] is an American game designer who works primarily on role-playing games, contributing in a variety of genres. He served as Vice President of the non-profit Game Manufacturers Association, a trade association for the hobby games industry, [2] from 2007 until 2016, when he chose not to seek re-election. [3] He succeeded Marcus King for the post. Chambers worked with Margaret Weis at Sovereign Press in 1988, then transitioned with her to Margaret Weis Productions (MWP) where he served as Vice President and Lead Designer. [4] While there, he created the Cortex System, [5] a role-playing game ruleset that has been used by MWP since that time.

Contents

Career

Jamie Chambers wrote short stories which added to the Sovereign Stone world mythos, [6] : 352  and also ran the Sovereign Stone website. [4] Margaret Weis and Don Perrin, with Chambers and Christopher Coyle, authored the Dragonlance Campaign Setting (2003) through the d20 license with by Wizards of the Coast who published the book, with the license also allowing Sovereign Press to continue to expand and supplement that book. [6] : 353  Chambers designed Serenity Role Playing Game (2005) using the Cortex System, the first release from Margaret Weis Productions. [6] : 353 

Through Margaret Weis Productions, Chambers also created and published the role playing games Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. At the time, Serenity RPG was the most popular role playing game since the original Dungeons and Dragons, requiring four print runs in the first year of publishing. [7]

Cortex System

Chambers created the Cortex System for the Serenity Role Playing Game during his time at Margaret Weis Productions. He then used it for additional licensed game supplements, several of which were based on television shows and movies, including Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. The Cortex System shifted away from gameplay determined by the rules toward a gaming experience guided by them, which was considered a necessary step to counterbalance the computerization of role playing games. The system allows the game to evolve throughout a game session, providing the players with ways to create and modify the rules to meet their needs. [8] The system was later adapted into Cortex Plus and Cortex "Prime" by Cam Banks when he took over for Chambers at Margaret Weis Productions as lead designer. Banks later founded Magic Vacuum, a production studio that has licensed the original Cortex System and the revised Cortex Plus, which is considered more narrative than the original Cortex system, [9] building on the move away from systems constrained by rules and allowing further differentiation from computerized role playing games.

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

Roleplaying Supplements

Short Fiction

Short Nonfiction

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Weis</span> American fantasy novelist (born 1948)

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<i>Supernatural Role Playing Game</i> 2009 role-playing game

The Supernatural Role Playing Game is a role-playing game by Margaret Weis Productions that was released in 2009. It is based on the television series Supernatural and was the final game to use the Cortex System.

Now most commonly referred to as "Cortex Classic," the Cortex System is a generic RPG system based on the Sovereign Stone role-playing game system,, and was developed by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd for the Serenity Role Playing Game. It was subsequently used for their licensed Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural RPGs, and brought out as a stand-alone system in the Cortex System Role Playing Game book. Serenity, using the Cortex System, was the 2005 Origins Award Gamer's Choice Role Playing Game of the Year.

The Cortex Plus System is a toolkit RPG system that evolved from Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd's Cortex System. It has been used for four published games and one published preview to date, and the design principles are in the Cortex Plus Hacker's Guide, a book of advice in how to create new games using Cortex Plus, and list of new games produced via Kickstarter. According to the Hacker's Guide there are three basic 'flavors' of Cortex Plus; Action, Drama, and Heroic.

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<i>Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game</i>

The Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game is a role-playing game published by Margaret Weis Productions in 2007, based on the Battlestar Galactica franchise.

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<i>Firefly Role-Playing Game</i> Science fiction tabletop role-playing game

The Firefly Role-Playing Game is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game released in 2014, written by Monica Valentinelli and set in the universe of the Joss Whedon television show Firefly. Firefly takes place in a space Western setting where high technology mixes with frontier life on newly terraformed planets. It was produced by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, and uses the "Cortex Action" variant of the Cortex Plus game system.

The Cortex System is a collection of related roleplaying games. Its most recent iteration, Cortex Prime, was designed by Cam Banks and initially published by Fandom Tabletop, then acquired by Dire Wolf Digital. Prior versions appeared in the licensed roleplaying games published by Margaret Weis Productions, where it was used as the house system. Cortex is an adaptable game system focusing on characterization and story development.

References

  1. ↑ "Jamie Chambers | Board Game Designer | BoardGameGeek". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  2. ↑ "GAMA About Us page" . Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  3. ↑ "GAMA Elects Two New Board Members". June 30, 2016. Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "The Guild Companion: An Interview with Jamie Chambers". www.guildcompanion.com. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  5. 1 2 "Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game". Sci Fi Weekly. Sep 11, 2007. Archived from the original on September 15, 2007.
  6. 1 2 3 Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN   978-1-907702-58-7.
  7. ↑ "'Serenity RPG' Back to Press - With New Material". Jun 13, 2006. Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  8. ↑ "View of "Supernatural role playing game," by J. Chambers | Transformative Works and Cultures". journal.transformativeworks.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  9. ↑ "Cortex Plus | System | RPGGeek". rpggeek.com. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  10. ↑ "Lucca Games Best of Show Awards" . Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Lucca Comics and Games Awards List" . Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  12. ↑ "2005 Origin Awards" . Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  13. ↑ "The 32nd Annual Origins Awards - Origins International Game Expo". 2006-08-10. Archived from the original on 2006-08-10. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  14. ↑ "I-CON Shared Worlds Award Winner profile" . Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Origins Awards Finalists Announced". Apr 28, 2008. Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  16. ↑ Chambers, Jamie; Davenport, James; Rockwood, Nathaniel C. J. S. (2007). Battlestar Galactica Quickstart Guide. ISBN   9781931567541.
  17. ↑ Chambers, Jamie (2008). Cortex System Role Playing Game. ISBN   9781931567794.
  18. ↑ Dragons in the Archives: The Best of Weis & Hickman. 2004.
  19. ↑ Tv, Supernatural (2004). In the Hunt : Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural. ISBN   9781933771632.
  20. ↑ Wilson, Leah (2011). Filled With Glee: The Unauthorized Glee Companion. ISBN   9781935618003.
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