Loren L. Coleman | |
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| Born | Longview, Washington, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Subject | Science Fiction |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Notable works | Double-Blind Endgame |
| Website | |
| www | |
Loren L. Coleman is an American science-fiction writer, born and grew up in Longview, Washington. He is known for having written many books for series such as Star Trek , Battletech / Mechwarrior , Age of Conan , Crimson Skies , Magic: The Gathering and others. He has also written game fiction and source material for such companies as FASA Corporation, TSR, Inc. and Wizards of the Coast. He resides in Washington with his wife Heather and three children. [1]
Loren L. Coleman is a former member of the United States Navy. [2] He has written several novels for Battletech , including the last of FASA's novels for the "Classic" BattleTech era, Endgame (2002). [2] Coleman also secured a license to publish original Battletech fiction set in that same era, which he was able sell using a subscription-based website; Randall N. Bills, the BattleTech line developer, was interested regarding Coleman's idea and how it could be used to start a new business. [2]
He is also one of the founders of InMediaRes, [3] a company that he started with Heather Coleman, Randall Bills, Tara Bills and Philip DeLuca in 2003 with the intention of licensing Classic BattleTech fiction. [2] This was accomplished in the fall of 2003 when WizKids agreed to grant IMR an exclusive license for publishing new, canon BattleTech fiction online. [2] This was done through BattleCorps.com, which was launched in August 2004. [2] [4]
In 2005, InMediaRes announced its intention to create a similar website for Shadowrun, Holostreets. [5]
Coleman announced on April 20, 2007, that InMediaRes was in negotiations to acquire the licenses for Classic BattleTech and Shadowrun from WizKids as Fantasy Productions' license was set to expire. [6]
In June 2007, InMediaRes created the Catalyst Game Labs imprint from which to publish their Shadowrun, and Classic BattleTech licensed properties, as well as other material which could be produced or licensed at a later date.
In early 2010s, he began writing The ICAS Files series, a science fiction short-stories.
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FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001, after which they closed publishing operations for several years, becoming an IP holding company under the name FASA Inc. In 2012, a wholly owned subsidiary called FASA Games Inc. went into operation, using the name and logo under license from the parent company. FASA Games Inc. works alongside Ral Partha Europe, also a subsidiary of FASA Corporation, to bring out new editions of existing properties such as Earthdawn and Demonworld, and to develop new properties within the FASA cosmology.
BattleTech is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The trademark is currently owned by Topps and, for video games, Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios; Catalyst Game Studios licenses the franchise from Topps.
NECA/WizKids, LLC is an American company based in New Jersey that produces tabletop games. WizKids is best known for its collectible miniatures games (CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorClix, all of which make use of the company's Clix system, in which the changing combat statistics and abilities of each figure were indicated by a turnable dial inside the base underneath the figure. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a veteran of the game company FASA. It was purchased by sports-card manufacturer Topps, Inc. in 2003.
Classic BattleTech is a table-top wargame set in the fictional BattleTech universe that simulates combat between futuristic mechanized forces. Originally published by FASA Corporation, the game is now produced by Catalyst Game Labs under license from WizKids. The term "Classic" is used to differentiate the original game from variants and related games that have derived from it, such as MechWarrior: Dark Age. The game has an extensive range of 1/285 scale miniatures.
Fantasy Productions Medienvertriebsgesellschaft GmbH is a German publishing company based in Erkrath.
Jordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded five game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry.
Robert N. Charrette is an American graphic artist, game designer, sculptor and author. Charrette has authored more than a dozen novels. His gaming materials have received many Origins Awards. Charrette was inducted in the Origins Hall of Fame in 2003. His work is known for a clean, realistic style that invokes themes from Feudal Japan and Chanbara films and in particular, historical and fantastic representations of Samurai culture. His early work in game design and miniature sculpting set the tone for depictions of Japanese mythology in American fantasy and science fiction. His 1979 role-playing game Bushido was one of the first role-playing games with a non-Western theme and remained in print for more than three decades. Charrette produced gaming products for Fantasy Games Unlimited, Grenadier Models Inc., Ral Partha Enterprises, FASA and currently operates Parroom Enterprises, LLC, a boutique miniatures game company.
MechWarrior is a set of role-playing game rules published by FASA Corporation in 1986 that were designed to be used with FASA's previously published mecha wargame BattleTech.
Catalyst Game Labs (CGL) was created in May 2007 by InMediaRes Productions, LLC for the purpose of publishing print Shadowrun and Classic BattleTech sourcebooks. In June 2007, WizKids transferred the licenses for both Shadowrun and Classic BattleTech from FanPro's United States subsidiary, FanPro LLC, to Catalyst, and in June 2008, Catalyst announced novels for Shadowrun and Classic BattleTech, as well as the MechWarrior series.
MechWarrior: Dark Age is the title of an ongoing series of novels set in the BattleTech Universe. The series was created by WizKids and has a companion game MechWarrior: Dark Age. The Dark Age series of books is intended as a re-launch of the BattleTech book franchise, to create an easy starting point for new readers.
Formed in 1975, Ral Partha Enterprises, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, is now known as Ral Partha Legacy Ltd. and produces miniature figures in 25 mm, 30 mm, 15 mm, and 54 mm scale. The company's products are made by spin-casting metal alloys which depict soldiers, adventurers and creatures that have been inspired by history and fiction. Their miniatures are sold at gaming conventions, in hobby shops, and by internet and mail order for use in role playing games, wargaming, dioramas, competitive painting, and collecting.
Adam Jury is a Canadian game designer and graphic designer working in the hobby games industry. He is the co-founder of Posthuman Studios.
Randall N. Bills is an American game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.
Robert Boyle is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.
InMediaRes Productions, LLC is an American game company that produces role-playing games and game supplements.
Shadowrun is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy, horror, and detective fiction. From its inception in 1989, it has spawned a franchise that includes a series of novels, a collectible card game, two miniature-based tabletop wargames, and multiple video games.
Harebrained Schemes, LLC is an American video game developer based in Seattle, Washington. It was co-founded in 2011 by Jordan Weisman and Mitch Gitelman. Prior to founding Harebrained Schemes, Weisman and Gitelman worked together on the MechCommander and Crimson Skies franchises at FASA, another company founded by Weisman. As of mid-2015, the studio had under 60 employees. The studio was acquired by Paradox Interactive in June 2018.
BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction is a non-fiction book published by Catalyst Game Labs in 2009 about the science fiction wargame BattleTech. It includes artwork, a description of the development of the game, an historical timeline of in-game history, and twenty pieces of fiction by authors such as Michael A. Stackpole, Robert Charrette and Victor Milán.
