Steve Jackson (British game designer)

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Steve Jackson
Born (1951-05-20) 20 May 1951 (age 72)
Altrincham, England
Education Keele University (1968–1972)
Occupation(s) Fantasy author, entrepreneur, game designer, writer, game reviewer
Known for

Steve Jackson (born 20 May 1951) is a British game designer, writer, game reviewer and co-founder of UK game publisher Games Workshop.

Contents

History

Steve Jackson began his career in games in 1974 as a freelance journalist with Games & Puzzles magazine. [1] In early 1975, Jackson co-founded the company Games Workshop with school friends John Peake and Ian Livingstone. [2] [3] : 43  They started publishing with the monthly newsletter, Owl and Weasel , on which Jackson did most of the writing, and they sent copies of the first issue to subscribers of the Albion fanzine; Brian Blume, co-partner of American publisher TSR, received one of these copies and in return sent back a copy of TSR's new game Dungeons & Dragons . Jackson and Livingstone felt that this game was more imaginative than any other contemporary games being produced in the UK, and so worked out an arrangement with Blume for an exclusive deal to sell D&D in Europe. [3] : 43  In late 1975, Jackson and Livingstone organized their first convention, the initial Games Day. [3] : 43  While selling game products directly from their flat, their landlord evicted them in summer 1976 after people kept going there looking for a physical store. [3] : 43  By 1978 the first Games Workshop store had opened, in London. [4]

At a Games Day convention in 1980 Jackson and Livingstone met Geraldine Cooke, an editor at Penguin Books. They persuaded her to consider publication of a book about the role-playing hobby. This was originally intended to be an introductory guide, but the idea of an interactive gamebook seemed more appealing. [5] After several months Cooke decided that this was viable and commissioned Jackson and Livingstone to develop it. [6] In 1980, Jackson and Livingstone began to develop the concept of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series, the first volume of which ( The Warlock of Firetop Mountain ) was published in 1982 by Puffin Books (a subsidiary imprint of Penguin). [3] : 46  Jackson and Livingstone would go on to individually write many volumes each, with further authors adding even more. Steve Jackson notably wrote Sorcery! , a four-part series utilizing the same system as Fighting Fantasy but where Fighting Fantasy mainly targeted children, Steve Jackson's Sorcery! was marketed to an older audience. [7] Jackson and Livingstone attributed the gamebooks' popularity to their difficulty. [8]

After the success of the Fighting Fantasy series, Jackson designed the first interactive telephone role-playing game, FIST , which was based loosely on the concepts of the gamebooks. [9] Jackson and Livingstone sold their Games Workshop stake in 1991. [3] : 50  In the mid-1990s Jackson spent 2.5 years as a games journalist with the London Daily Telegraph . [1] He then set up computer games developer Lionhead Studios with Peter Molyneux. [1] Jackson left Lionhead in 2006 when Microsoft bought the company. [7] He is an honorary professor at Brunel University in London, where he teaches the Digital Games Theory and Design MA. [9]

He is often mistaken for the American game designer with the same name. [10] The American Jackson wrote three books in the Fighting Fantasy series, [11] which adds to the confusion, especially as these books were simply credited to "Steve Jackson" without any acknowledgement that it was a different person. [12]

Works

Books

Video games

Other

Related Research Articles

<i>Fighting Fantasy</i> Roleplaying gamebook

Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player role-playing gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volume in the series was published in paperback by Puffin in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Livingstone</span> Fantasy writer and entrepreneur

Sir Ian Livingstone is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. Along with Steve Jackson, he is the co-founder of a series of role-playing gamebooks, Fighting Fantasy, and the author of many books within that series. He co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 and helped create Eidos Interactive as executive chairman of Eidos Plc in 1995.

<i>Titan</i> (Fighting Fantasy book)

Titan: The Fighting Fantasy World is a book in the Fighting Fantasy series of children's role-playing gamebooks, first published by Puffin Books in 1986. Although credited to Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, it was actually written by Marc Gascoigne, although mostly based on locations, characters and events already described in other books in the series. It is written in the manner of an encyclopedia about the fantasy world of Titan, in which the majority of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks are set.

<i>The Warlock of Firetop Mountain</i> Adventure gamebook

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Russ Nicholson. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1982, the title is the first gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002, and Scholastic Books in 2017. As well as launching the Fighting Fantasy series, the gamebook inspired two direct sequels and five novels, and has been adapted into a board game, an audio drama and a video game.

<i>Steve Jacksons Sorcery!</i>

Sorcery!, originally titled Steve Jackson's Sorcery!, is a single-player four-part adventure gamebook series written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Blanche. Originally published by Penguin Books between 1983 and 1985, the titles are part of the Fighting Fantasy canon, but were not allocated numbers within the original 59-book series. Sorcery! was re-published by Wizard Books in 2003 and recreated as the Sorcery! video game series by Inkle.

<i>The Citadel of Chaos</i> Adventure gamebook by Steve Jackson

The Citadel of Chaos is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by Russ Nicholson. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1983, the title is the second gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. The gamebook was also adapted into a video game.

<i>Deathtrap Dungeon</i> 1984 adventure gamebook

Deathtrap Dungeon is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Iain McCaig. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1984, the title is the sixth gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002.

<i>The Warlock of Firetop Mountain</i> (board game) Board game

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a Games Workshop adventure board game published in 1986, based on the Fighting Fantasy gamebook The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The game can be played by 2-6 players. A typical game has a length of two hours.

<i>Caverns of the Snow Witch</i>

Caverns of the Snow Witch is a single-player roleplaying gamebook, written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Gary Ward and Edward Crosby and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2003. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 9th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031830-5) and 10th in the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-432-1).

<i>Legend of Zagor</i> Roleplaying gamebook

Legend of Zagor is a single-player roleplaying gamebook written by Carl Sargent, although it is credited to Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Martin McKenna and originally published in 1993 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2004. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 54th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-036566-4) and 20th in the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-551-4).

<i>Appointment with F.E.A.R.</i>

Appointment with F.E.A.R. is a single-player roleplaying gamebook written by Steve Jackson, illustrated by Declan Considine and originally published in 1985 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2004. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 17th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031922-0) and 18th in the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-527-1). A digital version developed by Tin Man Games is available for Android and iOS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russ Nicholson</span> British illustrator (died 2023)

Russ Nicholson was a British illustrator, best known for his black and white fantasy art.

<i>Creature of Havoc</i> Fighting Fantasy book

Creature of Havoc is a single-player roleplaying gamebook written by British game designer Steve Jackson, illustrated by Alan Langford and originally published in 1986 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. It forms part of Jackson and Ian Livingstone's fictional Fighting Fantasy series, and is the last Fighting Fantasy gamebook written by Jackson. It is the 24th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-032040-7) and 4th in the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-391-0).

<i>Clash of the Princes</i>

Clash of the Princes is a boxed set consisting of The Warrior's Way and The Warlock's Way, released by Puffin Books in 1986, written by Andrew Chapman and Martin Allen and illustrated by John Blanche. They can be played as standard Fighting Fantasy gamebooks or combined for a two-player experience. In the two-player game, two scores are kept track of on a piece of paper in order to keep both players' game experiences synchronized.

<i>Return to Firetop Mountain</i> 1992 book by Ian Livingstone

Return to Firetop Mountain is a single-player roleplaying gamebook written by Ian Livingstone and illustrated by Martin McKenna. It was originally published in 1992 by Puffin Books and was later republished by Wizard Books in 2003. The gamebook forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series, where it is the 50th volume in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-036008-5) and the 16th in the later Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-481-X).

Philippa Dickinson is a former editor for Puffin Books, and chair of Random House Children's Publishing. During her time at Puffin, she was the editor of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and also acted for a time as the desk editor of Warlock magazine.

<i>The Warlock of Firetop Mountain</i> (video game) 1984 video game

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is an action game published by Crystal Computing in 1984 for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It is loosely based on the adventure gamebook of the same name written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and published by Puffin Books in 1982.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain refers to a franchise created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone:

Dicing with Dragons is a book written by Ian Livingstone and published by Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1982 that explains what role-playing games are.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jackson, Steve (2007). "The Warlord". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best . Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 365–368. ISBN   978-1-932442-96-0.
  2. ↑ Livingstone, Ian (April 1975). "Editorial". Owl and Weasel . Games Workshop (3): 2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN   978-1-907702-58-7.
  4. ↑ "The Gaming Dynasty That Began In A West London Flat". Londonist. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  5. ↑ McFerran, Damien (16 August 2013). "You are the hero: A history of Fighting Fantasy". Eurogamer . Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Davison, Pete (16 August 2013). "You Are The Hero: A History of Fighting Fantasy". USgamer. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  7. 1 2 Plant, Mike (6 June 2013). "Interview: Steve Jackson, role-playing game titan". The Register . Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Capper, Andy. "Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone". Vice . Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  9. 1 2 Dredge, Stuart (23 January 2014). "Steve Jackson talks F.I.S.T. – the first interactive telephone role playing game". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions". Steve Jackson Games. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  11. ↑ "Steve Jackson – Biography and Public Warning". Steve Jackson Games . 14 December 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  12. ↑ other than one subtle difference: a book written by either of the two co-founders is credited as "by Steve Jackson" or "by Ian Livingstone". A book written by any other author is introduced as "Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone presents" with the author's name simply listed in the preliminaries.
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