Pulp Gamer Inside Track

We get into a lot of great topics today with Steve Jackson of Steve Jackson Games, to include some coming new releases of the popular Munchkin series. We had a great time and received a wealth of things to check out over the web. Be sure to visit these links:

• Sign up to play UltraCorps. You start with one planet to explore and expand to hundreds more. Your opponents will be fighting against you to do the same.
• Steve Jackson publishes the online ezine, Pyramid.
• You will also want to listen Fnordcast, for more gaming goodies.
• The crew at Steve Jackson Games plays Puzzle Pirates. Steve does not hesitate to invite us to play.
• Make sure to check out the new releases!

Steve Jackson, founder and editor-in-chief of Steve Jackson Games, has been playing games for over 30 years, and professionally designing since 1976. Born in Tulsa, he went to high school, and then to Rice University, in Houston. His classroom work was mediocre; he gave most of his attention to the school paper (he was editor for two years) and to late-night wargame sessions - both of which proved far more valuable than the schoolwork! He has survived involvements with the Republican Party (alternate delegate to the 1972 convention), the SCA (former landed baron and co- editor of the first Known World Handboke) and law school (escaping before the bar exam).

Steve’s first professional design work was for Metagaming, which published his Ogre, G.E.V., Melee, Wizard, and several other games. In 1980, Steve bought The Space Gamer magazine from Metagaming and started his own company. Success was immediate, with his Raid on Iran game. The next year, Steve Jackson Games released Car Wars . . . followed shortly by Illuminati, and later by GURPS, the “Generic Universal Roleplaying System.” In 1983, he was elected to the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame - the youngest person ever so honored. He has personally won eleven Origins Awards, and several more have gone to the company at large.

In 1990 and 1991, Steve got international press due to the Secret Service’s unconstitutional invasion of his office and confiscation of equipments and manuscripts. SJ Games filed suit against the Secret Service and the U.S. government, and won more than $50,000 in damages. Steve remains intermittently active with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in hopes of preventing further intrusions against other computer users.

He now spends a good deal of his time helping to manage Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, which at the moment employs 25 people. But he continues to write, as well. His current big hit is Munchkin, a very silly card game about killing monsters and taking their stuff. His current projects include a lot of Munchkin follow-ups, the online game UltraCorps, and the continuing quest to get his games translated into digital form. He likes pirates, Lego, Lego pirates, Kahlua, sushi, and playing games.

Steve is a longtime SF fan, and gets away to cons when he can. He writes filksongs (adequately) and sings (very badly). He is a confirmed Internet addict. His other hobbies include gardening, dinosaurs, Lego and tropical fish. In his copious free time, he reads, eats and sleeps.