R.I.P. FPG: It's Official
FPGQNA
Well, gang, it's time for a little bad news if you're a fan of Guardians
or Dark Age.
FPG will cease to exist in about three weeks. No more games. No more card
sets. Nada. As far as I know, the Brom Darkwerks book will be the last
release.
Oddly enough, the whole thing has very little to do with Luke and myself
(aka FPG Games). It is the result of a much bigger situation.
That doesn't stop it from hurting, of course, or the fact that we're outa
jobs.
I'd like to take a second here to thank everybody who supported our games.
I was always pleased at just what a GREAT group of players we had, and it
was always a pleasure meeting you guys face to face at shows (and the fact
that I was constantly showered with gifts has nothing to so with it...).
You guys are and always will be tops.
Hopefully I can continue some sort of presence in the game field, but
things overall are pretty grim right now for the most part (let's be
honest, huh?). Guardians and Dark Age MAY resurface somewhere else
(inquire within if SERIOUSLY interested), and I will continue to work on
the Guardians RPG in the hopes of it finding a home.
It was fun,
Dave Gentzler, soon to be ex-FPG Netdood
Dave Gentzler, FPG Netdood(tm)
*****IMPORTANT DARK AGE RULEBOOK ERRATA/ADDENDUM*****
ADD TO RULES:
Escalation Phase-
For each player's first three complete game turns no attacks may be launched by or at them. This first three turns is called the Escalation Phase and gives players a chance to get characters into play and build a solid defensive foundation before combat begins.
*****END ADDENDUM*****
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If your answer is NOT from fpg...@aol.com, it's NOT official! Assuming, of course, it's about an FPG product...
Send questions, comments or Bribery to fpg...@aol.com
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AtlasGames
Sigh.
Condolences to all at FPG (and to the publishing industry, losing another
fine company). Between the problems of the trading card market, and the
CCG market, things must have been getting pretty ugly. I hope the fine
employees out there in Pittsburgh quickly find satisfying new jobs.
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[O] John A. Nephew Atlas...@aol.com
[0] President, Atlas Games Cust. Service (612) 638-0098
[O] Atlas Web Page: http://members.aol.com/atlasgames/
IQJasonS
On behalf of the guys here at InQuest...I'd like to offer our sympathies.
You guys were always among the best to work and deal with, and your
presence in the gaming community will be missed. Feel free to keep in
touch with regard to freelance work and the like, should you be
interested.
yours,
Jason Schneiderman
Asst Editor, InQuest Magazine
Siefie
Luke, Dave, sorry to hear about you closing shop. I'm sure that all the
members of the Arcane Circle would agree with my sentiment. And just when
we were getting a big Dark Age following in our area. Oh well, good luck
in finding new homes and you can always count on us to help you guys.
Ciao!
Zev
MFriedFPG
It is certainly not official.
This first post has taken me and everyone here at FPG as a complete
surprise. We are all hoping that this was merely a misunderstanding on
Dave's part. After all, Dave and I were just discussing how cool our Tim
Bradstreet artbook coming this August is going to be. Nonetheless, one
part of Dave's post was correct. We have closed the gaming department.
This was not an overnight decision and in fact, was one of the hardest
one's I personally have ever had to make. I don't want to bore everyone
with my history, but I am very personally attached to our games. Much of
the last three years of my life have been involved in and around it. Some
of the best friends I will ever have came out of these projects; Keith
Parkinson, Luke Peterschmidt and Brom, and I give up producing games
reluctantly, and not without a long and hard fought battle. And while it
is true that all games are put on hold for now, do not count this as a
"never do games again" move on our part. When the market conditions allow
it, we will be right back into it!
As far as the rest of FPG, things have never been better. Our new
agreement with Random House has allowed us to get the kind of mass-market
distribution we needed. Our up-coming line of artbooks, graphic novels and
illustrated books is incredibly exciting. Titles based on the works of
Boris, Chris Achilleos, Drew Struzan's STAR WARS, Bernie Wrightson and Tim
Bradstreet will be out by the end of this year! And that is just the
beginning. Then, there are trading cards and sticker projects coming out
based on Disney's animated Tarzan as well as a planned "hush-hush" line of
action figures.
So, even though the gaming end of FPG is gone (and I SINCERELY hope it's
VERY temporary), FPG as a whole is moving ahead aggressively and looking
forward to a well-diversified future.
I thank everyone for the concern that the original R.I.P. post caused, if
I can answer any other questions, feel free to call me at #412-854-0200 or
e-mail me direct at MFri...@aol.com.
Sincerely,
Michael Friedlander
President, FPG Inc.
P.S. Please ignore those posts about our buying the Pittsburgh Penguins
too! (Yes, it's a joke...)
FPGQNA
This is a follow-up to Mike's post (not to be confused with Mike Post, the
guy who wrote the Hill Street Blues theme) and it's me verifying that,
yes, I screwed up in the most royal of ways by announcing that the entire
company was done. Comes from being sorta shell-shocked upon hearing you're
out of a job and missing a lot of what was said afterward at the meeting.
I still have about a hundred emotions a second screaming through my head,
and that sometimes leads to boneheaded statements. I could try to blame it
my evil twin...
I didn't make the original post with any ill intent or malice...GOTTA make
that clear. I was just trying to inform the loyal game fans of what I knew
to be going on and thank them for putting up with us.
If I unduly alarmed, confused or angered anybody, you have my most sincere
apologies.
Dave (and his Evil Twin) Gentzler, Former FPG Netdood
(available for birthday parties, weddings, bar-mitzvahs)
Cigsfred
Subject: Re: R.I.P. FPG: It's Official
From: mfri...@aol.com (MFriedFPG)
Date: 21 Feb 1997 23:42:31 GMT
Message-ID: <19970221234...@ladder02.news.aol.com>
Michael B. DeZearn
This is really sad news. Even though I never got a chance to play
Guardians, it looked very interesting and I enjoyed the Guardians
displays at last year's Origins and GENCON. They added something to the
proceedings. I will miss this presence and the chance to play
Guardians.
Regards
Mike DeZearn
mdez...@erols.com