From:	David Hinkley <dhinkley@***.ORG>
Subject:	Re: FASA's On/Off Course?
Date:	Wed, 6 May 1998 16:41:27 +0000

On 5 May 98 at 18:46, MC23 wrote:

> Once upon a time, losthalo wrote;
[SNIP]

> It's simple, FASA painted themselves in a corner with Shadowrun
> in
> that everything happens in your home city. Why would the general
> player of Shadowrun buy a book on Japan when all his character's
> career is going to be in Seattle? Until FASA changes the direction
> of how Shadowrun adventures work (basically to involve traveling)
> then don't expect to see anything on other cities unless you look
> for them on the net.
I am not so sure that it is a corner in either a game world sense or
in a game publishing sense.

The key to survival in the shadows is knowledge of the local turf.
Oh, there are a few indiviuals who can move from area to area, but
the rest use their local knowledge to survive. They know where to get
things, information, where to hide, who to talk. One can have a long
and sucessful career in one city. You can also have a real short life
on the lam in a strange town.

From a sales point of view the game can be played and played well
with just the rulebook. Once they find out what a good game it is
then they start buying books. The key is to get them to buy the first
one. And it easier to sell a single book rather then a $50 plus stack
of books. AD&D periodically had that problem (sold them not played
them)

The corner FASA did paint them selves into is the restriction on the
legal movement of key equipment needed by a major segment of players.
That is guns and illegal cyber and bio wear. This limits the movement
of some types of charactors. Now with smuggling there may be ways
around some of them. Then it becomes much less risky to change
countries.




David Hinkley
dhinkley@***.org