Halfway there and the Story of Rocket Age!
almost 5 years ago
– Wed, Jun 05, 2019 at 04:56:19 PM
Thanks to everyone for getting us to the halfway mark! Make sure to tell your friends about Rocket Age on every channel and frequency.
In this update we share the story of how Rocket Age came to be. Next update we start looking at what is inside Rocket Age (5e) with Alyssa Hart's character sheet.
The Story of Rocket Age
Rocket Age began when I lifted our son up and shouted, "Rocket Rangers, Away!" The child would then be tossed into the air and caught. From there the idea of creating a retro-pulp sci-fi setting was born. A map of the Solar System was drawn up and an era was chosen. At first it was thought that the 1950s could be a good match, but as things changed the 1930s were decided on.
Having an idea and bringing it to publication are two separate things and require separate skills. At the time I was a fairly new freelance writer with only a few credits on my CV. In a turn around from how most tabletop RPGs are designed, I set out to find a publisher who could make Rocket Age a reality. With a small portfolio showing what the finished project would contain, I went to GenCon in 2010 to shop my idea around and hopefully build a list of publishers I could interest.
Freelance writing means being able to tolerate a lot of refusals, rejections, and sometimes out right rudeness. Undaunted, I managed to get two publishers to show interest in Rocket Age. Matthew Sprange from Mongoose Publishing wanted to make Rocket Age a Traveller setting, but the deal could not go forward as Mongoose was experiencing some difficulties at the time. Sarah Newton from Cubicle 7 wanted to publish Rocket Age as a setting for their Starblazer Adventuresgame, and a contract was signed so that work could begin. It was Sarah who suggested a move to the 1930s and cowboys on Mars. This led to Rocket Age being set in 1938, as well as the US Cavalry being an active force in the American occupied portions of Mars.
Sarah left Cubicle 7 and the project landed on Dom Mcdowall's desk. As Cubicle 7 was not going to continue Starblazer Adventures, the system for Rocket Age was changed to the Vortex system. With some modifications the Vortex system, created for Cubicle 7 by Dave Chapman, was applied to the setting.
In 2013 the Rocket Age Corebook was launched at GenCon, with Blood Red Mars and several small pdf only adventures following. 2014 saw me win a Judge's Spotlight ENnie Award for the Rocket Age Corebook (Vortex). More pdf only episodes were published and Ken was made the line developer for Rocket Age. Heroes of the Solar System was put together as a player's resource and expansion of the setting. Trail of the Scorpion, an anthology of six linked adventures that form a long campaign was a project of a different sort. Three authors, James Spahn, Matthew Haines, and Anne Toole worked with me to write the adventures. Sharing the sandbox with other writers was and is one of my favorite parts about Rocket Age. With a slight gap while I worked on Northlands Saga Complete for Frog God Games and other projects for Cubicle 7, Lure of Venus was finally published.
I left Cubicle 7 in 2016 and purchased all rights, art, product, materials, and stock. Krystal (my wife, and our business manager/ graphic designer) as well as our close friends Sam, Will, and Brian founded Why Not Games. In the two years since, Why Not Games has produced a fiction anthology, two adventures, and the sourcebook Imperial Jupiter for Rocket Age in the Vortex system. We have also been producing 5e content such as Caturday (5e), Surial Bear-Folk of the North (5e), as well as Catopia Prime (Starfinder Compatible). At the same time we have been working to adapt Rocket Age to the 5e engine, and this project is the result of what we have learned as writers, artists, and developers.
We invite you to strap on a rocket pack, lock down that bubble helmet, and join us not just in bringing Rocket Age to new fans, but in helping it to grow and evolve.