It was recently revealed by Random Games that the company is developing Talisman, a computer version of the fantasy board game originally published in 1983 by Games Workshop. While no longer in print, the board game is reported to have sold over 800,000 units, and among this fan base, copies of the game and its expansion packs are known to sell for many times their original value.
The board game offers players a variety of characters with different strength and magical ability levels as well as special individual abilities and advantages. By advancing through areas of increasing difficulty, you build up your character until you can become ruler of the land by obtaining the Crown of Command. We had the chance to learn more about the computer version from Producer Rhonda Henderson of Random Games.


Jonric: Please give our readers a brief introduction to Random Games.

Rhonda Henderson: The founder of Random Games, Randall Masteller, got his start in the computer game business with his own creation, the Warrior of Ras fantasy RPG series on the TRS-80, C64, Atari-800, Apple-II, and IBM PC. He started Random Programming in 1985 and helped introduce the PC market to both Virgin Interactive and Microprose. In 1993 Random Programming expanded to become a full-fledged development house able to produce all aspects of a product. Additional programmers were brought on board. Artists capable of creating the art needed for high-end games were hired. Music composers/musicians came to work with us, and an in-house QA staff was established. Random Programming went corporate in 1995, becoming Random Games, Inc., and has since developed relationships with Hasbro, Mattel and GT Interactive among others.


Jonric: Who are the key members of the team? What kind of gaming and especially RPG backgrounds do you have, both as developers and as game players?

Rhonda Henderson: The key members of our Talisman team include, but certainly are not limited to: Randall Masteller, President of RGI. Randall has been an avid gamer for many years, has an extensive collection of RPG's, and loves to regale us with his "war stories" from the early days of this genre. Mark Fitzgerald (Fitz), is the Vice President in charge of programming at Random. Tony Nichols is the lead artist for Talisman. Keith Mickelson is the visionary designer, who has helped us translate this board game into a viable computer product. And then there's me, Rhonda Henderson, the Producer. I, like many of the employees at Random have always been into the RPG genre, starting with D&D, moving onto text-based computer games (on the TRS-80, if you can believe that!), playing in the SCA, and finally becoming addicted to MMP online RPG's. Random Games has always encouraged an environment of fun, and has been host for many RPG groups after-hours.

Jonric: Please introduce/summarize the Talisman board game. What are its particular strengths that led to its popularity?


Rhonda Henderson: Talisman: The Magical Quest Game is the official title of the board game product. The basic story as laid out by Games Workshop is:

The game board represents a land once ruled by a powerful wizard. The wizard is now dead, but legend has it that if anyone can make their way through the perils of the various regions and discover the wizard's Crown of Command, they will be granted the power to become ruler over the land. It is this legend that has drawn here the various adventurers, each of whom seeks the Crown.
You are one of the adventurers, and you will meet powerful enemies, discover friends and magical objects, and meet strange beings on your journey. Finally, when you have gained sufficient power, you can cross the last and most dangerous region to secure the Crown of Command. But no matter how powerful you have become, your journey will have been in vain unless you have first found the TALISMAN.

The main element that has led to Talisman's popularity is that first and foremost, it's a board game. For many players in the early "80"s, the paper RPG's were alien and hard to understand. Talisman presented a world with set rules, and a very specific background and goals which could be easily understood, in a board game environment that people were comfortable with, allowing for a gentle introduction to this nascent genre.


Jonric: What led you to become interested in doing a computer version? What do you feel makes it particularly suitable to a computer version?

Rhonda Henderson: After the success of Warhammer 40,000, Chaos Gate, Games Workshop asked us to provide them with proposals for other games. Fitz and one of his lead programmers came to me to suggest Talisman, and I jumped on it! I've always thought that Talisman would make a wonderful computer game conversion. I have been known to sit at home alone at my coffee table, and play a game of Talisman when I couldn't find a group of friends who could take the time (or were awake) to play with me.

The trouble with this type of playing is the time-consuming setup of the boards and tokens, and the inability to really develop a character in this setting. I know that if I enjoy the game so much that I would play alone, there must be others who love this game as much as I do. There must be an existing market for a self-contained version of this game that can be played any time day or night, at a moment's notice, and if we create a PC version of this game, we will be opening this title to the hundreds of thousands of people who have never heard of Talisman.


Jonric: What are the major RPG elements in Talisman, and how important a role do they play overall?

Rhonda Henderson: In the original board game with all the expansion packs, there were literally dozens of characters that you could play with. Each of these characters has special abilities and starting strengths/weaknesses that allow for different styles of play. We will be including 36 of these characters in the initial PC release, and each of them will be able to make use of their special abilities. Players will be able to see the development of their characters as they journey around the world by graphics representing themselves changing based on items they are carrying, and weapons they are wielding. Our multiplayer version will have chat built-in, so that players can taunt each other, congratulate each other and discuss good and bad moves. The player interactions are some of what makes Talisman as a board game so much fun, and we intend to create a PC game where these interactions are encouraged and made an integral part of the game.


Jonric: What do you feel will make your Talisman game stand out from the many other RPG and fantasy games currently in development?

Rhonda Henderson: I think the biggest difference between Talisman and anything else currently on the market or in development for RPG's is the fact that it is so tightly based on a board game. We are making every effort to keep the good elements of the board game, while at the same time, creating an environment where the player can be fully immersed in this alternate reality. This game is not designed to be massively multiplayer, or persistent universe as many of the latest RPG's are, but it will have multiplayer capabilities, and will be created to work with matchmaking services. Talisman will be able to be played with remote friends or strangers as well as a single player against a computer AI.

Jonric: What is the state of development at the moment? How long would you expect it to be until release once you secure a publisher.

Rhonda Henderson: We currently have a text-based core for the game, which allows a user to play a game beginning to end, incorporating all of the board elements, strangers, events and spells. We are working on building into this core, the character elements and abilities as mentioned earlier.

We are still actively developing this project even without a publisher at this time. We believe we are still on track for first quarter of 2001 release.

Jonric: Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers, or anything you'd like to ask them?

Rhonda Henderson: As this product has developed, I have noticed one striking fact about this game: people who know about Talisman want a computer version; people who have never heard of it, and who are given the opportunity to play the board game immediately fall in love with it, and they become devoted advocates of a PC version. I really believe that if we can create a game that retains the flavor and simplicity of the original board game (and we are!), we will have a smash hit on our hands.


Jonric: Talisman sounds like a game that fans of the board version and other gamers alike can look forward to, and we'll certainly look forward to watching how development progresses over the coming months. In the meantime, thanks very much to Rhonda for providing an informative first look at the game.
Jonric - Richard Aihoshi

LEGENDARY FANTASY GAME. HAS AUDIENCE. SEEKS PUBLISHER.

(Cary, N.C.) Software developer Random Games, Inc., announces the immediate availability of the interactive version of one of the most successful fantasy board games ever published.

IRandom has spent the past year designing, coding, and creating art for the first software version of a blockbuster fantasy game. In its board-based incarnation the game has sold more than 800,000 units.

While the interactive version of the game was initially intended for distribution by one of the world"s largest software publishers, that publisher has recently shifted its focus as a result of an ongoing reorganization.

As a result, Random, which has successfully developed dozens of games for major publishers, is announcing the availability of rights to publish this title in interactive formats. The game is appropriate for PC, game console, and web publication.

The title itself is among the best-known and most beloved of fantasy games, with a following that verges on the fanatic. E-bay auctions of editions of this game and its expansion sets consistently reach prices dozens of times higher than the original purchase price.

During the search for the appropriate publisher, Random continues to proceed with development, aimed at a Q1 2001 release date.

Further details about this title will be forthcoming, or can be obtained by contacting Randall Masteller, president of Random Games. (randall@randomgames.com)

YOU GUESSED IT! ...IT'S TALISMAN!

(Cary, N.C.) Entertainment software developer Random Games, Inc. announced on Wednesday that it is actively engaged in the search for a publisher for the interactive version of one of the best-selling fantasy board games of all time. The ambiguity of the original press release prompted much speculation.

Today the company announces the title of the game.

"It's Talisman," said Randall Masteller, Random's president and ceo. It's one of the most appealing franchises in fantasy gaming. And it's ready to cast its spell on the interactive market."

The interactive version has been in development for much of 1999, aimed at a Q1 2001 release. Development proceeded initially in an arrangement with a major software publisher who has recently reorganized and shifted its focus.

"It's a shame in some ways that they [the original publisher] didn't complete their end of the arrangement," Masteller says. "But it's also a hell of an opportunity for a publisher who wants to reach the fantasy market with an outstanding version of a board game that's already sold more than 800,000 units. So we're looking for the right publisher"

Talisman has achieved legendary status among fantasy gamers since its introduction in 1983. While Games Workshop, focusing its energies on its popular Warhammer franchise, has not introduced a new Talisman module in several years, the game continues to attract a loyal and even obsessive following. Copies of the game and its expansion sets frequently fetch prices of hundreds of dollars on sites such as E-Bay. The large community of Talisman fans continue to gather at conventions, continue to lobby for new Talisman materials.

"The audience is there," Masteller says, "and the game is so appealing that the existing audience only scratches the surface of its overall potential."

That potential prompted Random to devote substantial resources to designing and preparing the core code, as well as initial art, for one of the most ambitious fantasy games ever. "We're putting the Talisman universe, with all of its flavor and features, into interactive form," Masteller says. "Our PC version is already shaping up as a stunning product, and we're eager to work with a publisher to bring Talisman to game consoles as well."