James Wallis (games designer)
This article cites its page references.(January 2022) ) |
- Not to be confused with British politician Jamie Wallis, or Myriador's Jamie Wallis, who converted Steve Jackson's Sorcery! into d20 modules.
James Wallis is a British designer and publisher of
Career
James Wallis began roleplaying in 1981 through
In October 1994, Wallis founded Hogshead Publishing,[1]: 305 a company which specialised in role-playing and storytelling games.[2] Wallis based the company in the UK, and got a license from Phil Gallagher at Games Workshop to publish books for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.[1]: 305 Wallis and Rilstone changed the name of Inter*action to Interactive Fantasy to resolve trademark concerns beginning with its second issue, which was also the first publication by Hogshead; the magazine only lasted two more issues after that.[1]: 305 Warhammer sold well, but Hogshead had problems with their distributor, and Wallis had to lay off the entire staff of Hogshead.[1]: 305 Matt Howarth eventually pulled the license for Bugtown from Wallis, and the game was never published.[1]: 305 By 1996, Wallis had also begun working in the computer industry and soon after he went into magazine publishing, working on Warhammer on evenings and weekends.[1]: 306 By late 1997, there was an improvement in cashflow so Wallis moved the company from his spare bedroom to sharing an office with ProFantasy Software, and hired Matthew Pook.[1]: 306 Wallis was able to publish his game The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen in 1998.[1]: 306 He helped the principals of ProFantasy Software resurrect the Dragonmeet convention in 2000.[1]: 383
Wallis announced on 26 November 2002 that he was ending Hogshead Publishing, and Mark Ricketts bought the company name in February 2003.[1]: 307 Wallis started the company Magnum Opus Press in 2007 by obtaining licensing for the Dragon Warriors role-playing game; Magnum Opus Press published a new Dragon Warriors 1.1 edition with supplements starting in 2008 before problems with the licensor ended publication on 1 April 2011.[1]: 307 Wallis released more books through Magnum Opus, including the debut novel Game Night (2007) by Jonny Nexus, and a new edition of The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen (2008).[1]: 307
Wallis is a narrative media consultant, creating online games for clients including the BBC, the U.K. Home Office, and Endemol Television.[3] He lives in London with his wife and children.[3]
He has also created games and books for other publishers, including the award-winning card game Once Upon A Time, which he co-authored with Richard Lambert and Andrew Rilstone. In 2001, he founded the annual Diana Jones Award for "excellence in gaming". He currently runs the gaming consultancy Spaaace, which includes the publishing subsidiary Magnum Opus Press, and his personal blog, Cope.
In January 2013 Wallis launched a Kickstarter for a RPG called Alas Vegas.[4] A PDF download was released to backers in December 2016, and the physical book was published in November 2017.[5]
Games
James Wallis's published games include:
- )
- Origins Awardfor "Best Children's, Family or Party Game")
Games he has edited and/or published include:
- Origins Awardfor "Best Graphic Presentation Book Format Product", 2002)
Writing and Periodicals
In 1994 he founded and published Interactive Fantasy (IF), an early journal of 'games design and criticism'. The editor was Andrew Rilstone. The second issue included the first printing of the essay 'I Have No Words And I Must Design' by Greg Costikyan.
He wrote for the British
He also co-wrote scripts for the television show 404 Not Found.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
- ^ Sugarbaker, Allan (2002). "Interviews: James Wallis". OgreCave.com. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0.
- ^ "ALAS VEGAS: an RPG of bad memories, bad luck & bad blood by James Wallis — Kickstarter".
- ^ "ALAS VEGAS: an RPG of bad memories, bad luck & bad blood by James Wallis » The update you thought you'd never see — Kickstarter".
- ^ Atlas Games Once Upon a Time homepage.
- ^ Haring, Scott D. (17 December 1999). "Second Sight: The Millennium's Best Card Game". Pyramid (Online). Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ^ Haring, Scott D. (24 December 1999). "Second Sight: The Millennium's Best "Other" Game and The Millennium's Most Influential Person". Pyramid (Online). Steve Jackson Games. Retrieved 16 February 2008.
External links
- Spaaace, the games consultancy
- COPE, James Wallis's personal blog
- "First Church Of James Wallis Sanctified", part of the webzine Critical Miss
- Magnum Opus Press