Jeff Grubb On the Life of a Game Designer

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Jeff Grubb On the Life of a Game Designer

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday February 15, 2012 @09:11AM from the thanks-for-all-the-pretend-time dept.

First time accepted submitter Synchis writes "Fantasy Author Thomas A. Knight continues his 29-day blogfest today by posting a special interview with Author and Game Designer Jeff Grubb. Jeff has been involved in projects ranging from the original D&D Unearthed Arcana and Monster Manual II, to more recent games such as Guild Wars Nightfall, and is also the author of various novels set in DragonLance, Forgotten Realms, Magic: The Gathering, Warcraft, StarCraft and the Guild Wars shared universes."

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I should see what he's written recently by Tawnos · 2012-02-15 09:32 · Score: 2

Jeff Grub was one of my favorite "dabbling" fantasy authors. He wrote some of the first canonical M:TG books, e.g. The Brothers' War. Totally OT, but it reminded me to check out what he's written since then, since I haven't read anything by him in a long time.
1. Re:I should see what he's written recently by Tawnos · 2012-02-15 09:33 · Score: 1
  
  Also, he's the entire reason my username is Tawnos.
2. Re:I should see what he's written recently by myrdos2 · 2012-02-15 11:39 · Score: 1
  
  I strongly recommend Lord Toede.
3. Re:I should see what he's written recently by c1t1z3nk41n3 · 2012-02-15 12:40 · Score: 1
  
  I read that book when I was in high school. A quick peek on Amazon seems to suggest it's out of print. Maybe I'll pick up a used copy. I remember enjoying it immensely. I never knew at the time what an impressive resume he has. I can't begin to recount how many forgotten realms books I've read to say nothing of our own adventures in the setting. On the upside it looks like he's got a star wars book coming out in a couple months so I'll be able to give that a go.
4. Re:I should see what he's written recently by Asmor · 2012-02-15 13:50 · Score: 1
  
  I loved The Brothers' War. Great novelization of some poorly-codified mythology.
He's also quite the artist... by PRMan · 2012-02-15 09:46 · Score: 1

If I'm not mistaken, way back in the day (80s), he drew almost every character in the Marvel Universe for the Marvel Super Heroes Role Playing Game character books. He has a very clean style that's good for that type of work.

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Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
1. Re:He's also quite the artist... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-15 11:20 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Alas - You're thinking of Jeff Butler as the artist. I and Steve Winter were the co-designers of the game.
  Jeff Grubb
Oh man! by DC2088 · 2012-02-15 10:15 · Score: 1

I loved Liberty's Crusade.
Re:Daily life of a game designer by RatherBeAnonymous · 2012-02-15 10:50 · Score: 1

When you put it like that, it sounds WAY better than the life of a Slashdot troll.
Re:It's a shame... by loufoque · 2012-02-15 10:51 · Score: 1

That kind of games is not primarily targeted at children.
Rare instance of someone who likes what they do... by LateArthurDent · 2012-02-15 12:36 · Score: 3, Insightful

I read the interview and every answer seemed peppered with excitement about the industry he's in. Jeff doesn't just design the games, he plays D&D and enjoys it. When he writes his novels in an already established world, he looks at the existing lore and tries to see how it all fits together to re-imagine it, instead of the re-imagining version of so many other authors, which is essentially to do their own thing and slap the name of the characters and locations in there.
It's refreshing and it makes me want to check out his stuff. It feels like one of us, albeit with a lot more talent than most, is out there writing these stories and designing the games. It looks like he has a blast doing it, and cares about the end result, not just the paycheck.
Re:Quick recap by Ihmhi · 2012-02-15 13:11 · Score: 2

Please. Bitches love polyhedral dice.

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Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Finder's Stone Trilogy by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-15 16:26 · Score: 0

I thought the Finder's Stone Trilogy was excellent (especially Azure Bonds), as well as the follow up books. Without a doubt they are my favorites of all the D&D novels I've ever read (and I've read quite a few). All I can say is Thank You Jeff for the memories!
Jeff Grub by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-16 00:04 · Score: 0

Jeff Grub was a fantastic author. He was brilliant in stories and designing the games.
pvc fönster
Re:Rare instance of someone who likes what they do by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-16 01:18 · Score: 0

It's refreshing and it makes me want to check out his stuff.
First, a shout-out to Jeff Grubb - I'm an ENWorld regular who loves your work.
Second, to LateArthurDent, you could do far worse than check out Jeff's work. I've followed him since the TSR days.
Jeff Grub by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-16 07:30 · Score: 0

His first Girl friend was friends with my folks. She went to school with him and said something to the effect of his Senior year he switched his degree from engineering to english. Probably one of the best actions he could have made.