The Heart of the TARDIS

GENCON US

2008-08-19T22:14:00.000+01:00

Sorry there hasn't been any news for a while - if it helps, I've been writing like a crazed loon. It was only when I was reading the posts people have been making on RPGnet after playing demos of the game that I realised that I haven't posted on here for a month!

It's not been a happy month outside of the writing, but at least the writing has been productive - the rulebooks (both Players and Gamemasters books) are done... I'm just polishing off the Adventures book (the adventures that have been written (not by me I add) are awesome).

The feedback on RPGnet has been fairly positive, and people have had fun in the demo game, but if you're going to post - be kind... thank you!

Okay, more news as it happens.

Journey's End

2008-07-13T15:12:00.002+01:00

It may be the end of series 4, but it also is close to the end of the core rules writing. Playtest is done, and a huge thanks must go out to all the playtesters whose input has shaped it from its humble beginnings into something a lot cooler. I've been holding off writing a couple of bits until the series 4 finale aired, as I didn't want to write something only to have it change dramatically due to events in that huge finale.

Now? Just a couple more tweaks, another read through to make sure it's okay, polish off one chapter, compile the adventures that are going into the third book of the boxed set, then it's off to the BBC for approvals. Fingers crossed...

If all goes well, it'll be out in time for the build up to Christmas, just as people are getting geared up for the Christmas special... Though I can't get the title someone suggested as a joke on OG of "God rest ye merry Cybermen..."

Once approvals are done, we can start thinking about supplements and expansions - and there are a lot I have in mind, opening up the whole Whoniverse to players...

OMG!!

2008-06-29T13:50:00.003+01:00

Talk about cliff-hanger... ARG!! The last couple of minutes of "The Stolen Earth" were awesome (and the rest of the episode was excellent too), but that cliff-hanger was just... arg! Need "Journey's End" NOW!!!

Notice how I'm not discussing exactly what happens... as River Song would say "SPOILERS!!"

Meanwhile, in other news...

I met another couple of actors from the Whoniverse. Ian Fairbairn is probably best known for his roles in other SF dramas from the era, but he made a few appearances in Doctor Who, most notably in "Inferno" and "The Invasion". Very conversational with some excellent stories, and happy to pose with a visiting cyberman.

Also, the very cool Kai Owen, best known for his role as Gwen Cooper's long suffering boyfriend/husband Rhys in Torchwood. Kinda surreal in one way as well, as he's the first of the "current" Whoniverse actors we've had in, so he looks just the same as when he's on the show, so when I had to go an meet him from the local pub, it was hard not to just shout "Rhys!!" at him. Very nice chap though, who had plenty of time for the fans who came to see him. Also in the pic is Hattie Hayridge, best known in her role as Holly in series 3-5 of Red Dwarf.

On the RPG front, the game is in final phase of playtest, before I add the details from Series 4's final few episodes, make a few tweaks, and then it's off to the BBC for approvals.

Peri...

2008-05-29T19:10:00.003+01:00

Ah, Peri...

Companion of the 5th and 6th Doctors.

Peri was lovely. Sure, her role in the series was a little stereotyped, and she spent most of her time screaming or getting captured, but I was a big fan of Peri. So much so, that I actually stopped watching Doctor Who halfway through Trail of a Time Lord cause Peri wasn't in it any more. I know, I didn't give Mel a chance, and I'll be buying the DVD set in August so I can sample those episodes, but I didn't return to watching Doctor Who until Battlefield. My teenage heart had been broken when they shaved her head (ironic considering my haircut at the moment) and married her off to Brian Blessed.

So, you can imagine my excitement when Nicola Bryant came to Norwich for a signing. There may have been a couple of sentences during the day when I didn't make a complete fool of myself, but on the whole, the rest of the time, I was fairly idiotic.

I think there were a couple of moments when she looked at me during the day with that "you're a little bit mad aren't you?" expression, but being the professional that she is, and being used to the scariest fans around, she continued to be lovely and a delight to be around.

I thought I had this "meeting the stars" thing sorted. I've worked events with so many celebs now, and met some of the big names - Stephen King for example... Didn't quite know what to say to such a legend, but I wasn't quite as gormless as I was on Saturday. Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Nicholas Courtney... all fine. Colin Baker, what a star he is, lovely man. Heck, I've worked in a store while Terry Wogan, Jamie Oliver, Rolf Harris, Peter Straub... man, the list goes on. But, Nicola Bryant... When she put on the American accent... I nearly collapsed.

Maybe I should have had a stiff drink before-hand. Or had my wife with me at the shop to slap me around the back of the head every half an hour.

Anyway... back to writing.

Mid Series Break

2008-05-25T13:14:00.003+01:00

Don't click Play if you wish to remain spoiler-free... However, the series 4 "Mid Series Break" trailer (thanks to Eurovision... what a waste of TV THAT is...) is pretty cool... just gets me more excited about the Moffat 2-parter. It's pretty cool... maybe would have been nice to have a series without Daleks for a change, but hey, everyone loves those Daleks. I'd be all for Sea Devils, or Zygons or something.

Anyway, just a couple of cool pics to tease, and I'll talk about something else...

Steven Moffat to replace RTD

2008-05-20T18:20:00.003+01:00

This from the BBC Press Office...

BBC Wales and BBC Drama has announced that BAFTA and Hugo Award-winning writer Steven Moffat will succeed Russell T Davies as Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the fifth series of Doctor Who, which will broadcast on BBC One in 2010.

Moffat has penned some of the series' most unforgettable and acclaimed episodes, including Blink, with its terrifying weeping angels, for which he was awarded the BAFTA Writer Award 2008 on Sunday 11 May.

His previous work on Doctor Who includes The Girl In The Fireplace for series two, which earned him his second Hugo Award.

His first was for the series one two-parter The Empty Child, which became famous for its terrifying refrain "Are you my mummy?"

For the current series, Moffat has written Silence In The Library, a two-parter starring Alex Kingston which transmits on 31 May and 7 June 2008 on BBC One.

Steven's career began with the landmark ITV children's drama Press Gang in 1989, for which he won his first Bafta.

Coupling, the hugely popular and award-winning sitcom he created and wrote for BBC Two, began in 2000 and ran for four seasons.

Jekyll, his six-part thriller starring James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan, transmitted on BBC One last year.

Steven will continue as one of the directors on the board of Hartswood Films which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where he is also working on his new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue.

He has just delivered the screenplay for Tintin – the first instalment of the trilogy of films featuring the iconic Belgian comic-strip hero – to Steven Spielberg who will direct it for DreamWorks. Thomas Sangster and Andy Serkis will star.

Steven Moffat says: "My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven.

"Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."

Lead Writer and Executive Producer Russell T Davies says: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"

Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction, says: "Scripts and writers are at the heart of what BBC Drama is all about, and especially at the heart of Doctor Who. The past four series have been brilliantly helmed by the spectacularly talented Russell T Davies.

"As Lead Writer and Executive Producer, he has overseen the creative direction and detail of the 21st century relaunch of Doctor Who and we are delighted to have his continued presence on the specials over the next 18 months.

"But the challenge and excitement of the fifth series is now being handed to Steven Moffat. The Tardis couldn't be in safer hands. Steven's talents on both Doctor Who and beyond are well known. He is a writer of glittering brilliance, comedy and depth, with an extraordinary imagination and a unique voice.

"Steven has a wonderful mix of being a committed Doctor Who fan and a true artist, and his plans for the next series are totally thrilling."

The announcement follows the news that Piers Wenger will take over the role of Executive Producer from Julie Gardner on series five of Doctor Who.

Piers Wenger says: "The challenge of taking Doctor Who to a new future is a huge and thrilling one and BBC Wales is blessed to have someone with Steven's extraordinary talent in charge.

"His imagination and creativity have already given birth to some of the series' most unforgettable monsters though in this instance no-one need fear; time, space and the future of The Doctor are safe with him."

Wenger and Moffat are already working closely together on the planning of the series.

Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales, says: "BBC Wales is very proud of Doctor Who's phenomenal success. Steven Moffat is an extraordinary talent and we are very much looking forward to him joining the Doctor Who team."

Series four has achieved some of the show's highest audience figures to date and forthcoming episodes feature a stellar line-up of guests including Lesley Sharp, Lindsey Coulson, Alex Kingston, Colin Salmon and Michael Brandon.

Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper – The Doctor's two former companions – have also returned to assist The Doctor in series four.

Doctor Who will return in 2009 with four specials, and the full-length fifth series is currently scheduled to be broadcast on BBC One in Spring 2010.

---

I for one am very VERY happy to hear this. Much as I love RTD, and will be first to buy his book when it comes out on the creative process of NuWho, Mr Moffat's stories have stood out as being the absolute peak of Who-dom, and I can't wait to see what'll happen to the 5th series when he takes over. This is great news. Congrats Mr Moffat... now about that walk-on part?

Phase 2 is Over...

2008-05-12T09:52:00.002+01:00

So, the second phase of playtesting has come to an end. Not much to do now except the tweaks and changes, writing up the aliens that are in the core set (not every alien will be in there, but the major races will be), and the GMing chapters. It's getting there...

In other news, Nicola Bryant is visiting the store where I work this month. Excellent! Always was a Peri fan - now I just have to avoid coming over like a fanboy or just throwing up from excitement.

So...

Series 4 then... How's everyone liking it? I'm not sure yet, I'm sure the episodes will grow on me. Maybe it's because I've seen Series 1-3 so many times I can probably recite them backwards, but this is new and strange. David Tennant seems to be very angry this series, lots of shouting through the teeth. The odd appearances of a past companion are intriguing, and this week's episode could have been called "The Doctor's Backdoor Pilot" - it just felt like a spinoff series waiting to happen. Not that watching Georgia Moffett every week would be a problem...

Has meant I'll have to expand and rewrite the Ood entry, and I have to include the Hath (as they were really cool). Really looking forward to "Silence in the Library" the most though... Should be awesome.

Sylvester McCoy, and other updates

2008-04-27T12:49:00.002+01:00

Sorry it has been a while. Busy times! First of all, I met another of the Doctors - Sylvester McCoy. Sylvester wasn't "my first doctor", but was one of the reasons I started watching Who again, after I kinda gave up when Peri left. Of course, I was young and probably missed some good stories, so I'll be buying the Trial of a Time Lord boxed set when it comes out to keep going where I stopped.

Anyway, Sylvester was cool. Tired by a long trip to the city, and an arduous journey to get there, but he was still happy to entertain the crowds, and the many Daleks that were zipping around outside of the shop. Hopefully, there should be some more Who-related celebs in the near future!

Meanwhile, onto the game. Well, it's all progressing nicely - Phase 2 of the playtest should be coming to an end soon, so I'll be getting the detailed reports in and start implimenting the tweaks and changes, though initial impressions are very VERY positive - better than I'd hoped! Phase 3 will probably be the last phase of playtest, checking the details and so on.

Well, that's it. Day off from the dayjob, so I'd best get some writing done!

Series 4 Publicity Pics!!

2008-03-28T20:44:00.002Z

Series 4 is just over a week away... darn it all, it's on early! 6.20pm is way to early for me... I'll be missing the first ten minutes, so will be catching up by watching the video I'll have to set before going to work.

In the meantime, while we're waiting... some reallllllly cool promo shots for the new series:

Series 4 Cinema Trailer

2008-03-22T22:26:00.000Z

Sorry to you guys outside the UK...

Earl's Court Dr Who Exhibition

2008-03-19T11:14:00.010Z

Yesterday, those lovely people at the BBC (thanks Nick) invited me to the press opening of the new Doctor Who Exhibition at Earl's Court in London. I got there horribly early, but they laid on breakfast as everyone milled about waiting for the excitement to start. A stage had been prepared, and Tom Baker was going to perform the official opening. I had a chance to chat to Nick (from BBC Worldwide licensing) about how the game is going, and before you knew it Tom Baker was strolling out. He'd obviously been briefed to adlib ready for something to happen, and he started with a suitably amusing tale of the fellow passengers on the train. While he talked, a cyberman descended on the escalator behind him, and while the press and everyone there was suitably distracted by that, the wall behind us exploded and showered us in bits as another cyberman burst through and walked out into the crowd.

Sorry the pic's a bit shakey, but he was getting very close and I didn't want to get deleted. Up close, the cyberman costumes are just fantastic, and stomping through the crowd it was very intimidating.

Then it was time to go into the exhibition itself. It's very cool... though I didn't think it was as good as the Star Wars "Magic of Myth" exhibition, or the Lord of the Rings exhibition at the Science Museum, this certainly was very cool - and they did say it wasn't 100% finished.

You walk in past Autons like the basement of Henrick's department store, and you're treated to a trip through the series in order. You're greeted by the TARDIS, and David Tennant's suit with his face projected onto the mannequin - I could see what they were doing there, but it was a little creepy.

The highlights had to be seeing the Face of Boe:

The Slitheen were equally cool...

There was a great room full of cybermen hidden by that plastic sheeting like in the processing factories, complete with cybercontroller (though a shame he was hidden behind glass as he was really sinister...)

There was a room full of Daleks that shout and move around (which probably would have been scary if I hadn't worked with full size daleks for years now), and the Weeping Angel was quite unnerving...

The final room was dedicated to Voyage of the Damned, and had Kylie's little outfit and a rather excellent Bannakaffalatta, and had the amazing painting of the Titanic that's up in the main room of the ship in the episode (my camera had run out of batteries by then... darn).

You leave through a cool shop run by SciFiCollector, and past the amazing prints by Department Six. I'd seen the website and looked at the pictures and thought "they're very nice but waaay too expensive", but actually seeing the prints in the flesh, framed and looking cool, they're just amazing and I'd say worth it. The Sonic Screwdriver one is very nice, as is the FobWatch concept art. Stunning.

Then it was time to head home and check the goodie bag. Well worth a visit if you're a Who fan, and as series 4 airs they're going to add exhibitions (so certainly worth going back to after series 4 has been on).

Micro Universe Customs Pt II

2008-03-06T10:05:00.006Z

First of all, the playtest rewrite is almost done. Just printing a version out so I can double check it with a red pen before it goes off to Phase 2 of the playtest. Looking good.

Meanwhile, I've been playing with the Micro Universe figures again, doing some customs. The photos kinda make them look silly, but in the flesh I think they look better. First up is the Micro Universe Donna, in wedding dress from The Runaway Bride. She's a Martha, with milliput and repaint.

There's the custom Rose I did before (still need to repaint her shoes to trainers...), and the Jake I made out of a Mickey. The Cyberman has to be the simplest custom of them all (black "handles" to make him a Cyber-Leader!).

Then there's the Micro Universe 9th Doctor - made from a Master. Cut the head and arm off to reposition them, and then destroyed a paintbrush using "modelling paint" to get the shiny jacket. Man, Games Workshop paint is sooo much better.

I'll have to post a pic of the joint custom done with Alex from the shop. He cut the legs off a 10th Doctor and used another set of legs (I think it was a Mickey), so his legs are in better proportion and not in a silly position. Then got me to repaint him in blue suit and converse. Looks pretty sweet!

Gary Gygax

2008-03-05T09:19:00.000Z

Very sad news for the gaming industry, as it was announced yesterday that Gary Gygax has died. Full news story from the NYTimes can be found here.

It is doubtful that I'd be writing this... writing Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space, or have written for Conspiracy X, Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG or any of the other games I've worked on... or possibly even writing at all, without Mr. Gygax helping to create the legendary game Dungeons and Dragons.

The more I thought of it, without Gary Gygax creating D&D, I'd have not gathered such a great group of friends at school all those many years ago ("The Eight" as we called ourselves, even though in the last few years of school there were more than eight of us), friends I still talk to now over 20 years later. We've been there for each other in bad times, and been at each other's weddings and stuff like that.

Without D&D and roleplaying, not only would I have probably not entered the crazy world of writing RPGs, but I wouldn't have been employed in my first "normal" job (as I pipped the other candidates to the post by saying I gamed, which they recognised as evidence of my problem solving and team working).

So next time you roll a die, make a saving throw, or an attack to hit, think of the great Gary Gygax - one of the forefathers of roleplaying games. I certainly will.

New Series 4 Image!

2008-03-01T23:16:00.002Z

Cool huh?

No other news - frantically writing away. I've completed my Micro Universe figure collection (barring the ships) and things are taking shape. I'll post more news as I have it!

Micro Universe

2008-02-22T20:23:00.003Z

Playtest Phase 1 has come to a very productive halt, with masses of excellent feedback rolling in that I'm frantically adding. Should make the game even better! Meanwhile, in the quiet moments in between writing, I've been customising one of the Micro Universe figures, hacking up and repainting a Martha to make a Rose figure!

Must be my first go at painting minis since I made "V" Visitors out of Paranoia minis... that's going back a bit...

Anyway, I've got the minis bug now, and I've started working on a Donna (in wedding dress) from the Runaway Bride (involving a lot of milliput!).

Sophie is ACE!

2008-02-02T20:20:00.000Z

Once again, the day job proves to be ace. Literally this time, as we were honoured to be joined for the day by Sophie Aldred, better known as Ace, companion of the 7th Doctor (Sylvester McCoy). Once more, we were just stunned by how nice people from Doctor Who really are. Sophie was lovely, and did something really nice - so many events and loads of people queue up to get an autograph, which is all well and good, but many also want to pose for a photo with the celebrity. Sophie requested that if you wanted a photo you made a contribution to her chosen charity, Great Ormond St. Hospital. Really nice idea, and we raised lots of cash for a very worthy cause. Just nice to see people donating notes into the little TARDIS money bank that was on her signing table.

--

Anyway, when I'm not being all over excited by meeting cool celebs (Sylvester McCoy next week!), the playtest started last weekend on the game. I can't say too much, but initial feedback has been very, very positive. There have been bits people haven't been happy with, but luckily we've had a great team of playtesters around the globe, and we've had some great suggestions and feedback that'll be implemented in the phase 2 adjustments (that I'll probably be working on for most of tomorrow).

Hopefully, with all this great feedback, we'll have a seriously cool game come out of it all.

Until next entry, get yourself to the cinema and see the new Series 4 trailer (or beg the Beeb to put it on YouTube). It's amazing...

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

2008-01-19T21:15:00.000Z

You gotta love a job that means you get to meet all these cool people from the worlds of Doctor Who. Today I had the immense pleasure of meeting Nicholas Courtney, better known in Whovian circles as the Brigadier, the Doctor's most frequent contact in UNIT. Yet again, the Brig was a star, a complete gentleman and very nice with it.

The real shame of it all is that apparently he hasn't been contacted by Russell T Davies and the guys at Cardiff to get the Brig in the new series!! The shame of it! I mean, the Brigadier gets a mention in the Sarah Jane Adventures and UNIT are set to return in both Torchwood and series 4 of Doctor Who. I for one would love to see the original Brigadier return, and he said he'd be happy to do it - even if it's just a small part.

Would be great if it could happen.

Anyway, back to writing - am on Typo-Check for the Playtest document. Hopefully, that should be done and dusted tomorrow, so the rules will be sorted and I can get on with the rest of the writing.

Playtest

2008-01-03T22:33:00.000Z

Just a quick heads up, in case you haven't seen it in the various forums...

--------------------------------
Cubicle 7 is now ready to start the playtest process running for the Doctor Who - Adventures in Time and Space role-playing game.

So you may be asking how is this going to work, well I can now tell you just that.

You will find below the link to download the application form. Please download it, fill it in and email it back to us (address at end of the form), when we receive them we will then contact you at a later date with more information.

When we contact everyone after receiving the application form you will be required to fill out a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), this is to ensure that information about the game and playtest is kept secret and only discussed in the playtest area on the Cubicle 7 forum.

Doctor Who Playtest Application Form

Thanks for reading this,

Roger Calver – Cubicle 7 Playtest Coordinator.
roger@cubicle7.co.uk
playtesters@cubicle7.co.uk
--------------------------

I've had a small bit of feedback about the game from one of the other guys at Cubicle 7 - the first playtest session so far... character creation, from picking up the book to completing a character, took about 30mins. So that's cool... Though you can always play straight out of the box with the characters from the series or the pre generated characters we'll provide.

Rolling to do things works okay, may be a little easy, but we can tweak that... hey, that's why we're playtesting!!

So, it's all getting there... meanwhile, I'm writing up the aliens chapter and the "how to write episodes and series" chapter... So it's all progressing!!

Christmas

2007-12-26T14:02:00.000Z

Well, that was Christmas... back to work! Just in case you haven't already looked, do head over to the Cubicle 7 forums (link's on the right) and register your interest to playtest if you're keen.

Meanwhile, the in-laws bought me a lifesized David Tennant. Most fan-girl's dreams, but he's looking cool currently scaring the cat and the wife.

The Voyage of the Damned was pretty cool. A couple of cheesy moments I'd have lost or tweaked if it was me, and the new title music will take a bit of getting used to, but all in all good fun.

End of the episode was a trailer for the new series that starts around Easter... Sontarans, UNIT, and who's the woman with the black handled Sonic Screwdriver? Is this an older Lucy Saxon? The Rani? Or someone new?

If you're in the UK, you'll be able to see this from the BBC's Youtube site... if not, you may have to head over to the BBC's website and see if it's on there...

Fished in...

2007-12-23T17:24:00.000Z

Oh, they so saw me coming didn't they? We'd heard about these coming out when Cubicle 7 first talked to the BBC about the roleplaying game, and we were sworn to secrecy... Now they're actually hitting the shops, I spent waaay too much money on them yesterday.

A set would be nice, there's only 28 normal ones to get, but it's just the way you accumulate lots of Daleks and Cybermen as the common figures... you can re-enact Doomsday all over again. I only need another normal Dalek and the Cult of Skaro will be complete.

These Micro Universe figures have been released by Character Options and should be in most major toy shops already. They're not so much a tabletop game, more a version of Top Trumps with a randomiser and figures instead of cards. Very simple, but ideal for use with the RPG, so my recommendation is to get a load now if you like minis with your RPGs.

--

In other news, a couple of the guys at Cubicle 7 went to the press screening of Voyage of the Damned and the first episode of the new series of Torchwood. They didn't say too much (I didn't want them to spoil it for me), but they did say they both were excellent and a lot of fun. To me, it seems like the perfect way to round of Christmas Day.

Besides that, the basic rules are being looked at by the rest of the guys at Cubicle 7. First time I've let them see what I had in mind for the game system, and initial feedback is very positive. It's quick, easy and character driven, and from the feedback I've had, I've started adding new and cool bits to it already. Should be great. Let's just get Christmas out of the way so I can slow down a bit with the day job and do a bit more writing with my time.

On the subject of Christmas, I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a happy Christmas, and may 2008 bring you everything you could wish for.

Me? I wished for a Doctor Who roleplaying game last new year, and look what happened!

Voyage of the Damned

2007-12-14T22:41:00.000Z

From the BBC's YouTube... Simply put, is there anything else on TV on Christmas Day? I don't think so...

The Sixth Doctor

2007-12-12T11:42:00.000Z

So, I met Colin Baker (the 6th Doctor) at the weekend, just a few weeks after meeting Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor). Gotta love a job that means you get to meet all these Who-actors! Colin was a complete star. Considering he's often called the grumpiest of the Doctors (as a character I mean, the 6th Doctor could be downright rude to poor Peri), the actor behind that exterior was a delight to work with. Possibly one of the funniest days I've had at work, with Colin continually coming up with some hilarious gems that are probably best not repeated (though he agreed with me that Peri deserved a spin off series!).

Besides that, I had a moment of revelation in the middle of Christmas shopping of a great way to improve the game system I'd developed - making it even quicker, easier and cooler to use. So I had to sit in the nearest coffee shop within a bookstore and make frantic notes while listening to Murray Gold on the MP3 player to drown out the store Christmas music.

Best get back to the tweaks and writing up the new version to get it tested.

Remember to tune in to BBC1 after the news on Saturday (around 5.55pm) for the 2 1/2 minute preview of Voyage of the Damned that's currently playing in cinemas - I'm sure it'll appear on the BBC's YouTube channel shortly afterwards, so I'll post a link for those of you who don't get to see it (I'll be at work and will miss it as well, worry not...)

The Dragonmeet Announcement Panel (with picture)

2007-12-05T19:31:00.000Z

This photo was taken in the middle of the announcement we made at Dragonmeet last Saturday. Photo credits go to karohemd who was frantically taking loads of cool photos on the day (check out his blog for more).

In the picture is the team behind the Who RPG. They are (from Left to Right):
Dave Chapman (me) - Developer and Lead Writer
Dominic McDowall - Producer
Chris Birch - PR
Angus Abranson - Director
Fred Hicks - Graphic Design and Layout

This is the business end of the game!

Yes, I'm wearing a Dalek tie...

Extra Helping of the Doctor

2007-12-04T20:21:00.000Z

I really should be writing rather than reading all the news about the Voyage of the Damned... so, 71 minutes! Even more Who at Christmas, sounds like a perfect present to me!

Dragonmeet Announcement

2007-12-01T21:14:00.001Z

Hey all,

This is the first post of my new blog, chronicling the development and writing of the new and official Doctor Who game. Just a little about me for those unfamiliar with my writing. I'm David F. Chapman, and I've been writing roleplaying games for as long as I can remember. Most recently, I've been Line Developer for Conspiracy X for Eden Studios, a game of modern conspiracies, big government agencies and alien invasions... a bit like Torchwood, only with more funding. Before that, I worked on many of Eden's other games, including "City of Heroes" (based on the video game), "Army of Darkness" (based on the Bruce Campbell film), and most notably, the official "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" roleplaying game.

Today, at Dragonmeet in London, Cubicle 7 announced that we'd be producing the official Doctor Who game, aiming for a Summer 2008 release (hopefully just as Series 4 is finishing on the BBC).

We answered some questions in front of a group of interested gamers, but the real announcement will be in a week or so's time, when the Press Release hits the world. So keep checking here or Cubicle 7's site for more details...

Just something to note, this isn't an official Cubicle 7 site, nor is it checked by the BBC. I'm just posting my own thoughts and experiences as I try to get the game to be as cool as possible, following its development and progress... and my own geeking out watching Doctor Who on TV. Everything's still copyright to the BBC, and I'm not going to spoil anything...