FFG Forum Archive

Posted at 2013-04-15 12:03:09+00:00

The Star Wars ™ Game Experience is fast approaching! This May 3rd – 5th, join local Star Wars enthusiasts for a fun-filled weekend dedicated to Star Wars -themed games, special guests, and more! Along with Regional Championship tournaments for X-Wing™ and Star Wars : The Card Game , the Star Wars Game Experience features developer presentations, Star Wars trivia, and chances to learn how to play FFG’s Star Wars games like Star Wars ®: Edge of the Empire ! Pre-registration closes this Friday, April 19th, and those who register early will receive even more cool Star Wars -themed goodies.

Designer Jay Little

“ There are two things that have been constants in my life – gaming and Star Wars. ”
–Jay Little

Jay Little is a senior game designer here at FFG. He is the lead designer of both X-Wing Miniatures Game and Star Wars : Edge of the Empire, and has also designed Blood Bowl: Team Manager and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

As one of the Star Wars Game Experience special guests, Jay will be at the FFG Event Center on Saturday, May 4th. Along with other members of the design team, Jay will participate in a Star Wars : Edge of the Empire Campaign Design Workshop at 11:30 am, geared toward helping players create their own Edge of the Empire campaigns.

Jay will participate in a Q&A session for X-Wing at 2:30 on Saturday, and join other members of the development team for Star Wars : Edge of the Empire at 1:30 and 7:30 to play the game with those in attendance.

Jay took the time to give an exclusive interview about X-Wing , Star Wars : Edge of the Empire, and his influences for the game designs, which can be found in full in the souvenir booklet that all Star Wars Game Experience attendees will receive. In the following excerpt, Jay talks about his favorite elements of X-Wing .

“Q: Is there a particular ship, pilot, or ability in X-Wing that you’re especially proud of?

A: My favorite maneuver in the game is the Barrel Roll. Not only is it a great tactical choice which dramatically increases a ship’s combat versatility, it’s one example of how the game treats 3D space on a flat playing surface. The Barrel Roll doesn’t have to necessarily reflect purely lateral movement. I’ve seen situations where a Barrel Roll could pass over part of an asteroid or other obstacle, and I imagine the pilot moving his starship through the z-axis to pull up and over the obstacle rather than just rolling side to side.

My favorite design element is one I can’t take credit for. The focus icon on the combat dice was brainstormed by Adam Sadler and Steve Kimball as a way to introduce a “partial” combat result that had a special meaning under certain conditions–such as counting Focus icons as hits during an attack roll if the pilot had taken the Focus action. It really opened up the number of tactical choices and difficult decisions a player has to make over the course of a game.”

Read the full interview, or ask questions of your own, when you meet Jay Little at the Star Wars Game Experience!

Author Troy Denning

Troy Denning, our Star Wars Game Experience guest of honor, is the author of over thirty novels, including several Star Wars novels such as Star by Star and the upcoming Crucible . Mr. Denning has written several supplements for West End Game’s Star Wars roleplaying game. He has worked for game companies such as West End, TSR, and Pacesetter.

Fans will have the opportunity to meet Mr. Denning and find out more about his work at a Q&A at 12:30 pm on Saturday. A signing will follow!

Along with special guest Jay Little, Troy Denning will discuss gaming in the Star Wars universe, at a 5:30 pm Q&A on Saturday. Find out from these industry veterans what it’s like to design games in a galaxy far, far away.

In the following excerpt from the the exclusive interview featured in the The Star Wars Game Experience souvenir booklet, Mr. Denning talks about how he got into gaming.

“FFG: How is it that you got your start in the games industry?
TD: I hate to date myself, but when I was in college, a friend of mine was playing the 1974 edition of Dungeons & Dragons one night. I sat down and started playing with him and another friend, and I just fell in love with the storytelling aspect of roleplaying games. In high school, I had been interested in games like Risk and I bought a couple of SPI (Simulations Publications Incorporated) wargames, and played them with moderate success because I didn’t have any people who wanted to devote that much time to playing board games. Once I got to college and found roleplaying games, it just became...I don’t want to say an obsession, but it was something you wouldn’t expect a college football player to spend his off hours doing
After I had graduated, I applied and became an editor at TSR, which was just a wonderful job. We played a lot of games and I did a lot of editing of roleplaying products and Endless Quest books– Star Frontiers , Pillars of Pentagarn , and Dungeon of Dread were the first game products that I worked on.”

Meet Jay Little and Troy Denning at the Star Wars Game Experience, May 3rd – 5th at the FFG Event Center. Along with Q&A sessions with our special guests, attendees can win prizes in a Star Wars trivia contest, demo games, and try out Edge of the Empire with the game’s developers.

A complete schedule of events (pdf, 916 KB), as well as directions and special rates with local hotels, is available on the Star Wars Game Experience support page .

Register Early for Exclusive Gifts

All attendees will receive a gift bag with event mementos, including an exclusive souvenir booklet. Those who register through our webstore before April 19th, however, will receive even more:

• A Souvenir T-Shirt . Memorialize your Star Wars Game Experience attendance for years to come with this black cotton souvenir T-Shirt. The event’s logo appears on the front of the shirt, while the back displays the date of the event.
• A Commemorative Draw-String Dice Bag . Suitable for Star Wars ™: The Card Game tokens or the dice from Star Wars ®: Edge of the Empire or X-Wing ™, this six by seven inch drawstring bag will accent all of your favorite Star Wars games. Made of stylish black felt emblazoned with the event logo, your dice bag will serve as a stylish and practical reminder of the weekend’s events.
• A Custom Name Badge . Shortly after you register, you’ll be asked to select your favorite from six available name badge themes: Rebel Alliance, Smugglers and Spies, Jedi, Imperial Navy, Scum and Villainy, or Sith. We’ll print your custom name badge in advance and have it waiting for you when you arrive!
• Entry into Exclusive Drawings . Throughout the weekend, we’ll hold drawings for fantastic Star Wars- themed prizes and giveaways...but only early registrants will be eligible to win!

Don’t wait to claim your place at this unforgettable weekend of events! Register now , and join us for the Star Wars Game Experience, May 3rd – 5th!

Meet Fellow Force Users