Interview: C.J. Carella

Graveyard Greg: Who are you?

Unknown Stranger: The name's C.J. Carella. I've been writing and designing games since the late '80s.

GG: Name some writing credits of the past and present.

CJ: You may know me from such books as GURPS Martial Arts and GURPS Voodoo for Steve Jackson games, and assorted projects for Palladium Books (R).

GG: Which is better, Star Trek or Star Wars?

CJ: Depends: Original Series, Next Gen, DS9, or Voyager? DS9 is the best of the lot.

GG: How did you get into the Gaming Industry?

CJ: Was a regular gamer and game master. One day, I jotted some GURPS rules and submitted them to Roleplayer (small magazine run by SJGames). I got a sale, got a book offer shortly afterwards, liked the fame and fortune . I've managed to make a living of gaming writing for a few years, which I guess makes me a pro.

GG: Favorite Midnight Snack?

CJ: Cold pizza.

GG: What is Witchcraft all about? Please tell me it's not a MAGE clone!

CJ: Not any more than Mage is a clone of Beyond the Supernatural (tm, R, etc.). Witchcraft is a modern day dark fantasy game. A Reckoning (the apocalypse on steroids) is on its way, and it's up to the few who know about it to stop it. You have mages, you have psychics, you have saint-like "holy warrior" types. The cosmology is less esoteric than Mage, in my humble opinion (not that it makes it better, just different).

GG: Have you seen DOGMA yet?

CJ: Not yet.

GG: Speaking of angel-related themes, what is ARMAGEDDON all about? Please tell me it's not an IN NOMINE clone, and when the heck is it coming out?

CJ: Armageddon is a game of war, myth and horror (cool, uh?). An Antichrist/Lovecraftian-style figure has taken over half the world, and WWIII is in full rage. You have angels (and demons) fighting a common enemy, pagan gods and their avatars walking the Earth, and assorted other characters, supernatural and mundane, fighting for the survival of all reality. One of the themes of the game is that angels and demons both thought they would be the ones fighting the final war, and then something even worse came out left field and took over.

GG: If you had to be reincarnated as any animal, what would it be?

CJ: A cat. They are the rightful rulers of humankind, after all.

GG: How do you come up with all these neat settings?

CJ: Twisted imagination, I guess.

GG: How much research goes into a product like, say, ARMAGEDDON?

CJ: Anything between three to six months of research, both fiction and nonfiction. Then I pick whatever fits the theme of the game, ignore or twist the rest, make up another good chunk, and then I'm ready to go.

GG: If you could make a prequel to any movie, what would it be?

CJ: Star Wars. Didn't like the one they did make...

GG: What's the future of gaming looking like in your humble opinion?

CJ: We live in interesting times. I was rather pessimistic for a while, but I think we are over the worst troubles. There has been a big shakedown among publishing companies, distributors and retailers, but I think it has been beneficial for the industry as a whole -- natural selection and all that. And product quality is really improving. When I see books like Aberrant and the Star Trek RPGs, I feel good about where the industry is headed.

GG: Time for everyone's favorite question, the CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH question! Waiting in one corner is none other than Jolly Blackburn of KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE fame! But looking to score some good hits is Sandy Petersen, co-author of CALL OF CTHULHU RPG. Who would win, and how?

CJ: That's a tough one. Blackburn is a wildman, and he sure knows how to put the hurtin' on a gamer, but Petersen is more experienced, and who knows what darkness lurks in the mind of someone who dealt with Things Man Was Not Meant to Know? If the stars are right, I think Petersen will reveal himself as an Avatar of Nyarlathotep and open a can of Outer God whoopass upon Blackburn. I'd have to consult my copy of De Vermiis Mysteriis and look at the calendar for that, though.

GG: Any advice for the future writers out there, sir?

CJ: If you discourage easily, you ain't gonna make it. Be stubborn and arrogant around your friends, relatives and other people who wish you stopped wasting time writing gaming material. Do not be stubborn and arrogant when dealing with editors, for they are a superstitious and cowardly lot, and they shall smack you around. Oh, and read the freaking writer's guidelines.

GG: Thanks for your time, CJ! Any last requests before we slap the chains on you and make you write some more?

CJ: Pikachu is an avatar of Yog-Soggoth. Beware of Pikachu.

GG: Everyone knows that, CJ!