Interview: Matt Forbeck

Graveyard Greg: Hey! Who are you? Identify yourself!

Unknown Stranger: I'm Matt Forbeck.

GG: Cool. You're the president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group--soon to be releasing the newest of superhero games! What's it called?

Forbeck: Brave New World. The title's based on a quote from Shakespeare's "The Tempest." "O brave new world that has such people in't."

GG: And what is Brave New World about? Besides superheroes, that is...

Forbeck: It's a dark, modern-day setting in which JFK's been running the country under martial law since Jackie was assassinated by a bunch of deltas (superpowered people) back in 1963. The players take on the role of heroes on the run from the fascist government.

GG: Sounds like another superhero game called Underground, but I suspect it's radically different. Tell me I'm right!

Forbeck: You are. Underground is about disaffected veterans trying to reintegrate into a society that can't handle them. It's all about America after we pulled out of Viet Nam. BNW asks the question: How far are you willing to go to guarantee the safety of those you love? How many rights are you willing to surrender? And if you're on the losing end of this proposition, are you willing to fight?

GG: Sweet! I love it when I'm right.

How did you get the idea for Brave New World?

Forbeck: I've always been a big fan of comic books, and I'd wanted to do a superhero-style game for a long time. That said, the game's actually not much about superheroes. It's more about the the overarching story and sticking up for what you believe in.

GG: Cool!

Tell us of your past, present, and future gaming credits. I'll wager there's a long list!

Forbeck: I can't possibly list them all here. I've worked for Pinnacle (of course), TSR, Games Workshop, White Wolf, ICE, West End, Mayfair, Target/Heartbreaker, WildStorm, and many more. I edited just about all of the Deadlands: The Weird West products for the first two and a half years and wrote several Dime Novels and a few other books. The latest was Lost Angels. Before that, I freelanced for years. I designed Silent Death: The Next Millennium. I codesigned the WildStorms CCG. I wrote or edited most of the Mutant Chronicles RPG stuff and the first edition of Warzone. I've worked on well over 100 projects.

GG: How did you get into the gaming industry? I hear you started at a very young age.

Forbeck: I used to playtest for Pacesetter, the people who created Chill and Timemaster, among other great games. Troy Denning there introduced me to Will Niebling. I worked for Will as a gaming industry sales rep for a while, and he introduced me to all sorts of people, including company presidents and line developers.

Forbeck: Eventually I managed to convince some of these people to offer me freelance work. I did that while I was in college, and then after college I ended up working for Games Workshop for five months in their design studio in Nottingham. (That's a looong story for another day.)

When I came back to the states to live with my girlfriend (now my wife and the mother of our baby boy), I decided to try freelancing full time. I did that for over seven years before starting Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Inc., with Shane Hensley. And now here I am.

GG: So you never had a "real" job, according to the "normal" folks? :)

Forbeck: Who's normal? I've never taken a 9 to 5 job outside of the gaming industry, if that's what you mean.

GG: that's exactly what I mean! Lucky, lucky man...

Favorite snack food at 12 am?

Forbeck: Ruffles. Can't beat 'em.

GG: What's the best part about your job in the gaming industry?

Forbeck: I get to work with all sorts of great people, doing what I love to do. It's a great deal all the way around.

GG: Let's go back to Brave New World before I die of envy. It seems that the Kennedys are doing a lot better in your world than ours. JFK Jr is no longer with us, sad to say, so will this have any impact on the future of JFK Jr in BNW?

Forbeck: Honestly, I hadn't thought much about JFK Jr. in BNW. I'm actually a big fan of the Kennedy family, and I was shocked and saddened by the deaths of JFK Jr., his wife and sister-in-law. I can only hope that if a member of the Kennedy family ever reads BNW they understand what I'm really doing with the myth of Camelot and the Kennedy legend. I don't intend any of them any disrespect in any way.

GG: Gotcha.

Does Diet Dr Pepper really taste like Dr Pepper?

Forbeck: I actually prefer it to the real thing.

GG: How can you say that?!?! (laughs)

Let's go back to Brave New World again. Is it true you can download some of the pages to it? If so, is the URL available to us yet?

Forbeck: The background pages and an overview of the rules should be available before Gen Con (or just after). Check out www.deltatimes.com for all the details. Or stop by www.peginc.com for the latest news.

GG: OK, it's Celebrity Deathmatch Time--superhero style! Hal Mangold (Deadlands: Weird West Brand Manager), James Ernest (of Cheapass Games), and Rick Loomis (of Flying Buffalo) are having a classic superhero brawl! Who would win, and what superheroics did they use?

Forbeck: James would win. He's just too damn clever. He'd end up tricking Hal and Rick into battling it out with each other and then he'd step in to clean up against the winner.

GG: Sweet! Now, it's time to say farewell, but before I go: What advice can you give to the future Gaming Writers, artists, and anyone else who wants to get into the business?

Forbeck: Be patient and be professional. Also, realize that most publishers treat this industry as a business, not a hobby (or at least they should). Treat them accordingly.

GG: Thanks for your time. I hope Brave New World is a smash hit!

Forbeck: Me too! Thanks for the support. One last plug: If any of your readers is going to Gen Con, be sure to be at the Pinnacle booth at 4 PM on Friday. We're actually going to execute a rogue delta in the booth!

GG: Sounds electrifying. Catch you later!