Interview: Peter Adkison

Graveyard Greg: Who are you? And what the heck makes you qualified for these questions?

Unknown Stranger: I'm Peter Adkison, founder and CEO of Wizards of the Coast. I'm qualified for the questions because I know the answers?

GG: Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, Mister Adkison, can I call you Mister Adkison?

P: Sure. While my preference is simply to be called "Peter," I don't really care what people call me, as long as they don't call me late for meals.

GG: Enough with the small talk for now--time to get down to the nitty gritty. Give us your past gaming credits.

P: Earliest memories: traditional card games (mainly Peanuchle) since 4 or 5 years old.

Started playing strategy games like Risk and Stratego in grade school and moved quickly into wargaming. Avalon Hill, SPI, etc. Even had a lifetime subscription to Strategy & Tactics magazine.

Exposed to Dungeons & Dragons for the first time in 1978. It blew me away. The flexibility and world creation aspects of the game, as well as the long term character development angle were fascinating. Started my own campaign. Trashed it and started another one. Trashed it and started a third one, called Chaldea--by this time it was 1981--and I've been running Chaldea ever since.

In 1991, one year after starting Wizards of the Coast, I met Richard Garfield and he explained to me his idea for a trading card game. I was immediately intrigued. I hadn't heard any concept that was as innovative since D&D back in '78. Magic and D&D remain my two favorite games.

I've played many other games, of course, traditional, strategy, roleplayings, TCGs, etc. Of all those other games I'd say my favorite is Twitch. Beyond that it's hard to rank them, but off the top of my head, games I'll play in an instant, include Settlers of Catan, Robo Rally, Call of Cthulu, Vampire: The Masquerade, L5R RPG, and any of a large number of wargames.

GG: Sweet! How did you get involved with the gaming business?

P: By starting my own company, Wizards of the Coast, along with several friends and my wife. We simply didn't know better. :-)

GG: How did you wind up the President of Wizards of the Coast?

P: By starting the company and squashing all rebellions!

GG: The Bill Gates method, eh? Do you play Magic: The Gathering much?

P: Yes, but mainly at conventions. I love to play limited environments, like sealed deck or pre-constructed decks. I've never been as fond of constructed formats, mainly because I don't have time to keep up with all the tech.

GG: What about other CCGs? What are some of your favorites?

P: My favorites are Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and Legend of the Five Rings.

GG: What about RPGs? Name one of the newest ones you think will be a hot ticket--you can't use anything published by TSR!

P: That's no fair!

I like the stuff AEG does. The L5R RPG is great, and if that's any indication, the 7th Sea game will probably be great too. I love the White Wolf stuff too, although I don't think I fit their target customer profile very well! I also watch certain designers like John Tynes, or Gregory Stolze.

GG: Speaking of game designers... OK, Gaming Deathmatch Time! It's Richard Garfield, Shane Hensley, and Steve Jackson. Who would win?

P: In any gaming competition my money would be on Richard.

GG: Any predictions for the Origins Awards? Who do you think will win for Best RPG? (note: this interview was done before Origins '99)

P: My guess is that Star Trek: Next Generation will win, although my vote is for Alternity of course.

GG: What kind of food goes great with gaming?

P: A year ago I would have said pizza and nachos. But I've changed my diet to more healthy foods and, unfortunately, I haven't quite found anything that measures up to those. It's sad, really!

GG: Mmmmmm! What kind of drink to wash it down?

P: Diet Coke is stilly my drink of choice.

GG: Yummy! You know something? Some said CCGs would kill RPGs, but it seems those people are wrong. What do you think the state of gaming is today?

P: Gaming will always be with us, although it's going to be difficult to grow it dramatically, mainly because computer gamers are so good, and they're only going to get better over time. But social interaction will always be best around a table, so tabletop games will be with us always. I think in the future we'll see more of a blend between the two.

GG: Any advice for those budding game designers and writers?

P: Stay in school, get a degree in English or something like that if you want to do writing and/or RPG design. If you want to do traditional game design focus on a hard science like mathematics or physics. Then start to write like crazy for independent zines, web sites, discussion boards, etc., eventually start going to conventions, and network. Volunteer at the conventions, get to know the insiders, and show them you have good ideas. Start with the small companies who are desparate for help, and work up.

GG: Two words for you: ARC System. What happened? It seemed like a good idea. Is there a future for it?

P: The Arc system strategy lives on in Pokemon, if you stop and think about it. The real idea was to tie a simpler TCG to a license and expose people to TCGs that way. That's exactly what Pokemon is doing. Maybe we'll use the Arc system in the future with a big license, maybe we won't , who knows. But the basic idea is something we believe in strongly.

GG: Speaking of "Whatever happened to...?" Where is the Netrunner CCG?

P: We actually plan on releasing some new cards for Netrunner in the coming months. Not a full blown expansion, but a mini-expansion, on the order of 25 new cards or so. We hope to do the same with V:TES, Spellfire, and perhaps a couple others, depending on how things work out.

GG: Finally, can ya give us a glimpse into WoTC's future? Say...AD&D 3rd Edition? Will it have anything to do with Dominara?

P: If we do an AD&D 3rd Edition, no, it won't be based around Dominaria. We would love to eventually do a Dominaria line for AD&D, but that's at least a couple of years away, due to some other priorities.

GG: Well, thanks Mister Adkison--it was a pleasure to interview you. On behalf of the Gaming Outpost, I bid you goodday!

P: You're welcome! Stay on target!