Interview: Stephen J Herron

Graveyard Greg: Who are you?

Unknown Stranger: I'm Stephen J Herron, of Belfast, Northern Ireland, born in 1970, a man who thought that Lidsville was a deeply buried childhood trauma until I found the theme tune on the internet recently. I also have an English degree I keep forgetting about.

GG: One must never forget the degrees!

What's your claim to fame in the Gaming Industry?

Herron: Creator / Publisher of The Nearside Project, wrote the Belfast / Northern Ireland material that appears in Court of All Kings by White Wolf- the creator of the official WoD setting for Northern Ireland and my home town. Oh, and the Belfast Child novel that I wrote and which appears online at http://www.moonlit-trod.com/

GG: Favorite drink?

Herron: Vanilla Milk Shakes.

GG: Quick, name your gaming credits--past and present!

Additional Material, Court of All Kings, Creator, Writer, Editor of The Nearside Project, and all the other stuff sitting on my hard disk waiting to escape.

GG: When do Irish Eyes smile?

Herron: When they're watching South Park.

GG: When did you know you were in the Gaming Industry?

Herron: When I got an email from Ian Lemke at White Wolf and Nicky Rea and Jackie Cassada saying that yes, I could provide my material for Court of All Kings.

GG: As of this moment, you are going to be publishing a 2nd edition of "The Nearside Project". For those who haven't read the intro (and shame on you if you haven't!), would you mind telling us about this game?

Herron: It's about this world and 12 other variations of it that co-exist, called the Nearside. Only some people with a particular 'problem' called Hind Brain disorder can travel between these worlds. All the others came into existance at the same point in time, just after 1pm on August 13th 1989. On one world, an asteroid smashed into the Sahara, on another aliens invaded, and on another magic suddenly came into existance. There's a reason behind all of this, which is what the Nearsiders, those who can travel, will discover.

GG: How did "The Nearside Project" come to be?

Herron: I had written 90% of an RPG based on X-COM, a PC game from 1994 written by Mythos Games in England. I phoned them up one day and asked them if I could do an RPG based on their game. They said sure, but I got distracted. The Nearside itself is based upon some concepts for a series of short stories that I came up with in 1991 or 1992. I'd been (and still do) use Nearside as a handle on the net, especially when playing Half Life : Counterstrike.

I came up initially with only about a half dozen world concepts... in the first edition, I left some empty for gamers to make up their own. Then a guy called Barry Gibson persuaded me to develop the game further, and to deepen the ideas behind the Big Picture. This was happening at the same time as I was converting the original percentage system of Nearside 1 into a d10 system for what I was calling The Fantasy Engine (a fantasy system) so it all came together.

Second Edition (in a basic photocopied book form) was actually released (I did about a dozen copies !) at Q-Con in Belfast in 1998, but I consider that to have been a preview release. The game has been refined further since then, and if I do release it on the net, I'll be able to put a ton of extra stuff in, because I won't have to worry about the physical size of the thing!

I have to mention Colin Sinclair, the main co-writer of the Project. He provided a couple of the Variations, and is the other part of Nearside Games. But I do most of the work, and he'd be the first to admit that.

GG: You are trapped on a tropical island, and you could only bring THREE games with you (we assume you have people there too--gotta have someone to play with!). What games would you take, and why?

Herron: 1) The Pokemon card game: it's fun and simple.
2) The Nearside Project: Well, I'd have plenty of time to play-test it.
3) SLA Industries: I could look at the art for hours, and the game is so well written, and is the best kept secret in gamedom.

GG: I didn't expect POKEMON--gotta catch them all!

What will be in the future for Nearside Games?

Herron: I hope to publish the game online for free, or as shareware or something. I'd like to support it more, and with my possible relocation to the US (due to marriage, I hope !) then I'd try and get into the market here. But in the end, it's not for money, it's a love thing.

GG: Word association time! I'm going to say a word, and you say the first thing that pops into your mind: Tyrant

Herron: Eye ? As in Eye Tyrant ? My AD&D past revealed...

GG: Spooky!

Speaking of which, it's time for CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH! Your opponents are GARY GYGAX of D&D Fame! Waiting to battle him is DAVE ARNESON of D&D Fame! There can be only one, so who emerges victorious, and how?

Herron: Dave Arneson grabs Gary Gygax hard behind the ears, and smashes his head repeated into a corner post screaming: "Cyborg Commando !!! Cyborg Commando !!!"

Gary knows he's done a bad thing and doesn't resist.

Repeat til fade.

In the end, Dave Arneson relents, but his mercy just gives Gary Gygax time to commit another horror: Dangerous Journeys II.

GG: With all due respect to Gygax--NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

"I want to write for Nearside Games"--what would your company's reply be to that statement?

Herron: Bemused silence, followed by a big grin. Maybe a scary one.

GG: Spooky!

Any final words for our readers?

Herron: Support any and all RPG companies, big and small. Without players, it's meaningless. GG: Wise words from the Irish--you read it here first!