Interview: Steven Marsh

Unknown Stranger: (looks around)

Um, I'm Steven Marsh, the new editor for Pyramid Magazine. (And for pity's sake, PLEASE call me "Steven.")

GG: I'd rather do it for Pete's sake! Pleased to meet you, Steven--give us a list of your industry credits!

SM: Um... they're not that impressive, I'm afraid.

I was the subject of the "Special Steven Marsh Issue" of Shadis Magazine (#35). After that I wrote articles that appeared in Shadis #42 and #44.

I was -supposed- to write an adventure for the Xena game (WEG), but then they had problems for a while.

GG: Don't sell yourself short, Steven--why were you the subject of a entire SHADIS issue?

SM: Well, I'm going to write a column in a couple weeks detailing the whole... incident, but the short version was this:

Shadis was a great magazine in the beginning. Then it got -really- bad for a while. Then I picked up an issue at random (after I'd stopped reading it), and it was REALLY good again. So I wrote a letter detailing everything they did right, and over the course of the letter I proposed what my "ideal" issue would be...

Article titles, short descriptions of what the articles would be about, etc.

About six months later the Special Steven Marsh issue came out, with articles written around EVERY idea I had submitted, and every idea I had. It was quite an ego rush.

GG: Heh!

Let's talk politics for a brief bit...do you think Cthulhu will win again, like he did during the last Presidential election? Sure, they CLAIMED Clinton got it, but there's no difference...

SM: Well, I really think Cthulhu's got his ichorous pulse on the people, but he'll still have problems with his anti-life stance with some. Depends on the running mate; ultimately I think a Cthulhu/Ventura ticket has a very strong chance.

GG: "Anti-life"? Sounds like Cthulhu and Darkseid would be a better ticket, eh?

Like you said, you are the new editor of PYRAMID (congrats, by the way)--care to brag on how you were qualified for the position?

SM: Um... I'm honestly not sure. I mean, I've had "real world" magazine experience, I worked in a comic/game shop for six years or so, and I can type sixty words a minute. Ultimately I suspect I won the die roll between a LOT of qualified folks.

GG: I think we're skirting the edge of the truth behind the conspiracy, so let's move on...

What's your favorite game--the best of the best?

SM: Hmm... I've always been a fan of Talisman (Games Workshop); it's like the Monopoly of fantasy games.

GG: Nice choice--I like that game as well.

What do you plan for the future of PYRAMID? Business as usual, or is there going to be a "great change"?

SM: Well, one of the questions Steve asked during the interview process was, "What would you change about the magazine?" And that was a difficult question; if I didn't -like- the magazine so much I wouldn't have tried for the job so much.

There's a fair bit of change "under the hood" in the works; I'm plotting issues a month in advance now, for example, to give the art department more time to come up with material....

And now that we have a LOT of accepted material, I'm going to try and work a bit more closely with writers to get better articles. "This article is good, but it would be great if you..." etc.

I'm going to do some theme issues (the first one is March 31st: April Fool's Day. Beyond that, it should be pretty much as normal.

GG: I like what I'm hearing.

Quick! Boxers or briefs?

SM: Depends

(Er, that's "Depends on the situation, not 'I wear Depends.'")

GG: Dang, you caught yerself before I could make the joke!

What do you see as the "Next Big Trend" for gaming?

SM: Darned if I know. I'd like to believe it's a trend for more "fun." We had a lot of Angst/Gloom/Doom in the 90's (WoD, Rifts), but now we're starting to remember some of the "Golly!" fun of the 80's... Super Hero games are coming back, and more "silly" (less serious) games are also coming around: All Flesh Must Be Eaten, for example.

GG: OK, Steven! Time for the question you've been dreading! CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH!

First comes the man with the plan--GEROGE VASILAKOS, co-writer of the well-acclaimed (yet silly) ALL FLESH MUST BE EATEN RPG. His opponent? None other than the Mistress of Disaster Alain Dawson, developer of CHEZ GEEK (among other products for Steve Jackson Games)

Who would win, and how?

SM: Alain Dawson. She has the "Being of Pure Thought" advantage (100 points) and, as such, has no Flesh to be Eaten.

And she signs my paychecks.

GG: "Being of Pure Thought"? I smell a GURPS crossover...

Any advice for those who wish to submit articles for PYRAMID?

SM: Despite not having a physical body (Notice the segue? Being of Pure Thought... never mind.), Pyramid IS a "real" magazine. As such, I treat everyone who submits as if they were "real" writers.

Before submitting, ask yourself, "Could this article, as written, be taped directly into the magazine and look as if it belonged?" If you can't answer "Yes," don't submit. Proofread... not just spell-check. Make sure it makes sense to a friend. etc.

GG: That's some good advice (and I did notice the segue)

By the way, does the Loch Ness Monster really exist?

SM:

As I see it, no.

GG: As you see it, eh? There's that edge again...Let's take a few steps back, because it's time for you to get back to the slushpile...any last words or requests before I send you away?

SM: Er, slushpile's dead.

GM: Hooray!

SM: But to answer the question, I want to thank the audience that makes Pyramid possible. It's a big responsibility creating an interesting magazine every week, and I hope to not let you all down.

GG: I have faith that you'll do a good job--see you in the next issue of PYRAMID!