I have to agree with piper.
Fantasy does seem to be “MIA” lately.
Not taking anything away from the adventure modules but they can hardly be considered a fantasy release the same way an actual model set can.
Shellendrak Manor, while useful in many areas, is by is very nature “horror”.

I mean no disrespect to Denny or other members of the World Works crew but it is very frustrating to see all these new things popup on the WIP
and Himmelviel has been constantly put on hold.

I guess all I am saying is that I can see Pipers point.

I can't really say Fantasy has taken a back seat. Because we've had 4 Fantasy releases in the past few months.

The Watchtower was released what? right at or after Christmas? And before that, we had the Adventure Set:Something Below. Which, while not being a totally new Model set. Did add to Caveworks significantly.

The 2 newest are the adventure sets. But each of these has been a significant upgrade to both Gothic Realms and Village Works. I'd say effectively making each of those fantasy model sets version 1.5 or 1.6.

And before that was Dungeon Lynx, a totally new Fantasy system. And Aubrey's ChunkyDungeon 1".

All in all I'd say it's been a good year for all the supported genres.

Or is all of this still just fallout from the Himm- cataclysm?

~Fl0yd

ps. Looking at the WWG:Cataloge I'd say modern still has a long way to go to catch up to Fantasy.

I can understand the frustrations with having the fantasy line seemingly fall behind, but agree with all the others comments that it hasn't really... it's just perception that it has.

Modern is a massive market right now, especially with everyone wanting to kill zombies these days. There is still a lot of things that could be done for modern, and sci-fi has barely been touched... not to mention the in-between era.

Horror isn't really a different genre in terms of terrain... sure there are elements of it, but the manor can easily be used for fantasy, pulp, WW2, modern, and modified for use in any other genre.

At a quick glance of current designers, and I apologize if I forget anyone, I believe this is what we have:

Denny (Fantasy) - Currently running the business, taking care of a baby, and putting Streets of Himmelveil back together

Paul Senior (Sci-Fi/Fantasy) - Currently working on Luna One I think, but we haven't heard much from him recently.

Matt Lyon (Modern/Sci-Fi) - Currently working on PCON:Red Sector and Urban Grind.

Scott Reid (Modern) - Currently working on Wildwood Grove, another multi-genre horror release and Urban Grind.

Peter Gifford (Fantasy) - I believe Peter was working on Thoumont's Magic Store (sp?) and got incredibly busy at work so the project had to be put on hold. I think he was fairly near completion though, so perhaps it'll pop back on the WIP soon.

Aubrey Erickson (Kitbash) - Aubrey is probably working on models for one of the many adventures that are probably being developed, along with CWU 1" kitbash.

Bob Cooper (Kitbash) - Currently working on the Mega-Kitbash for Crystal Caves, which is a fantasy release, though of course, any release can be used in multiple genres.

I believe that everyone else is either working on Project: Wormhole or the adventures.

Hmm, I know at one point Hedge-Works had been discussed by fans, and was an idea for a set of hedges that could be used in any genre as a hedge-maze. Is this one still in the works?

Anyway, from that , it looks like we have in development:
Modern - 1
Sci-Fi - 2
Horror/Multi-Genre - 1
Fantasy - 4 (with two on slow development)

That looks to me like fantasy isn't doing too badly.

Arabin

"HedgeWorks" is still in the mix - it's just behind a couple MegaBashes (one Sci-Fi, one Fantasy).

I plan on adding to the hedge maze set significantly, most likely turning it into Shellendrak Gardens.

Like I said, though, it still a ways off.

Sorry for the late reply. My internet was down for the last couple days.

For the record FANTASY IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT DEAD! Granted we've been expanding into other areas and while that may make it seem like we don't care about the Fantasy crowd...well...WE DO!

As others have noted it's a little bit of a transitional issue and a bit of an attempt to expand our popularity among a broad section of table top gamers. Fantasy sales do well in there own right but if we are to really provide security for WWG's broader future then dip our feet into other genres we must. So far that experiment has worked out really well for us and we are pulling in wide variety of gamers to the site and store.

As mentioned part of the issue is my shift from designer to creative director and general customer service/storefront management. To expand in the ways I felt we needed to required me to put on another hat for awhile and open the doors to new talent. Thanks to the efforts of Aubrey Erickson & Bob Cooper some of the additional management issues have also been lightened a bit on my end allowing me more time to devote to creative production. Now that we are getting into a rhythm I am able to personally dip my feet into the design waters every now and again.

Himmelveil

Himmelveil is a bear of a project and one that I will wear around my neck as WWG's equivalent of 'Duke Nukem Forever' (just dig around the web for that software joke). The problem with Himmelveil is not that it's floundering but rather that its scope is so huge that it requires the right window of opportunity and the right resources. I've been kicking around a few ideas in my head in the wee hours and strategizing on how best to bring these products to market. I think I may have found a solution but it requires commitments which I am still negotiating. There has always been a plan for Himmelveil and had I not lost the files in that messy crash I'm sure it would be MUCH farther along by now. However, the hidden blessing in that situation was that if forced me to consider pushing out our product base into new areas. The frustration of losing my work on that project helped me to see new possibilities. That in retrospect will actually help Himmelveil to succeed in a variety of ways it simply wouldn't have before.

In broader fantasy terms there is still sooooooo much to do! I have a few pet projects that I'm dying to get at but as with all things time is the issue. Rest assured the rest of the crew know how important the genre is and they are eager to crank out some really cool fantasy this year.

What I've been dedicating personal time to recently has been 'Wormhole' and 'Urban Grind' (just post production of Urban Grind, thank Scott, Matt, Alberto and Bob for HUGE efforts on that front). Wormhole represents a big shift for WWG and in fact Matt Lyon's recent release 'Shelledrak Manor' kind of started the ball rolling ahead of the game. We are now making efforts to create strong associations between our model sets and fantastically entertaining yet simple mini-games. Even the upcoming 'Urban Grind' has a full-on little skate game built right in! For Wormhole the stakes are a bit higher as its rule set is a little more complex but the message remains the same; 2007 is the year that WorldWorks Games earns its "Games" title. We're not trying to alienate users of our terrain with that but rather give them a bonus option to play a quick game using one of our systems after they've built a set. We feel that this will be a winning strategy for the business that could very well translate into much bigger things down the road.

Above all else we are doing everything we can to be different, try new things and fight our way out of the mediocrity that has stagnated tabletop games for so long out there. You can't do that unless you take a few chances and strive to be original.

Some of the best things happening right now I can't talk about It seems like every 6 months or so a really incredible opportunity comes knocking but more often than not, in the midnight hour things fall apart. Instead of beaming about how great this or that will be I've learned to keep my yap shut until they actually exist. All that I will say is that we are finally receiving some attention from one of the major players out there and it "could" translate into really good things for us...and soon.

I hope that gives you something to chew on for awhile and I want to thank all of you for continuing to show incredible patience and support for what we do.

Denny

Well a big TWITCH (or whatever) for all thas is to come ! ...

Hope all goes well and keep working as now I belive you're in the right track (amazing job/good price/superb contact with the users)

Thuomont's Magic Shop? HedgeWorks?? I want those too!! And Wildwood Grove.

See, the problem is that you WorldWorks folk have unleashed this huge monster amongst the rest of us, and we can never now be satisfied. Consider yourselves congratulated. Now, off to buy Shellendrak Manor. As if I don't have more than enough to build.

Epona Jade