Interview with Randall Bills 02-08-2004

[DeJaVu]

"Precentor Martial" Randall Bills is the well-known and renowned Classic BattleTech Line Developer, and has recently launched his writing career at high-speed. His continued efforts shape the BattleTech universe, and as one of the main contributing writers for BattleCorps, we can expect even more in the future. He took time took time to offer an interview with our own Paul Sjardijn about his work and career.

BATTLECORPS: Thank you, Randall for taking time out of your busy schedule to have this interview.
RANDALL BILLS: No problem, glad to take the time. Gives me a break from writing another Visions of Rebirth chapter before I go to bed tonight.
BC: To get the ball rolling, tell us some more about yourself. Where were you born? What schools did you attend?
RANDALL: I was born in Kingston Jamaica (dad worked for Alcoa), but we moved when I was only 6 months old; no scuba diving for me. We then lived in three different towns in Utah until I was 9, then we moved to a flyspeck town in Nevada called Gabbs and then moved to Arizona where we still bounced around through several houses, but I lived there all through High School and several years afterward. I served a two year LDS mission in Guatemala and then started at Mesa Community College when I got back. I was working full time, going to school full time and got married…and suddenly, for some strange reason, it was too much. I decided to take a semester off and what a mistake: never went back. In 1996 I got a job with FASA and moved to Chicago and well, haven't managed to get out of the adventure gaming industry yet…though I haven't tried all that hard, either.
BC: What do you consider your personality strengths or flaws?
RANDALL: Anal (I've had numerous conversations with Heather Coleman about the 'sin' of breaking a novel spine or, 'shudders,' dog-earing), passionate (keeps me juggling multiple jobs, long hours and family) and as long as I can listen to music I love, I'll do almost any type of work (gets me stuck doing a lot of dishes, but when I'm caterwauling to some heavy stuff, doesn't bother me).
BC: Moving along in to your activities for BattleCorps. What functions do you occupy?
RANDALL: I'm currently the Art Director, the Continuity Editor and the guy that writes a lot of essays.
BC: What do you do to earn your pay as Art Director? What are the extents and limitations of that position?
RANDALL: Actually art directing is one of the most surreal things I do (I'm art directing for FanPro's Classic BattleTech as well), as I never imagined myself doing anything of the kind. However, though I'd like to think I lend a good hand of guidance and direction, it really is the artists I work with that have made my job so easy and a pleasure. Franz Vohwinkel, Chris Lewis, Doug Chaffee, Matt Plog, Klaus Scherwinski, and Kevin McCann: these consummate artists again and again take my notes and ideas and wed their own expertise and vision to turn in eye-popping art that makes me proud to be involved.
BC: As a BattleCorps writer, what kind of projects are you currently engaged in?
RANDALL: I've finished the final chapter in Tears of Blood (already have the next serial featuring Caden percolating around in the gray matter); I've started a series called Highlander Chronicles (self-contained short stories which will jump around through Northwind Highlander history); Loren and I came up with a great themed set of stories (to be written by different authors) which will cover the development of the BattleMech and how each House got it-I'll be tackling House Kurita. To date, one of the stories I'm most proud of is "Left Side of Sanity"; though originally intended as a one-off story, depending on how well the fans respond, its set up for more.
BC: If they let you, what story would you most like to cover in BattleTech's history?
RANDALL: Snowfire. I can't say why, but the character has always fascinated me and I've got an idea or two to really throw some cool twists in.
BC: The first of your latest BattleTech novels, "Founding of the Clans" trilogy has already been published in Germany, with the other two set for release in the near future. What can the people expect that haven't mastered the German language?
RANDALL: Actually, it's a little strange. A MechWarrior: Dark Age novel, Hunters of the Deep, was turned over to ROC a few months back, but it will actually publish after the first German novel (October this year). As for the German novels, they will cover the beginning of the Exodus (2784) until the end of Operation Klondike (2822). Needless to say, very ambitious, but I think I've got a great story going. Instead of focusing on the characters people might've expected (and have been documented to a great extent), the major character of these novels is Andery Kerensky, the mostly forgotten second son. Using such a relatively minor character (until now) has really given me the latitude to create some new and cool twists, while shaping a story that will be entertaining and yet allow me to follow the established canon at the same time.
BC: What will be the focus of BattleCorps fiction? The past, the present or the future?
RANDALL: All the above. There are plenty of 'current' stories, but from the get go BattleCorps had permission to begin exploring the Jihad, so we'll not be static. And of course, I'm in the midst of writing a short story set on Eden in 2799 and I just finished another Highlander short that is set before 'Mechs were even invented. That's one of the beauties of BattleCorps; we can go whereever we feel there's a good story to tell.
BC: Will alternate universes and "what if" scenario's be explored?
RANDALL: Yes. We've wanted to do "what if" stories from the start and are actually looking at several different options of how to involve the fans in such alternative scenarios.
BC: Will old sourcebooks and novels be made available in electronic format on BattleCorps?
RANDALL: That is still up in the air; just have to wait and see.
BC: And finally, what kind of advice can you offer to those interested in becoming BattleTech writers or artists?
RANDALL: It sounds incredibly cliché, but just keep at it. If there's one thing I've found in the adventure gaming industry, as well as my own fiction writing, you do it, you get better at it. Becoming a good writer/artist/developer can be learned. Finding the drive to slave away when there never seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel… that's a lot harder trait to come by.
BATTLECORPS: How did you get introduced to gaming? And when did you first come in to contact with BattleTech?
RANDALL BILLS: I first played in a D&D game when I was 11 in that flyspeck town I mentioned before. However, even at 11 I can remember thinking the GM sucked. So my friend and I, the next time our families went to Reno, pitched in and bought Star Frontiers (Alpha Dawn) at Toys R Us and I'd run a game for him for a few weeks and then he'd run one for me. I moved to Arizona where I saw the Robotech TV series for the first time and a year or so latter I happened to be in a gaming shop and saw Fox's Teeth. The cover looked Robotech-esk (face it, giant robots are just cool!) and the next month I saw the base box set and after another month of vacillation finally bought it. That was in 1986 and I've never looked back.
BC: What element of BattleTech does intrigue or interest you the most?
RANDALL: The human element. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love a good alien. However, I'm fascinated with the concept that the monsters within each of us are infinitely worse than anything we'll find exploring the cosmos. Even what we do to ourselves can be horrifying; see Left Side of Sanity when it publishes on the site. As such, the grayness of BattleTech, the fact that every faction can and will be a hero one day and a despised villain the next grabbed me from day one. (Outside of the cool, city-killing robots, of course.)
BC: How did things move from a hobby to your job?
RANDALL: My gaming club (BC Legion) had gotten to the point in Arizona we were running many of the local BattleTech conventions. As such, I got to know Stacy Reickermann, FASA's convention support/MechForce liaison at the time. In 1994 I attended Gen Con and met all the FASA people and attended their seminars where I generally couldn't keep my mouth shut asking questions. The next summer the local game convention, Hexacon, invited then-BattleTech Line Developer Bryan Nystul out to attend. I met him, played a game or two of BattleTech with him and then jokingly invited him to attend our Con tradition: Saturday night we stayed up all night long at every convention and played the Succession Wars box game. That year I had spent most of the summer creating a War of 3039 variant, with a new map, all new counters, cards and additional rules. Much to our pleasant surprise, Bryan showed up and we played all night; they all roundly tore into my game and every now and then I pull it out and shudder at the naiveté of the rules. A month later we went to Gen Con again and then we rented a car and went down to Chicago to see the FASA offices (i.e. in a very short period of time my name got spread around a lot...probably too much). When FASA decided they needed to hire a development assistant, they looked at several individuals and then Bryan mentioned 'that guy from Arizona.' And all I had to do to get the job was to move 1,800 miles in less than four weeks, wife without a job, pretty low pay considering rent, no relatives or friends to fall back on: almost said no. But I guess I didn't…
BC: BattleTech Line Developer. What's the job description for that?
RANDALL: It's four pages long, small font size. Do you really want that?
BC: Maybe later. On top of that work, what kind of additional BattleTech activities do you do?
RANDALL: Well, I go way, way too long without playing a game. Phil, Dave and I keep trying to start a weekly game up, but we just can't seem to get it going. Good thing, since Dave was winning the first game we started, but didn't get to finish.
BC: Of all the projects you directly supervised, which one are you the most happy about?
RANDALL: That's a very difficult one to answer. During my FASA time, I think The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky and Shattered Sphere were two of the best products I directly supervised. I'm also very proud of the Classic BattleTech box set; after all, I felt honored to have the chance to create the look and feel of the new box set and to include stuff I'd always wanted to see (such as the 3067 poster map). For WizKids, I had the great opportunity to helm the development of product type I'd never done before and I'm extremely proud of how MechWarrior: Technology of Destruction turned out. However, in recent memory, I'm probably most proud of Combat Operations; it expands on almost every aspect of the game, provides construction rules for infantry (what a pain that was to create; kudos to Chris!) and the wonderful Inner Sphere in Flames framework that I'm hoping we can develop further in the future. Of course I think Handbook: House Steiner is set to eclipse that product in my 'most proud' slot; can't wait to see the fans reaction.
BC: Care to share any sneak previews about upcoming products?
RANDALL: Well, Herb and I have been hammering away at the authors (including ourselves) of a new product, Interstellar Players, which will be out in December 04. Here, I'll give you the back cover copy:
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Truth or Smoke and Mirrors?
In a universe spanning more than a thousand light years, the mighty House Leaders and Clan Khans rule their star empires with absolute power...at least they'd like to believe so.
JárnFólk. Genecaste. Order of Cincinnatus. Irian Corporate Cabal. Behind the House thrones and Clan Halls a hundred and more such secret organizations wield immense power. Insinuating their influence into every level of society and government from the Magistracy of Canopus to the Clan homeworlds, these power brokers and secret societies can simply make life difficult for the average Joe, or shake the very foundation of the Inner Sphere.
Interstellar Players(tm) describes the most powerful and influential people, organizations and entities behind the scenes of the Classic BattleTech(R) universe. Some are firmly established, but shown in a way you've never seen them before, while others are wholly new, only recently come to light. Either way, gamemasters and players can decide which of these powers are real and which are paranoid fantasies. Any of these shadowy groups, from this sourcebook or the gamemaster's imagination, can become the ultimate villain in any type of BattleTech campaign. Let your imaginations run wild!
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As you can see, this is a very different type of book than what we've done before for BattleTech. However, I think the potential for cool, fun stories that any players-whether a RPGer or just a board gamer-will enjoy immensely is almost unlimited and will hopefully have people endlessly speculating on the boards. And of course the possible BattleCorps fiction, which can be drawn out of this sourcebook is endless and wonderfully cool.
After that, well, I can say that the April Fools joke on CBT.com is no joke at all! That's the approved 2005 schedule; through several weeks and dozens of e-mails, we've hammered out a rough outline for the Dawn of the Jihad sourcebook, with some writing assignments likely to be handed out next month. I'm also very excited about the Vehicle Annex TRO, as the art will be done entirely by Doug Chaffee (who I think is perfect for this type of book), and it will include a plethora of support vehicles from airplanes to large sea going vessels, trains to satellites and more; all with as much universe fluff as we can cram in. And then for Operation Klondike...well, I think that's enough peering into the crystal ball for now.
BC: It's a great time to be a BattleTech fan, that's for sure! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, Randall, and good luck with all those awesome projects!