BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction
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Description[edit]
BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction is a chronicle and celebration of BattleTech's twenty-five year history. It includes all-new fiction and classic artwork. The book was designed to highlight art and work done the franchise's history. The book includes all new short stories from many of BattleTech's most storied of authors. Included in the book is a timeline that covers from its beginning to Dark Age, which reveals some of the then-undisclosed events of the Jihad conflict. The book is noted for revealing artwork & designs that were once under permanent ban due to copyright issues the franchise experienced.
BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction won the 2010 Origins Award for best game-related book,[1][2] and the 2010 Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (the "ENnies") silver award for best RPG related product.[3]
From the Back Cover[edit]
| “ | 25 YEARS
Strap yourself into the ultimate suit of armor: the BattleMech. Thirty feet tall and weighing up to a hundred tons, this humanoid engine of destruction is a walking arsenal with enough firepower to level a city block. The BattleTech/MechWarrior universe takes you into the world of the 31st Century, where war has become a way of life. You are a MechWarrior, in command of the most powerful machines on the battlefield, and hold the fate of empires in your hand! Now leap into the visual feast of BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction, its pages brimming with a huge breadth of artists and styles that have brought this universe to life. Accompanying the bevy of art are 18 all-new short stories from perennial BattleTech authors Michael Stackpole, Robert Charrette, William H. Keith, Jr., Loren Coleman and others. A timeline of the universe and an extensive bibliography cataloging every published rulebook, sourcebook, box set and so on—along with an in-depth treatise on the development of one of the largest computer game properties in history—creates the ultimate guidebook. |
” |
Contents[edit]
- Foreword by Jordan K. Weisman
- Introduction
- Timeline
- Ozymandias by Victor Milán
- Starfire by William H. Keith, Jr.
- Thus It Shall Stand by Jason Schmetzer
- A Little Piece of War by Thomas S. Gressman
- Remaining Unperceived by Robert N. Charrette
- Marsh Owl by Kevin Killiany
- Tactics of Betrayal by David L. McCulloch
- The Walking Dead by Blaine Lee Pardoe
- Hornet's Nest by Craig K. Erne
- Vector by Ilsa J. Bick
- Face in the Viewport by Robert Thurston
- Means to an End by Loren L. Coleman
- Cherry Blossoms by Adam Sherwood
- First Chair by James D. Long
- The Color of Rage by Randall N. Bills
- Three Sides to Every Story by Keith R. A. DeCandido
- Teach the Wicked by Phaedra M. Weldon
- Well Met the Future by Michael A. Stackpole
- The Dark Age
- End Transmission by Steven Mohan Jr.
- Computer Bibliography
- Bibliography
Product History[edit]
The original form of the book was released in late July 2009, which included Unseen BattleMech images from the early part of BattleTech history. However, the product was soon removed from BattleShop's inventory. The site only responded with a reply regarding an error and the book would soon be made available again.
On 10 August 2009, an announcement made by Catalyst Game Labs' managing editor Randall N. Bills indicated the problems with BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction was more than error.[4]
The following is a truncated version of the announcement on the website:
| “ | Sometimes things just don't go as you want them to.
That's always an auspicious beginning to anything, isn't it? Well, in this case it's true. A few weeks back, we came out with some fantastic news. We were bringing the ‘Unseen' back! We reviewed documents, talked to a great many people, and spent time with some lawyers. We felt we had a solid position. Sadly, some of the information we acted upon turned out to be inaccurate. Twelve of the ‘Unseen' images previously used within the BattleTech universe were involved in a court case in the 1990s: Archer, Longbow, Rifleman, Warhammer, Wasp, Stinger, Phoenix Hawk, Crusader, Marauder, Stinger LAM, Wasp LAM and Phoenix Hawk LAM. This we knew. But at the end of that court case, as part of a confidential settlement, it was agreed that the sole and exclusive world-wide right to these images (outside of Japan) would rest with another US company. It is for this reason that we have chosen to revise our plans to publish these specific images in current product. Though we spoke with a number of individuals before making our initial decision, no one involved in Catalyst was aware of this agreement. Still, the owner to these images has been very cool with us about the whole situation. They are a good group of people, and we will continue our attempts to work with them as we look toward the future. I hope you all know, this was something we attempted out of a true passion to bring you everything you have wanted out of BattleTech over the past 25 years. This was one of those big holes we thought we could patch, and sadly we were wrong. I know there are times where it's easy to see Catalyst as “The Powers that Be” for the games we make, but let me use this as an opportunity to remind you that we are also huge, huge fans (just in case you didn't already know that from my years of blogs). Over the past two years there have been several projects behind the scenes that we've been working like crazy on because WE want to see BattleTech be a great game from every angle. We want it approachable for beginners, and compelling for veterans. More than anything we want to be able to share as much as we can from 25 years worth of story and products… and this was a big piece of that puzzle. Yet we simply can't in this one case, and for that we as fans and game designers are truly saddened. So after all of that, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies. Though we're still able to use many of the unseen designs, these core twelve remain some of the most beloved. I hope you understand it was entirely out of our own passion for the game that this entire situation has unfolded as it did. The BattleTech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction PDF has been adjusted accordingly, as has the printed product. |
” |
References[edit]
- ↑ "Catalyst Games Labs Wins 2010 Origins Awards", Catalyst Game Labs, 28 June 2010
- ↑ "Origins Awards", Origins Game Fair, via the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "ENnie Awards 2010 Noms and Winners", The Gen Con EN World RPG Awards, via the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Sometimes Things Just Don't Go As We Want Them To", Catalyst Game Labs, 10 August 2009