Howard Thompson…?

Larsdangly · April 02, 2014, 08:13:54 PM

I'm attempting to track down Howard Thompson, of Metagaming fame, but haven't been able to turn up any leads. Some of you may know he left the gaming community soon after Metagaming folded in the early 80's. But he likely still exists somewhere in the universe, and I'ld like to reach out to him to discuss one or more of the Metagaming properties. So, is anyone here aware of his whereabouts and, even better, contact information? Thanks-

Omega · April 02, 2014, 08:54:19 PM

Quote from: Larsdangly;740464I'm attempting to track down Howard Thompson, of Metagaming fame, but haven't been able to turn up any leads. Some of you may know he left the gaming community soon after Metagaming folded in the early 80's. But he likely still exists somewhere in the universe, and I'ld like to reach out to him to discuss one or more of the Metagaming properties. So, is anyone here aware of his whereabouts and, even better, contact information? Thanks-

According to notes he totally quit gaming and the last few people to track him down and try and buy the rights to one of the games was quoted huge sums to buy it. Essentially No. He aint letting go of these it seems. I think Steve Jackson and one other interested person stated he was asking six figure numbers for The Fantasy Trip alone.

Larsdangly · April 02, 2014, 10:59:32 PM

Quote from: Omega;740470According to notes he totally quit gaming and the last few people to track him down and try and buy the rights to one of the games was quoted huge sums to buy it. Essentially No. He aint letting go of these it seems. I think Steve Jackson and one other interested person stated he was asking six figure numbers for The Fantasy Trip alone.

Perhaps, although every version of that story I've heard is so much like the official history of their relationship ca. 1983 that I'm not sure it has any bearing on who he is or what he wants now. Anyway, it costs nothing to have a conversation with someone.

Ravenswing · April 03, 2014, 02:02:13 AM

According to the people who tracked him down about six or seven years ago, he hadn't changed his tune about Having Moved On.

Larsdangly · April 03, 2014, 10:59:25 AM

Do you know who those people are and how to contact them?

More generally, while I'm aware of the gossip about Howard Thompson's disappearance from the hobby and disinterest in selling or licensing rights to his IP, I would like to keep an open mind and communicate directly with him rather than make a decision based on hear-say. Internet gossip can be an extreme version of the 'broken telephone' game. And, whatever he may have said to whomever he said it to, who's to say he wouldn't say something different now and to someone else?

Omega · April 03, 2014, 08:53:02 PM

Quote from: Larsdangly;740558Do you know who those people are and how to contact them?

More generally, while I'm aware of the gossip about Howard Thompson's disappearance from the hobby and disinterest in selling or licensing rights to his IP, I would like to keep an open mind and communicate directly with him rather than make a decision based on hear-say. Internet gossip can be an extreme version of the 'broken telephone' game. And, whatever he may have said to whomever he said it to, who's to say he wouldn't say something different now and to someone else?

The last person to contact him was in 2006 I believe and the result was exactly the same as it was in 1984. 20 odd years had not changed a thing.

If you want to contact him he is still in that town not far from Austin I think. You might get lucky and find him in a mood and get the whole deal for a dime. Or he might quote you 200k for a single item.

What exactly are you wanting to get from him? The Fantasy Trip?

Larsdangly · April 04, 2014, 01:58:31 AM

What I would like to do (alone or as part of a group if I could find some interested partners) is to reprint The Fantasy Trip in fashion similar to the Classic Traveller reprints, or the Gloranthan Classics series. I am sure there is no money to be made on something like this, but I think it would be a nice way to keep a great game from rotting away completely. And, it could help drum up interest in recent related materials, like Dark City's series of solo adventures.

Omega · April 04, 2014, 08:56:46 AM

You would be after the one that hes least likely to ever give up.

First advice is. Make sure Thompson even has the rights to the game. Since Metagaming closed out, its assets may have gone to whatever creditors or holders were involved. Figure that out first.

Secondly, assuming Thompson does still hold the rights. From other accounts looks like he only accepts face to face check in hand deals. Assuming you have upward of 200-500k bucks on hand just in case. Then make sure you have a contract written up and he signs it.

Larsdangly · April 04, 2014, 11:47:04 AM

I'm emotionally prepared to have someone say something unreasonable to me; frankly, it isn't that big of a deal to me if someone has an irrational desire to prevent the ~50 people who care from enjoying a couple of magazine-sized books that were published 30 years ago. But what I don't want to do is decide how this will play out entirely based on rumors and assumptions. So, again, does anyone know a name or e-mail of a person who may have had recent contact with Thompson?

Gronan of Simmerya · April 04, 2014, 02:11:39 PM

Well, you could just start selling the reprints, and see who comes after you.

(Note: Not necessarily recommended. May contain sarcasm, high fructose corn syrup, or bullshit.)

One Horse Town · April 04, 2014, 02:19:21 PM

Quote from: Old Geezer;740882Well, you could just start selling the reprints, and see who comes after you.

(Note: Not necessarily recommended. May contain sarcasm, high fructose corn syrup, or bullshit.)

I don't care if it's a joke, we can't condone that sort of thing on a public forum.

Omega · April 04, 2014, 07:47:35 PM

Quote from: Larsdangly;740850I'm emotionally prepared to have someone say something unreasonable to me; frankly, it isn't that big of a deal to me if someone has an irrational desire to prevent the ~50 people who care from enjoying a couple of magazine-sized books that were published 30 years ago. But what I don't want to do is decide how this will play out entirely based on rumors and assumptions. So, again, does anyone know a name or e-mail of a person who may have had recent contact with Thompson?

For fucks sake. Anything any of us tells you is going to be 6-30 years out of date.

The only way to know is to go out to Austin and talk to him yourself. And unless you did your homework and determined he really has the right. Then its a wasted effort right out the gate.

Do the footwork and let us know how it went so we can add it to the list of attempts made.

JRT · April 04, 2014, 09:43:05 PM

QuoteI'm emotionally prepared to have someone say something unreasonable to me; frankly, it isn't that big of a deal to me if someone has an irrational desire to prevent the ~50 people who care from enjoying a couple of magazine-sized books that were published 30 years ago.

That's not either unreasonable or irrational. It's simply a choice. IP is still a type of property. I can choose to make my stuff public domain. I can choose to kill a work that I wrote in years past and refuse to have it reprinted. I can choose to sell it for 1 cent or 100 million dollars.

Ravenswing · April 04, 2014, 10:13:47 PM

Quote from: Omega;740956For fucks sake. Anything any of us tells you is going to be 6-30 years out of date.

The only way to know is to go out to Austin and talk to him yourself. And unless you did your homework and determined he really has the right. Then its a wasted effort right out the gate.

Do the footwork and let us know how it went so we can add it to the list of attempts made.

Pretty much. I admit I'm not going to search for a X years old thread on TBP to find the guy who claimed to have tracked Thompson down ... for one thing, that guy may no more be active there than I am.

Beyond that, untangling the rights issue would take skilled, Texas-based expertise -- as in a few billable hours of work from a Texas financial services/corporate bankruptcy attorney. That's work I know how to do, but in Massachusetts or Connecticut -- the ins and outs of how such things are done in Texas are a mystery to me.

Except, in the end, I wouldn't bother. If I wanted to run TFT again -- and every now and then I mull it over -- I'd just go ahead and do it, using the copies I bought and paid for back in the day. Whether the game was commercially available to the masses wouldn't concern me. Certainly being the fellow to achieve that, that'd be a major labor of love, and one that'd likely result in a significant financial payout with little hope of recovery, let alone profit.

Quote from: JRT;740979That's not either unreasonable or irrational. It's simply a choice. IP is still a type of property. I can choose to make my stuff public domain. I can choose to kill a work that I wrote in years past and refuse to have it reprinted. I can choose to sell it for 1 cent or 100 million dollars.

Yeah.

Look, Lars, the guy owns the game. He's not required to cater to your wishes, nor to mine, nor to anyone's. It's absolutely reasonable, as it's absolutely reasonable for anyone else, for him to want to keep his property and not share it or hand it over to others. Hell, maybe him burying the game forever is him giving the finger to Steve Jackson, and there's enough enmity there still for him to want to keep doing that. None of us know.

Bunch · April 05, 2014, 12:01:00 AM

Well up to a point you're right about it being yours to do with as you please copyright is a deal that society makes with creators to induce them to create. If sufficient numbers (in $'s) did economically non beneficial acts such as trying to hide it away and say FUN it's mine then society may alter the deal as it currently exists. They do it for the mouse. We'll see if the pendulum swings back away from creators.