Open Note to #Robotech Fans – I shared this with Robotech but wanted to directly share this here:
Solar Flare Games was very happy to have it announced Friday, September 22 that we have signed an agreement with Harmony Gold USA to create board games in the ROBOTECH universe.
That one sentence might not seem like huge news to some people but to me this is one of the most exciting projects I have ever begun. Who am I? I am Dave Killingsworth, the owner of SolarFlare Games and someone who gets to live out a dream that I have had for over 30 years.
Now, I have had many dreams but this one is especially cool and exciting to me. Back in 1986 I was introduced to Anime for the very first time, in the form of the very first episode of ROBOTECH: The Macross Saga. I was not looking for anime, just something to watch after school.
From the opening credits of the series which felt very much like watching some of the carrier scenes from Top Gun to the alien vs. human dog fights, I was hooked. Like a kid with a brand-new toy I had found something new, wonderful, and amazing.
I spent the next several weeks watching an episode a day until I had seen human unity, war, peace, loss, victory, and love all in 36 episodes of a very cool cartoon. The characters were interesting; the story was very dynamic and just so much fun to watch.
I have lost track of how many times I have watched the series, but it never has lost that original appeal. No matter how old I have gotten the show and those “people” of the Robotech Defense Force (RDF) have always been a touchstone point in my life that is very vivid and clear. The lessons offered up were very wonderful; good will eventually win, winning comes at a cost and love isn’t always found where you might expect, but be ready to embrace it when it finds you.
I know some of this may sound a little cheesy but, to a degree, isn’t all nostalgia and connections back to those simpler days? This has become very fresh to me because 31 years after that touchstone, I suddenly find myself surrounded by my old friends from the RDF but for a very new and exciting reason.
I have been making board/card games since 2013 and this year I had a great idea for a card game that I wanted to make. It was a two-player game, based on combat and in space. While playtesting it with some friends one of them said, “Do you know what would make this game even better, a really great theme.” He was right and I started to think about what would be a fun way to “dress” the game and then it clicked, ROBOTECH!
I thought back to all of those episodes and hours spent watching the show. I knew that I had to reach out to Harmony Gold and see if there was any way I could secure the right to turn our nameless factions into a struggle between the RDF and the Zentraedi.
I emailed them that night and here we are, I am getting to interact and play with my old friends from ROBOTECH. It was a very exhilarating and surreal moment when Harmony Gold agreed to let me make games with their beloved intellectual property. I find myself in an amazing place where I get to help build and expand the universe into the world of board and card games.
It brings me a great deal of joy that I get to bring ROBOTECH: Force of Arms to game stores in the first half of 2018 and help introduce a whole new generation to my old friends. I take this privilege very seriously and hope that people love this game (and the ones coming after) and that it becomes a gateway for families to connect, have fun, and get to know my comrades from over thirty years ago.
A great responsibility and an extraordinary joy. I am a proud member of the RDF and hope many of you come join me. Suit up, get in your veritech and help me defend the Earth.”
Dave Killingsworth
Owner – SolarFlare Games
You can always find more information about Force of Arms at
www.solarflaregames.com
Twitter: @bravefrontier
BGG: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/235653
ROBOTECH Forums: https://robotech.com/forums/viewthread/2206555
