Angus Abranson is a

game design Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

er,

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

who has worked primarily on

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

Career

Angus Abranson started playing ''AD&D'' in 1984, and by the age of 14 he was working for Leisure Games - one of the top game retailers in London. In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Abranson was also writing for ''

Adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

'' (1986-1987) and other British RPG magazines and was one of the forces behind the foundation of the magazine ''

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

'' in 1994 and regularly reported news, reviews and editorial for ''Valkyrie'' afterward. Abranson was one of a team of London-based UK Roleplaying industry professionals, including James Wallis, Simon Rogers and others, who grouped together to resurrect the "Dragonmeet" convention in 2000. Abranson brought Dragonmeet outright in 2005 and subsequently merged Dragonmeet with

Cubicle 7 Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd is an Irish games company that creates and publishes tabletop games. Best known for its ''Doctor Who'' and ''Lord of the Rings'' games, Cubicle 7 offers titles covering a range of licensed and self-developed properties ...

in 2009. By 2003 Abranson was the flatmate of

Dave Allsop Dave Allsop is a Scottish game designer and artist for role-playing games and video games. Career Dave Allsop developed the role-playing game ''SLA Industries'' (1993); the Scottish company Nightfall Games was founded solely to publish the game. ...

, and they decided to form a new role-playing company called

. Their first priority was Allsop's ''

SLA Industries ''SLA Industries'' (pronounced "slay") is a role-playing game first published in 1993 by Nightfall Games in Glasgow, Scotland. The game is set in a dystopian far-flung future in which the majority of the known universe is either owned or indir ...

'', so Abranson announced a publishing schedule of five ''SLA Industries'' books for 2004, and by the start of the year he had the first two in layout. Abranson and

Dominic McDowall-Thomas Dominic McDowall-Thomas is a game designer and publisher who has worked primarily on role-playing games and card games. Career Dominic McDowall-Thomas is a leadership and communications consultant. McDowall-Thomas began his relationship with Cubi ...

were friends who regularly gamed and clubbed together, and he agreed to help edit the ''SLA Industries'' books for Abranson. In late 2006, Abranson and McDowall-Thomas properly formed Cubicle 7 Entertainment Limited, with the two of them as partners. Abranson and McDowall-Thomas handed the creation of ''

Victoriana Victoriana is a term used to refer to material culture related to the Victorian period (1837–1901). It often refers to decorative objects, but can also describe a variety of artifacts from the era including graphic design, publications, phot ...

'' to

Ian Sturrock Ian Sturrock is a rescuer and restorer of orchards and apple trees, saving apple varieties from extinction. He discovered the last remaining Bardsey Island#Bardsey Island apple, Bardsey apple, and rescued the Diamond apple, as well as many other W ...

and

Andrew Peregrine Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

, as they remained focus on the business side of things. Abranson recruited Chris Birch to write '' Starblazer Adventures''. After acquiring the ''Doctor Who'' license, Abranson and McDowall-Thomas needed investment by the end of 2008, and went to

Matthew Sprange Matthew Sprange is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Matthew Sprange met with Alex Fennell in a pub in Swindon, England in late 2000; Sprange suggested starting a game company, but Fennell instead joined a ...

Mongoose Publishing Mongoose Publishing is a British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, publishing material since 2001. Its licenses include products based on the science fiction properties '' Traveller'', ''Judge Dredd'', and ''Parano ...

who introduced them to the Rebellion Group. Abranson and McDowall-Thomas were then able to go full-time for the first time in March 2009, and as a result Abranson left Leisure Games. Cubicle 7 began partnering with other companies, many of the over 20 companies thanks to Abranson's long-time connections within the industry. Cubicle 7 also acquired a number of licenses such as

Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...

's ''

The Laundry Files ''The Laundry Files'' is a series of novels by British writer Charles Stross. They mix the genres of Lovecraftian horror, spy thriller, science fiction, and workplace humour. Their main character for the first five novels is "Bob Howard" (a pse ...

'' and ''Lord of the Rings''. The Cubicle 7 print partnerships were not as successful as hoped, reportedly having a "disastrous effect on the company's cashflow", and in November 2011 Abranson left Cubicle 7 to form Chronicle City. He continued the print partnership model at Chronicle City, while Cubicle 7 largely abandoned it, Abranson went on to partner with long time associate James Desborough, who was appointed creative director at Chronicle City in 2013. Whilst at Cubicle 7, Abranson, along with

Fred Hicks Fred Hicks is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Fred Hicks discovered the ''Fudge'' role-playing game system while online and used it for his games based on Roger Zelazny's ''The Chronicles of Amber''. Hic ...

Evil Hat Productions Evil Hat Productions is a company that produces role-playing games and other tabletop games. Chief among them is the free indie RPG, ''Fate'', which has won numerous awards. History Fred Hicks had been working with Lydia Leong, Rob Donoghu ...

Arc Dream Publishing Arc Dream Publishing is a small role-playing game publishing company founded in 2002 by Pagan Publishing veteran Dennis Detwiller and editor Shane Ivey after their first roleplaying game '' Godlike: Superhero Roleplaying in a World on Fire, 1936- ...

, Cellar Games,

Pelgrane Press Pelgrane Press Ltd is a British role-playing game publishing company based in London and founded in 1999. It is co-owned by Simon J Rogers and Cat Tobin. It currently produces GUMSHOE System RPGs, '' 13th Age'', the Diana Jones award-winning '' ...

, and Rogue Games founded the

Bits and Mortar Bits and Mortar is an online organization of publishers who support brick and mortar game stores. Background Bits and Mortar was established in July 2010, alternately referred to as a ''publisher's alliance, initiative, or coalition'', which adv ...

Retailer Initiative in 2010. Abranson has been a guest at a number of gaming conventions around the world, most significantly a

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

Industry Insider Guest in 2013

Origins Game Fair Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was cha ...

Special Guest in 2011, and

UK Games Expo UK Games Expo (UKGE) is tabletop-game convention and trade fair held annually at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. UK Games Expo is the largest Hobby Games Convention in the UK - where all aspects of t ...

where he was also part of the ''UK Games Expo Dragons Den'' in 2014. In 2016 Abranson was appointed business director at EN Publishing. Abranson has written, or contributed to, a number of ''role-playing game'' book and magazines, such as

Hillfolk ''Hillfolk'' is a tabletop role-playing game designed by Robin Laws and published by Pelgrane Press. It was initially launched via Kickstarter in 2012, with the funding being sufficiently successful that a second book called "Blood on the Snow", ...

and ''Cabal'' by ''Corone Design''. Abranson had a poetry anthology published through ''Winter House Press'' called ''Wild Card Symphonies'' in 2017.

References

External links

Angus Abranson :: Pen & Paper RPG Databasearchive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abranson, Angus Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Role-playing game designers Year of birth missing (living people)