R. Talsorian Games (RTG) is a publisher of role-playing game books and accessories. Originally based in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, but moved to Renton, Washington in 1997. Their titles include the ''

Cyberpunk 2020 ''Cyberpunk'' is a tabletop role-playing game in the dystopian science fiction genre, written by Mike Pondsmith and first published by R. Talsorian Games in 1988. It is typically referred to by its second or fourth edition names, ''Cyberpunk 20 ...

'' series and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

-related titles such as ''

Dragonball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ' ...

''. Their major product line today is the

Fuzion ''Fuzion'' is a generic role-playing game system created by the collaboration of R. Talsorian Games and Hero Games. The rights to Fuzion are jointly held by Mike Pondsmith of R. Talsorian Games, along with Steve Peterson and Ray Greer of Hero Ga ...

system. The company's chairman is

Mike Pondsmith Michael Alyn Pondsmith is an American Role-playing game, roleplaying, Board game, board, and video game designer. He is best known for founding the publisher R. Talsorian Games in 1982, where he developed a majority of the company's role-playing ...

, usually known as "Maximum Mike" by players, R. Talsorian Games, and members of their online bulletin board. Products include ''

'', '' Mekton Zeta'' (an

RPG), '' Castle Falkenstein'' (a

Sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

and

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

RPG), '' The Witcher: Role-Playing Game'' (based on a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

series based on novels and video games by

CD Projekt Red CD Projekt S.A. () is a Polish video game developer, publisher and distributor based in Warsaw, founded in May 1994 by Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński. Iwiński and Kiciński were video game retailers before they founded the company, whi ...

), ''

Teenagers from Outer Space Teenagers from Outer Space may refer to: * Teenagers from Outer Space (film), ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (film), a 1959 science fiction film * Teenagers from Outer Space (role-playing game), ''Teenagers from Outer Space'' (role-playing game), a ...

'' (an anime universal setting, the first generic anime RPG until the creation of ''

Big Eyes, Small Mouth ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth'' (''BESM'') is a tabletop role-playing game originally produced by Guardians of Order in 1997 that was designed to simulate the action of anime and manga. The title alludes to the common anime drawing style of character ...

'' using the Tri-Stat system) and several RPGS based on anime such as ''

Bubblegum Crisis is a 1987 to 1991 cyberpunk original video animation (OVA) series produced by Youmex and animated by Anime International Company, AIC and Artmic. The series was planned to run for 13 episodes, but was cut short to just 8. The series involv ...

'', ''

Armored Trooper Votoms is a Japanese military science fiction mecha anime series produced by Nippon Sunrise, created and directed by Ryosuke Takahashi and featuring mechanical designs by Kunio Okawara. Following directly in the footsteps of Takahashi' ...

'' and ''

''. They also produced the short-lived ''

Dream Park ''Dream Park'' is a 1981 sci-fi/murder mystery novel written by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes set in a futuristic amusement park of the same name. It was nominated for the 1982 Locus Award and later expanded into a series of cyberpunk murder myst ...

'' RPG based on the setting of the ''

'' novels.

History

The success of his small-press published game ''Mekton'' convinced Mike Pondsmith that he would be able to make a business by designing games, so he founded R. Talsorian Games in 1985, and using this new company he published a second edition of ''

Mekton ''Mekton'' is a role-playing game which centers on the conventions of mecha anime and science fiction (although it can easily enough be adapted to other genres like police drama or high fantasy). It has seen several editions since its introduct ...

'' (1986). The company's second game was ''

'' (1987). The third published edition of ''Mekton'' was called ''Mekton II'' (1987) and was the company's first game to use their full-fledged

Interlock System The Interlock System is R. Talsorian Games' proprietary role-playing system. History Interlock was a game system by R. Talsorian Games based on a simple system of adding a bonus to a roll on a 10-sided die. '' Mekton II'' (1987) – the third edi ...

. Pondsmith's next game, ''

Cyberpunk 2013 ''Cyberpunk'' is a tabletop role-playing game in the dystopian science fiction genre, written by Mike Pondsmith and first published by R. Talsorian Games in 1988. It is typically referred to by its second or fourth edition names, ''Cyberpunk 202 ...

'' (1988), was R. Talsorian's second design to use the Interlock game system. R. Talsorian was one of the first RPG publishers to embrace

desktop publishing Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online c ...

. Its first desktop published books were ''

Mekton II ''Mekton'' is a role-playing game which centers on the conventions of mecha anime and science fiction (although it can easily enough be adapted to other genres like police drama or high fantasy). It has seen several editions since its introducti ...

'' in 1987, which looked much different from products that R. Talsorian would be putting out just a few years later (such as ''

'' (1989)). ''Cyberpunk'' became wildly popular and received most of the company's attention for much of the rest of its lifespan. After an eight-year hiatus that began with its withdrawal from GenCon in 1998 over a conflict regarding floor space and dealer space, the company began a semi-regular publishing schedule again in 2006. Despite its "major" lines being on hiatus during that period, RTG still supported three licensed anime RPG lines (''Bubblegum Crisis'', ''Armored Trooper VOTOMS'' and ''Dragonball Z'') through its ANimechaniX label and occasionally issued reprints for ''Mekton Z'' and ''Cyberpunk 2020''. On January 4, 2006, R. Talsorian Games founded their first demo team, The Chrome Berets. The Chrome Berets were founded and are supervised by David "Knighthawk" Simpson, creator of Knighthawk’s Cyberpunk Archive, a popular fan site for the game. The purpose of The Chrome Berets is to promote the company and products and playtest upcoming products.

References

External links

R. Talsorian Games Store
{{Cyberpunk (game franchise) Role-playing game publishing companies Companies based in Renton, Washington American companies established in 1985