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RPGnews.com: We're here today with Simon Wray of www.revenants7th.com, the best 7th Sea Information Site that I could find. Simon, what event or events drove you to create this site?
Simon Wray: I picked up the 7th Sea rules books at GenCon and found them to have a really good mix of high adventure and intrigue with an accessible setting. The game's real strength is this setting; an excellent arena that players can throw themselves into because of its familiarity, yet still find challenging and intriguing enough to stick with. I started the site because of this instant appeal and ample room for development, and wanted to become more involved in such a dramatic RPG. I've been a role-player for a long time and wanted to put some effort into supporting a product, and with 7th Sea I found it easy to learn and rewarding to create material for.
RPGnews.com: Did you expect the response that revenants7th received?
Simon Wray: Certainly not when I started to put the first couple of pages together, I hoped that a handful of people might come every week, or a few returns once a month; after a review of the latest release. The 7th Sea mailing lists helped a great deal though, both as a source for generating ideas and also for letting the online fans of the game aware that the site was out there and growing. When it moved to a new host I began to realize that the site had a sizable following and that people were checking back often, keen for more material and news. Once people realize a site is not just a static archive, then they bookmark it and keep returning.
RPGnews.com: Are there any new developments in the works for your site?
Simon Wray: Most Definitely. The upcoming material falls into two broad categories that represent the type of material on the site. The first being the actual elements that people add into their gaming sessions, such as new Swordsman schools, adventure ideas, villains or monsters and interesting new items. The second area of development, which takes a sizable amount of time and effort, comes in the form of new ideas, which add atmosphere to game or provide new ways of looking at the setting of 7th Sea. A couple of upcoming examples are the new release of The Luminary, an in character newspaper, and a new article, The Fencing Master which will discuss the various styles of fighting technique. There will also be new Polls and teasers for the products too, to round out the whole feel of the site.
RPGnews.com: Everyone I have talked to has told me your site is the best place to go to for 7th Sea information and material, even beating www.7thsea.com, how has Alderac Entertainment Group responded to your site?
Simon Wray: That's a bit of a sore point from my perspective, but it also does my ego no end of harm! I'm aware that a lot of people compare Revenants7th with the official site, which is not really possible as they both offer different angles on the products - you wouldn't find the official site producing new Swordsman Schools because they really belong in the sourcebooks, which is Alderac's domain. Likewise, I won't be doing direct sales of books.
However, the comparison that I think is fair regards the quality and frequency of material updates. To put it bluntly, Alderac doesn't update their site and so people are getting tired of going back just to see the same old material. Although it makes Revenants7th look better, I would much rather see AEG with a well-supported site.
As far as communication with AEG goes; it's all one-way traffic. Initially I made some comments about what could be done with the official site, but those, and more recent proposals regarding providing previews & release information, have been met with grim silence. I'd like to think that we could work out some joint venture to keep the fans supplied with the latest news, but in reality AEG have a poor record at supporting 7th Sea for the online community.
RPGnews.com: Maintaining a website is a lot of work. Have you always worked the site alone?
Simon Wray: As far as actually taking material for the game and putting up on the website, then yes, I do all the work alone. However, a large amount of what goes up on the site is submitted from the online fan base of the game. This not only includes the actual articles, but also those oddities which go towards making the site whole; questions and comments, illustrative artwork and graphical work from the products themselves. In effect, I put all the various elements together and keep the site maintained, and in doing so find little time to actually produce work of my own without losing enthusiasm for the game itself.
As long as the fans realize that it does require some dedication, and that holidays or busy week at work are likely to push back and update for more than just a couple of days, then I've certainly no qualms with keeping to this routine.
RPGnews.com: Is there an end to revenants7th.com or a point where you see your site not being as fun as it should be?
Simon Wray: Right now I think the site is just coming out of a patch of the doldrums. The host server required payment, my job is becoming very hectic and the last couple of months have seen lots of other interesting subjects turn up for me to become involved in. All of which lead to a quick re-evaluation of the site; re-thinking whether it's rewarding to keep going and making the effort. I decided that yes, I want to carry on with the project and am prepared to put the work into it. Fans are contributing material and I'm making time to produce more of my own, consequentially it becomes more rewarding. You just have to keep the impetuous going.
I'm certain that I won't just stop updating the site and leaving it to gather dust; if I move on then the site comes down. The other dread possibility would be the actual game becoming defunct. In no way do I foresee this, but release schedules slack off, fans turn to a new genre and suddenly a game has lost it's fan base. Without which I would have little product to support, and no audience requiring such. At present, I'm positively eager to make the site even more interesting & dynamic that it currently is.
RPGnews.com: How much new material do you receive a week?
Simon Wray: I would have to break it down into the two categories of written submissions and general emails. Of the first, I would estimate about 4/5 a week. Some are good, whilst others I loathe to respond to! It's quite hard to say that a submission will not be appearing on the site. It's not like I can claim any kind of superior judgment when it comes to saying that one submission works as supportive RPG material and another doesn't. I try to put up most of what I receive, if a fan has taken the time to write it and found it interesting, then another fan may also enjoy reading it. I also get a varying amount of questions and comments, some from my message board, and I generally respond to them all sooner or later. Some of these provoke further articles and ideas, a few of which I actually get around to developing into pieces for the site.
RPGnews.com: Do you think this will change or will revenants7th always be the source for 7th Sea Information?
Simon Wray: About a year ago AEG completely re-vamped their site and it looked like big things would be appearing, unfortunately they quickly ran out of steam. I don't believe that they have the intent to increase their online presence, even if they do then I should imagine it too take the form of previews and news items. These are not the areas, which Revenants7th focuses on, so there is little likelihood that the site will be overshadowed by any official competition. As for other fan sites? I suspect that Revenants7th may well have stymied the formation of other sites. It's size and established nature, combined with the fact that anyone who wants to put 7thSea material on the web need only send it to me, could mean that potential sites never gained enough momentum to get online. I like to think that this is not the case, and that material has made it onto the web when previously it would have had no platform from which to be seen. What I'm really trying to say is that as long as I maintain the sites, ensure the updates continue and add some new features then Revenants7th will continue to be the first port of call for information and articles on 7th Sea.
RPGnews.com: Series Archer, a new spy related game from Alderac Entertainment Group, is going to be coming out sometime this year. Let's say I want to make a website to help players of the game find everything they need FOR the game. What advice would you give to aspiring webmasters?
Simon Wray: When you start out with the site I would take a minute to think about the scope of it. Consider whether you are simply making a site with details of your Series Archer campaign with details of homebrew rules and new ideas, or if you are actually going to produce a site which aims to support the Series Archer product line in totality. They're obviously quite different and require different approaches and levels of commitment. Sit down and work out what the site is going to include and decide just how much effort you are willing to put into it. Form their you can actually start to put the site together in earnest, having already established various topics which will help you in the layout stage of site design.
Probably the most important piece of advice though would be to ensure that the site has strong, useful content. Gamers are quite capable of using hand-scrawled notes to bring a game to life; if the adventure on your site has no full-color illustrations with it, role-players aren't going to care, just as long as they can use the adventure. What they want from a site is useable details which they can bolt into a campaign or adventure with minimum fuss. On the whole a new site should contain a mix of information relating to the game or genre, such as new character classes or cool gear, plus details of what products are available and, if possible, news items. Try to add a few items every 2/3 weeks, don't be afraid of updating old material when a new sourcebook makes it obsolete - keeping the site current is very important.
RPGnews.com: How does the future look for your website?
Simon Wray: I'm quite looking forward to the next six months. All the basic sourcebooks will finally be out for the nations & secret societies and we'll see the release of material that actually advances the timeline of the setting. This will through in plenty of opportunity for adventures revolving around these developments and time for a fresh look at the older material with advantage of seeing how it all fits together. I've already said that I want to make the site more dynamic; I want to produce more articles and discussions as well as adding in the archetypal material of new rules, advantages & items. I'm also trying to develop the way in which the material is presented, with the use of simple databases and chat forums it suddenly becomes possible to hold large amounts of searchable information, or to host some online moderated gaming sessions. By embracing these areas I'm hoping to make Revenants7th a place where fans can visit when they want to swap ideas and talk about the game - role-players seem to enjoy chewing the fat about their favorite games!
RPGnews.com: Final Thoughts?
Simon Wray: I've enjoyed running the site and the fact that it is a success makes it even more rewarding. However, a large amount of the material on the site is down to the fans of the game, so a big thanks to all the critics and contributors who've help make it such a beast! As an addendum I'd like to say that things look like they might slowly be changing on the AEG-support front. I'm not sure where this will lead at present but thanks anyway to Alderac for deciding to stick their oar in, and for creating a great game of swashbuckling, intrigue & sorcery.
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