Loren Wiseman

After graduating from Illinois State University, Loren Wiseman co-founded Game Designers' Workshop with Frank Chadwick, Rich Banner, and Marc Miller on June 22, 1973.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=4 April 2017|title=Loren WISEMAN 1951 - 2017 - Obituary|url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/statesman/184826828|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-27|website=|publisher=Austin American-Statesman|language=en|via=Legacy.com}}{{Cite book |last=Shannon Appelcline |title=Designers & Dragons |publisher=Mongoose Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-907702-58-7}}{{rp|53}} Wiseman published Eagles{{Cite web |url=http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18066/eagles |title=Eagles | Board Game |publisher=BoardGameGeek |access-date=2012-10-23}} (later published by Avalon Hill as Caesar's Legions{{Cite web |url=http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1722/caesars-legions |title=Caesar's Legions | Board Game |publisher=BoardGameGeek |access-date=2012-10-23}}), his first wargame, and the fifth game published by Game Designers' Workshop, in 1974. As a partner at GDW, his primary responsibilities were game development – editing and revising game manuscripts and preparing them for publication. During this period he designed the wargame Pharsalus{{Cite web |url=http://72.233.16.130/boardgame/16599/pharsalus |title=Pharsalus | Board Game | BoardGameGeek |publisher=72.233.16.130 |access-date=2012-10-23}} (1977), and wrote the award-winning Twilight: 2000 role-playing adventure Going Home.

Wiseman helped Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, and Marc Miller design Traveller (1977).{{rp|54}} Wiseman was editor of the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society (24 issues),{{rp|55}} and its successor Challenge magazine (53 issues).{{cite web | url=https://www.blackgate.com/2017/02/16/gdw-co-founder-and-game-designer-loren-wiseman-has-died/ | title=GDW Co-Founder and Game Designer Loren Wiseman Has Died – Black Gate | date=16 February 2017 }}

Wiseman brought on J. Andrew Keith and William H. Keith Jr. to GDW to start freelancing in either 1978 or 1979, and author Shannon Appelcline noted that "Together the three would end up setting a lot of the early tone for the Traveller universe.{{rp|56}}

Wiseman became the line developer for Twilight: 2000. The process at GDW was for the designer to write the text, but the developer brought together that text, plus draft diagrams and art into a manuscript, typeset it, and then made sure it was properly published. It also fell to him to design titles in the series (out of 46 supplementary titles for the series, he is credited with designing 20).

When GDW closed in 1995, Wiseman was unemployed for a short time and then worked a succession of part-time jobs,{{Cite web |url=http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/work.html |title=Biography |publisher=Cgi101.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905224259/http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/work.html |archive-date=2014-09-05 |access-date=2012-10-23}} before being offered a job at Steve Jackson Games as Art Director and Traveller Line Editor.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sjgames.com/ill/1997/ill-sep97.html |title=SJ Games Announces GURPS Traveller |last=Haring |first=Scott |date=1997-09-04 |website=Daily Illuminator |publisher=Steve Jackson Games |access-date=2017-02-15 |quote=Long-time Traveller editor and writer Loren Wiseman will serve as Line Editor for the GURPS Traveller series of books and will write the first release.}} Steve Jackson brought on Wiseman to produce the GURPS Traveller (1998) line.{{rp|111}} He wrote GURPS Traveller and several supporting products, including GURPS Traveller Nobles and The Interstellar Wars.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/ |title=Home Page for Loren K. Wiseman |publisher=Cgi101.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907055918/http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/index.html |archive-date=2014-09-07 |access-date=2012-10-23}}

Wiseman was recognized for his excellence and expertise with the H. G. Wells Award for Twilight: 2000 Going Home (1986), and the H. G. Wells Award three years running for the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society (1979-1980-1981). In 2003 Wiseman was Gaming Guest of Honor at the 26th CoastCon science fiction convention. In 2004, Loren received perhaps the highest of honors within the gaming community: he was inducted into the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame, and the above recounting of his credits gives some insight into the rationale. He was honored as a "famous game designer" by being featured as the king of clubs in Flying Buffalo's 2010 Famous Game Designers Playing Card Deck.{{Cite web |url=http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/pokerdeck.htm |title=Poker Deck |publisher=Flying Buffalo |access-date=February 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192820/http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/pokerdeck.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

Reports on Facebook and at Steve Jackson Games report that Loren Wiseman died of a heart attack on February 14, 2017.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=4 April 2017|title=Loren WISEMAN 1951 - 2017 - Obituary|url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/statesman/184826828|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-27|website=|publisher=Austin American-Statesman|language=en|via=Legacy.com}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.sjgames.com/ill/archive/February_16_2017/Loren_Wiseman |title=Daily Illuminator: Loren Wiseman |last=Jackson |first=Steve |date=February 16, 2017 |publisher=sjgames.com |access-date=2017-02-17}}

Loren had written "The City of Ascalon" for publication as part of the Dangerous Journeys RPG, but work was halted by the settlement GDW made with TSR. Since Loren retained the rights to Ascalon, it could still be published as a standalone generic RPG supplement. He sold the rights to Donald Eccles, who later formed FGG Games, LLC in 2023 to publish Ascalon and other works. Ascalon was finally published on July 10, 2023, six years after Loren's death.{{cite web |title=List Of Products |url=https://fgggames.com/catalog |website=FGG Games, LLC |publisher=FGG Games |access-date=11 July 2023}}

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Category:1951 births

Category:2017 deaths

Category:GURPS writers

Category:Illinois State University alumni

Category:People from Bloomington, Illinois

Category:American role-playing designers

Category:Wargame designers