Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Rice
Who knows the way Howard Thomson's mind was working back then. I doubt the way the books came out was according to Steve's intentions in any event.
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I recall that Thompson got frustrated over the amount of time it was taking to get TFT to press, so he denied Steve a final proofread after it was typeset and laid out. So TFT's books contained numerous errors and typos, including the infamous "for Greeks only" witticism in the "Pinning a Foe" section of Advanced Melee. None of them really hindered play, but the absence of an index and even tables of content in AW and AM made the game seem more amateurish than it really was.
I do know that In the Labyrinth was a LONG time coming. If I recall correctly, it was first announced in 1977 (or was it 1978) in The Space Gamer. Howard's impatience may have been justified, but it was unfortunate that he didn't allow a final proofread.
And the original format was to have been a $20 boxed set with rules, thick counters, maps, and a full color map of Tollenkar's Lair. HT then decided fairly late to change that to the 3 books and separate adventure costing $18 total instead. In 1980, $20 was a significant amount of money to come up with at one time.
With TFT, you could buy ITL for $6 and if you already had Wizard and Melee, you could start playing. I can see Thompson's view on that, but I do wish they'd been able to do a "deluxe" edition then.