Bill Slavicsek
Encyclopedia
Bill Slavicsek is a game designer who served as the Director of Roleplaying Design and Development at Wizards of the Coast
. He previously worked for West End Games
and TSR, Inc.
, and designed products for Dungeons & Dragons
, Star Wars
, Alternity
, Torg
, Paranoia
and Ghostbusters
.
. Originally intending to pursue a career as a comic book
artist, Slavicsek switched to journalism
and communication
at St. John's University. After working for a year at a community newspaper, Slavicsek was hired by West End Games as an editor in 1986. In 1987 the company secured the license to publish a Star Wars roleplaying game, a project which Slavicsek oversaw as an editor and developer. In 1988 he was promoted to Creative and Editorial Director for WEG. He co-created the Torg
game with Greg Gorden, published in 1990, and co-authored the novel Stormknights, which was set in the Torg universe.
In 1991, Slavicsek began working as a freelancer, and was hired as a designer/editor by TSR
in 1993. At TSR, he designed the Alternity
game with Rich Baker
, as well as the Revised Dark Sun Campaign Setting, and The Nightmare Lands
for the Ravenloft
setting. "Some of my personal bests include the pair of Planescape
adventures I wrote - The Deva Spark and Harbinger House... Planescape brought out the best in the people who worked on it. I'm also extremely proud of the Alternity game system. I worked with a great team that featured my co-designer Rich Baker, editor Kim Mohan
, David Eckelberry, Jim Butler, and the great visual contributions of rk post
." For much of the 1990s he was working simultaneously for both WEG and TSR as an editor and designer on various projects. He wrote A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
, a definitive reference to Star Wars movies, books, and games, which was published by Del Rey
in 1994. Slavicsek is considered one of the world's leading experts on Star Wars, and has written the second and third editions of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
.
By the end of 1997, Slavicsek was the Director of the TSR Product Group for Wizards of the Coast
; that job was later divided in two, making him the Director of Roleplaying Game design. By the time of the publication of the d20 edition of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game in 2000, Slavicsek held the title of Vice President and Director of RPG R&D for Wizards of the Coast. Slavicsek announced his departure from Wizards of the Coast on June 23, 2011.
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. He previously worked for West End Games
West End Games
West End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...
and TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, and designed products for Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, Star Wars
Star Wars Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)
On June 5, 2007, Wizards released the Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Saga Edition. The game was streamlined to be easier to play and a greater emphasis was placed on miniatures. Some of the major changes include:...
, Alternity
Alternity
Alternity is a science fiction role-playing game published by TSR in 1998...
, Torg
Torg
Torg is a cinematic multi-genre role-playing game created by Greg Gorden and Bill Slavicsek and released by West End Games in 1990, which uses several innovative techniques...
, Paranoia
Paranoia (role-playing game)
Paranoia is a dystopian science-fiction tabletop role-playing game originally designed and written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg, and first published in 1984 by West End Games. Since 2004 the game has been published under licence by Mongoose Publishing...
and Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
.
Biography
Bill Slavicsek was born and raised in New York City. Slavicsek was a comic book, horror, and science fiction fan as a boy: "Some of my earliest memories involve looking at issues of Marvel Comics, drawing my own comics, and watching old SF and horror movies on TV". Interested in gaming from an early age, Slavicsek was introduced to roleplaying games in 1977 when he discovered Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. Originally intending to pursue a career as a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist, Slavicsek switched to journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
at St. John's University. After working for a year at a community newspaper, Slavicsek was hired by West End Games as an editor in 1986. In 1987 the company secured the license to publish a Star Wars roleplaying game, a project which Slavicsek oversaw as an editor and developer. In 1988 he was promoted to Creative and Editorial Director for WEG. He co-created the Torg
Torg
Torg is a cinematic multi-genre role-playing game created by Greg Gorden and Bill Slavicsek and released by West End Games in 1990, which uses several innovative techniques...
game with Greg Gorden, published in 1990, and co-authored the novel Stormknights, which was set in the Torg universe.
In 1991, Slavicsek began working as a freelancer, and was hired as a designer/editor by TSR
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
in 1993. At TSR, he designed the Alternity
Alternity
Alternity is a science fiction role-playing game published by TSR in 1998...
game with Rich Baker
Richard Baker (game designer)
Richard Baker is an American author and a game designer who has worked on many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.-Early life, education, and military:...
, as well as the Revised Dark Sun Campaign Setting, and The Nightmare Lands
The Nightmare Lands
The Nightmare Lands is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1995....
for the Ravenloft
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
setting. "Some of my personal bests include the pair of Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
adventures I wrote - The Deva Spark and Harbinger House... Planescape brought out the best in the people who worked on it. I'm also extremely proud of the Alternity game system. I worked with a great team that featured my co-designer Rich Baker, editor Kim Mohan
Kim Mohan
Kim Mohan is an American author and editor.-Biography:Kim Mohan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Williams Bay, Wisconsin when he was five. He became an avid science-fiction and fantasy reader and occasional wargamer, and graduated third in his high school class...
, David Eckelberry, Jim Butler, and the great visual contributions of rk post
Randy Post
-Background:Randy Post was born September 28, 1968 in Davenport, Iowa, the oldest of two children. Post was born in the Quad Cities area of Illinois. He was raised in rural Illinois on a very small farm. Being fairly isolated allowed Randy's imagination to soar...
." For much of the 1990s he was working simultaneously for both WEG and TSR as an editor and designer on various projects. He wrote A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
A Guide to the Star Wars Universe is a reference book published by Del Rey. The first edition was published in 1984 and written by Raymond L. Velasco. A second edition was published in 1994, written by Bill Slavicsek. He also wrote a third edition, published in 2000. The books alphabetically detail...
, a definitive reference to Star Wars movies, books, and games, which was published by Del Rey
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
in 1994. Slavicsek is considered one of the world's leading experts on Star Wars, and has written the second and third editions of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
A Guide to the Star Wars Universe is a reference book published by Del Rey. The first edition was published in 1984 and written by Raymond L. Velasco. A second edition was published in 1994, written by Bill Slavicsek. He also wrote a third edition, published in 2000. The books alphabetically detail...
.
By the end of 1997, Slavicsek was the Director of the TSR Product Group for Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
; that job was later divided in two, making him the Director of Roleplaying Game design. By the time of the publication of the d20 edition of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game in 2000, Slavicsek held the title of Vice President and Director of RPG R&D for Wizards of the Coast. Slavicsek announced his departure from Wizards of the Coast on June 23, 2011.