R. Talsorian Games

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R. Talsorian Games, based in Renton, WA (until 1997 in Berkeley, California), publishes numerous role-playing game books and accessories. They are most famous for the Cyberpunk 2020 series and for anime-related titles such as Dragonball Z. Their major product line today is the Fuzion system.

The company's chairman is Mike Pondsmith, usually known as "Maximum Mike" by players, R. Talsorian Games, and members of their online bulletin board.

Products include Cyberpunk 2020; Mekton Zeta, an anime RPG; Castle Falkenstein, a Sorcery and Steampunk RPG; Teenagers from Outer Space, an anime universal setting, the first generic anime RPG until the creation of Big Eyes, Small Mouth using the Tri-Stat system; and several RPGS based around anime Bubblegum Crisis, Armored Trooper Votoms and Dragonball Z.

[edit] History

Founded in 1985, R. Talsorian Games was one of the first RPG publishers to embrace desktop publishing, its first desktop published books were Mekton II in 1987, which was a far cry from the slick, finished products that R. Tal would be putting out just a few years later (such as the company's most famous work, Cyberpunk 2020 (1989)). Cyberpunk became wildly popular (by RPG standards), 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, well known for Knighthawk’s Cyberpunk Archive, a popular fan site for the game. The purpose of The Chrome Berets is to increase corporate and product awareness, playtest upcoming product, and provide peer-to-peer resources to help improve the gaming experience.