It all started with me and my group of fellow scoundrels galloping off on a raid in elderscrollsonline, chatting to each other on our Discord channel as we set our ambush for the enemy. And me suddenly thinking, what would it really be like? To really be that guy—my avatar, a heroic, young battlemage with a magic staff? Not in a game, but for real?
There was only one way to find out.
Write it.
The four New Rock books emerged from my love of RPG’s, and are now morphing into a TV series. A potential partner from the world of SPFX (Special Effects) is looking for an arena expansive enough to hold many stories, in which they can indulge in world-building on a massive scale. This aligns perfectly with all that New Rock has to offer.
I’ve broken New Rock New Role down into a first season of eight hour-long episodes. There is plenty going on in each episode. Never a dull moment, in fact. There is room for the set-piece scenes and side-quests, and for the backstory and lore to come to life. The characters have time to grow and to explore their Strange New World as it unfolds around them.
Season Two would do the same for New Rock New Realm.
In terms of revenue, Gaming (and this does not include internet gambling) is ten times the size of The Biz (films and TV). Producers and studios are keen to get a share of that income stream, especially as more traditional products are all competing for a shrinking market. The recently-released Minecraft movie has (despite tepid reviews) done spectacularly well at the box office. Audiences go into it expecting to see their favourite bits from the game—and they do. Screenings have become mass, popcorn-hurling parties. One of its stars, Jack Black, who I loved working with a few years ago, is back in the charts with the shortest single ever, “Steve’s lava chicken”, his song from that movie.
Of course, New Rock is at a different point on the graph from Minecraft, which has been around for years and is an international pop culture institution. It brings its own vast fan-base of gamers with it into theatres. But everything is a hard sell in its own way. A Game of Thrones was not seen as a natural, or even viable, project by many in The Biz. It was by no means easy getting that off the ground. But when it aired, and gained traction, and became the well-deserved mega-success that it did, suddenly everyone wanted one.
So we shall see. Lots of people have to keep saying lots of yes-es for any project to get green-lighted. One no and it’s over. Who knows where things can end up? How about Esmeralda’s Wild Ride (see chapter 36, New Rock New Role) in a theme park near you?
To be continued. One thing I have learned is that we can go anywhere and do anything in the New Rock universe. The surprises just keep on coming. Which is why, as I write and plan the stories, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
