Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Marc Miller (game designer)
open-in-new
<h2 id="early-career">Early career</h2> <p>After serving in the <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">U.S. Army</a>, Miller continued his studies at <a href="/facts/Illinois_State_University/UmLM55r5">Illinois State University</a> in 1972 under the <a href="/facts/G.I._Bill/y9VRvxHz">G.I. Bill</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a>: 53 There he joined the ISU Game Club, created by <a href="/facts/Rich_Banner/Sxcz9Mqe">Rich Banner</a> and <a href="/facts/Frank_Chadwick/q0AS8bsM">Frank Chadwick</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a>: 53 <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> Banner obtained a grant that funded the printing of blank <a href="/facts/Hex_map/ucxvaJQm">hex sheets</a> (suitable for making war-game maps). Adding new members <a href="/facts/Loren_K._Wiseman/KXGkd0jN">Loren K. Wiseman</a> and <a href="/facts/John_Harshman/PBVufs5U">John Harshman</a>, the ISU Game Club drafted a variety of designs. Some of these designs were derivatives of existing games, and had generic names like <i>Guerre</i> and <i>Swamp</i>. while others were amalgamations, such as <i>Triplanetary</i>. </p><p>In 1973, after being convinced by Miller, Chadwick and Banner, Illinois State University created SimRAD (Simulation Research, Analysis, and Design), a college program where students and teachers designed games.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>: 53 Revenue from these games supported the funding of innovations in education. At the same time, Miller, Chadwick, Banner, and Wiseman decided to publish a massive World War II simulation game and created <a href="/facts/Game_Designers%2527_Workshop/U160zqd5">Game Designers' Workshop</a> as their publishing company.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>: 53 </p> <h2 id="game-designers-workshop">Game Designers' Workshop</h2> <p>Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was formed on June 22, 1973, and was initially located in Miller and Chadwick's apartment.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>: 53 In that year, GDW published <i><a href="/facts/Drang_Nach_Osten!/gBnhEjJG">Drang Nach Osten</a></i>, the first of its <i><a href="/facts/Europa_(wargame)/gBnhEjJG">Europa Series</a></i> on World War II. </p><p>In 1974 the company published five new titles, including <i><a href="/facts/Coral_Sea_(wargame)/9JYYtqfa">Coral Sea</a></i>, based on the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea/HbpVNGIf">World War II naval battle</a>. </p><p>In 1975, GDW published <i><a href="/facts/Triplanetary_(board_game)/mWQAcWsc">Triplanetary</a></i> by Miller and Harshman.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>: 53 Miller designed <i>The Russo-Japanese War</i> and <i>Chaco</i>, which is based on the <a href="/facts/Chaco_War/1E8qf3mo">1930s war between Bolivia and Paraguay</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>In 1977, GDW released <i><a href="/facts/Pearl_Harbor_(wargame)/6j8jqu0L">Pearl Harbor</a></i>, a game by <a href="/facts/John_Prados/RDrVRzLA">John Prados</a> that turned out to have serious issues. Miller was brought in to redevelop the rules, resulting in a much improved second edition released in 1979 that received good critical reception.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>Miller, Chadwick, Harshman, and Wiseman designed <i><a href="/facts/Traveller_(role-playing_game)/2JUgQdEf">Traveller</a></i>, which was published in 1977 by GDW.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a>: 54 </p><p>Miller designed the science-fiction board game <i><a href="/facts/Double_Star_(board_game)/qUnXacQC">Double Star</a></i> for GDW, which was released in 1979.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>While at GDW, Miller designed a total of 74 games and products, with an average of one every four months, including <i><a href="/facts/Imperium_(board_game)/w1JTs9wv">Imperium</a></i>; and, co-designed <i>MegaTraveller</i> and <i><a href="/facts/2300_AD/n17wMRxv">2300 AD</a></i>. </p><p>Miller wrote a letter to the company <a href="/facts/Digest_Group_Publications/turzIHfb">Digest Group Publications</a> (DGP), in 1987 asking them to help GDW make the large amount of published material for <i>Traveller</i> more accessible, which resulted in the second edition of the game known as <i>MegaTraveller</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a>: 204 DGP produced considerable work that went unused, and since 1996, Miller has forbidden his licensees from referencing the unpublished DGP material because of his concerns over copyright issues.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a>: 206 </p><p>Miller left GDW in 1991.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a>: 60, 205 </p> <h2 id="after-leaving-gdw">After leaving GDW</h2> <p>Miller designed the computer game <i><a href="/facts/Challenge_of_the_Five_Realms/8QeBLQ7N">Challenge of the Five Realms</a></i> which was published and released by <a href="/facts/MicroProse/PfVMUsIV">MicroProse</a> in 1992 and the card game <i><a href="/facts/Super_Deck!/b9aS14np">Super Deck!</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> In 1996, Miller purchased the rights to <i>Traveller</i>, <i>Twilight: 2000</i>, and <i>2300 AD</i>, and he formed a new company named Far Future Enterprises.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a>: 63 He served as the head of this company, which held the rights to the games.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a>: 63 Miller partnered with Sweetpea Entertainment to license media rights for his science-fiction property in exchange for funding to get <a href="/facts/Imperium_Games/G4ftNxC9">Imperium Games</a> running in February 1996, as a new publisher dedicated to producing only <i>Traveller</i> material.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a>: 330 While Far Future Enterprises licensed <i>Traveller</i> and other games to several companies, Miller worked on a fifth edition of <i>Traveller</i> for Far Future.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a>: 63 </p><p>Miller also does consultation work for gaming companies.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a>: 63 Miller publishes game designs through Far Future Enterprises at farfuture.net, consulting on various aspects of the game industry through his Heartland Publishing Services, primarily design and production issues. His role-playing games are currently in print through Far Future Enterprises, Mongoose Publishing, and Steve Jackson Games. </p> <h2 id="awards-and-recognition">Awards and recognition</h2> <p>Miller has received the Origins Award, the prestigious <a href="/facts/Games_100/kbqbxT4X">Games 100</a> Award, and the Game Designers' Guild Award. He was inducted into the <a href="/facts/Charles_Roberts_Awards_Hall_of_Fame/GGB73Cjg">Charles S. Roberts (Origins) Hall of Fame</a> in 1981 as a designer. He was featured as the king of spades in <a href="/facts/Flying_Buffalo/S6E5kzB4">Flying Buffalo</a>'s 2010 Famous Game Designers Playing Card Deck.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> His novel <i>Agent of the Imperium</i> was nominated for the <a href="/facts/Dragon_Awards/wx6hXUlh">Dragon Awards</a> in 2016.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?128745">Marc Miller</a> at the <a href="/facts/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database/3pvkKL6m">Internet Speculative Fiction Database</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.farfuture.net/MTGuide.pdf">"Players' Guide to MegaTraveller"</a> (PDF). Far Future Enterprises. 2005. p. 17. Retrieved 2007-03-17.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>DiceCast Special Holiday Interview Episode [1] by Polymancer Studios. Podcast, includes interview with Marc Miller <a href="http://dicecast.blogspot.com/2010/12/dicecast-special-holiday-interview.html" target="_blank">http://dicecast.blogspot.com/2010/12/dicecast-special-holiday-interview.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Miller, Marc W. (2007). "Lensman". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 176–178. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0. <a href="978-1-932442-96-0" target="_blank">978-1-932442-96-0</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Goldberg, Eric (April–May 1980). "Forward Observer". Moves. No. 50. pp. 31–33. <a href="/wiki/Eric_Goldberg_(game_designer)" target="_blank">/wiki/Eric_Goldberg_(game_designer)</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Miller, Marc W. (2007). "Lensman". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 176–178. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0. <a href="978-1-932442-96-0" target="_blank">978-1-932442-96-0</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Miller, Marc W. (2007). "Lensman". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 176–178. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0. <a href="978-1-932442-96-0" target="_blank">978-1-932442-96-0</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7. <a href="978-1-907702-58-7" target="_blank">978-1-907702-58-7</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Poker Deck". Flying Buffalo. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192820/http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/pokerdeck.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192820/http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/pokerdeck.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"2016 Dragon Award". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved September 5, 2017. <a href="http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ay.cgi?63+2016" target="_blank">http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ay.cgi?63+2016</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>