22-minute featurette would follow Marc Miller’s Traveller roleplaying system, with a story designed around character interactions and adventures.
Traveller took up a lot my time in my youth. I had all the rule books, three file boxes full of PCs and NPCs, and maps of worlds where I would take my players adventuring. I had Vargr, Aslan, and Zhodani alike, and ended with numerous tales that could make a book.
Of course, if you are unfamiliar with the Traveller universe, it was designer Marc Miller’s answer to roleplaying in the vast expanse of space, complete with competing races, star maps, spaceships and history. And the best part, as with any great roleplaying “system,” there was plenty left for the players to fill in and create themselves.
That’s why I’m fascinated by the Kickstarter that has launched for Spinward Traveller. The project says it is for a TV pilot, but the $30,000 goal is to make a 22-minute featurette film, following the adventures of Jon Spinward, a starship cargo broker kidnapped by pirates. Apparently, he will eventually warm to his captors, as he will try to turn them into the ultimate adventuring party for the film.
The cast is selected and the D20 Entertainment production team – joined by the Marc Miller – already has some stretch goals, which in essence doubles then quadruples the length of the film. If you have a spare $1,000 laying around, you can become an extra with a guarantee your scene won’t be cut from the finished product.
The funding has started well, with only $7,300 donated in the first two days. The campaign will run until July 15. D20 Entertainment has been through this before, having successfully funded a live-action Knights of the Dinner Table Kickstarter in February of this year.
Spinward is an interesting name for the title character, as there is an expanse of space in the Traveller universe – and an excellent campaign – known as the Spinward Marches. Could this cargo broker be the namesake? I guess we will have to get the film funded to find out.
Check out the gallery below for some images from the film, a couple “Wanted” posters for two of the cast, and just for the heck of it, I threw in a stellar map of the Traveller universe. The Spinward Marches are near the Zhodani area of space.
Source: Spinward Traveller Kickstarter
Published: Jun 2, 2014 08:15 pm