[Since I’m
teaching the Intro
to Sci Fi/Fantasy class this semester, for my annual
Valentine’s series I wanted to focus on fantasy authors & stories I’ve
loved. Leading up to a weekend post on an emerging community who deserve more
love!]
On the rise,
fall, and enduring legacy of an innovative gaming company.
I wrote a bit in
this
post on role-playing games about Iron Crown
Enterprises (ICE), the Charlottesville-based gaming company whose Middle-earth
Role Playing (MERP) system played a significant and wonderful role in my
childhood. First developed as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the late
1970s by a group of University of Virginia students, MERP (known initially as
Rolemaster before the company signed an exclusive worldwide license with Tolkien Enterprises in 1982)
became a flagship product for ICE, which the students incorporated in 1980 not
long after their graduations. As Stranger Things reflects, the ‘80s
were a heyday for roleplaying, and ICE was at the forefront of the trend,
developing multiple gaming systems (including two sci fi counterparts to
Rolemaster known as Spacemaster and Cyberspace), creating numerous supplements
and adventures for those games, and branching out into board games (including a
favorite of mine that my sons and I have brought back into the mix, Riddle of the Ring)
and solo gaming books as well. ICE was most everywhere in gaming culture in the
late 80s and early 90s, making them a standout presence in Charlottesville’s
business scene of the era as well.
By 1997 the
company was experiencing
severe financial difficulties, however, and in October 2000 it filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which cost them the Tolkien Enterprises license. The Wikipedia page
identifies a number of factors in that precipitous decline, and I can’t claim
any insider knowledge (or really any knowledge at all) beyond what I’ve read in
such histories. But I have to admit a strong inclination to agree with this
sentiment (also from Wikipedia): “There has been some debate over whether
Tolkien Enterprises forced ICE into bankruptcy in order to get the gaming
license in anticipation of the upcoming new movie franchise.” Peter Jackson and
company had begun planning the Lord of
the Rings films in earnest around 1997, and began filming in 1999 ahead of
the 2001 release of the first film, The
Fellowship of the Ring. If ICE had still possessed the worldwide gaming
license as of 2001, it’s fair to say that the company (as long as it could have
produced enough product to meet the new demand) would have exploded into
international prominence. Perhaps the timing of the difficulties and bankruptcy
is just an extremely frustrating coincidence, but perhaps it reflects some of
the least attractive sides to the business, gaming, and artistic worlds. At the
very least, it’s important to note that ICE did wonderful justice to Tolkien’s
legacy during an era when it was far less visible, and deserved the chance to
do so once Tolkien became Hollywood royalty.
Unfortunately
ICE didn’t get that chance, and after 2001 ceased to exist as an independent
company; the company has changed hands and names a few times since and is currently
part of Guild Companion
Publications. But I would nonetheless stress a couple vital and enduring
elements to ICE’s legacy, beyond its meaning in my own young life (although
that too, and again I have tried to pass that meaning on to my sons in various
ways as well). For one thing, ICE’s dozens
of supplemental books about Middle-earth are among the most beautifully
crafted gaming products I’ve ever encountered, and by themselves more than make
the case that games are a form of art and culture just as much as they are
play. And for another, I think ICE’s history comprises the ideal small business
success story, one that acknowledges prior and necessary influences (without
both Dungeons & Dragons and public higher education there’d be no ICE to be
sure) but that at the same time reflects the genuine vision and passion of a
group of committed individuals who turned their particular talents and
collective interests into a viable and highly successful business. I’m glad to
have had the chance to connect with it, and I know Charlottesville is much
better for having hosted ICE.
Next loving
tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Favorite fantasy authors or stories you’d share?
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