German Cthulhu Products

[DrJohn]

Why do French and German RPGs and supplements look so much better than English-language ones?
P.S. I'm a qualified German translator, just in case you're interested...

We have a dedicated team of 90 people working on our Call of Cthulhu products. All share a common fact: a deep love for Call of Cthulhu, and a dedication in what they are doing. We don't do it for the little money we earn, but for the joy we have in creating products for our game. That's why everyone gives his or her best.
We have an editorial team, a chief editor and several editors, who meet regularly and work out concepts not only in respect of what kind of books we publish, but also about questions of layout, design, etc.
We are continually trying to improve our products, optically and where the content is concerned.

The "secret" of why we manage to get our books that look good and that the critics find to their liking is a large, organized team of dedicated fans of the game which is highly motivated not only by the team spirit, but also by our publisher, Pegasus Spiele, who pay us, deliver free copies of the books we produce and thus show their respect for the work we do.
This certainly keeps our motivation up.

I've always been thinking: If we can manage to get such a team started in one country, we should be able to do it even better with an international team with Worlds of Cthulhu magazine, where not only the dedicated fans of a single country work on Call of Cthulhu, but everyone from all over the world. I would therefore be extremely happy if more people were to contact us at Worlds of Cthulhu magazine, to contribute. I am certain each and every one has a talent that would be of use, be it handout design, map drawing, writing, proofreading... everyone is welcome!
Hey, the 90 people in the German Cthulhu team didn't fall out of the sky, these are all dedicated fans of the game that gathered together over the years! I am certain we can do that, and better, with Worlds of Cthulhu.

Frank Heller
Chief Editor, CoC Germany
Publishing Director, Worlds of Cthulhu magazine

[GHill]

I agree that the layout is normally clearer, and the cover art normally more adventurous, but I find that I am rarely blown away by the interior art (unlike Pagan's stuff), which in many cases I've found really amateurish.

We have two lines of products, the "official" line and "Cthuloide Welten", magazine-related products that sell at a lower price.
There are no illustrations you could even remotely call amateurish in our official line (have a look at Malleus Monstrorum, Necronomicon, the two rule books). There are illustrations by non-professional artists in the "Cthuloide Welten" line, that's right. If you buy a Cthuloide Welten product, you get good Cthulhu material for a reasonable price, i.e. good magazine quality.

Frank, art to me is merely the icing on the cake as far as I'm concerned the production values otherwise displayed in the official line is sadly distinctly superior to Chaosiums own. While "Cthuloide Welten" can hold its head up with anything els eon the shelves.

on due consideration and having re-read what I wrote it was indeed unfair to describe it as amateurish without further explanation, so lets just say that I'm afraid I just don't find much of it inspiring in it, which is simply a matter of taste.

[Madam30th]

As I've recently moved to Germany and learned the language, I decided to buy the Deutchland boxed set and an issue of Cthulhoide Welten (no 6, specifically).

I am very, very impressed with the overall quality of both editions. Excellent editing, layout, graphics, illustrations...

The research that's gone into the background articles is very impressive. The source material is such, that you can easily base your own stories in this setting, with minimal work.

The only thing I find lacking is, that the scenarios themselves are somewhat routine and uninspiring. I was disappointed esp. by Super 8, as I wanted something scary and genuine, and I feel I just got the literal adaptation of the Campbell's original story to the video age(ie, late 80s, early 90s). Not even the dvd, but the video!!! With explanations why it has to be seen on the tape and not the net, and such arbitrary stuff. As ig any pornographers of this day and age still watch vidz...

Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but still... It was a pet peeve, esp. as I am very very fond of Ygolonac.

And before I get branded as someone impossible to please, I got to say, I mean this as a constructive criticism and not as rubbishing of what I see as an amazing line of products.

ie, in my opinion, the only thing that needs improving is the scenarios, but the rest is miles ahead of what most gaming materials are.