Part of me always wanted to get to make a magazine because of White Dwarf. Maybe not the ideal industry in the modern world, but part of me still wishes I could.

What is they system referenced at 7:46 ?

What's been interesting throughout these interviews is how often GW have shown that having a company within a company, in which a team of dedicated creatives are given a bit of freedom within the confines of the warhammer brand, has been a great way to make a successful game. Necromunda, middle earth, gorkamorka, blood bowl, BFG, marauder miniatures - all seem to have come about because someone said "alright fine, go away and stop bugging me about your ideas! sit in this office and don't come back until you get this silly project out of your head!" and then so and so comes back with an amazing product that makes a shedload of money.

JJ always just seems like such a good bloke. Great interview.

What, no mention of the Ian Watson books?! Heresy!

Crazy to think a decade after Tom Kirby was replaced the company is worth 20 times what it was when he left.

I did not understand a single word in this video.

Those cardboard buildings were such a genius innovation. Added a whole new element to the game at a very realistic price. They just can't figure that out nowadays, the remake has gangs fighting in hallways, I don't get it. Though it wouldn't surprise me if more modern Necromunda models are sold to people who then use them to play old Necromunda.

The games live on through the communities that support them, and those communities exist BECAUSE of Specialist Games. The way that it was set up, putting part of the development and control of the games in the hands of the player communities, and the interaction and integration that Fanatic had with the fans and players was key to create actual communities which continue to exist today. I don't believe that anything would have kept Specialist Games around until today - too much has happened at GW and there have been too many changes and challenges - but in a real way the Specialist Games live on through those original communities. Considering the lack of official support for these games for the past two decades, its testament to the passion and significance of Specialist Games that they continue to enjoy support that some games outside of the mainstream which are still being supported would love to attract! Fanatic created the right environment to not only support the games but ensure their life long after GW had moved on. And that's a legacy that not many other games can claim, and is most certainly a success of management by most definitions. I will be working on assembling my Epic Armageddon Orks this weekend. Thank you, Jervis.

I can't believe he was at Britcon this year and I did not see him, I was playing in that Epic tournament and actually played the 2 french guys that he mentions, they flew all the way to Nottingham from Paris.

I would absolutely love to buy that ost remake, still listen to it when painting.

All the people complaining about how Alessio ruined this or made this great have no idea. Direction came down from on high. Always did and does, no single person gets to own the games direction. In 8th we were briefed to push large armies and infantry hard. I worked on White Dwarf but got pulled into the book production to fix the photos to show large armies. That book almost didn’t make it out due to the pressure this created.

Cheers for the audio improvements !

A very good watch! Thanks for getting these two gents in front of a camera!

Thank you Mr. Johnson for all the of the hard work you put into it. I don't think that it could have had a better manager to run the magazine based on those particular games. What you did in creating the NAF and the success of it is in itself amazing, in this day no one could convince a company to give up a trademark for the players. Think I'll go to Perry miniatures and check out Valour and Fortitude to see one of your newer rulesets.

Head Fanatic = 👌 Perfection

Great interview and I discovered a very interesting channel 🎬

While not Specialist, Warhammer Historicals were also great at the same time... Really miss both of them since there was so much there that was available for smaller options

I was in the original Epic:A Rules Committee... was a great couple years

Amazing stuff

I think when Fanatic shut down was for me when I kind of the start of when I stopped buying GW products. I've kept up to date with it but never really invested in the hobby since, although I've been temptes to try Kill Team out. And I remember Jervis's post on the message board soon after the announcement.

Thank you for this very sophist interview

These two guys helped develop my love for grim dark gothic gaming.. It all started with the original Realms of Chaos Slaves to Darkness book in the 80s..and later Mordheim became my favorite fantasy game setting. I'd love to see an Ian Miller interview happen now this has been documented

We are planning a Melbourne Epic Armageddon tournament this year. Warmaster saw several tournaments last year.

Can you track down (even) more gw artists. I really enjoy listening to them talk about their icon drawing. If you can find Mark Gibbons then that would be insane. He's my favourite. His Brettonian Sorceress is so cinematic.

Epic Armageddon, BFG, Inquisitor, all managed to hold my attention for years longer than big 40K did. Fantastic stuff.

All of the best Specialist Games came out before the 3rd edition of 40K. There was Necromunda, Warhammer Quest, Space Hulk, Epic 40K, Inquisitor - even Gorkamorka. The mid to late 90s was an incredibly creative and productive time for GW.

As a schoolboy casual gamer epic was my favourite - one of my very last gw purchases was the epic armageddon rulebook not long before I put gw on hiatus for about 25 years... instill found the rulebook itself enchanting, and in the last year have built and painted 2 armies and played a few EA games with a friend! Brilliant stuff.

Battlefleet Gothic is still one of my favourite GW games. I hope they will release a new version that stays true to the original.

watching jervis get choked up talking about fanatic is all you need to know about it being the best era of GW. I know everyone wants to sing the glory of the oldhammer days, but fanatic was the era when the young designers really learned how to make a game and it absolutely shows. The fact the they worked with the fans and community directly in the early days of the internet shows they were years ahead of their time. Epic Armageddon is still to this day the best version of epic and without a doubt the greatest wargame that GW ever released. The new studio might have great minis, but they could really use help in the rules writing and development department (looking at you legions imperialis). Thank you Jervis and I hope you know that we'll keep carrying the torch!

I've been playing it since the 80's. Nearly 40 years. It has to be the greatest game ever. Thanks Jervis!

great sound ! : )

Epic UK still organises tournaments across the country with events most months. Worth checking out for anyone who wants to play the game Jervis wrote when he had free reign! Its one of the best rulesets GW ever published

It's important that when interviewing John, to take into consideration that he is a master artist. People tend to focus purely on his subject matter. What he was drawing. Yet he is well versed in concepts such as Value, Composition, Perspective, Colour Theory, and Form. For many of his paintings he was emulating his favorite Master Painters that inspired him. I'd like to hear, and I'm sure he'd be happy to elaborate on more of these concepts in his works.

Have you done one of these for Man'O'War?

The Ultramarines Artwork from the beginning is my favorite Warhammer Artwork after John Blaches Black Templars. It gives Space Marines so much flavor. The diverent pieces of armour marks etc... Incredibly work!

Audio sounds great on this one! Weirdly glitchy in places though. Great interview!

Another fantastic interview! Love watching these 👌 WD109

The Legend!

God what a cool boss. I've been thinking about starting a wargaming zine, this has only inspired me to try and get it out this year! Cheers Mr. Johnson!

Best ruleset ever produced by GW is undoubtedly Epic Armageddon.