Name: Terry Cabak

Genius:

Bio: Czech/German/English, born St. Paul, Minnesota, November 22, 1960 raised Toronto, Canada 1969-1986. 15 years hockey & football. Athletic, 6' 240lbs, attractive, married, 1 tan coloured German Shepard/Doberman dog. Machine shop fabrication stainless steel conveyor systems engineering. Graduated 1983 Univ. Wisconsin Milwaukee BFA Film/Video. 1/2 and 3/4" video production, animation and computer graphics. Graphic Artist 1984-present.

Current job (and title): Technical Writer, Motorola

Where did you get the inspiration for Fix Bayonets?

Fix Bayonets is a Horse & Musket Wargames rules set--RL

The inspiration for the rules came from a desire to form a balance between playability and practicality, to create a simulation of the American Civil War and the horse and musket era in general, where players have a limited ability to exercise an unrealistic "birds-eye-view" control of their miniature forces.

What makes it such a cutting edge game?

FB can be learned in a brief period of time and is easy to explain to new players. It can be played on a complex level or on an easy "wargames convention" time frame level.

In creating Fix Bayonets, how did your design philosophy evolve?

The design evolved from mounting figures 8 to a stand to 2 to 3 to a stand in order to save money and create a larger army of regiments. Counting figures was abandoned at an early stage because it was not realistic and required casualty markers to be placed on the playing surface.

Did something trigger the proverbial lightbulb to light up over your head during design and testing?

Realizing that a chart for casualties wasn't needed. Rolling 1 die per stand or gun firing in a unit was creating virtually the same bell curve of casualties as our chart spelled out, so we stopped using the chart entirely. It remains in the rules just for posterity now but the chart can still have a function.

What do you believe is the greatest success of the design?

The greatest success of the design is the simplicity of numbers, ranges and cross over to other rules in the series.

The most noticeable flaw?

The greatest flaw is not rules related but situation related. When two or more units get into melee (hand to hand combat), the various abilities to change facing and continue on after the melee is over ("Post-Melee Intent") in the same turn can create somewhat intricate but not complicated situations We have entertained the idea of not allowing any unit to do anything in the turn after it has engaged in a melee, except run from it or get pushed back from it.

What were some other influences as you developed the system?

Friends saying that it really doesn't take any greater time to record casualties in a roster system because the benefit is greater reality.

How long did Fix Bayonets take from inspiration to final product? Did you get any faster as you continued?

Near the end it went really fast and was wrapped up in less than 6 months. I started working on the rules in 1985.

When in design mode, what's your favorite snack food?

Carrots

Do you play computer games?

Yes.

What type of system do you have?

"A thinking machine super computer" from Jurassic Park

What piece of hardware--real or imaginary--would you add to it?

Video conferencing/Video phone. I am currently working on designing a projector that will take the battlefield shown on the screen and project it onto a 10x6 ft game table so setting up terrain is a snap. The Pentagon is not being very cooperative.

In general, do you think board wargames make the leap to computer screens effectively? Why or why not?

Of course not. People make games come alive. Computers are machines and display devices. Even when Video conferencing becomes everyday everywhere, a boardgame invites people to get together.

How would you like to see Fix Bayonets presented on a computer screen, if at all?

Automatically/randoming designing scenarios based on user input. That's my idea and I am going to make it work because I'm a programmer too.

If you were going to be represented on a computer screen by an icon, what would it be?

A Canadian Flag with a single blue star in the middle instead of a maple leaf.

Computer games are becoming an extension of Hollywood--games based on movies or movie characters. Do you believe the Hollywoodized games to be better, worse, or about equal to ones created from original material? Why?

As a film person I am working on Hollywood screenplays all the time and I can't comment on that because I tend to give my ideas away or watch other people put them on the screen before I can. Hint: my latest title was "Desktop President" and it should be on the Disney Channel sometime this year, made of course, by someone else with a little more money.

What was the last movie (theater) you watched? Last videotape rental?

Titanic. Jurassic Park.

Is there a movie you'd like to do a game of?

I'm writting the script right now.

Given unlimited resources but present day technology, what would you design and why would it be cool?

The best question here: produce a stand of infantry and/or cavalry from a single block of plastic, cut the figures with laser beams and use plastic that is frequency sensitive, so it turns a certain colour depending on the laser beam frequency that strikes the leg, the torso, the visible skin, the musket, the horse etc.

They say everyone needs a hobby. How do you decompress outside of game designing/playing?

I read what I just spent the last 20 years writing about.

Where was the last place you visited on vacation? What's your next vacation spot? Last vacation spot was the Ontario Peninsula again. Next stop: Roman Britain again.

If not bound by time or space, where would you go...and why?

Ooo. You must have read one of my screenplays. Um. I'd say to that barn in Germany where a crashed UFO was hidden, then captured by the Allies. The barn was in a town called Bastonge.

Excluding your own creations, what three games (of any type) would you take with you to the proverbial desert island? What three books?

Axis & Allies, Squad Leader. No time to think what books I'd take.

We see the emergence of online gaming as putting the social aspect (and the smarts of a real-live opponent) into gaming on a world-wide scale. Good or bad? Why?

You already have my answer. All ideas start out good. So far, everything appears to be o.k. but people are not going to the library anymore. This could be a very bad thing.

Do you have a favorite poster or cartoon hanging by your desk? What is it and what makes it your favorite?

Military History Calendar.

What epitath would you want encoded on your (hopefully far in the future) digital tombstone?

That's the end of the film "Desktop President." Sorry, can't tell you. And it wouldn't be Rosebud either.

What question did we leave out that you would like to answer?

Any last omniscient thoughts for MagWeb members?

Get out of your basement and visit some friends too. Go to their house as much as they go to yours and if they don't go to yours just keep going to theirs.

Short Bio of accomplishments outside game design:

Various awards for video and desk top publishing, newspaper etc.

Related

News Release: Fix Bayonets Rules Set