So why are we starting with novels? Brent and I both come at intellectual properties (IP) with a perspective that they have to cross a lot of delivery channels in order to be strong over the long haul. Too many universes out there have a good idea, but no idea of how to move it along so that you constantly engage new players/readers along the way. We don't operate that way at Juggernaut.
Our mutual experience with BattleTech taught us that novels were a great way to provide a massive amount of information on the universe while at the same time, provide us a vehicle for advancing the IP along. IP's that remain static tend to get stale with players and readers. Gamers want to believe they are part of an evolving storyline. Comics do a good job of this but novels provide the meat when it comes to shaping events and shifting the timeline along.
If you think about most RPG's, they just dump a reader/character down in a new universe and say, "there you go, start playing." A lot of Land and Sea is the unknown aspects of the aliens . These are truly alien species (plural) and as such, there's no "give them a computer virus" or "blow up the communications array," solution which Hollywood seems to gyrate to. Rather than try this traditional game industry way of immersing characters by simply throwing them into the fight, we thought that the first trilogy of novels would lay all of that foundation for readers and players.
Another factor driving this approach was to generate some excitement. We wanted people to read the novels and get excited for all of the possibilities that the novels provided in other media, such as miniatures gaming, RPG's, etc. The novels allow an immersion into the universe of Land and Sea that you can't accomplish with a game (digital, board or tabletop). To be there, from the beginning, (we hope) will be a great experience for the reader.
The other reason, which is much more internal, is that the novels required us to go in-depth on the Land and Sea universe. We were required to make decisions and really think through every minute detail. Novels can explore aspects of the IP that would be difficult to cover in a game product. It also helps establish some characters beyond what you might create in a RPG-setting in terms of depth. The setting is cool, but what readers are going to learn is that the true stories are those of the characters. I'll expand on the characters in another blog post at some time.
What does this ultimately mean? People that eventually play the game will have a rewarding experience beyond the game sessions. It also opens the door for this IP to be something much more than a game with some tie-ins. Here, the novels will drive very dynamic changes in the universe.