Why didn't they do a D6 System Indiana Jones game?

Imagine this with
'The World of Indiana Jones -
The Roleplaying Game'
splashed across the front cover

It’s annoying, but the more I think about it the more I realise that the D6 system would have been great for a fully supported Indiana Jones roleplaying game in the same vein as the original Star Wars D6 books.

What made the original Star Wars books so amazing is that they expanded on the Star Wars universe and opened up so much more for fans to absorb beyond the events of the original trilogy. Their sourcebooks and guides told us so much about the galaxy at large, how organisations worked, the whole thing. As you may know, it was the groundwork for what eventually became the Star Wars ‘Expanded Universe’, the creations and adventures that existed outside of the movies and the playground of so many novels. There was so much to learn, use and do in the Star Wars RPG it was no wonder it was so successful.

So why not an Indiana Jones version? Lucasfilm’s second hottest property with so much potential in the same pulp adventure style, and they didn’t take advantage of it when they got the license? The TSR game wasn’t great – but, to be fair, it didn’t fully deserve the stick it got – so here was WEG’s chance to capitalise on it. And what happens? They give it to the Masterbook System.

There was so much they could have done, over so many eras in so many parts of the world. They could have had sourcebooks for the eras, the 1910s, 20s, 30s and even into the 40s. They could have taken a leaf out of Call of Cthulhu’s book and created sourcebooks for the different locations all over the world, as well as globe-trotting campaigns that could have taken the players all over. Books about the artefacts the players could have been chasing after. The enemies and dangers of the different decades, from bandits to Nazis to treasure hunters could have got their own books. Imagine a 64-page softback book detailing the Thugees or any of the other countless cults or organisations, both in the official Indiana Jones stories or anything created for the game itself, all over the world. Real and imagined artefacts and locations and characters… if Call of Cthulhu can continually produce quality material for 30 years, I’m more than sure that the world of Indiana Jones could have. A glorious hardback initial book, presented the same vein as the original Star Wars book with the same energy and excitement I felt from the author… it could have been great. You could have had the high adventure mixed in with dark, Cthulhuesque nightmares.

Where is the D6 system at now? Who owns it? Who owns the Indiana Jones license? Maybe it doesn’t matter anymore. It would have been amazing but maybe it would have worked best back in the day, when roleplaying games were still a huge hobby with a dedicated industry. It could have been the successor to, or run alongside with, the Star Wars RPG.

'If adventure has a game, it must be... The World of Indiana Jones!'

I’m actually a little depressed by this blog entry.