Andrea “Liga” Ligabue: Cosa Bolle in Pentola ? #21 - Pier Giorgio Paglia

Hi gamers

here again with my series of interview. This time I’m gone to catch Pier Giorgio Paglia, the designer of Wings of War, together with Andrea Angiolino. Pier Giorgio is active in the Italian game world since late in ‘80, writing on magazines and producing RPG expansions and adventures. Here is the interview ...

[Liga] Hi Pier Giorgio, is nice to have the possibility to know something more about yourslef ... you are more shine than Andrea, your team-mate in designing games ... so please, tell us something about yourself

[Pier Giorgio] Hi Liga!
Thanks for this interview: I’m very proud about it.

I’m an Italian game designer, but my “real work” (Interaction Design/User Experience Manager/Digital Architect for interactive/multi-medial/multichannel products) make me too busy (sigh!)…

So I design games just as an hobby, and with my (old old old) friend Andrea Angiolino only. That’s became a good excuse to see him and play together.

With Andrea, after many journalistic collaborations (since 1981), RPG expansions and adventures, prototypes and fanzines, we designed our first “boxed boardgame” togheter only in 1999: it was “Ulysses”, published by Winning Moves. And we really enjoyed in doing it.

Two years later we designed the “Wings of War” collection, based upon our shared old passion: World Wars aviation.

As you know, WoW is sold in many countries, and we published three game sets: “WoW - Famous Aces”, “WoW - Watch your back!”, “WoW - Burning Drachens"…

Besides, we just published “Stardust”, with Rose&Poison: it’s a simple but very funny (according to me) card-game about cinema scriptwriters, that will be also used as a promotional gadget for the site www.filmfilm.it.

[Liga] Nice story. I think few designer could make the job full-time ... and now, Cosa Bolle in Pentola ?

[Pier Giorgio] Most is related to Wings of War: we are going to release a couple of non-independent blisters with new planes and maneuver cards: “WoW - Top Fighters” and “WoW - Recon Patrol”. We are also designing other WWI stuff like heavy bombers, torpedoes, ships and so on…

Besides, Nexus is working on the final “WoW - Miniatures”, a kind of “Deluxe Set” with very accurate miniatures of planes, and some new rules…

Then, we have a new version of “Ulysses” that is simpler and with less randomness. We did not really like 100% the editing done for the published edition. We worked again on that game and we think that the new version we have now is quite better.

[Liga] Quite a lot in the pot! It’s nice you keep expanding WoW since the system is good and the game works fine. And for the future ?

[Pier Giorgio] Wings of War takes a lot of time to be cared of, but it also gives us great satisfactions. We are working on a version set in the second world war, and it is quite ready to be launched… I can imagine that this project will fill most of my future free time.

Andrea and me have an old project that makes me fool, and I am eager to start: a multi player Fantasy Dogfight game… May be it will be the very next challenge that we will decide to face.

[Liga] Looks great! I hope for you both it will be a success like WoW. And finally, the 10 games you like to play most

[Pier Giorgio] WoW! What a difficult question…

I loved so much some of the first games we ever played with my little group of friends, like “AD&D”, “Diplomacy”, “Middle Sea”, “Imperial Governor”, “Kingmaker”, “Blu Max”, “Ace of Aces”, “Junta"…

Generally I like multi-players strategy games where human interaction gives the real thrill… I’m not a good Poker player by mistake.

I like to play SPI/AH old simulation boardgame too, and I still buy these on e-auction for my collection, even if my home in Capranica (a very ancient small village in Tuscia, between Rome and Viterbo) is exploding!

However I love to try new games too, but time is scarce…

Among “new” games, I liked Nexus “War of the Rings”, Emiliano Sciarra “Bang!”, Faidutti “Dragon’s Gold” and… Angiolino “Obscura Tempora”, but for this one saying “new” is quite difficult since I liked it from the very first playtesting session, more than 15 years ago…

[Liga] Thank you Pier Giorgio for this interview and for your time ... Good luck for the future and good play!

© 2006 Andrea Liga Ligabue

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That’s great that an improved version of Ulysses is coming. I quite like that game when using the designers’ revised rules including ‘safe zones.’ Flaws and all. I’ll have to keep tabs on that. Anyone know the probable release date and publisher? Posted by Joe Czapski on Jun 26, 2006 at 09:00 PM | #

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