Bill Roper

I’ll be making this a mega-thread throughout the day to share some memories, post some pictures, and maybe even give away a thing or two. Follow along — if you dare!pic.twitter.com/qGmrbV5ISw

I had the good fortune to work with Mel Odom on the books. His storytelling in the setting was inventive and creepy. I love it when a writer brings unexpected depth to a world I’ve made.pic.twitter.com/Q65yw0filu

We also did some amazing collectible figures with Weta Workshops - here are the two Templar that were sold (don’t have the Cabalist and Hunter out) as well as the mini metal Templar helmet we did as launch gifts. Special wine bottle celebrating the studio finding in the back!pic.twitter.com/nMlfSIQVGV

We did a limited series of comics with Dark Horse that told the precursor story to the game. We worked with the British team of Ian Edington (story) and Steven Pugh (art) and I’m still floored by their interpretation of Hellgate: London.pic.twitter.com/BCVfLpYH0C

Our partners in Asia had some smaller plastic statuettes done that were really very detailed and somehow I managed to hold onto a full set in boxes. The ones in my office have a missing sword on the female Templar :/.pic.twitter.com/JHzjPQQe6c

Prims Publishing did the monster sized Strategy Guide which was saying something considering the game was so massively randomly procedurally generated. The collectors edition of the game was also a chunky boi.pic.twitter.com/2w5OrE0oz4

This is one of the first fan art pieces we received (unless one of our people in the studio did it for fun, which I’m sure one of them will correct if that’s so). It’s the cutest version of our hell hounds!pic.twitter.com/DgIloWtCAE

We had an incredible fan community. At the top of that list was Hellgate Guru. They ran an amazingly informative site and even made this insanely cool piece. This was back in 2006 when 3D printing wasn’t a thing, so behold this sandstonesque sculpture they sent us!pic.twitter.com/fhuDMp5wAc

I put this up earlier, but didn’t say what it was! Tokyopop did a Manga treatment in the Hellgate: London setting - and it was wild! Because nothing beats teenagers kicking demon ass.pic.twitter.com/PjRmQuxuBf

Here’s something you won’t see everyday — the first stab at a complete milestone schedule for a game. We somehow thought we’d get everything done in 2 years. Ah, the folly of “youth” (although we were only off by a year... :0pic.twitter.com/QFefP21cXf

We had 2 companies by the time we launched. Flagship Studios was making the game and Ping0 was the group we started to do ALL of the online component. This was writing all the server code, managing accounts, billing, putting servers in racks, customer support - you name it!pic.twitter.com/vUDYUsyonM