Arcanum Press Event

tim-cain arcanum troika game-development behind-the-scenes sierra

Abstract

Problem: What was it like for a small indie studio to showcase their debut RPG to the press in 2000?

Approach: Tim Cain recounts the "Editor's Day" press event for Arcanum, held at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles in April 2000, sharing personal stories and showing off surviving press kit materials.

Findings: The event was organized by Sierra's president David Greely (a professional magician with access to the venue), featured hands-on gameplay demos and informal press conversations, and included a creative press kit with an in-world newspaper, a short story, an FAQ, and a product overview.

Key insight: For the dozen-person Troika team, this modest press event was a landmark moment — and the creative press materials (in-world newspapers, fiction) reflected the same tonal ambition that made Arcanum's "Lord of the Rings enters an industrial age" pitch so hard to explain in words alone.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6CQioYCDhM

The Venue: The Magic Castle

Sierra invited press to preview Arcanum at the Magic Castle, an exclusive club in Los Angeles that is only open to professional magicians and their guests. They got access because David Greely, Sierra's president, was himself a professional magician. The club is laid out like a giant mansion with multiple floors — a basement staging room where PCs running Arcanum were set up, a floor above with a stage for the presentation, and an upstairs dining room for a meal afterward.

Tim notes the venue's maze-like layout was a blessing for him as an introvert — he could slip away into séance rooms and hidden alcoves behind curtains for ten-minute recharges during the all-day socializing marathon.

The Stolen Opening Line

Tim's favorite story from the event: he had prepared what he thought was a perfect opening line for the press presentation — "Not everything you see here tonight will be smoke and mirrors" — a play on the magic club setting and the fact that the press would get to play the actual game hands-on.

But when Greely got on stage to introduce Tim, he used that exact line himself. Tim was stunned. He looked over at PR agent Geneviève Waldman in disbelief, then had to walk on stage and ad-lib a new opening. He has no memory of what he actually said — though colleague Sharon Shellman later told him it was something about doctors and Buyer Beware, and that it segued nicely into the Arcanum pitch.

Hands-On Demo and Press Conversations

After the presentation, press rotated through PCs running Arcanum. Since there weren't enough machines for everyone simultaneously, journalists chatted informally with the developers while waiting. Tim recalls a long, enjoyable conversation with John Rick from IGN that extended through the demo session and into the upstairs dinner, covering Arcanum, Fallout, other RPGs, the state of the industry, and Tim's pre-Interplay career at Pegasus — a topic he'd rarely discussed before.

The event was called "Editor's Day" because many attendees were editors of their publications. This was 2000, so the press was a mix of print magazine editors (PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World) and website journalists (IGN and others).

The Press Kit

Tim shows off a sturdy Arcanum box — so solid he used it as a monitor stand for years — containing press materials from the event:

The Arcanum Times Newspaper

An in-world newspaper styled after the game's own newspaper mechanic. About eight pages long, filled with stories written as if from inside the game world, in-game advertisements, and artwork. Tim notes they thought this was clever since the game itself featured newspapers. He gave many of these away at PAX events over the years, often signed.

Product Description Sheet

A quick overview of what Arcanum would be: stats, quests, dynamic colored lighting, multiplayer plans, and the promise of shipping modding tools for players to create their own adventures. Dated "Fall of 2000."

Chapter One of "An Unfortunate Affair"

A short story believed to be written by Leonard Boyarsky, following a young mage named Perman Sm wandering around Tarant, discovering that mages weren't allowed to sit in the front of trains, and other vignettes capturing the game's unique tone. The goal was to convey the feel of the world to press who didn't yet understand what "Lord of the Rings enters an industrial age" meant — a pitch that consistently drew blank stares.

The Arcanum FAQ

A comprehensive document Tim compiled from all the questions press had asked, so that even journalists who didn't get to ask him directly would leave with answers. One entry that particularly impressed a journalist listed everything that could be tested against in a dialogue line: PC intelligence, money, alignment, charisma, specific NPC followers, game state, skill levels (like haggling), character level, magic/tech aptitude, prior meetings, NPC disposition, shop spending history — a massive list that showcased the game's systemic depth.

A Mystery Disc

A CD with a paper label reading "Arcanum" — not the retail game, likely containing press materials. Tim can't check it because neither his desktop nor laptop has a CD drive anymore.

Aftermath

The Troika team drove back from LA to Orange County that night. Tim was wiped out, woke up late the next day, and took the day off. He regrets not taking more notes — this was two or three years before he got a digital camera, so the few photos that exist were either pulled from the web or scanned from film photos taken by Sharon Shellman.

Tim emphasizes that while it wasn't a huge, flashy press event, for the dozen people who made up Troika Games, this was a big deal — their small team's moment in the spotlight for the game they'd poured themselves into.

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