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Post by: legoburner
Since people routinely say blanket statements 'we love X' and 'we hate X' trying to speak for the whole community, I thought I'd run some polls on the bigger figures in GW to see what people really think of them...
Keep personal attacks out of this forum and out of this website. It goes without saying that very few people here will have actually met him so this is based entirely on his contributions to GW. If you have met him then anecdotes are welcome so long as they are not rude or against the rules of this website.
My personal opinion: Very positive - the man who gave us blood bowl deserves nothing less imho.
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Post by: Just Dave
I've got nothing against him atm, have seen a lot of hate against him though...
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Post by: lord_blackfang
I do seem to recall public playtesting going on when he was in charge of Specialist Games. And free rulebooks and such. Crazy.
8471
Post by: olympia
Jervis Johnson? That can't be his real name.
465
Post by: Redbeard
I spoke to him at the GT in Chicago last year. Any hate directed towards him is well justified. I put down very negative, as a result of that conversation. He told me, to my face, that by wanting clear rules, I was not the sort of person that he was writing rules for. (In those words)
For a developer of a imagination-based game system to be so willfully opposed to making any progress in game design is despicable. GW has progressed by leaps and bounds in terms of miniature design, and manufacturing. New molds and sculpts are amazing.
But their game design is stuck in the 80's and they refuse to make any advances. In talking to him, his approach was that they deliberately make ambiguous rules, because they do not believe that the game should be played in a competitive manner, and by writing ambiguous rules, it reinforces the 'basement game' approach.
Utter BS. I believe that it is he, and other old-guard GW designers, that are holding the Games in Games Workshop back. The sooner he retires and they get someone in charge who can see that it is possible for a game to appeal to beer&pretzel players, while still being written well enough for competitive players, the better.
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Post by: CadianXV
Jervis, IMHO, gets a lot of stick for no real reason. His column in White Dwarf may not appeal to everyone, but can contain some interesting thoughts. Granted he has a tendancy to prattle on, but this shouldn't earn him all the hate it does.
I believe he contributes greatly, in his own way, to the hobby-therefore I gave him a positive opinion.
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Post by: Eidolon
I thought he was very good when he was in charge of specialist games. However the approach that GW has taken towards competitive gaming is not something im interested in. I feel you can have a competitive game played casually. How many of you have played football or poker in a friendly environment?
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Post by: zatchmo
Redbeard, you hit the nail on the head for me.
I answered neutral opinion because I am new to the hobby and don't know exactly how previous editions were, but, from a clarity standpoint, the rules to 40k are abysmal.
I've heard other people say that he has said similar things to them about the rules, and as a completely casual gamer, I think that it is complete BS that they write "ambiguous" rules for casual gamers. I see nothing wrong with making the game appeal to a casual crowd and writing rules that the entire community can agree on.
The ridiculous ambiguity in some of the rules is what has kept me from playing with people outside of my playgroup, because I don't want to have to go through all those arguments again with someone I may only play once.
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Post by: Cryonicleech
I don't know what to say, as there has to be some truth to why people don't like him.
He seems to hate tournament gamers (or severely dislike them)
11422
Post by: Iron_Chaos_Brute
I can't stand Standard Bearer....
9598
Post by: Quintinus
Very negative.
He deserves nothing more than that.
18605
Post by: Zaxter
I quite like Standard Bearer. Apart from that neutral. I voted positive opinion.
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Post by: Krellnus
I have only one thing to say about Jervis
UBERCHEESE!
To be honest though, I find the standard bearer articles rather enlightening (as enlightening as someone's all expenses paid personal blog page can be)
I don't really see what the problem everyone has with him is.
9892
Post by: Flashman
Neutral really. I have fond memories of the JJ and Andy Chambers days of WD where it was all about the hobby, but I now find his state the obvious ramblings in standard bearer kind of irritating.
10093
Post by: Sidstyler
Simply negative...because of what Redbeard said before, his soapbox column in White Dwarf, etc.
6838
Post by: 1hadhq
Positive.
Last standart bearer had "no pre paints from GW ever" and "no computer aided gimmiks for our games",
so we'll stay save from this "ready to use" approach so many hobbies have turned into...
A JJ thread without H.B.M.C ?
15248
Post by: Eldar Own
So he's the 40K/WHFB/LoTR/other god, well certainly is addresed like that.
NB. Regarding the note under his profile about being avle to summon him if you say his name 7 times in front of a mirror, it doesnt really work. Sorry.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Its 8 times.
Lol
12620
Post by: Che-Vito
Iron_Chaos_Brute wrote:I can't stand Standard Bearer....
From this, it makes it quite clear that Jervis thinks quite highly of himself, and loves to toot his own horn for the heck of it.
Vladsimpaler wrote:Very negative.
He deserves nothing more than that.
Narcissism has no place in proper leadership or management, and I heartily agree with the above two posters.
9217
Post by: KingCracker
Again I know WHO he is, but aside from that nothing lol. I hear people complain about him ALOT, but then again that isnt surprising lol.
14828
Post by: Cane
Voted positive since GW has exceeded my expectations even in the failing economy by being able to generate a profit in these times.
Redbeard's comments are interesting and while it has a great point I still think GW products, especially 40k and Space Hulk, have and always will be a better beers and prezels game than a truly competitive one. This goes hand in hand with their concept of 'number one rule is cool and to have fun' which helps alleviate the problems inherent in a system where codices are completed as new models are ready to be shipped.
I support Jervis' mindset and the majority of players will not game competitively on a level where air tight rules is needed as it'd also likely sap away GW's "Wow THAT just happened? Cool/fun!" approach. The rules are good enough for casual competition and how Jervis presented himself to Redbeard they seem almost more like a guideline to follow than words etched in stone; promoting people to use their own house rules and build a community that way.
5580
Post by: Eidolon
Cane wrote:
I support Jervis' mindset and the majority of players will not game competitively on a level where air tight rules is needed as it'd also likely sap away GW's "Wow THAT just happened? Cool/fun!" approach. The rules are good enough for casual competition and how Jervis presented himself to Redbeard they seem almost more like a guideline to follow than words etched in stone; promoting people to use their own house rules and build a community that way.
Except for the fact that you can play competitive games casually. Its much harder to do the opposite. You can play poker or chess casually. You cannot play uno or yahtzee competitively however. I see no problem with them having much clearer rules, it would not affect casual play and would beef up the competitive aspect of the game.
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Post by: Lord-Loss
Cane, sure I dont mind not having air tight rules, I just want rules that aint utter gak.
17072
Post by: crazypsyko666
He seems to be more into the hobby aspect of the game, which is great, and I believe he could progress games workshop forward if he were to do JUST that; work in the hobby aspect. I think he is dragging the game down into a pit of tar by its neck first, and that disturbs me. He writes too many codexes, and doesn't do enough of what he's good at, which is concepts.
15248
Post by: Eldar Own
crazypsyko666 wrote:He seems to be more into the hobby aspect of the game, which is great, and I believe he could progress games workshop forward if he were to do JUST that; work in the hobby aspect. I think he is dragging the game down into a pit of tar by its neck first, and that disturbs me. He writes too many codexes, and doesn't do enough of what he's good at, which is concepts.
True he hasnt been in very many battle reports and you wouldnt trust his opinion on the wargaming front, but he is the only person (other than the editor) who always says something in WD.
8742
Post by: MeanGreenStompa
He's out of touch.
His articles are self aggrandising and hollow.
His opinion reeks of the stagnation and arrogance of the company in refusing to engage the consumer base or grant even the slightest acknowledgement to anyone who is complaining. Instead we are treated to 'oh your being too competitive' or 'oh, old and bitter players, you can move on whilst we concentrate on shoving The Product at children'.
He's the face of GW, whilst not the MD of the company, he does peddle the propaganda something chronic.
17710
Post by: Yggdrasil
Erh.. I voted for a "positive opinion".
The overall feelings seemed quite mixed for now, having between 7% for "hate", to 28% for "neutral".
Apparently everyone has different views about him, but aren't we a bunch of utterly different people with a small common interest in our hobby?!?
Even among us, there are some guys who could never relate to some others (for instance, the "ubercompetitive geek" and the "romantic-gothic-sci-fi poet/painter" archetypes), so I guess that's fair.
As for me I cannot deny that a load of hiw words are just some random nabbling; still, I have sometimes read a few sentences in the Standard Bearer that have made me think differently about the hobby, and for that I thank him.
And he's one of GW's cornerstone, so he can't be THAT wicked.
Cheers,
Raphaël
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Post by: metallifan
While I still think that Jervis has some chance for redemption, alone he won't find it. I think if Jervis were ever knocked down a peg and they put more of a 'beer & pretzels' thinker in his place, Jervis would realize what he was doing wrong.
That's not to say I wouldn't drive up onto the curb and run him over with my car if I ever saw him walking down a street regardless, but I still hope that he'll turn around in time and see where he made his major feth-ups and kind of hurt GW's image as a result.
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Post by: Cosmic
Hack into my private details and launch a missile to my mobile/cell phone, I haven't played a game of Warhammer (40,000) since early 4th edition. Maybe I should, but I'm really not that bothered as of yet.
So, from this point of view, I have allot of time for Jervis and his wishes to keep things fun and free. He seems like a nice guy, and his attitude towards the rules and such reflect the casual gamer. I don't think that many people started out in the hobby because they wanted to play hard-core games with miniatures. It was probably because they wanted something enjoyable to do, or a release of some sort.
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Post by: Da Boss
From talking to him in person, he seems like a nice guy. Stuff like Epic, Blood Bowl and the specialist games are good.
However, his attitude towards tightening up the rules reeks of arrogant lazyness, so I voted neutral.
20609
Post by: Tyranid Horde
I have no clue who he is
10347
Post by: Fafnir
He's a dinosaur who should have gone extinct eons ago. As a casual 40k gamer, more of a hobbyist, I find his handling and opinion about the game to be rediculous.
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Post by: theHandofGork
Meh, I put neutral. The guy made bloodbowl which is good. but everything else is... well you know. I honestly question how much creative control he really has a lead designer.
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Post by: starbomber109
I actually voted "who?" as I know he's involved in writing rules...but off the top of my head I've got no idea what he's (directly) done.
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Post by: Sidstyler
starbomber109 wrote:I actually voted "who?" as I know he's involved in writing rules...but off the top of my head I've got no idea what he's (directly) done.
Recently he was responsible for the Dark Angels codex.
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Post by: Tauzor
I'll Say this. He has done more for the hobby than against it. So I doff my hat to the man who brought lovely stuff to us amd smile knowning that with age , people change.
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Post by: Eldar Own
I remember, a while ago, Jervis was off so someone else wrote a standard bearer (i think it was rick priestley) well in the opening paragraph he swore twice and dissed the Germans about the blitz (i apologize for any german people reading this, it wasnt me). So the editor changed his swear word to 'rotters' and at the bottom were two footnotes, they were i think:
1)Obviously i didnt put rotters, i swore, but the editor says "you cant sware it WD, children might be reading this", poor litte bleeps i say.
2)Note for German translator of issue, might want to miss that bit out, forgive and forget, and all that. Not that my Granny ever did.
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Post by: Hawkins
Hes been around as long as ive been in the hobby, and i really love his attitude towards game play. that and the fact hes made some really great games for the hobby. so i like him. to bad he does get the stick more than he should at times.
My fondest memories of him are the BR he use to do with Andy Chambers.
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Post by: gretar
Meh , I know little of his ups and downs in the history of this hobby , so i put down Neutral ..
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Post by: don_mondo
Ahhh, once upon a time.....................
I remember when Jervis, Andy, etal were actively nvolved in the online community, posting to email groups (we didn't have these nifty forums back then), making "official" rules interpretations that would then be printed in WD a few months later. I remember the whole UK studio crowd showing up for the first US GT in '97, promoting the competitive aspect of GW games. Sitting at Edgar's in Baltimore with Jervis and others, drinking beer, shooting pool and discussing the rules and what's coming up.
Long ago and far away, those were the days. So for the memories he got a positive vote from me, but if all I had was the past few years, I would likely have voted negatively.
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Post by: Commissar Molotov
Jervis sure seems like a nice enough fellow, but the guy writes terrible rules. Remember, Jervis is the reason that the Wraithlord went from being an Eldar dreadnought with an AV to a T8 monster that can be only taken down by Frodo and Bilbo with poisoned sniper rifles. Also, he's arbitrary and capricious as hell - remember the Chaos "chainaxe" rule add-on that he admitted he penned simply because one of his buddies loved the old fluff for Khorne?
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Post by: Lord Maleval
Personally, I feel he is a hypocrite. He spouts off in Standard Bearer about how this is your game, and in friendly/casual games, make up rules or ignore them as you see fit. He then continues on to say that the rules are for Tournament players, and if you don't like them, don't go to tournaments, as that is what the rules are written for - "competitive play". If the rules were designed for competitive play, there wouldn't be so many calls of "broken" when it come to the rulebook and codices.
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Post by: Major Malfunction
He got a neutral from me.
My opinion of Jervis took an uptick when the Dark Angels Codex came out with calls of simplicity and consistency for all. It then took a sharp nosedive when he allowed other Codex writers to violate that consistency and simplicity. We now find ourselves with Storm Shields, Smoke Launchers and other wargear that do different things depending on who's Codex you read... the very situation he claimed to be fixing in the Dark Angels Codex.
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Post by: Zuthraa
My personal take is that most people are voting on what type of gaming style they are in. I for one voted neutral just do to the fact that I don't get to play very often and when I do play I still do play it as a "basement" game just due to the fact that it is a GAME. Don't get me wrong I like the fact that there are some GT and small tourneys at local game stores n such that allow people to play against friends and what not and still have that causal feel but still be able to best your buddy or whatever. But I will agree there are some rules that you look at it and ??? or where a couple of his interviews it does seem he wants to hold the game back but then again too I mean I treat the game for what it is a game and I think he has done an OK job at it I mean we do have to realize that JJ is not perfect nor will anyone who will replace him if he quit or whatever.
Just remember the number 1 rule of Warhammer
HAVE FUN
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Post by: Mundar
I voted very negative, because he handed out that abortion called the Dark Angel codex with a straight face like we should be ever so greatful for all his hard work at being lazy.
To further that, since it was "his book" he could have made adjustments for new printings, a proper faq, hell even a pdf would do.
But instead, he does nothing. He writes his crappy monthly article that insultingly states the obvious in a over priced monthly magazine that I probably wouldn't bother to read if it were free. I bought every issue of white dwarf from 1990 up till 6 months ago. I'm disgusted they peddle that crap to us every month and expect us to pay for it. There is nothing to that magazine other than advertisements and recycled painting techniques for new releases.
My main issue with Jervis is the dark angel book. The only time the man has ever written rules with some balls was for space wolves, any other time he got ahold of a codex it was time for that army to bend over and prepare to be Johnsoned.
I sent him my Dark Angel codex to the address in his article with a note saying "Thanks for Vanilla and the lack of support, I won't be needed this trash anymore".
And as far as him verbally spitting on tournament players, thats just dumb. Tournament players shell out for new armys on a VERY regular basis, frequently updating old ones to keep pace with the new books.. I've seen casual gamers using the same minis since rogue trader and 2nd edition. Tournament players do their fair share of spending just the same, shouldn't they be just as entitled to their want for good writing?
Seemed like a dismissive excuse to be lazy.
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Post by: Frostyfire
He is very good idea man but cannot write something clear and coherent enough to save his life if it depended on it.
When i still bought white dwarf (18 months) i found it was a hypocritical promotion for every decision the company makes. All the comments he made about why they went from each edition was opposite of what they did before and contrary to his previous statements.
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Post by: rzsanguine
I think he should be relegated to spokesman and not be allowed to make any decision or write any codex, faq,errata etc.
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Post by: Eidolon
Mundar wrote:
And as far as him verbally spitting on tournament players, thats just dumb. Tournament players shell out for new armys on a VERY regular basis, frequently updating old ones to keep pace with the new books.. I've seen casual gamers using the same minis since rogue trader and 2nd edition. Tournament players do their fair share of spending just the same, shouldn't they be just as entitled to their want for good writing?
Seemed like a dismissive excuse to be lazy.
This.
I would consider myself a tournament gamer, almost to the point of not playing casual. Its not that I cant have fun, but tournaments have become addicting. I find that I constantly buy new stuff, testing out new ideas etc. I know people who are casual gamers, hell my LGS has this guy who has used mostly the same eldar models since 2nd edition. He has a 3rd edition fire prism and falcon, the same models out now. Thats it. He never plays in events, and is purely casual. Me, I have to keep up with the flavor of the month. So I am spending much more money. However since GW took their new attitude of spitting on tournament games I buy my stuff second hand or used. My store has a used bin where you get models for cheap, and I have used winnings in this.
I have acquired in the last three months.
5 TH/ SS terminators
3 wave serpents
2 fire prisms
3 war walkers.
For about 60 bucks in cash, plus some old models I havent used in years, and tournament winnings. Frankly I am unhappy with GWs mentality anymore, and do not support them.
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Post by: Paladin Blake
As a casual gamer, I have no personal issues with him. I don't play competitively. I like his fluff and conceptual stuff, but I hate the idea that there's only one way to play the game. If tournaments are more fun to some people than basement games, and those people support GW with money, then GW should do everything in their power to make the rules as airtight as possible. It's just absurd to claim that one genus of gamer is superior to all other types. It just reeks of absolutist BS at best, or plain laziness at worst.
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Post by: odinsgrandson
I'm a fan of the way he used to support Blood Bowl even though it was off of the main line. He set up the LRB and the community that keeps Blood Bowl alive, so I can't fault him for not personally supporting it more.
Also, I think he is a terrible player. In all of the years of writing battle reports, he never once won a game.
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Post by: croggy
i like him from my younger days of dreaming of having enough money to play warhammer but inste4ad having to settle with the WD
I know a lot of 'power' gamers hate him but thats ok as most people hate power gamers lol
but i do think that by now we should have a set of rules that will last forever and only need changing when they are needed due to new models
i vote positive because of all that he has done for the hobby although i do think it is time he dissapeared
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Post by: H.B.M.C.
legoburner wrote:the man ... gave us blood bowl
That just means he peaked early.
40K is what it is today because of him. And that's not a compliment.
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Post by: abortedsoul
I voted "Who?" due to wishful thinking.
Don't like playing competitively? Don't bother buying any rulebooks and sit in your basement going "pew pew" with your little army men.
I'd much rather go to a place where I can strategize, compete, learn, and grow from it. All the while I STILL get to go "pew pew" with my toys, and go for beer and pretzels afterwards.
The fact that this guy is still at GW says something about how good he is at sucking d... er... how dedicated this hobby is to taking care of it's own, even if they are legally slowed. Honestly I think Jervis couldn't think his way out of a wet paper sack, and hopefully he will soon be forgotten altogether.
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Post by: Herohammernostalgia
It's funny how JJ has such a low opinion of competitive play nowadays. He used to be the Big Event Eyebrowdude and was very passionate about it too. He ran the Grand Tournament and the Mighty Empires (warhammer multi-player map-campaign) weekends. Does he still do that?
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Post by: gil gerard
I honestly don't know (or care to know) anything about the dude. I have my hobby, I try to enjoy it as much as possible, and think about the people produceing the products that go along with it as little as possible.
20075
Post by: Vermillion
Very negative, he had his part in my long break from anything GW related a couple of times. I'm sure my 5 year old kids game he designed at school has clearer rules 
13655
Post by: combatmedic
Very negative from me, mainly because of what he has done to my beloved Dark Angels, as well as a number of other armies that where at one time interesting.
I do love how he claims he hates the tournaments, but takes away the rules that are meant to tell the story in a casual game, and instead strip away any individuality with a "Add this named character, get this special rule for army form main rule book" crap.
I have a full list of things, some Im not even sure hes even responsible for, but blame him for none the less.
And just because you gave away some puppies to people and made those people happy does not mean Im going to forgive you for the other 5 your killed in front of me.
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Post by: Morathi's Darkest Sin
If you asked me this 10yrs ago, he's have been one of my fave if not my fave Games designer for Blood Bowl alone.
Some bad calls in 40K, a bad codex or two, and a fair few almost shameful Standard Bearer articles means he's now a Neutral for me.
Can't mark him Negative mind you, he gave us Blood Bowl as someone has already noted. 
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Post by: Kevin Nash
Redbeard wrote:I spoke to him at the GT in Chicago last year. Any hate directed towards him is well justified. I put down very negative, as a result of that conversation. He told me, to my face, that by wanting clear rules, I was not the sort of person that he was writing rules for. (In those words)
For a developer of a imagination-based game system to be so willfully opposed to making any progress in game design is despicable. GW has progressed by leaps and bounds in terms of miniature design, and manufacturing. New molds and sculpts are amazing.
But their game design is stuck in the 80's and they refuse to make any advances. In talking to him, his approach was that they deliberately make ambiguous rules, because they do not believe that the game should be played in a competitive manner, and by writing ambiguous rules, it reinforces the 'basement game' approach.
Utter BS. I believe that it is he, and other old-guard GW designers, that are holding the Games in Games Workshop back. The sooner he retires and they get someone in charge who can see that it is possible for a game to appeal to beer&pretzel players, while still being written well enough for competitive players, the better.
Pretty much this. He might not support competitive play but to deliberately make the rules ambiguous is just downright stubborn on his part. As another poster pointed out: It's easy to make competitive rules casual but not the other way around.
I have a very negative opinion of this guy. The sooner GW gets rid of him the better.
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Post by: Eldar Own
Overall he seems to focus on the off-spins ot the hoby rather than the three main ones (WHFB, 40K, LoTR), thats not too bad, i suppose its nice to have a break for army commanding for a nice, bloody, death filled game of American Footie in the form of Blood Bowl(i know our footie is called soccor and Ameriacan football is the football, but hey soccor will always be foot ball to me). That said, however, it is the three main that get most attention and he cant be bothered with them.
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Post by: Sok
I voted negative, based on a conversation I overheard at GD UK '08, the one where SM were the new shiney toy to be had.
I was waiting with a crowd of people to have a chat and a handshake, the usual, when the person in front of me, who must have been about 12, asked him if the time spent redoing the marines yet again could have been better spent on DE. He replied, and I quote:
"No, because then we wouldn't have got to release Sternguard Veterans and the Thunderfire cannon and cool stuff like that"
He then directed his attention to someone else, leaving this kid with no real answer. I thought that was a stupid answer made by a fanboi, rather than the supposed creative lead of the company.
That said, the work he's done with the specialist games is pretty good, so I only gave him a 'negative'
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Post by: Howlingmoon
Neutral: Why? This hobby wouldn't be what it is without him and Rick Priestly. The problem is that they have been "mailing it in" ever since they lost control of GW back in the 90's.
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Post by: exponent
I post very positive, basically cos Jervis created the games i played as a boy (Blood bowl / 40K / Warhammer). I dont know him personally so I cant comment on whether he deserves the vitriol that people spit at him, but i can say that ive enjoyed playing his games, and for me thats what counts.
Oh and i like standard bearer!
PS - Do people really, honestly not know who Jervis is??? Wow! I thought everyone knew Jervis / Andy Chambers / Rick Priestley??
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Post by: mattyrm
neutral. Ive heard some fair points against him, but you cant possibly say you utterly loathe the man who has a large hand in the hobby we all spend our time playing surely?
21605
Post by: abortedsoul
mattyrm wrote:neutral. Ive heard some fair points against him, but you cant possibly say you utterly loathe the man who has a large hand in the hobby we all spend our time playing surely?
Trust me, it's possible. The depths of suck have been stretched with J-dawg.
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Post by: ZacktheChaosChild
The whole "basement game" thing is actually understandable from my perspective. I am a D&D player, so I'm used to the "imagination" game. Since warhammer is an "imagination" game, you do have to interpret rules in your own way. How many you guys that play D&D have not found a clear rule on something, made up your own way of how to interpret it, but then realize it doesn't really matter because you still have fun anyway?
Positive.
21531
Post by: someguy55
standard bearer is irotating
23333
Post by: grantosjones
I've gone for very positive.
IMO he's more interested in the background/concepts/hobby aspect of the game, though I will admit he shouldn't have as much of a hand in actual rules designs.
Blood Bowl was his main baby in my opinion, and I love that game. In addition he's been there since I started the hobby 13 years ago - though I've seen a lot of people come and go since then and its nice to see a familiar face on those rare occasions I pick up a white dwarf...
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Post by: alexwars1
Neutral
Not because I have neutral feelings, but a wide array of feelings.
On the one hand, he made the hobby great early on in its expansion. On the other, now he is holding it back.
On the one hand, Bloodbowl. On the other, Standard Bearer.
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Post by: Wildstorm
Neutral because he is great when it comes to fluff, but he lets that fluff get in the way of good/balanced rules.
I used to play IG and I'll never forgive him for that junk codex he published ~10 years ago. It was all fluff with no real competitive units. Gav wrote the Eldar codex in the same era and gave them the world and them some... hence why I "used to" play IG.
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Post by: barlio
Neutral: I like some stuff he's done in the past, but I take anything I hear on the intraweb with a grain of salt.
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Post by: Xca|iber
I haven't had any necessarily bad experiences relating to the man, so Neutral for me.
That said, I think the attitude of "We'll make our rules ambiguous so you'll take it more casually" doesn't work at all.
Having to sift through vague rules STRONGLY DETRACTS from my local group's gaming atmosphere. We spend a lot of time discussing rules rather than enjoying a cool narrative and casually enjoying our games. If the rules were clearer, we could just play, instead of breaking out the YMDC page every 15 minutes to deal with a situation that breaks the game.
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Post by: Stephen Bond
I think that he is ok but the article can be a bit pointless, and he rambles a lot only making one or so valid points.also people forget it is not HIM alone that makes the rules. others play and pass them. Because i dont know him i put neutral
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Post by: Nurglitch
I have met Mr. Johnson, had a drink with him at the Canadian Grand Tournament in 2000 (2001 maybe?), and discussed game design. Very insightful. He's a pretty chill dude.
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Post by: SoloFalcon1138
I didn't appreciate his handling of Epic for the 3rd edition, he tried making it into 40k too much...
however, for his reaction to the op, I could fully understand his point. No one at Games Workshop devised these rules to be 100% infallible. While there are tournaments sponsored by GW, notice how much is left to judgement, rather than the rules itself. The game, like most every other game, was designed for fun. People were meant to enjoy them, not scurry away to their basements, write a computer program, and math-hammer their way into the Uber List of Doom...
Get a grip, people, it's a game. Of course the designer is probably tired of people coming to him whining about the playability of a model in tournament or whatever. JUST PLAY!!!
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Post by: Nurglitch
I think the problem is that judgment isn't really a quality with which GW fans are plagued.
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Post by: SoloFalcon1138
Xca|iber wrote:I haven't had any necessarily bad experiences relating to the man, so Neutral for me.
That said, I think the attitude of "We'll make our rules ambiguous so you'll take it more casually" doesn't work at all.
Having to sift through vague rules STRONGLY DETRACTS from my local group's gaming atmosphere. We spend a lot of time discussing rules rather than enjoying a cool narrative and casually enjoying our games[emphasis added]. If the rules were clearer, we could just play, instead of breaking out the YMDC page every 15 minutes to deal with a situation that breaks the game.
Remember, these rules were designed that a call would me made on the fly. For example, the rulebook states if there is a doubt as to how many models are visible to count for a cover save, then the players could agree to a 5+ cover save. No where in there does it say it would be mandatory, the players must agree. The other day, we were playing a 3-on-3 game at our FLGS. I wasplaying Dark Angels and one of my allies was playing Space Wolves. Just for fun, we referred to the old Wolves codex and fought our champion's duel to see who setup first. Was it in the rules that we had to? nope. Why did we do it? Because that cool narrative which sets this game apart refers to numerous instances of the rivalry between the two chapters, so we decided to dust off some fluff and have some fun!
Maybe after 23 years, Johnson has the right to think he and GW have done something right. The rules are still based off of the same mechanic, no major corporate entity has swept in to change the system, and players keep playing the game. The only real change has been the players themselves. They turned from people who want to sit down and have a good time into rules lawyers who can't enjoy the game because the rules don't specifically state one may do so.
It's just a game, people! Lighten up!
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Post by: burning_phoneix
Positive.
He made thriller..errr Blood Bowl
He also reminds me of George Lucas. He messed up the prequel trilogy but without him there would be no original trilogy.
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Post by: Howard A Treesong
Positive for his support of specialist games and his input over the years.
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Post by: kaidsin
I am confused. Battle missions is a super awesome book!
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Post by: Hydroblender
Evil man, killed my favourite game (Epic) with his gakky 3rd edition!
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Post by: Phototoxin
Positive as my mental people file has him marked as 'not a nob' (good thing) and I can recognize his photo which is more-so than any other than gav thorpe (neutral opinion)
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Post by: Arclaw
Positive- whenever I read something he writes I can't help think that hes just a Nice Bloke. I laughed at his intro to Imperial Armour 1 (although I have to admitt that his statement that hypothetically taking the chance to fire the main gun of a tank over the chance of a hot date with three gorgeous named celebrities may, in my opinion, need a little more thought). He's one of the old guard.
I just didn't like the 1st 3rd Ed Guard Codex- while everyone else was getting more powerful from the rulebook update, he started by raised the points of a guardsmen to 6 (recently reverted to 5). Why? to stop the "SKIGAFH" or "Shooty Killy Imperial Guard Army From Hell" that resulted from special and heavy weapon spam. Guard played like an army of WW2 real-world infantry, with most of the quirky interesting stuff diluted. It seemed out of touch with the whacko 41st millenium. A lot of the thing that were changed from that codex got changed back in the most recent one...
He also seems to be a bit about telling players what we want... we dont want rigorous rules because it takes away from the good-natured hobby side... we don't want squats because they're silly... etc. But I'm cautious about that because I'm commenting on stories I've read on the internet.
As for his column in WD.. I get the impression that he writes and picks topics for kids, but also that he's been instructed to do just that.
He certainly doesn't deserve the internet hate that you see occasionally though. Sheesh... he's a nice guy who loves his hobby.
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Post by: Slipstream
Hmm. While he is very enthusiastic in his support for the hobby I shudder when he harps on about collecting a new army (which he seems to think that we should be doing on a regular basis) to be cringeworthy considering how there is no acknowledgement in regards to the actual financial cost. Enthusiasm costs, eh Jervis?
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Post by: Nurglitch
Because you know, collecting a new army is something that doesn't happen much around here. If Warhammer is too costly a hobby for you, perhaps you should take up stamp-collecting, as I hear you can trade them in for food in some places.
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Post by: Mukkin'About
I just plain don't like him. Gw has done few things i like with the hobby i loved. In recent years they do some really stupid things..
now is this all his fault? maybe idk, senior staff have a way of halting advances that would help a company out. To me he's one of those old dogs who thinks he's all that... but his usefulness is relative. So he made blood bowl, for which there hasn't been anything new in ages (except changes to LRB)
my opinion is very negative as the only reasons i would have praise for him are old games and rulebooks..old games that have no support anymore (like epic and blood bowl) a laughable WD article. and some codexes that arguably, he has ruined by writing them
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Post by: DiscoVader
I voted neutral. I'm simply too much of a newblood in game terms to have formed a concrete opinion of the guy, and pretty much every time he's brought up there are a multitude of divided opinions, so it's hard to figure out what side of the fence you're on. For instance, he helped keep Blood Bowl alive, great. What if you don't play Blood Bowl? He has his soapbox article in WD. What if you've never read a WD and have no intention of doing so? It's hard to decide when you're not as directly connected to the game, or haven't been exposed to it long enough to know what everyone's talking/complaining about. That being said, I can't agree with the stance of ambiguous rules. I'd much rather have a ruleset that doesn't require an FAQ to clear out RAW/RAI nonsense by being clear and easy to understand from the get-go, regardless of if it's in a fluffy game or a tournament setting.
I will say this much - for better or worse, he's had a very large impact on GW and Warhammer regardless of if it was good or bad.
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Post by: BrookM
Neutral. He has done a lot for the hobby, but seems to be stuck in limbo as of now. His column is sometimes enjoyable, but for the most part a waste of space that might be best filled with more ads. I did like his article on "So you want to start an army" or something like that.
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Post by: Big P
If GW made rules that worked, what would they do for new editions every few years?
Its not about style of play, its about making money.
Why make rules that work perfectly, it just cuts off your revenue stream.
As for Jervis... Well his work with Rick on Blackpowder worked out well... Maybe his rule design energies are more suited to historical rulesets designed for 'friendly' play.
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Post by: Nurglitch
The rules don't not work. How could they stay in business if they didn't?
Something I think people don't appreciate about their rules, or at least those who don't play the main product lines, is that games aren't fixed products. How many editions of Monopoly have their been? Even when no profit exists, the Bloodbowl rules themselves change and occasionally evolve.
Take baseball. You have tons of variations depending on the league, and even then they decide to adopt new rules or drop old ones.
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Post by: Element206
Im neutral about him
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Post by: Captain Destructo
While Jervis Johnson does seem a little full-of-himself(to say the least), I have to say that I agree with keeping the rules system of 40k "stuck in the eighties". This is because I personally prefer a game of 40k played in the back of my LFGS with a couple of friends and a Dr. Pepper in my hand. As for the rules being unclear, I usually go by "if a rule does not specify you can't do something, you're good". On the rare occasion I find a Standard Bearer that I like, but a lot of times it kind of comes across as being an advertisement for how "wise and venerable" Johnson must be. 
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Post by: Field_Mouse
I'll say Positive. Bloodbowl.
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Post by: bigmek35
i want him dead, i hate the kinda peole who toot thier own horn like he does,
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Post by: rzsanguine
He changed from how he use to be. He was much more of a gamer long time ago and I don't care him anymore. Its time for him to retire.
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Post by: Squat Kid
He murdered the Squats! how can you not hate him? the only thing he could do worse is bring them back lol
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Post by: Melkhiordarkblade
I respect the man.
I enjoyed "Standard Bearer" when he was writing it.
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Post by: Loricatus Aurora
Love the guy
For young punks he sets expectations regarding luck and ettiquette
No one likes games of WAAC where the guy swears at dice and throws models. In that regard Jervis is the grandfather of the hobby, a necessary role IMHO
Tough gig as many will call him a tall poppie, however he does it well
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Post by: automatonsleuth
I met Jervis once down in Nottingham, and his voice terrified me; he would have made an excellent Darth Vader. I'm afraid I don't think much of him though, mainly because I can't read his WD column without wanting to scream "Corporate sell-out!". Perhaps his columns have always been thinly veiled advertising, but ever since September 2008 (where his column was 2 pages of praise for the Assault on Black Reach set), I've been totally unable to read it as anything else, which is a shame, as I used to really enjoy Standard Bearer. I suspect that the column is indicative of his approach to the hobby in general.
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Post by: Adam LongWalker
automatonsleuth wrote:I met Jervis once down in Nottingham, and his voice terrified me; he would have made an excellent Darth Vader. I'm afraid I don't think much of him though, mainly because I can't read his WD column without wanting to scream "Corporate sell-out!". Perhaps his columns have always been thinly veiled advertising, but ever since September 2008 (where his column was 2 pages of praise for the Assault on Black Reach set), I've been totally unable to read it as anything else, which is a shame, as I used to really enjoy Standard Bearer. I suspect that the column is indicative of his approach to the hobby in general.
QFT. Met both Johnson and Chambers (before he got his gig at Blizzard). JJ is no Andy Chambers by any stretch.
Give him credit when credit is due. He did good with the specialist games. But those games are not truly supported by GW as they once was.
I can not forgive him for what he did to the Dark Angels. Besides writing articles for WD what has he done lately?
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Post by: MightyGodzilla
Adam LongWalker wrote:I can not forgive him for what he did to the Dark Angels. Besides writing articles for WD what has he done lately?
What did he do to the Dark Angels? I know that the codex is underpowered by today's standards, but at the time it introduced combat squads, a playabe Deathwing and Ravenwing, etc. I always thought that the crappiness that was the DA's codex stemmed more from the uberness of the vanilla marine codices that followed.
Just wondering.
-MightyG
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Post by: Necro
Flashman wrote:Neutral really. I have fond memories of the JJ and Andy Chambers days of WD where it was all about the hobby, but I now find his state the obvious ramblings in standard bearer kind of irritating.
This for me. He seems out of place in the company today. Andy Chambers was awesome.
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Post by: Dual Face
I don't know why people hate on them, he's been with GW for a really long time, even since rogue trader if I've heard correctly
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Post by: Pacific
Squat Kid wrote:He murdered the Squats! how can you not hate him? the only thing he could do worse is bring them back lol
That's not actually correct. He was actually the only person to bother to tell the fans why they had not received a proper update in 2nd edition, beyond a massively condescending reply to a letter that was printed in WD.
To be honest I'm getting more than a little irritated that this topic keeps raising it's head, chiefly by people who haven't been in the hobby for long enough, or simply don't understand what he has done for so many of the games we like. Don't like the standard bearer article? Then turn the page, and take a look at the advertising spiel either side of it (or don't buy the magazine at all ).
So, for those who are unaware:
- He was one of the main designers of Blood Bowl. He was also involved and is credited with being involved with: Battlefleet Gothic, Epic, Gorkamorka, Mordheim, Necromunda, Warmaster, Mordheim, and Space Hulk as well as of course the core games from GW (no doubt others I have missed). Right there, I would say he is synonymous (in terms of the games he has helped develop) with some of GW's most loved games.
- Back during the 're-structuring' of the company, company higher-ups wanted the 'Specialist games' (as they had then become) to be completely removed from the company line. He offered to take all of specialist games completely under his own wing, be responsible for maintaining that side of the company, and even posting the rules online for free. Although they are a margin of the hobby experience as GW would have you have it, the reason they are available at all is because of Jervis. I had it on good authority that this was done in an entirely voluntary capacity, in addition to the other work he was doing for the company.
- The DA codex was unpopular - but, I will accept this penalty on behalf of DA players in light of the wonderful experiences he has given to tens if not hundreds of thousands of gamers who have played and enjoyed the games listed in point 1. I think that it's important to look at the bigger picture, or it's the equivalent of saying you hate Neil Young and everything he has done because of that awful Trans album he made, or all of Metallica because of St. Anger.
- Finally, he provided many of us years of entertainment during the 'golden era' of WD, where he played whipping-boy to Andy Chambers, month after month in the battle reports section.
So, kick him out ? He is one of the last of the old guard, as far as I know with a couple of exceptions everyone else has moved on. Personally I and many other veteran gamers have to be grateful for the years of entertainment his systems have provided us with. At a time when the games were created to be simply enjoyed, rather than compromised by people from sales asking for alterations of rules in order to sell more kits, often leading to the compromise of the system itself.
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Post by: infinite_array
Pacific wrote:Squat Kid wrote:He murdered the Squats! how can you not hate him? the only thing he could do worse is bring them back lol
Stuff about Jervis Johnson
What I got out of that:
-Helped to create and support Blood Bowl
-Helped to preserve specialist games
He also helped to write Black Powder.
It looks like I'm going to have to change my entry from 'Positive' to 'Very Positive'!
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Post by: Ravenous D
He should stay the hell away from the main games and tournaments. Throne of skulls is like playing T-ball with no score, if you win the thing it doesnt mean you're the best player, it just means you're the best at giving/getting  job scores.
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Post by: Pacific
infinite_array wrote:Pacific wrote:Squat Kid wrote:He murdered the Squats! how can you not hate him? the only thing he could do worse is bring them back lol
He also helped to write Black Powder.
It looks like I'm going to have to change my entry from 'Positive' to 'Very Positive'!
Yes sorry, I missed that he was responsible for the Warhammer Historicals stuff (never played it myself, but it seems to have been quite popular in clubs I have played in in the past)
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Post by: kitch102
10 months in to the hobby, I haven't developed any negative feelings to JJ. He churns out frequently incredible model designs, and I enjoy standard bearer.
As a noob I've seen nothing negative about him, so I voted very positive.
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Post by: GoDz BuZzSaW
Legend. Enough Said.
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Post by: djdutton
I dont really play necromunda, blood bowl, or Epic 40k so I cant say I completely know his material, but he's obviously very creative.
I believe he did the Battle Missions expansion and I enjoyed that quite a bit so I would say positive.
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Post by: DEATH89
Positive, his Marines got me into the game and when i was ready to give it up his Dark Eldar gave the kiss of life to my enthusiasm, for that I'm grateful. Some of the rest of what he's done I'm less happy about, hence positive not very positive.
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Post by: Boss Goretoof
Voted neutral; don't know/care enough about him either way to form an opinion.
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Post by: Viersche
Honestly have no idea who this person is... 
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Post by: zariart
I only started playing about a year ago and dont know much about the history of the game, and had never heard of Mr Johnson till now.
So I am sorry if this idea offends anyone, all of this is an impression and response to/from reading through the comments about Warhammer in this thread.
The rules will stay broken as long as it sells more models. A balanced game means balanced buying habits. Does GW seem like thats what they want?
A basement game is between logical adults and can be played with ANYTHING! I could use B1 bombers as models if I wanted to. I dont believe for a second that GW sees that as a sustainable business model.
Store/tourney play demands you purchase things from GW, but Mr johnson says that they want to discourage that?? ...ok
If you can look through a codex and predict the next big seller, It should occur to you thats exactly what occurred to them right before they did it. The books tell you what to buy next and in what number.
Example: a 50$ to 60$ valkyrie/vendetta is now owned 3 or 4 times over by every IG player I know. This in an army that was previously based on buying tanks.
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Post by: Samus_aran115
He's a REALLY old GW designer, and I like him a lot, along with Jes Goodwin. The rest, I know little about. But I do like jervis.
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Post by: Do_I_Not_Like_That
SoloFalcon hit the nail on the head in his earlier posts. Far too many people get worked up about plastic soldiers.
I can count on 2 fingers the number of times in the last 10 years where I had to haggle over a rule interpretation. Just play the game.
Since I've switched to FOW, I've been critical of GW's prices, but when it comes to rules testing/designing, how many people on this site could do better/have done better/or even tried to write rules. Very few I should imagine. When it comes to the hobby, some people can't wipe their own noses without GW's say so.
Jervis is not perfect ditto Thorpe, Chambers etc
But in my experience when it comes to a new codex or army book, there will always be somebody ready to moan.
Rant over.
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Post by: DC-Chaos
The mans work on Bloodbowl in the early nineties was so good he won an award (yes it is that good, start playing it)
His imagination and leadership has driven Warhammer 40,000 from it's very beginning as an obscure hobby to the worldwide phenomena it is today and he has helped shaped the rules, storyline and appearance of so many of the different armies involved.
Not to mention his crowning glory, Necromunda, possibly Games Workshop's greatest ever game (admittedly co-written with the other game design heavy weights back then)
I met him once at a convention in Ireland around 10 years ago and for hours he sat around a couple of pool tables we were using as battlefields and talked to us about whatever we wanted to know about, taking questions, telling stories, talking about future releases, ideas, games etc.
For all this I gave very positive. I think most of the people who dislike him the most is purely because of his work on 40k in the last 5 years which is quite a limited view to have.
In that sense however I think it could be time for a change of guard and get some new game designers in under the supervision of long time creators like Jervis to help write the rules for the modern day 40k game as it's clear the game is changing and could use some fresh ideas to help create a system we all love.
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Post by: Galdos
Im afraid I don't really know what he does. I know he is top dog but I dont really know what decisions he makes or anything.
Probably because I havnt read White Dwarf?
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Post by: KTG17
I know this is an old thread but I just found it, and thought I would say a few things.
Jervis is without a doubt, the most influential person who has affecting my interest in games, after Gary Gynax. In my early years I mostly played role playing games, but was never crazy about playing them although I loved day dreaming about the worlds they were set in. One day I discovered an ad for Rogue Trader in Dragon magazine, and fell in love with Space Marines. But it wasnt 40k that got me into gaming; it was Epic. While looking over the Epic Space Marine v2 stuff, someone offered to sell me their Adeptus Titanicus and Space Marine v1 stuff, which I went ahead and bought, and it changed my life. I was living up north at the time, and my friends and I played the hell out of this game during the cold winters. It was the game I had waited my whole life for and didnt know it.
I eventually got into 40k 2nd edition and loved that too, which then led on to Man O War, Necromunda, and just about every other GW game, AND non GW game. I had so many games at one point, but my favorite was Epic. Eventually we moved to Space Marine/Titan Legions and played the hell out of that too. We did of course, reject Epic 40,000 like everyone else, but later on I did get into it, and realized that game was pretty cool too, its just not what fans wanted.
I kind of got out of gaming, but kept up with what GW was doing every now and then, and one day read up on Jervis opening up the development for the new rules for Epic Armageddon by involving the fans. So I decided to send him an email detailing what I thought was the pros and cons of every version of Epic to date, and what I think should be in the new game. I honeslty thought as I hit send, that it would just end up in his spam box, but to my surprise, I got a reply back from him a couple of days later, in which he stated not only did he enjoy talking to players, but especially Epic players.
I couldnt believe it. I mean, this guy was practically single handedly responsible for 1000s of hours of my life spent reading, building, painting, and playing my favorite table top game, in a universe I loved. Nevertheless, we exchanged a few emails and I joined the Epic Playtesting team. To my surprise, some of the suggestions I had given him in those emails he put right into the rules.
** One I am refering to is how formations are bought, with Upgrade Options. That was me. Although it went kind of overboard **
Needless to say, I hated were Epic A was going, and predicting its demise. Now I am still involved in Epic (I play SM2/TL regularly still), but as far as a game is concerned its strictly fan supported stuff.
I was really angry with the decisions Jervis made during that time, as I wanted Epic to be huge again, when Epic was one of GWs core games, but I also know Specialist Games just didnt have the resources its parent had too. He was too ambitious I think, but most of all, I think he was out of touch.
Jervis wanted to develop a family of Epic games, one of which was that Aeronautica whatever game. This was announced too when he said rules and minis for Epic Chaos, Tau, and Necorns wouldnt be available for years. I just couldnt believe it. He was basically making players wait years for their armies to come out while he went off and developed games no one was going to play. Sorry, there might be 12 people who played that Aeronautica game. Meanwhile, the deviation of attention on that and other things that was desperately needed on Epic only quicked its demise. He also mentioned another Titan only game, and I was like, "JUST FOCUS ON EPIC!!! Its got everything! Or should..."
I got the feeling from the whole experience that at the end of the day, Jervis was going to do what Jervis wanted and that was that. The result was my least favorite Epic edition.
I also would like to add, that his least favorite version of Epic is Space Marine v2, which he developed with Rick Priestly. Regardless of its simplicity, and probably due to it, that version of Epic was by far the most successful. I dont know how much credit Rick deserves, but people loved that version. If I was Jervis, I would have gone back to those roots, but he was convinced that the direction he took with Epic 40,000 was more the way to go and continued down that road. Keep in mind, I do think that Epic 40k is severly UNDERRATED, however, it isnt what fans wanted either. I honestly think if GW just re-released Space Marine v2 as was all over again, it would have been far more popular than Epic A could have been.
I guess as a game designer you are constantly dreaming up new ways to play with the same miniatures, but to me the most successful games have relatively simple mechanics and not abstract. I guess that can be boring too.
I am thankful to Jervis tho. Just cant forgive him for some of the things he did lol.
BTW I did reach out to Andy Chambers too after he left GW and talked about Epic for a bit. I know Andy got a lot of attention back in the day, but I honestly think Jervis was a far better game developer than Andy was.
Gavin, Pete, all those other former GW developers I knew of are gone, and I have no idea who is involved with game developed at GW now. I stopped reading White Dwarf when it started sucking AGES ago.
Anyway, gave Jervis a positive, but its leaning towards neutral.
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Post by: Francoleon
What do I think of Jervis Johnson.
One word (GENIUS)
Automatically Appended Next Post:
What I think of Jervis Johnson.
One word (GENIUS)
Can someone tell me how too contact Jervis Johnson.
I'm doing research for an movie about the WH 40K Universe.
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Post by: carlos13th
 bigmek35 wrote:i want him dead, i hate the kinda peole who toot thier own horn like he does,
Please tell me this is just a bad joke.
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Post by: Desubot
Francoleon wrote:What do I think of Jervis Johnson. One word (GENIUS) Automatically Appended Next Post: What I think of Jervis Johnson. One word (GENIUS) Can someone tell me how too contact Jervis Johnson. I'm doing research for an movie about the WH 40K Universe.
Err well why bump a 4 year old pole.
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Post by: carlos13th
I would not have replied to this if I had realized he had bumped something that hadn't been touched in years.
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Post by: Hyglar's Hellraiser
As someone called carlo...hehe..
The man is a 90's legend...got me into the game....White dwarf...lot of respect.
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