RIP Richard Halliwell

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**OrlandotheTechnicoloured**

https://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2021/05/rip-richard-halliwell.html

RIP Richard Halliwell
Richard Halliwell, one of the leading creative visionaries at Games Workshop and the co-creator of the Warhammer fantasy battle game, has passed away.

Halliwell co-designed the original Warhammer wargame in 1983, working alongside Rick Priestly and Bryan Ansell. The game drew on Halliwell and Priestley's earlier work on a 1978 wargame called Reaper, but featured a much larger scale and allowed for more elaborate games and worldbuilding. Warhammer became a huge success, propelling Games Workshop to greater achievements.

Halliwell worked on several other games, including Block Mania (1987), a board game set in the Judge Dredd universe. He also worked on the second edition of Warhammer (1984).

In 1988 and 1989 he produced two new games for Games Workshop which were both hugely acclaimed. In 1988 he published Dark Future, a post-apocalyptic miniatures game where the player controls a driver trying to make it across America. The game resulted from an idea he had for a miniatures game in the Judge Dredd universe, which eventually made it to print as a spin-off of the Judge Dredd tabletop roleplaying game, Slaughter Margin. The original setting was created by Marc Gascoigne. The Mad Max-influenced game became a cult classic and has seen digital versions released recently.

In 1989 Halliwell co-created the game (with Dean Bass) he'll probably be best remembered-for. Space Hulk is an iconic title spinning off from the Warhammer 40,000 game, pitting an isolated number of Space Marines trying to defeat alien invaders on a rotting, Chaos-infested derelict starship. Noted for both its simplicity and is incredible difficulty, Space Hulk became one of the most popular Games Workshop games of all time. It's subsequently been re-released three times in new editions, and ported to video games no less than six times.

His other credits include Combat 3000 (1979), Imperial Commander (1981), Rogue Trooper (1987) and The Tragedy of McDeath (1986).

A hugely influential game designer, he will sadly be missed. A thousand bolters shall be fired in his honour.
Posted by Adam Whitehead at 17:33

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Very sad, my first solid mass battle memories are of playing McDeath on the living room floor with some friends from school (No man of woman born can kill McDeath, but Klinty the treeman turned him into pate before being set on fire himself)

**Samsonov**

The guy was a designer on Space Hulk. Respect.

**The Phazer**

That's very sad to hear, RIP.

**Ian Sturrock**

Space Hulk is a masterwork, for sure.

Block Mania was huge fun too -- definitely of its time, when people didn't mind long and somewhat random games, but honestly the randomness fitted the theme much more than e.g. Talisman. Block Mania could see your entire city block collapse due to randomness mixed with structural damage caused by ongoing enemy action, but when that happened it was so totally spectacular that you really didn't mind losing.

**Denny**

Samsonov wrote:
The first issue of White Dwarf I bought had a battle report between him as the Dwarfs vs someone else as Chaos (with a converted chaos red dragon by Mike McVey). Plus the guy was a designer on Space Hulk. Respect.

I think that was my first White Dwarf too. Loved that battle report.
RIP Mr Halliwell

**animal310**

Denny wrote:
Samsonov wrote:
The first issue of White Dwarf I bought had a battle report between him as the Dwarfs vs someone else as Chaos (with a converted chaos red dragon by Mike McVey). Plus the guy was a designer on Space Hulk. Respect.

I think that was my first White Dwarf too. Loved that battle report.
RIP Mr Halliwell

Not the same guy, that was Richard Helliwell not Richard Halliwell, very similar names and both worked for Games Workshop in the early days (well from what I have read I think Halliwell was more of a freelancer). Richard Helliwell did a number of battle reports in White Dwarf and is alive and kicking!

Anyway RIP Richard and thanks for the games!

**Pacific**

Very sad to hear this news. I'm sure that Space Hulk was one of the first and best introductions to GW games that many on this forum had. Even today it still stands up tremendously well, and shows that games with a depth that can grab hold of players don't need to be unnecessarily complicated. I still remember seeing it in a shop for the first time, that awesome artwork, and when you were playing the dread of that 'click' and a jam as the Genestealers were closing in!

RIP Richard, you brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and that's the best epitaph I can think of writing.

**SamusDrake**

Very sad news.

Space Hulk is not only a legendary board game, but it also translated into an equally legendary home computer game. For a long time Space Hulk was the "ambassador" for GW in the video game industry, so well designed it was.

Gaming in general would not have been the same without you, Richard. Thank you and god bless.

**tauist**

Sad to hear this.

Space Hulk will always be the game that got me hooked on GW's products. A modern boardgame classic. Not a fan of the 3rd edition rules additions, 1st ed Hulk right up to the Space Hulk Campaigns book is the gold standard for me.

**highlord tamburlaine**

I may have owned 40k books before, but it wasn't until Space Hulk that I actually played anything proper in the universe.

Respect and condolences.

Time to pour a heavy flamer out on some 'stealers in remembrance.

**Zenithfleet**

Ack. Sad news indeed.

I was wondering why I randomly had a dream about finding a mint 1st edition copy of Space Hulk last night. (It was an imaginary Swedish edition called Space Goblins. Apparently my subconscious thinks that ever since WWII, Swedes have had strict laws against depicting Genestealer imagery.)

animal310 wrote:
Denny wrote:
Samsonov wrote:
The first issue of White Dwarf I bought had a battle report between him as the Dwarfs vs someone else as Chaos (with a converted chaos red dragon by Mike McVey). Plus the guy was a designer on Space Hulk. Respect.

I think that was my first White Dwarf too. Loved that battle report.
RIP Mr Halliwell

Not the same guy, that was Richard Helliwell not Richard Halliwell, very similar names and both worked for Games Workshop in the early days (well from what I have read I think Halliwell was more of a freelancer). Richard Helliwell did a number of battle reports in White Dwarf and is alive and kicking!

Anyway RIP Richard and thanks for the games!

I've always been confused by this, because there seemed to be a running in-joke of misspelling the last name. Sometimes they even used a ! instead of an L.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure Halliwell (RIP) was the guy who created the first-ever campaign setting for Warhammer Fantasy, before the Old World really took shape: Lustria, home of the space-frog Slann ... and the Amazons with laspistols. Which means that, in a sense, Necromunda Escher players ought to pour out a bottle of Wildsnake in his memory too.

**MarkNorfolk**

Sad news indeed. Space Hulk is a timeless classic and I loved Dark Future too.
Rest in Peace, Richard.

**Graphite**

Block Mania just went back on sale, as well.
https://2000ad.com/news/go-crazy-the-block-mania-boardgame-is-back/

Never played it, though. But I still feel that Space Hulk is the best boardgame GW have ever produced.

**JWBS**

i got the original Dark Future from a car boot sale when I was maybe nine or ten y/o along with a few other GW games. Not sure I ever played that version of Space Hulk (I had Space Crusade though).

**Pacific**

Graphite wrote:
Block Mania just went back on sale, as well.
https://2000ad.com/news/go-crazy-the-block-mania-boardgame-is-back/

Never played it, though. But I still feel that Space Hulk is the best boardgame GW have ever produced.

Ah thanks for that, I missed it first time around and hadn't realised it had been re-released. Seems like a perfect time to get an order in I think

**totalfailure**

I did have a first edition Space Hulk, and foolishly traded it away later on. Although I have later editions now, nothing will be like the first one. It was a testament to solid game design - the included Terminators and Genestealers were not great models. But you didn’t care, as the game was so good. It has stood up to the test of time, as long as you don’t mess with the formula of a slow ranged force vs. a fast melee one. It started to break down when both sides started shooting, or the horribly overpowered psykers were introduced.

**Ian Sturrock**

I have some bits of 1st Edn Space Hulk, and a full set of 3rd, and I prefer the rules of 1st. 3rd had some improvements (best way of dealing with psy powers so far) but made things way too easy for the Marine side, particularly for experienced players. Again this is testament to the high quality and lasting depth of Halliwell's original rules design.

**BobtheInquisitor**

I’m not good at knowing what to say in these threads. I loved his games. I feel grief for his family at their loss. He had a positive effect on thousands of lives, and will be fondly remembered.

**animal310**

I see that White Dwarf 469 had a In Memoriam for Richard Halliwell. Shame they used a picture of Richard Helliwell, who also worked for the company and seems to be alive and well. I know it’s a mistake, but come on.

**nathan2004**

RIP

**deleted20220509**

animal310 wrote:
I see that White Dwarf 469 had a In Memoriam for Richard Halliwell. Shame they used a picture of Richard Helliwell, who also worked for the company and seems to be alive and well. I know it’s a mistake, but come on.

Its mistakes such as this which reflects the respect that gw has for those who made gw what it is today.

Pretty shameful.

Richard deserved a lot better than all of this. He had it pretty rough this last decade. And doing this in his memory by not actually remembering him is just so many shades of insulting.

**JWBS**

Lol wtf. Yeah sure this clerical mistake is truly a heartless and sinister move on their part, thanks for the genuine and non-hysterical characterisation of the situation.

**PaddyMick**

He was a games designer for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. The first ed rulebook is a masterpiece. RIP

**animal310**

JWBS wrote:
Lol wtf. Yeah sure this clerical mistake is truly a heartless and sinister move on their part, thanks for the genuine and non-hysterical characterisation of the situation.

It not heartless and sinister, it’s sloppy, and when it regards someone’s death, more respect and care should be taken.

**Wha-Mu-077**

JWBS wrote:
Lol wtf. Yeah sure this clerical mistake is truly a heartless and sinister move on their part, thanks for the genuine and non-hysterical characterisation of the situation.

You'd think they'd at least give enough of a crap about him to at least kinda rememeber how he looks like or what exactly his name, and check that before relasing his memoriam, no?

Because otherwise it just shows they don't care about him enough to even check if his own memoriam has the right person in it.

**deleted20220509**

Exactly. Its not that they are sinister, as JWBS is interpreting the comments as, but just so woefully incompetant as to appear heartless by such an error that anyone who has met him could confirm to the one in charge of that content wether or not its them.

Its just sloppy. And this sort of sloppy is the worst kind to be from a pr perspective.

So go put your words in someone elses mouth jwbs.

**JWBS**

Wiz Warrior wrote:
anyone who has met him could confirm to the one in charge of that content wether or not its them.

Right, so all this would indicate is that no-one on the current WD team has ever met him or his namesake. That's literally all this shows, unless you think that the current editor/proof readers should all be routinely required to get their work checked by JJ/Chambers/Paul Sawyer/Thornton, or whomever else could have reasonably be expected to spot this.

**Wha-Mu-077**

JWBS wrote:
Wiz Warrior wrote:
anyone who has met him could confirm to the one in charge of that content wether or not its them.

Right, so all this would indicate is that no-one on the current WD team has ever met him or his namesake. That's literally all this shows, unless you think that the current editor/proof readers should all be routinely required to get their work checked by JJ/Chambers/Paul Sawyer/Thornton, or whomever else could have reasonably be expected to spot this.

And it also indicates that nobody checks wheather or not the names and images in WD actually correspond to the things they're supposed to. But hey, we should all know by now that GW has awful quality control.

**animal310**

JWBS wrote:
Wiz Warrior wrote:
anyone who has met him could confirm to the one in charge of that content wether or not its them.

Right, so all this would indicate is that no-one on the current WD team has ever met him or his namesake. That's literally all this shows, unless you think that the current editor/proof readers should all be routinely required to get their work checked by JJ/Chambers/Paul Sawyer/Thornton, or whomever else could have reasonably be expected to spot this.

"unless you think that the current editor/proof readers should all be routinely required to get their work checked by JJ/Chambers/Paul Sawyer/Thornton, or whomever else could have reasonably be expected to spot this"

Or conduct a two minute google search. Hardly back breaking research required. Their names are very similar however an email to one of the people mentioned, or someone who still works at the company who would have known one or both men would also have caught this.

**Daedalus81**

animal310 wrote:
JWBS wrote:
Wiz Warrior wrote:
anyone who has met him could confirm to the one in charge of that content wether or not its them.

Right, so all this would indicate is that no-one on the current WD team has ever met him or his namesake. That's literally all this shows, unless you think that the current editor/proof readers should all be routinely required to get their work checked by JJ/Chambers/Paul Sawyer/Thornton, or whomever else could have reasonably be expected to spot this.

"unless you think that the current editor/proof readers should all be routinely required to get their work checked by JJ/Chambers/Paul Sawyer/Thornton, or whomever else could have reasonably be expected to spot this"

Or conduct a two minute google search. Hardly back breaking research required. Their names are very similar however an email to one of the people mentioned, or someone who still works at the company who would have known one or both men would also have caught this.

It really depends. They likely didn't have a picture ready to go so they may have emailed HR for a photo. I'm not sure why they would question the photo they got at that point in time.