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Of course they'll tone things down - they're children's books. However, I don't believe that this means everything will be toned down. Especially since people have been moaning about that since 1993, and as far as I can see have been wrong for 25 years.

 Adeptus Doritos wrote:
Actually I'm gonna be kinda pissed off if we get a Co-Op 'Silver Tower' type game set in the 40k Universe for this kid thing before we get one for the actual game setting...

Isn't it the same setting? 40k in both cases?

 Galas wrote:
Yeah... I think people is really being too worked up with the "how are they gonna adapt genocide?!" Maybe they just don't need to do it.

Geez, that hit close to home.

40k is a setting as a setting there’s room for lots of different story’s,

See caiaphas cain, a book with inquisitors the arbiter trilogy for example war is the backdrop not the only thing. (Contray to the blurb I know but there’s already a precedent set in the books mentioned above)

While my gut says this will be poor I’ll reserve judgment until it’s out because an ok writer will be able to write a story set in 40k and sidestep some of the non child safe bits.

From Penny Arcade today, spoilered for size:



And the editorial that accompanied it:

I’ve heard a bunch of really amazing gak about the new Warhammer 40k stuff; the last time I played my Necrons, games still took six hours. From friends, it sounds like it’s hitting that ribald, skirmish scale that attracted me to Warmahordes and Infinity. And let me be clear: I feel like that was six hours well spent. I just don’t have time like that all in a row these days. I’m willing to put up with a lot of horsegak when it comes to my tiny men, and I didn’t mind how it comported itself mechanically. I was into it.

But it was the fluff that got me in the door.

A comic strip people claim to have enjoyed - claimed - called “I Hope You Like Text” is actually a strip about my affection for Game Workshop’s whole dealio. I only know a thing or two about Warhammer Fantasy, whatever I was able to pick up from Warhammer: Age of Reckoning or Vermintide I guess, but 40k is so lore dense that it’s a dangerous thing to dig into into when it’s late. You want to plan how many hours you give over to this thing, and when, because this gak is good. The time is going to be spent either way. It’s really a matter of when you want to get to bed. Not three? Okay Surrender yourself to it no later than ten.

GW is in kind of a renaissance right now, or in any case this is what people who like Warhammer keep telling me. When I heard that they were investing some of this newfound energy into a line of YA novels, it’s like… that’s weird? But I’m not mad at it…? I think this is probably going to be a hell of a challenge, but the more I think of it their world-building casts a long shadow, and there’s plenty of room for a child to hide there.

(CW)TB out.

I am shocked. Shocked and appalled.

Fifteen pages in, with lots of gruesome children's literature and TV shows brought up as precedents, and nobody's mentioned the Animorphs books. Easy-read 90s preteen Goosebumps-style books full of wisecracks and gross-out humour... about child soldiers.

Other honourable mentions from my own childhood that spring to mind:

-Isobelle Carmody's Obernewtyn Chronicles (Aussie books set in a post-apocalyptic world of medieval mutant burnings)

-Doctor Who ('the children's show that adults adore')

-80s Astro Boy (which routinely featured character deaths both human and robot, and which I was watching at age five)

-Disney's Gargoyles (YouTube link) - something at about this level would seem appropriate for the GW books

-Beast Wars Transformers (YouTube) - OK, so they're robots and can fix themselves, but that guy in the cockpit ain't coming back

...sorry, that drifted off into a nostalgia-fest there.

Anyway, I like the general idea and am interested to see how the books turn out.

As many other posters have noted, there's precedent for sanitised versions of the setting that act as gateways into the hobby for kids. See: HeroQuest and Space Crusade back in the day. It's something that has been lacking for many years, actually.

I had an Usborne picture book of Ulysses with cartoon illustrations, intended for preteens. Most of the violent escapades on the various weirdo islands were kept--just toned down to remove the graphic gore. (e.g. when the Cyclops eats Ulysses's men he just swallows them instead of tearing them apart first.) The risque bits with Circe and Calypso were either left out or just hinted at with a bit of flirting and smooching. Worked fine, and encouraged me to seek out the proper translations of the Odyssey when I was older.

And the funny thing is that the WFB and 40K settings themselves have long been sanitised to a certain extent. Certainly since the early 90s. When the Dark Eldar got their big revamp in 5th ed 40K, Jes Goodwin or Phil Kelly (can't remember which) pointed out that they never actually describe the horrible tortures in any detail. Likewise, a lot of the sex stuff is only obliquely mentioned or left up to the imagination (unless you're Ian Watson). And there's hardly any swearing, except for made-up words. It's just the gory violence they don't skimp on. And they've gone back and forth on this too. The fluff bits in WFB 4th and 5th edition were generally less bloody than in 6th, for example.

Like others, my main concern regarding these books is that GW will try too hard to avoid the fighty, chop-their-heads-off bits--which kids tend to love--for fear of parental aggro, and end up in Captain Planet land. (Although that could be kinda funny. 'Khorne!' 'Slaanesh!' 'Tzeentch!' 'Nurgle!' 'Heart!') The D&D cartoon suffered from this. 'Hey guy with magical arrows, could you shoot that rope to drop that cage onto that charging orc before it kills us all?' 'Why can't I just shoot the orc?' 'Er...' But if Star Wars can get away with zapping people dead, I'm sure these books can too.

Re: Gav Thorpe's comment about Slaanesh: I think it was JK Rowling who said that when writing for children you just take the sex out and include mouth-watering descriptions of food instead.

... like Turkish Delight.

I never liked that. I don't think I'd have sold out my sister to an evil witch for any. Opal Fruits, on the other hand ...

Huh. I don't even know what to think in all honesty. I am not for or against it at this point, I wouldn't mind giving one a read to see how they are.

Zenithfleet wrote:
When the Dark Eldar got their big revamp in 5th ed 40K, Jes Goodwin or Phil Kelly (can't remember which) pointed out that they never actually describe the horrible tortures in any detail. Likewise, a lot of the sex stuff is only obliquely mentioned or left up to the imagination (unless you're Ian Watson).

Dark Eldars.... have sex ?

Zenithfleet wrote:
Likewise, a lot of the sex stuff is only obliquely mentioned or left up to the imagination (unless you're Ian Watson)

What a legend! The only writer to get the bolter firing right, and even his buildings had sex (OK, it was a Chaos world, and Slaanesh to boot). Oh, and don't forget the farting Scouts...

I'd like it to go the other way and see a proper film of W40K done, with live action and CGI. OF course, it would have to be an 18 certificate/R rated, because of all the blood, guts and amputations.

 farmersboy wrote:
I'd like it to go the other way and see a proper film of W40K done, with live action and CGI. OF course, it would have to be an 18 certificate/R rated, because of all the blood, guts and amputations.

Well, we already have a 40k movie, and it's GLORIOUS!
Approximately a hundred time better than the junk marvel is churning out.
Also very very faithful to the lore.
Here is a sample, showing how a simple squad of Ultramarines scouts-in-power-armor can easily defeat twice their number in Black Legion weakling marines without taking a single casualty :

 farmersboy wrote:

I'd like it to go the other way and see a proper film of W40K done, with live action and CGI. OF course, it would have to be an 18 certificate/R rated, because of all the blood, guts and amputations.

It would probably go as well as the Warzone movie that was done several years back.

Of course if people a worried about kids books being too sanitized, here is something from my day marketed to young children:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P3_Sk0EzeC4

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V1vJVlYoar8

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:

 farmersboy wrote:
I'd like it to go the other way and see a proper film of W40K done, with live action and CGI. OF course, it would have to be an 18 certificate/R rated, because of all the blood, guts and amputations.

Well, we already have a 40k movie, and it's GLORIOUS!
Approximately a hundred time better than the junk marvel is churning out.
Also very very faithful to the lore.
Here is a sample, showing how a simple squad of Ultramarines scouts-in-power-armor can easily defeat twice their number in Black Legion weakling marines without taking a single casualty :

No, I mean a real film, not some shoddy CGI effort.

 farmersboy wrote:
I'd like it to go the other way and see a proper film of W40K done, with live action and CGI. OF course, it would have to be an 18 certificate/R rated, because of all the blood, guts and amputations.

I feel like it would be quite doable to have a film focused more on the human like elements such as Imperial Guard, Sisters of Battle, Inquisition, Rogue Traders, Chaos cultists, Genestealer cults, and/or possibly some of the more human looking xenos like Eldar or Tau. Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, Nids, etc would really require a massive CGI budget to do right and unless its in the hands of a masterful movie director you would probably end up with another Star Wars prequel like failure where the visuals and acting don't match up due to the actors mostly interacting with a green screen. The issue is GW would absolutely want Space Marines (Especially their poster boys the Ultramarines) front and center to everything which would be a nightmare to produce to any decent quality without a massive budget (way too high risk for such a niche IP).

 farmersboy wrote:
No, I mean a real film, not some shoddy CGI effort.

It was a joke because the movie is pretty bad .

You know what would be a good movie adaptation? Ciaphas Cain.
It's a popular novel series set in the Wh40k universe where most of the cast are ordinary humans. Seldom a marine in sight.
In the first novel his regiment fought Genestealer cults, which could easily be portrayed with prosthetics, and if you could show terminator on film with no CGI, then you can show necrons without CGI too, as they are basically T-800s.
No heavy use of CGI or make up required.

You do realise that there’s never going to be a big budget 40k movie unless some film studio decides to buy Games Workshop? GW will never sell film rights for their IP because no studio is going to buy them without also getting rights to merchandise. Selling 40k merchandise is GW’s core business.

It's probably a separate canon for kids which is probably a good thing. I wouldn't want my kids to read alot of the stuff in the mainstream 40k lore until they are like 12 at least maybe older...

I can't wait for the minis for the 40K kids!!!!

I need some to add to my retinue!

Reading through the character bios on the site, this may be the least 40k thing in 40k of all times. Tech preists inventing. Non-violence in humans and hatred of weaponry. Brace yourselves, folks.

StraightSilver wrote:

 Grot 6 wrote:
A small hero quest like game would work for something like this./ 20.00 sets with a few kid mini's and some basic enemy models, like a squad of orks or a 'nid, or something....

Pretty sure this is what "Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons" is going to be.

I now suspect this game will be aimed at the Warhammer Adventures market - which is a new 8-12yo demographic.

It's also what the Execution Force game was to an extent.

 BaronIveagh wrote:
Reading through the character bios on the site, this may be the least 40k thing in 40k of all times. Tech preists inventing. Non-violence in humans and hatred of weaponry. Brace yourselves, folks.

So an ideal YA book then?

A group of young people brought together by their status as outsiders learning to come to terms with who they are and what they represent against a backdrop of an unfeeling society that would destroy them just for expressing who they are.

 inflatablefriend wrote:

 BaronIveagh wrote:
Reading through the character bios on the site, this may be the least 40k thing in 40k of all times. Tech preists inventing. Non-violence in humans and hatred of weaponry. Brace yourselves, folks.

So an ideal YA book then?

A group of young people brought together by their status as outsiders learning to come to terms with who they are and what they represent against a backdrop of an unfeeling society that would destroy them just for expressing who they are.

Nope. Like I said, brace yourselves.

Brace myself to not read a book I’ve no real interest in, beyond procuring copies of each so I can give them to my God-Daughter when she’s old enough?

Reports of a fifth chaos god emerging...

http://newsthump.com/2018/05/26/new-warhammer-kids-line-tears-hole-in-reality-and-spawns-new-chaos-god/

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Brace myself to not read a book I’ve no real interest in, beyond procuring copies of each so I can give them to my God-Daughter when she’s old enough?

Brace yourself for them trying to add it to canon at some point.

 BaronIveagh wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Brace myself to not read a book I’ve no real interest in, beyond procuring copies of each so I can give them to my God-Daughter when she’s old enough?

Brace yourself for them trying to add it to canon at some point.

Everything is canon, not necessarily true.

And why do younger kids like 40k...?
Because it was meant for an older age group and has taboo things for the younger ages.
Remove those and you remove the appeal.

9-10 year olds will like fiction designed for 11-13 year olds.
The minute you market something for 9-10 year olds, those 9-10 year olds are already 'too old' for it.

Lord Kragan wrote:

Everything is canon, not necessarily true.

You must have missed a writer called 'Matt Ward' and the epic shitstorm when he started writing canon.

 Kanluwen wrote:

StraightSilver wrote:

 Grot 6 wrote:
A small hero quest like game would work for something like this./ 20.00 sets with a few kid mini's and some basic enemy models, like a squad of orks or a 'nid, or something....

Pretty sure this is what "Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons" is going to be.

I now suspect this game will be aimed at the Warhammer Adventures market - which is a new 8-12yo demographic.

It's also what the Execution Force game was to an extent.

How many kid minis were in there again?