How a Little Black Box Shaped My Universe
It was 1977, I was 11 years old, and Star Wars™ had just hit the big screen. Like most kids, I was mesmerized by the idea of exploring galaxies, fighting alongside heroes, and traveling to distant worlds. But that seemed like a distant dream, something I could only watch or read about. Until one day, on a visit to Bill & Walt’s hobby shop on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh, I stumbled upon something that would change the course of my life forever.
Tucked away on the shelf was a little black box, no larger than a book, with the title Traveller™. It was brand new at the time, just released. I didn’t know it yet, but this small box would become the key to unlocking my imagination in ways I never thought possible. On the back of the box, it described how you could generate worlds, characters, and adventures. It was as if someone had handed me the tools to create my own galaxy—a galaxy I could explore, shape, and mold with my own hands.
Up until then, I had heard rumors about Dungeons & Dragons™, the game that college kids played. But I had never actually seen it in action. This box, however, was different. It wasn’t a fantasy world with knights and dragons. This was a kit for building the universe. With a racing heart and dreams of space battles in my head, I bought it, not knowing that this small act would set me on a path I’m still walking nearly half a century later.
Opening that box felt like opening a door to a new dimension. Inside were simple, yet profound, rules for creating entire planets. The universe of Traveller™ was mine to control. I could generate planets with strange atmospheres, distant starports, and populations that thrived—or barely survived—on alien worlds. There were endless combinations, and the beauty of it was that so much was left to the imagination. I spent hours dreaming up adventures on these planets, imagining daring rescues, epic space battles, and mysterious alien encounters.
The rules for character creation were like nothing I had ever seen before. Characters weren’t just born—they lived entire lives before they even stepped onto the page. You could send them through careers as an Army Soldier, Space Navy, Scouts, Space Marines, Merchants, or the nebulous catch-all (Other, which was usually sort of a troubleshooter/outlaw) and watch as their lives unfolded through the game’s mechanics. It was a game within a game because your character could expire based on how dangerous that career path was... even before the game started... the path to the most skills and danger was Space Marine. So if you were a Space Marine veteran of 20 years you were super lucky and competent.
These weren’t just characters; they were people with stories, with pasts, with futures. They felt real, and in many ways, they became the first seeds of what would eventually grow into the vast science fiction universe I’ve spent years creating, based on my reading of 60s and 70s "Imperial" sf.
This little black box set me on a path of creativity, of exploration, of imagination. But it also set me on a path of learning. As I grew to adulthood, my love for world-building expanded beyond the simple rules in Traveller. I wanted to create worlds that felt real, so I started studying astrophysics, ecology, geology, and everything I could get my hands on. I wanted my worlds to have realistic atmospheres, believable biomes, and scientifically plausible ecosystems. That little black box didn’t just make me a storyteller—it made me a researcher, a creator, a world-builder.
Over the years, I grew with Traveller. I devoured every supplement, every expansion, and every adventure module that came out. I became a super fan, and the game became a constant in my life, a grounding force for my imagination. The universe I started building back then, at 11 years old, is the same universe I’m still expanding today.
Now, 47 years later, I’m a science fiction author, writing space operas and creating vast star empires. But it all started with that little black box on a shelf in a hobby shop. If I hadn’t picked up that box in 1977, my life might have taken a very different path. It’s hard to explain how one small decision, one moment of curiosity, can change your life. But for me, Traveller did just that. It opened up the universe and gave me the tools to explore it.
And I’ve been exploring ever since.
Disclaimer:
The Traveller game in all forms is owned by Far Future Enterprises. Copyright 1977 - 2024 Far Future Enterprises. Traveller is a registered trademark of Far Future Enterprises. The use of Far Future Enterprises's copyrighted material or trademarks should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights.
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