Adi Wood on White Dwarf
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- čas přidán 9. 04. 2024
- I recently visited Adi Wood, a veteran of 2 and a half decades at GW. He held a number of roles at the company but is most recognisable for his time at White Dwarf. He talks a little bit about his career, and what it was like to work on the magazine.
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If you’re interested, before I recorded this I did a Crown of Command Podcast in which I talk about how I got into modelling and gaming. And there’s a Patreon only Podcast in which I go even deeper into my overall career at GW.
Hi Adi, lovely to hear your memories and recollections of those early 90s White Dwarfs. It was an amazing time in which we created and invented so many features - including Battle Reports, that have remained an essential part of the magazine until this very day. Memory is a fickle thing, and although I don't agree with everything you say about them, that's how YOU remember it and so thats good enough for me. Great to see you looking so well and you were indeed the best recruit decision I ever made in my twenty four years at GW! I think you came for a week's trial and stayed twenty five years! All the best Robin
OMG Robin Dewes! You were a god to young Maurice and I’m tearing up a little! Thank you for your great work on WD! What a really nice thing to say about your recruitment of Adi :)
I know it was incredibly hard work for them to do it, but those battle reports were everything to me as a kid. I still go back and read them in my old copies of White Dwarf. Nothing quite like them to be found these days.
Yes, absolutely wonderful. WD148-199 battle reports were complete perfection.
Dang! The 90’s were the best WD years. Did not miss a single issue.
It is always great to see people like Adi and the GW gang doing well in life! For other people their heroes were athletes, singers or film stars. For me it was people like Adi, Andy, Jervis etc. I feel like I personally know them and I feel like we have aged together. I was 15 when I found the hobby and now I am 45
Adi's stuff around the Gorkamorka period was awesome!
Loved the energy his facial expressions brought to articles and battle reports
His Orcs and his style was always interesting to me.
Awesome interview
Learning that the Grand Warlord wasn't that into Orks is like learning Santa wasn't real all over again.
As someone who grew up gaming and buying White Dwarf in the nineties it's so good to see Adi Wood on here. Fantastic video, great to hear from him.
I grew up with Games Workshop in the late 90s and played it with my buddies back in High School and thoroughly enjoyed reading the White Dwarf. Loved the chaotic and creative energy of it and tried to convey this feeling when I became an editor myself in a similar branche. Restarted the hobby in 2020 because of the pandemic and began to watch videos like this where the old crew talk about their experiences back in the day. Thanks for the upload!
Adi Wood starting a fantasy army for the first time in WD is a core memory for me.
I was starting at the same time and it was cool to read.
Glad to see him doing well.
Beastmen?
The Ork Warboss himself!
... Are orks autistic?!
Adi playing Witch Hunt against Jake Thornton is probably the best game of 40k ever played. So good the reenacted it at Games Day.
This was a complete "Hey I know that guy!" moment for me. Read WD in the 90's AND played Orkz (the best faction)
Da bestest
Bestest! 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
These interviews are great to see i was a kid growing up in the 90s and to me and my friends these legends were like rockstars to us geeky kids that couldnt relate to others who had footballers as their heroes.
Shame, Tony Adams' World Eaters army was a thing of beauty.
Fantastic interview. Seeing some of those pictures really brought back some memories. Had the pleasure of meeting him at a Gamesday in the 90s, the year he converted the chaos imperator titan. He was such a character and incredible to meet as a young snotling.
Him and Andy Chambers always got the funnest pictures in WD!
19:30 From the explanation I believe this game was Bitter Harvest in WD180 against Fred Reeds Howling Griffons
FRED REED - I'd never have pegged him for a cheating git! Goes to show, eh?
@@Fliss317Actually my opponent was playing the rules as he interpreted them. We assumed everyone played the rules the same way IE exactly like the rulebook and after this we realised that wasn’t the case. For example in GW stores the staff simplified the rules with their intro games.
Still, his army was beautifully painted
@@stuartingleby1523 absolutely! If it's the one I think it is, and I'm sure it is, I'd never seen anything like it
His work on the army books was very impressive for that time. They still hold up really well and are wonderfully thematic.
Great interview, funny think for me is i would have never imagined this is his voice when seeing pictures of him in White Dwarf
My lord. What nostalgia.
I got into 40K in 1993/94. Collected up until 2008.
Im still a lore fan to this day.
On the topic of battle reports being advertisements, I find it interesting that a lot of the times the army that was debuting its new army book/codex would lose the battle report. Issues from my childhood that spring to mind are Dark Eldar (WD 227), Orks (WD 235), and Eldar (WD 236).
It would be interesting to know an actual percentage. I’m sure there’s a database somewhere. The tough ones to achieve are the draws, which would be ideal.
So nostalgic. Got into 40k at very start of 3e. Played Dark Eldar and was outraged as throughout my pre teens and teens that they never won a battle report (think it was played 4, lost 4). I'd fallen out of the hobby by the time DE finally got redone in 2011 but rushed out to get White Dwarf when they were and my inner 8 year old was overjoyed that they "won" with their battle report lol
after listening to this and an interview with Fred Reed on Jonny Watson Gaming, I realised that we have probably two points of view about the same game from both opponents, both speaking about 30 years after the event. What a time to be alive!
This was a really enjoyable watch and a big reality check. I would have been 11 when Adi started on WD and read it throughout his period. The whole team were heros to me, but Adi you were one who felt very relatable. Great to hear your thoughts, but also one if life's reality checks to hear the conflict in you talking about some of it. As an adult I know that's life. Kid me would not have understood.
I hope you were on much more than 5k by the end....
One of my hobby hero’s growing up and I’m busy going back through the 200 era white dwarfs right now
Adi's first issue of white dwarf was my first issue I bought also! It began my life long love of Chaos dwarfs (featured in that Robin Dews/Gary Morley battle report). I still have that issue in my collection, with that awesome Mark Gibbons Plague fleet cover.
Da warbossssss!
Honestly dude I've been absolutely loving everything you've been putting up but I did not expect this slice of joy ❤
WD was soooo good back in the mid-90's! Absolute peak💯
The man. The legend!
All these GW golden age guys, loving it!
My fave place for reading white dwarf, Bath time, id bath and browse for hours, till all wrinckly lol, i still remember priming models in the tub too lol, happy days. not so cool in the shower. ive stacks of white dwarf. smashing interview ty 😀.
I'm sure I have a thin rose tinted filter in place but I don't think current White Dwarf can hold a candle to those days, and probably hasn't matched it for a good decade or more.
I've been wondering about what the Grand Warlord might've been up to in recent times and so this is great, to see him after all these years. Glad he's doing well :D White Dwarf 203 was the first issue I got so Adi's tenure with the mag and Jake Thornton is my golden age of hobbying and I've still got the isse of Troll Magazine (the free one you got with mail orders) that had an article on how to make Adi's ork dreadnought conversion.
To any Americans listening, he means they were paying him 5 grand a year, not a month
About 10 grand in today’s money or about half minimum wage. Minimum wage came in about 5 years after Adi started (1998)
Yeah, GW shop workers at that time (1993) were on 7 grand (per year)…
Loved Adi's time at WD
Loved this one. Loved his orcs back in the day, and his excitement he always had in WD!
One of the main men from the Halcyon days. Cheers on a great vid, memories flood back of those WD grand days 😄👍
Oh, man I remember that issue of WD, the one with Imperial Fists vs Orkz. First WD I owned, launch of 3rd edition. Memories and nostalgia.
wow I did not recognize you Adrian! glad to see you're well!
Thank you
Another fascinating and insightful interview. Thank you for this.
Another fantastic interview! I really hope you got more
Another great interview, thank you so much for your content! It is so interesting to hear about what went on behind the scenes, the business decisions that were made at GW in the 90's, etc. Even if it is pretty sad to have confirmed that their business model was to a large degree based on exploiting very talented staff.
Hail White Dwarf, I remember when you were good……….hail and farewell.
I kind of had the idea that you'd have a battle, make a few notes and then go back and make it all nice for the photos.
But troops would be effected by the good old "use the new thing" and "what troops have the studio done?" for the photos and marketing, so you had only one unit of x at a time.
03:59 made me chuckle! Another great interview. Looking forward to hearing more from Adi :) WD109.
Great stuff :D
looking good Adi
I still have all those WD's. Won't get rid of them for nothing. Awesome battle reports. I can't get into the modern battle reports...they just don't compare to the old ones.
Very nice stories to hear. Especially relatable how someone else can be still salty about _that game I lost back in 2nd_ 😂
Definitely relate to that hahahaha
Funnily enough there ARE games (including a few battle reports) back in the day that I really am “salty” about that I haven’t mentioned. A lot of the time it was against a particularly unpleasant opponent who was no fun to play, of whom there have been a few. I’ve taken steps to limit my contact with such people., but that’s another story. The game I mentioned was frustrating due to the practicalities of the job or the impracticalities in this case.
Nice one
The Grand Warlord himself!
Battle reports are real, damn it! Santa told me so!
Is there a Golden Demon award for best CZcams Games Workshop related series?
Because we have a winner.
Mr Woods enthusiasm for Orks is what lead me to my life long waaaaagh
❤
Really enjoyed this and vey illuminating! I have a feeling that the specific battle report may be the one from WD 180 December 94 - would love to know if that’s correct? - I still have my 90s WDs and was reading this one only the other day! 🤣 thanks for the video 👍
Yes, that must be the one! Adi's opponent was Fred Reed from the Bristol store
That’s the one! I thought so! So interesting to hear the reality behind it! Many thanks for replying 👍
I thought the battle reports were real. But I always thought that they were really short games - so few turns. It made me think I was rubbish at playing because my games went on for ages 😢
What points value were your games?
How do you come into contact with all these people?
Ah the ork-man, love it! Seems real nice.
Imagine getting to be in a WD BatRep and CHEATING! What kind of beardy git does that!
Actually my opponent didn’t cheat. When he played with his mates they had their own house rules. We didn’t realise this until afterwards. He just played the Rules as he knew them. Unfortunately Battle Reports had to present the rules as written. So we fixed the game in the writing.
@@drummerwarrior1 Ha! Fair enough - I rescind my wild accusations of cheating. Fascinating to hear your account of times in WD and at GW. Thank you for agreeing to be filmed!
@@Fliss317 and there’s more to tell… have you heard my Crown Of Commamd Podcast?
Says battle reports were staged, then proceeds to explain how they were real games, just longer as they had to record everything and take pictures…