Mark Oberle Interview

Dungeon Crawlers Radio  welcomes  to the show, Mark Oberle of Palladium Games.

Mark who is a Missouri native who lives in the greater St. Louis area. He describes himself as a “terrible geek” as he isn’t a fan of many things geeky. He is an avid video-gamer (mainly shooters and RPGs), reader (post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, mystery, & thriller as well as classic & non-fiction), and heavy-metal connoisseur (Disturbed, Metallica, etc.). He also enjoys various sports from MMA to the MLB (go Cards!), a variety of outdoor activities such as camping and spelunking, and travelling… when he can afford to do so. When it comes to movies and television, science fiction and horror reign supreme with Mark. The Aliens, Predator, Terminator, and Firefly/Serenity properties are his all-time favourites, with movies such as 28 Days Later, Constantine, The Crow, Dark City, Equilibrium, V for Vendetta, and The Watchmen finding a spot in his queue.

Mark started out as a fan of Palladium Books back in 1996, playing Rifts® at a friend's birthday party and later at Scout camp. In the year 2000, he started a Rifts® campaign that lasted eight years and a Heroes Unlimited™ campaign for three years before going on hiatus. In that time, the most ambitious writing goal he had was to someday be published in The Rifter®.

He’d never really considered himself a "writer," so the road to his first book had a few curves.   The Crisis of Treachery was the catalyst that drew Mark back to a deepened involvement with Palladium Books. For him, like many others, the fight to help Palladium culminated in the 2006 Open House, where he and his future co-writer, Irvin Jackson, would each inquire about writing a book for the Nightbane® RPG line independent of the other. By the end of the convention, his and Irvin’s ideas were blending so well they were completing one-another’s sentences.   Shortly thereafter, Palladium contacted Mark about writing for an upcoming issue of The Rifter®. Mark was bewildered because no one at Palladium had seen his writing work (it hardly existed anyway) but Kevin had apparently seen something in him that even Mark didn’t recognize. So, when Mr. Siembieda instructed him to “consider this his interview,” Mark accepted the challenge.   Six years later, Mark has written material for Nightbane®, Heroes Unlimited™ and Rifts®, as well as Rifter® contributions in issues 39, 43, 44, 48 and 50, as well as the acclaimed short story "Casualties of War" in the Rifts® Tales of the Chi-Town Burbs™ anthology. His highest profile work to date, however, is the co-written Nightbane® Survival Guide™, the direct result of his collaboration with Irvin Jackson.  

These days, Mark continues to work on projects for Nightbane® and Rifts®, and has plans for a few more collaborations with fellow freelancers. He also plans to write personal (non-Palladium) novels. Meanwhile, Mark is dedicated to obtaining his Master's Degree in clinical psychology from Missouri State University. Of course, he plans to continue his game-writing and looks forward to a bright future for Palladium Books.

This interview will be a phone in interview and will be broadcasted live from Epic Puzzles and Games in West Valley City on Monday September 17, 2012 starting @ 6pm. 

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