Bios

Real Name: Tobias Wolter
Firewall Codename: Concrete
Eclipse Phase Background Equivalency: Scum Barge Vagabond
Previous Experience: Several Shadowrun titles in both English and German

About Me: A long time Shadowrun enthusiast, I started freelancing about six years ago, and haven’t gotten that bug out of my system yet. In real life, you could call me a wageslave/indentured hypercorp drone focusing on Logistics and Supply Chain management (global, not interplanetary—yet).

Transhuman Interests: While the technological aspects are essential to transhumanism, I find myself more intrigued by the question of how do (trans)humans retain their "humanity?" In the face of a technology curve spun out of control, triggering massive (and potentially devastating) changes on political, social, economic and environmental levels, how would our image and definition of "humanity" change?

Contribution to Eclipse Phase: I did the write ups on the various factions as part of the main setting section.

Favorite thing about Eclipse Phase: As a late addition to this project, I was immediately intrigued by the setting’s fascinating blend of futuristic political and economic models, their diversity reflected in the many factions and their often conflicting agendas. The strong undercurrent of the evolution of politics and society in general, aside from advanced technology, beam weapons, cortical stacks, and alien lifeforms are what set Eclipse Phase apart from any other sci-fi games I’ve ever encountered.

Eclipse Phase Contributor Bio

Real Name: John Snead
Firewall Codename: Heron61
Eclipse Phase Background Equivalency: Autonomist/Voluntary Mercurial
Previous Experience: I've been writing RPGs professionally for more than a decade and have worked on almost a dozen SF RPGs, including Traveller, Star Trek, Star Wars, GURPS Transhuman Space, and Trinity
About Me: I'm a freelance RPG author living in the lovely city of Portland Oregon. I'm a generalist, with degrees in everything from history to mathematics as well as an avid SF fan and a gourmet cook. Socially and politically, I'm a fairly extreme liberal (at least by US standards).  My favorite authors are Alastair Reynolds and P.C. Hodgell. 
Transhumanist Interests: I'm an avid transhumanist for both personal and sociopolitical reasons.  In addition to being personally eager to make use of the upcoming advances in longevity and intelligence enhancement, I also see the various transhuman technologies as our best way to reduce poverty and increase both human potential and overall freedom while also managing this planet so that it remains a good home for all of its lifeforms.
Eclipse Phase Contributions: I wrote half of the gear chapter as well as the detailed setting section. 
Favorite Thing About Eclipse Phase: I read a great deal of modern SF by authors like Alastair Reynolds, Linda Nagata, and Ken MacLeod, and I'm very pleased to see a SF RPG that is based on modern SF and that involves both transhumanism and interstellar travel.

Eclipse Phase Contributor Bio

Real Name: Brian Cross
Firewall Codename: Kylleran
Eclipse Phase Background Equivalency: Loonie/Argonaut
Previous Experience: Shadowrun, Fourth Edition, and a few other SR products (both 3rd and 4th)
About Me: I’m a graduate student by day and by night as well. I’m currently writing my dissertation and hope to be set loose upon the world soon. In my spare time I both play and write games and spend a great deal of time planning elaborate escape plans from my current geographical confines.
Transhumanist Interests: I’m both personally and professionally interested in the effects of accelerating technologies on the human-turning-transhuman condition. While I’m skeptical of such ideas as ‘the singularity’ happening on time (January 1, 2050, right?), I do think that the emerging technologies present the best opportunity that has come along in a long time to radically reshape our world into something better, something more egalitarian.
Eclipse Phase Contributions: I co-created the Eclipse Phase concept with Rob Boyle and have contributed to the development of the project as time has allowed. Specifically I’ve worked on the skills and some of the intro materials to the game.
Favorite Thing About Eclipse Phase: I like my sci-fi hard, but I realize not everyone does. In that vein, EP is about as hard as they come but also has a real (trans)human element that should resonate with even the most casual gamer. We’ve made a game that doesn’t sacrifice your post-singularity dystopian best-guess future, but it’s also a game that doesn’t require a Ph.D. in Physics to really get. It’s got something for everyone and it brings a whole new dimension to tabletop RPGs with the uploaded personality system (look ma, no deaths!).

Eclipse Phase Contributor Bio

Real Name: Rob Boyle
Firewall Codename: Sprite
Eclipse Phase Background Equivalency: Original Space Colonist / Anarchist
Previous Experience: Shadowrun, Fourth Edition, and numerous other Shadowrun and other game titles (full list here)

About Me: I’m a dad and game designer by day and a powernoise DJ, martial arts teacher, and dodgeball player by night. I have worked in the tabletop RPG industry as a writer, editor, and developer for over ten years now. I have been employed by FASA and FanPro and freelance for Catalyst Game Labs and other companies. I co-founded Posthuman Studios as a creator-owned enterprise. I consider myself an anarchist and transhumanist and have spent many years agitating for social change.

Transhumanist Interests: I look towards accelerating technologies as a means of empowering people, instigating radical social upheaval, and countering oppression, injustice, and control. I plan to live forever, and I plan to have fun doing it.

Eclipse Phase Contributions: I co-created the Eclipse Phase concept with Brian Cross and have overseen the entire project as lead developer. I’ve had my hands in all parts of the book, especially Game Concepts and Character Creation.

Favorite Thing About Eclipse Phase: That it portrays a future that is simultaneously cautious but hopeful. The post-apocalyptic flavor and existential risks emphasize that transhumanity walks on a cliff’s edge, but defeating death, creating new social models, exploring space, and other aspects of the game show that the future is still full of possibilities.

Eclipse Phase Contributor Bio

Real Name: Lars Blumenstein
Firewall Codename: LabRat
Eclipse Phase Background Equivalency: Hyperelite Argonaut
Previous Experience: Numerous Shadowrun titles in both German and English

About Me: I’d classify myself as an open-minded futurist scientophile in both passion and profession. I hold a PhD in biochemistry (biophysics and bioanalytics background) and currently work in the pharma biz. I have been a regular RPG freelancer for about 7 years now, and before that I wrote fan fiction for German-based RPGs (I am German, btw). I am also a caffeine addict (who isn’t?) and a media junkie (news feeds, books, movies/series, i-net, RPGs) when I get the time, though work, freelance writing, social life, and GF have diminished that in recent months.

Transhumanist Interests: I am interested in the posthuman angle like self-evolution and genetic redesign of mankind (augmentations, genetic engineering).

Eclipse Phase Contributions: I wrote the first version of the Psi section (expect the unexpected), the Mesh chapter (the omnipresent infosphere), part of the Gear chapter, and some of the material on the mysterious Factors, the only known alien (and I mean it) xenobiological species in EP so far.

Favorite Thing About Eclipse Phase: What I like most about EP besides the setting and versatile take on character play (“Death is just an Option,” gendernauting, and body-hopping) is seeing the game continuously evolve from the basic concepts and rules mechanics with which we started.