Mark C. MacKinnon is a Canadian politician,

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, and designer of

roleplaying games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eithe ...

. MacKinnon is the founder of

Guardians of Order Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games (RPGs). Their first game is the anime inspired '' Big Eyes, Small Mouth''. In 2006 Gu ...

(GoO), and has produced work in the ''

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

'' genre. His initial release, ''

Big Eyes, Small Mouth ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth'' (''BESM'') is a tabletop role-playing game originally produced by Guardians of Order in 1997 that was designed to simulate the action of anime and manga. The title alludes to the common anime drawing style of character ...

'', led the company to aggressively license anime properties. With the help of David L. Pulver and others, MacKinnon gradually turned the

Tri-Stat System Guardians of Order was a Canadian company founded in 1996 by Mark C. MacKinnon in Guelph, Ontario. The company's business output consisted of role-playing games (RPGs). Their first game is the anime inspired ''Big Eyes, Small Mouth''. In 2006 Gua ...

into a universal system, including

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...

and

urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in a contemporary urban area, urban-affected setting. The combination provides the writer with a platform for classic fantasy tropes, quixotic plot-elements, and unusual charac ...

games. MacKinnon shut down GoO on August 1, 2006, due to mounting financial difficulties, leaving many writers and artists unpaid.

Career

Mark C. MacKinnon wanted to create a general anime role-playing game system, to have the kind of game that he would like to run, so he formed

to publish his anime role-playing game. MacKinnon got the name "Guardians of Order" from one of his characters from an '' Amber Diceless Roleplaying'' game run by Jesse Scoble. Guardians of Order released the ''

'' (1997) anime game created by MacKinnon at

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

30. With the success of BESM, MacKinnon wanted to try a licensed property and obtained the rights for ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...

'' in January 1998 and used most of that year to design '' The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book'' (1998). MacKinnon hired David L. Pulver to work for Guardians of Order in November 1998. MacKinnon developed the ''

Sailor Moon Collectible Card Game The ''Sailor Moon Collectible Card Game'' is an out-of-print collectible card game set in the fictional world of ''Sailor Moon''. The game, based on the English version of the Sailor Moon (TV series), anime and designed by Mark C. MacKinnon, Jef ...

'', which was published by

Dart Flipcards Dart Flipcards Inc. is a Canadian company based in St. Laurent, Quebec. The company is known for marketing mini lunch boxes and trading cards based on licensed properties. The lunch boxes were filled with chewing gum and were assembled in Canada ...

. MacKinnon wanted to grow Guardians of Order in 2000, and started by hiring John R. Phythyon, Jr. MacKinnon decided in 2002 that Guardians would need to publish using the

d20 System The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, originally developed for the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, 3rd edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The system is named after ...

to stay in business, so MacKinnon,

Jeff Mackintosh Jeffrey Ian "Jeff" Mackintosh (January 22, 1971 – September 24, 2016) was a game designer and writer who worked primarily on role-playing games. Early life Jeffrey Ian Mackintosh was born in 1971, the son of Ian and Dorothy Mackintosh. Career ...

and Jesse Scoble wrote the superhero role-playing game '' Silver Age Sentinels'' (2002) with

Steve Kenson Steve Kenson (born June 16, 1969) is a writer and designer of role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction. Career Steve Kenson began working as an author and game designer in 1995. Kenson co-wrote the super-hero role-playing game '' Silver Ag ...

and developed by

Lucien Soulban Lucien Moussa Shukri Soulban is a Saudi Arabian game designer and writer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Personal life Lucien Soulban was born in Saudi Arabia, where he lived for 12 years before attending school in Texas. He la ...

. Guardians began having financial problems after the d20 crash in 2003, and on January 3, 2005, MacKinnon announced that the company had multiple problems resulting in Guardians being downsized to only himself.

George R.R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of ep ...

announced the end of Guardians of Order on July 28, 2006, which MacKinnon publicly confirmed on August 1. MacKinnon ultimately left the game industry and went into real estate sales. In 2013, MacKinnon founded Dyskami Publishing Company and returned to game publishing with a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

for the board game ''Upon a Fable''. MacKinnon later published under Dyskami additional original board games and other licensed tabletop games based on the ''

Sailor Moon Crystal ''Sailor Moon Crystal'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime series based on the ''shōjo'' manga series ''Sailor Moon'' written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, produced in commemoration of the original series' 20th anniversary. Pr ...

'' Japanese anime series. In 2014, MacKinnon was elected as Ward 6 Councillor for

Guelph City Council Guelph City Council is the governing body for the city of Guelph, Ontario. The council consists of the Mayor of Guelph and 12 ward councillors. Each ward elects 2 members to represent them. The council operates in the Guelph City Hall. Municipa ...

for a four-year term. He was re-elected in 2018. June 2019, MacKinnon announced the return of ''BESM'' for a Fourth Edition under Dyskami Publishing Company. MacKinnon served as the primary author for the new edition. In 2021, he launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for ''Anime 5E'', the using

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

rules.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKinnon, Mark C. Living people Canadian game designers Guelph city councillors Role-playing game designers Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)