Jamie Chambers

Jamie Chambers (born January 25, 1975) is an American game designer who works primarily on role-playing games, contributing in a variety of genres. He served as Vice President of the non-profit Game Manufacturers Association, a trade association for the hobby games industry, from 2007 until 2016, when he chose not to seek re-election. He succeeded Marcus King for the post. Chambers worked with Margaret Weis at Sovereign Press in 1988, then transitioned with her to Margaret Weis Productions (MWP) where he served as Vice President and Lead Designer. While there, he created the Cortex System, a role-playing game ruleset that has been used by MWP since that time.

Career Jamie Chambers wrote short stories which added to the Sovereign Stone world mythos, and also ran the Sovereign Stone website.

Cortex System Chambers created the Cortex System for the Serenity Role Playing Game during his time at Margaret Weis Productions. He then used it for additional licensed game supplements, several of which were based on television shows and movies, including Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. The Cortex System shifted away from gameplay determined by the rules toward a gaming experience guided by them, which was considered a necessary step to counterbalance the computerization of role playing games. The system allows the game to evolve throughout a game session, providing the players with ways to create and modify the rules to meet their needs. The system was later adapted into Cortex Plus and Cortex "Prime" by Cam Banks when he took over for Chambers at Margaret Weis Productions as lead designer. Banks later founded Magic Vacuum, a production studio that has licensed the original Cortex System and the revised Cortex Plus, which is considered more narrative than the original Cortex system, building on the move away from systems constrained by rules and allowing further differentiation from computerized role playing games.

Awards and nominations 2003 - Lucca Comics Games Awards Best Translated Game for Dragonlance 2005 - Origins Award Gamer's Choice Best Role Playing Game of the Year For Serenity 2007 - I-CON Shared Worlds Award for his various supplements in the Firefly (TV series) and Serenity (2005 film) universe. 2008 - Origins Award Finalist in the Role Playing Games Category for Battlestar Galactica RPG.