Designer Talks: Jason Lentz

 Welcome back to TwistedSpoon Studio. This is our last Designer Talk before Christmas, so I've saved something special for you: our first interview with a Triple-A designer! Without further adieu, let's meet our guest!

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Welcome to TwistedSpoon Studio, and thank you for coming! What should I call you?

    Jason Lentz works, but when I suit up in my corrugated costume, I am known as the "Giant Cardboard Robot" (You can google that for more info.)

 

I thought that was a joke until I looked it up, and boy was I wrong. How'd you get into that?

    In my sophomore year of college as an architecture student, I decided to come up with a plan for a giant suit that could be anything. I just needed an armature to base it on, and being a broke college student, my budget steered me in the direction of cardboard.

    Long story short, once I had the plans, I had to build it. Then for the next 5 years of college , I iterated upon it, making it slightly better with each version. A few years after college, I decided to rebuild it, and this time the internet found it. It’s popularity took off as various sites shared pictures of me in the suit and I teamed up with a friend to turn it into a small business. We pooled our resources and sold kits for the giant cardboard robot arms all over the world - technically making us both international arms dealers.

 

How long have you been making games? What mediums do you design for?

    Recreationally, I've been making games since the early 1980's before I even turned 10. Professionally, I've been working as a Game Designer since 2002, with a few gaps in my resume due to various layoffs.

    I make games with whatever I have around me. I've designed physical games (like dodgeball variants), dungeon crawler games made out of play-do, tabletop strategy games made out of paper, Modern board game prototypes from cardboard and sticker sheets, word games that are just rules on a page, and I've worked on various video games for all manner of platforms ranging from VR, consoles, PC, and mobile. Basically if it's in reach, it's fair game (no pun intended). Currently I'm working on a AAA title intended to launch on PS4, PC, Google Stadia, and Xbox Series X|S.

 

If my math is right, you've been doing this for a long time! How has the industry changed since 2002?

    I have been doing this for a long time! There have been a bunch of changes. The rise of free to play games (which has been largely a good thing I think). The introduction of “casual games” as a genre (another win for games) and the unfortunate push back against that from the gamer gate fiasco (which still exists). The push back from people trying to push others out of the hobby of gaming is probably the saddest thing I’ve seen. The amount of gatekeeping there is in video games is pretty depressing. I for one would LOVE to get more people into gaming, but there’s this huge divide of what some people think gaming should and should not be.

Another big change which I think hasn’t been so great for the industry is the ability to patch games that have launched. Yes, fixes are great, but that means that companies have gotten into the habit of launching broken products knowing that they know they can fix live. This started happening just as I was starting, but it’s only gotten worse and worse. Now it’s almost expected that games will be broken at launch, and everyone has gotten accustomed to their first experience with a game being a download of all the updates.

Right now I think the industry is going through another change as the whole world is finally adjusting to treating women and minorities with the respect they deserve and have been denied for pretty much all of human history. We still have a long way to go, and it’s probably going to be a few generations before we get anywhere close to the equality we’re striving for. I really hope this change sticks.

Another thing to watch out for is how the climate crisis will impact games. So far I think it’s been helping games as it provides an escape (Note: This does not mean I'm pro-climate crisis). Soon I expect that the reality of the climate crisis will start hurting game development in very real ways. Wow… I’m getting dark. Let’s move on to the next question.

 

On a lighter note, which game that you've worked on are you the most proud of? What makes it shine?

    While I'm honored to have the opportunity to work on some pretty epic titles (Bioshock and Frontiers of Pandora), it's some of the smaller projects that I'm most proud of. A few come to mind. The first to come to mind is a 48 hour game jam project where I wore several different hats, including the role of producer. I love that everyone on the project got a full night's rest, and when we finished, not only did we have a fun and fully functional game, we had 3 different multiplayer versus levels to choose from. Making fun games is hard. Making fun games while maintaining a healthy work life balance is golden.

 

I see you've also worked on the Marvel and Medal of Honor franchises. What's it like working with big IPs?

    It’s a mixed blessing for sure! Working on an IP that you’re excited and knowledgeable about is always a big win, but a big thing that most people may not think about is how beholden you are to the IP holders. I’ve worked on projects where we’ve pitched stuff that was rejected for all sorts of reasons that have included but are not limited to:

• This is too cool, and we don't want to upstage the core IP (like a movie that's coming up)
• We are already doing it in the core IP and don’t want you to steal our thunder
• That’s not how we’re doing it in the core IP
• This is the wrong kind of leather - redo this character design
• This exists in the core IP so it MUST exist in your game
• These characters would never be the same strength - this one should always win

Sometimes we can push back on those things, but most of the time it’s the game developers that need to adjust, and it can make for some super frustrating moments.

Original IPs have their own issues too, although those issues mostly involve selling the new game, both to publishers as well as to the target audience. It can happen, but it’s often a way riskier venture, so original IPs are less likely to get the financial backing of something that is a known entity with a lot of fans ready to buy whatever you put in that box.

 

In your opinion, what does it take to be a successful designer in the AAA space? For our readers, would you explain the difference between a designer and a developer?

    I’ll start with the difference between “Designer” and a “Developer” because that’s easy. A Developer is anyone that helps develop the game, be they a programmer, artist, designer, producer, or tester. Designers are the shepherds of the game's design. They work with the other disciplines to help make sure we’re all on the same page, making the same game.

    For the first part of your question, that’s a bit more complicated. The hardest part is landing that first job which is part skill and part luck - perhaps more of the latter, but both are required. Once you’ve been brought on to the team, the studio wants you to succeed, so they are going to help make sure you do so. They hired you because they saw talent and/or promise and they are going to help you do the best job you can. Once you’re on board, the best way to be the best designer you can be is to be a decent person. Accept criticism without ego. Work with others, not against them. And prioritize the good of the game over your own agenda, but not above your own health!

    In a AAA studio, the success of the game will never be on any one individual. Your success will be bound to the studio’s success, not so much the other way around. Maybe the best thing you can do to ensure your own success as a developer in the AAA space is to watch out for red flags and start looking for other opportunities if it looks like the studio is heading in a bad direction, but keep in mind that every studio has its issues. I’ve seen a number of layoffs first hand in studios that I’ve been at, and here are a few that I would be exceptionally cautious of if I saw them again:

• Design by committee (it’s just as bad as they say)
• Unconfident or unclear leadership
• Unwillingness to prioritize features
• Insufficient tools/support
• Lack of diversity in the team
• Planned crunch time
• Free dinners as a perk

 

I'd like to dig into your upcoming board game, Mercenaries of Esterok, but I understand if there are things you can't talk about yet. What inspired the game's mercenary mercantilism?

    The inspiration for the game came from an older game from the mid 60’s called Acquire. Acquire is an investment game about buying stocks in hotels and profiting from hotel mergers, and while the design is solid and has a strong fan base even nearly 60 years later, its theme and visuals are somewhat lackluster, and it has a few systems that could be improved upon. So that’s exactly what I set out to do. I took the basic structure of the investment game, provided it with a fantasy wrapper, and regained some of the mechanics to breathe new life into it, making it a more accessible investment game.

    There aren’t many investment games out there, and most of them have very dry themes-- but there’s no reason that they need to. So this seemed like an opportunity to make my mark in the board-gaming world, and my publisher also saw the potential in it, so we’re working together to make it a reality. You can try it out now on Tabletop Simulator. I even have a rules highlights video available on YouTube, and you can follow my facebook page for future updates.  I’m really happy with how well it’s been testing, but if anyone has any feedback on it, please let me know! I’ll be sure to make sure you’re recognized in the special thanks section in the rules.

 

A prototype of Mercenaries of Esterok

 

In broad strokes, what is your workflow? When you approach a new project, where do you start?

    Step zero is always research, and I'm always researching as inspiration can come from anything and everything. After that, I have a systematic approach to design that follows these steps:

1. Define the problem - without this step, you're essentially flailing and engaging in trial and error
2. Brainstorm solutions
3. Pick best potential solutions
4. Test solutions
5. Iterate (go back to step 2 if necessary)
6. Polish

    I've applied this process to all sorts of design problems and it's consistently provided me with solid solutions for all manner of design challenges (not just game design problems). This approach also scales well between designing the broad vision for the game all the way down to the smallest mechanic of feature.

Thanks so much for participating in this interview! Do you have any final thoughts or plugs that you want to put out there?

    You can learn more about my board game here: http://fb.me/mercenariesofesterok. It's a fantasy based investment game, for 1-5 players where players purchase mercenary contracts while their cheap, and then profit from them as they grow in value. You can cash them out to use their ability, save them for their end game bonus payout, or even profit from contributing them to conflicts with other mercenary factions.

    The game is available on Tabletop Simulator here (solo mode setup can be found here)

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    I hope you all enjoyed hearing from Giant Cardboard Robot himself! I hope you enjoyed some words of wisdom from an experienced designer, and I'd love to hear from you if there are any other guests you'd like me to have on. In the meantime, check out Jason's upcoming game Mercenaries of Esterok at the links above, or tell me what you're looking forward to playing after Christmas in the comments below!

 

See you soon!