Designer Talks: You!

    Welcome back to TwsitedSpoon Studio! It's been a hell of a year, let me tell you. Or better yet, I'll let you tell me. Well, maybe not about Coronavirus, but about your game design journey. This week, I'm interviewing you! 

Even if you don't share your answers, it can still be fun to think about the questions and reflect on your own experience. Here are the questions, and to start the dialogue, I've included my own answers as well:

• How long have you been making games professionally? How long have you made games recreationally?

• "Professional" is aspirational for me, which is one of the reasons why this blog exists. Recreationally, I've been making games since I was a kid, with more serious efforts starting my sophomore year of college, back in 2016.

• What medium do you design/develop for? (Tabletop, digital, mobile, etc.) What tools and software do you use regularly?

• I've developed tabletop games ranging from board games to card games to RPGs, and I've played around with PC game dev as well. The tools of the trade for me are largely Google Docs and Microsoft Excel, with Unity for digital games. Other invaluable tools include index cards, Magic cards in sleeves, dollar-store counter beads, and many, many dice.

• Why did you decide to start making games? Is there a particular game, franchise, or developer that inspired you?

• The idea of logical rules that create emergent complexity and interesting behaviors has fascinated me since I was a kid, although I didn't realize that that's what it was until much, much later. Games like Pokemon TCG and Yu-Gi-Oh were the first to spark my imagination, but in later years, Magic and Undertale had an enormous impact. After the Adventure Zone introduced me to Powered-by-the-Apocalypse, I realized just how doable it was and actually started making games with intent to publish.

• Do you work alone or as part of a team? What are the benefits and challenges of that approach?

• "I work alone," the designer answered in a gravelly voice. Then he cleared his throat and added, "I'd really love to work with a team though." The biggest advantage is the workflow. I can work on my games whenever, wherever-- often times at work, but shhh don't tell my boss-- and I don't have to wait for anyone else to respond or contribute. On the flip side, I'm very systems-oriented, and things like worldbuilding can be a struggle without any creative input.

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

• Not to spoil anything, but I may or may not have an article on this exact topic in the pipeline. It starts with brainstorming, followed by exploration; once I have a feel for the design space, I try to set out a structure for the game, and the rest of design becomes fleshing out that skeleton.

• Out of the games that you've worked on, which are you the most proud of? What makes it shine?

• As much as I love Festival of Urbestia, the answer has to be Secrets Within Secrets, a Powered-by-the-Apocalypse RPG about identity and truth in a folklore-inspired world where everyone has dark secrets. You can find out more about it here, including a link to the playbooks and GM guide. This is a project that I will revisit on this blog, hopefully soon.

• What are some common challenges that you encounter in game design? What answers have you come up with to solve those challenges?

• The biggest challenge so far is playtesting. Between an infant-going-on-toddler and a partner whose work schedule is basically the inverse of my own, it's tough to find the time or the people to play new designs. For some games, like SWS above, that's a deal-breaker; for more mechanical projects, like my parallel-universe co-op board game Quantum Reflections, I've gotten around this by using MS Paint and an online dice-roller to bang out dozens of play sessions in a single sitting.

• If you could make your dream game, what would that look like for you?

• I am obsessed with procedural generation. Risk of Rain 2 turned me onto the roguelike genre, but classic entries like Caves of Qud and Dwarf Fortress have long demonstrated the incredible power of procedural narrative. One of my long-term goals is to create a game that combines this structure with things like the Big Five Personality Traits, the dimensional model of human behavior, and the Hero's Journey to create a genuinely procedural narrative experience.

    If these questions seem familiar, that's because they should! For the previous designer interviews, these were the "getting to know you" questions that I used for each interviewee before diving into a more personal conversation. If that sounds like fun and you have stories or advice to share, don't be shy! I would love to hear from you, and I'd love to keep doing these interviews.

    Well, that's all I've got for you this week. There's no FUR article this week, but we'll be back on New Years with an announcement, and regularly scheduled content will resume January 7th with our first look at FUR post-restart. Until then, try out sleeping! It's a fun, free way to pass the time that anyone can do!

...

...

...

See you soon!