Owen Davey: Fame & Fable - Art in Board Games #57
Fame and Fable draws inspiration from folktales, mythology, classic and modern fantasy, and popular culture. It’s a love letter to all of those influences, but it also keeps things light and approachable.
Editors Note: If you’ve visited my site before, you might notice it’s been a while since my last interview. This site has always been a passion project of mine, and I’m excited to return in 2025 with new interviews. If you love board game art, consider checking more great interviews in the archive!
Today, we’re joined by Owen Davey, the designer and illustrator of Fame & Fable, an upcoming fantasy board game with a gorgeous unique world. If you like what you see, check out Fame & Fable on Kickstarter!
Fame and Fable - Board Game Cover Art
Thanks for joining us, Owen! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Thanks for having me. I'm a father of three kids and a freelance illustrator based in Worthing, UK. I've been working professionally as an artist for nearly 16 years now. I work across the whole industry really, regularly working in publishing, advertising, editorial, apps, packaging and teaching.
Where might we have seen your work?
I've worked with clients including Google, Disney, National Geographic, WWF, London Zoo and more. I like the variety it brings to my day-to-day work life. I've also had more than 40 books published, many of which I authored - often non-fiction and focusing on animals and nature.
With such a broad spectrum of clients, do you have a first step for new projects?
Research - it is pretty essential for my process. I have to explore whatever brief I've got, try to understand it in as much depth as I can, and then try to find inspiration within that. Often if I get stuck for ideas, research can dig me out of that hole - the world is a fascinating place with many topics that appeal to me, so I generally just follow my curiosity.
Owen Davey - Fame & Fable - Group Art
One of the things that I love about being an illustrator is that nobody else would create something in the same way as me - all my influences and interests are wrapped up in each project, so my experiences and my life shape a lot of what I create. That research to curiosity to inspiration process pipeline is where a lot of that stems from.
Fame & Fable board game on the table
‘Fame and Fable’ looks gorgeous. What made you want to create your own board game?
I've been a lifelong board game enthusiast, but over the past several years, I’ve fully immersed myself in the hobby side of it. It’s no longer just about the classic family staples or traditional card games; I’ve developed a deep love for in-depth thematic games that can easily steal hours of your time.
After the lockdowns in 2020, I felt an even stronger urge to step away from screens and spend more time with friends. That’s when I started engaging in regular game sessions — sometimes packed with a variety of short games, and other times devoted to tackling one sprawling epic.
Owen Davey - D&D Character Art - Anara
I’ve also started playing more solo games, but my favorite part of the day is still unwinding with my partner in the evening. Once the kids are asleep and the house is tidied up, we dive into a game together — it’s become such an important ritual.
During lockdown, I was also part of a Dungeons & Dragons group and eventually took on the role of Dungeon Master. I poured so much energy into it, homebrewing everything from NPCs and monsters to items and locations.
Fame and Fable Board Game Prototype
I became obsessed with not just describing the world but illustrating it too, so my players could better visualize the adventures. When someone else took over as DM, I found myself left with a treasure trove of artwork and no clear purpose for it all. That’s when I decided to combine my passions for fantasy, board games, and illustration to create something new. Years later, that passion project has grown into Fame and Fable.
Fame and Fable’s world feels unique while paying tribute to classic fantasy tropes. Where did your inspiration come from?
Fame and Fable draws inspiration from folktales, mythology, classic and modern fantasy, and popular culture. It’s a love letter to all of those influences, but it also keeps things light and approachable. The tone is playful, blending the grand, folkloric feel of epic tales with humor and a sense of fun—something that will feel right at home for anyone familiar with the TTRPG space.
What is the central hook for the player’s place within the world?
The game's lore centres on a realm overrun by monsters wreaking havoc across the land. Your mission is to gather allies and items to confront these threats head-on. In solo mode, the game introduces six key locations, each delving into classic terrains often explored in fantasy works. Fame and Fable aims to strike a balance between something familiar and new, offering a fresh perspective on beloved fantasy tropes while remaining rooted in the joy of storytelling.
Fame and Fable - Monsters
Fame and Fable features over 150 unique artworks, which, let's be frank, is a lot. How did that happen?
The game grew in scale over time. I had some artwork from my D&D campaign, but there was so much more I wanted to include. I wanted a wide range of card types and abilities for replayability, and that just kept expanding. No complaints, though—I loved it. I’m still illustrating potential characters and monsters for possible Kickstarter stretch goals and maybe even future expansions.
With a list of illustrations that long, what was your process for creating it all?
With anything this massive, it’s all about taking one step at a time. Thinking about 170 artworks from scratch feels impossible, but aiming for 20 more in a month? That’s doable. Breaking it down into smaller, achievable goals kept it from becoming overwhelming. Logistically, I had spreadsheets constantly updated to keep everything balanced and these big mega-files where all the final artworks were stored. I also have a habit of keeping every old version, so I probably have hundreds of Illustrator files.
My ideas usually come at the most random times—falling asleep, washing up—so I jot them down on my phone and later turn them into research. That research mixes with a healthy dose of imagination before making its way onto the page (or, more recently, the iPad).
Sketching is the easiest part for me—I've made a career out of drawing, so that part feels natural. The iPad lets me be loose with the process. I can swap out heads, try new outfits, or even randomly turn a character into a duck. No rules, just the rule of cool.
This whole project is about play, from how I created it to how it’ll be used, and the artwork reflects that. Once I’m happy with a sketch, I bring it into Illustrator to create the final lines digitally. Then I add colour using a restricted global palette—this keeps everything cohesive while also saving time since I don’t have to build a new palette for each piece. Each artwork takes at least a couple of hours, but some took much longer because they were trickier to get right.
Parents will never admit to having a favorite child, but do you have a favorite piece of art you created for this game?
I really like The Cursed—she’s got these epic muscles, cool braided hair, and a big flaming sword. Total badass. But I also love The Shepherd, who’s the complete opposite—he’s got a wide-brimmed hat and looks kind of like a sheep. I enjoy flipping those roles.
A lot of the cards have little hidden details inspired by research. The Shepherd has only one central eye, which is a nod to The Odyssey—Polyphemus, the cyclops in Homer’s tale, was a shepherd, so that felt like a fun connection.
Mechanically, The Cursed is a fan favourite because she can sacrifice herself to deal massive damage, while The Shepherd is great for annoying your friends since he collects their exhausted cards. My favourite part of this whole process has been designing cards that feel thematic—I really want the storytelling aspect to shine through in the game.
How is creating board games different from your other work?
It's an interesting task having to Art Direct yourself. I love working with my regular clients but it was really fun to allow my creativity to run wild. The difficulty is that there's nobody to sign it off. I have to decide if it's done or not and whether it works. I've definitely leant on friends throughout this process to help me check if things are actually cool, or maybe don't work as well as I thought they did in my head. The game wouldn't exist as it is now without their invaluable insights.
Fame & Fable Meeples
Have there been any particular challenges in creating your first board game?
There was a massive learning curve in figuring out how to design a game. I quickly realised that just because a mechanic works, it doesn't mean it’s fun. And because of the type of game Fame and Fable is, where each card works slightly differently, it meant that a LOT of playtesting was needed.
Owen Davey - Fame and Fable Card Art
Each card has to make sense to multiple people and be as devoid of misinterpretation as possible. I was definitely not aware of how much work it would be to make my own game, but I've genuinely loved every second of it. I can't wait to build expansions for this game and develop other ideas I've had.
What are you reading, listening to, or looking at to fuel your work?
I've just finished rereading another one of the Brain Jacques Redwall books - Martin the Warrior - and now I'm delving into Brandon Sanderson's 'Mistborn' - I'm loving the lore of the Allomancy. I've also been listening to various history podcasts, which often spark me to go research something I'd never known about before, from a certain type of weapon to a war I'd never heard about. I've been watching Hilda and Scavenger's Reign on Netflix - both of these have incredible world-building and just happen to be stunning visually.
Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to work as an artist?
Meet deadlines. Make awesome work. Check contracts. Look after yourself. Get yourself out there and show your work to your audience or the people that might commission you.
Owen Davey - Fame and Fable Board Game
Finally, where can we find you if we’d like to see more of you and your work?
The best place to find more stuff about Fame and Fable is to follow me on Instagram at @fameandfable or sign up to the Kickstarter prelaunch page where you'll be notified about when the game launches - there are some early bird treats, so definitely back early to make the most of them.
All images provided by Owen Davey
Endogenesis: The Art in Kickstarter #4
Star charts have an amazing aesthetic that feels foreign and esoteric, but mesmerizingly detailed. Combined with the use of astronomical symbols, I sought to create an art direction that gave the sense that you're peeking into this whole other alien universe through the perspective of its inhabitants.
Editors note: Welcome to another in my series of interviews looking into Kickstarter projects. Endogenesis (from David Goh) is well into its campaign and currently at over 1200% of its very modest funding goal. Upon seeing the Kickstarter page I couldn't help but be impressed by the production quality of this a first-time project so I'm really happy to find out more. The Kickstarter is live until 7th September so if you are curious I recommend you go take a look.
Hello David, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure! I'm a freelance art director hailing from Singapore, and I'm 30 this year. I grew up being surrounded by gaming — as a teenager, the medium of choice was video games, from old-school RPGs like Chrono Trigger to thriving new releases then like DotA. But in the last decade or so, I've been slowly steered towards tabletop gaming, primarily due to its social nature. There's just something about sitting down with a group of friends at board game night that video gaming just isn't able to replicate.
As for designing games, I've always wanted to make them since I was 15. Regardless of medium, I believe that games are the next greatest art form, and that's why I'm obsessed with them! I just enjoy taking them apart and studying them, and try to understand how some games can be so engrossing, and others evocative. The idea that games are really just a collection of rules, visual aids and predictable logical outcomes that combine to captivate the human mind with a compelling experience is just mind-blowing, and still is to me.
My first foray into tabletop game design was with a fan-made card game called 'Final Fantasy Boss Battle.' It was created as a birthday present for my wife, made quickly in 2 months as it was intended to be less of a working game and more of a really cool looking gift. We played a couple of games with our friends at board game night, and while the game was clearly unpolished and a little frustrating at times, it was actually fun for a few sessions.
Seeing how I had created something that brought enjoyment to the game night table, I felt inspired to keep creating, if only to make games that my friends would enjoy. And so I did! Over the next 9 years, I'd designed prototypes to bring to the table. Many were pretty much trash, while some had potential. One other project that went beyond the table was 'The Award Winning Game', which I worked on as part of a team of two. While we did bring it to Kickstarter a few years back, a combination of inexperience and logistical difficulties led to the project not succeeding, so we published it via The Game Crafter instead. Having a group of friends to test out game concepts has been such an amazing learning experience, and I'm glad to have such patient friends!
Looking at the present, can you describe your current Kickstarter game to us and what makes it interesting?
Endogenesis is a competitive card game that features free-for-all combat, which means it focuses heavily on direct conflict! What I think makes it interesting is that the gameplay is designed to be highly customizable and interactive. Everyone starts off with the same blank slate, but as the game goes on, you build a customized power set with the Skill cards that you're dealt with. If you like the experience of building a character that starts out weak but incrementally grows until you're a behemoth of cosmic power later in the game, then you'll enjoy Endogenesis!
While the round and turn order are quite structured, what you do during your turn isn't. You're given freedom on how you perform actions, both in their order and frequency. This includes using Skills to attack others, equipping new Skills or leveling up your character with Shards (which are a bit like stat points). With a bit of creativity, you can pull off really powerful combinations of actions, but at the same time, just a bit of miscalculation can cause your plans to fizzle. There's also an element of intrigue, where you can interact with the active player's turn with Reaction Skills, which are hidden, allowing you to set up traps when you know what a rival player is planning.
Because of my background in video games, a lot of inspiration came from that medium. A key point of influence for Endogenesis was from a custom game mode from DotA called DotA LOD, which is the precursor to the Ability Draft mode in DotA 2 now. Each session of the game sees you crafting a character from a random pool of abilities, effectively building your own synergies and combos. My goal was to recreate that experience in the tabletop medium, and Endogenesis was the result of that attempt.
How long have you been working on this game? What made you launch the campaign now?
I've been working on Endogenesis for a little over two years. Like all my previous designs, Endogenesis started out as a prototype I brought to game night, with the intention of creating something my friends would enjoy. However, the response to Endogenesis was much better than usual, so I decided to focus more effort into refining it, eventually bringing it beyond my circle of friends to other board gamers, and later on to blind testers.
I would say that Endogenesis is the culmination of a few concepts I've been wanting to try out with the tabletop medium for a long time. Quite a few prototypes died along the way before I arrived at Endogenesis, and I feel that after a few hundred playtests and 6 major revisions, it's finally ready to be released. I've witnessed a lot over the course of testing the game; the intensity over a very close battle, the excited spark in a player's eye as they execute an elaborate game-winning combo, and their rage at having said combo be completely countered by a well-placed Reaction Skill or Wonder... I'm excited to let gamers around the world try out the game, and see what experiences they encounter as well!
Where did the world and lore of Endogenesis come from and how does that feed into the player experience?
Prior to working on the world and lore of Endogenesis, the gameplay came first. And a key part of the gameplay was the existence of Skills that would come from different categories: Cosmic, Mythic, Entropic, Organic and Mechanic — all of which meant to be very different from each other. This was the first spark that led to the direction we took while building the lore; given how different these categories were, we needed a setting that would serve as a plausible container for all of them. Thus the idea of a universe in which beings explored other planes of reality was born.
As for why the setting takes place in a tabula rasa universe with alien beings, I think that came from my love for creation myths in general. Combined with the challenge of building a setting that would see the clash of different planes of existence, I saw the opportunity to redefine the entire tone of the story by building it ground up with a whole new creation myth.
A big part of what Endogenesis offers is a "power fantasy." The journey you take starts you out as being weak, but you incrementally grow stronger and stronger until you're inches away from literal godhood. This lore feeds into the player experience by creating an epic setting that players operate in, so as to make that power fantasy feel magnified to cosmic proportions!
This lore also seems to have fed into the artwork and style, showing a mixture of astronomical symbology crossed with arcane monsters. What were some of the most important factors in making you take these visual choices?
As a huge fan of RPGs, I find world building to be incredibly fun! I also had two writer friends (Ryan Mennen and Sathya Seth) who were excited to lend their expertise, and as such we pushed ourselves to go as deep as we could with the lore behind Endogenesis.
Having a detailed setting to work off helped tremendously as I was creating the art direction of Endogenesis. One of the most important considerations was trying to decide how the universe would look. How does one portray an entire universe feels completely alien from ours? This wasn't just in a different galaxy — it was an entirely different reality, with its own physical rules and destiny.
To that end, I decided that the simplest way to do this was to avoid trying for a realistic portrayal of that universe. Instead, I imagined how the inhabitants of the universe would have illustrated their visions of how they perceived their surroundings instead — not unlike how early humans would make rudimentary cave paintings of their environments to store information. In doing so, the Endogenesis universe could actually be made to feel even more alien, since an exact representation of that reality is never seen.
With that direction in mind, I researched the ways humans have of recording observations and information across the ages. I eventually settled on star charts and runic symbols as a key visual reference. Star charts have an amazing aesthetic that feels foreign and esoteric, but mesmerizingly detailed. Combined with the use of astronomical symbols, I sought to create an art direction that gave the sense that you're peeking into this whole other alien universe through the perspective of its inhabitants.
How did playtesting and community feedback guide you in this project? What lessons did you learn and was there anything that surprised you along the way?
Besides the obvious improvements that heavy playtesting brings to a board game, the feedback I've gained also revealed a lot about me as a game designer, as well as the blind spots I didn't know I had. As someone who's still very new to the scene, this was especially important for my growth.
I would say that one of the biggest changes in my mentality as a designer was towards the inclusion of catch-up mechanics. In the early half of the game's development, I was rather against including catch-up mechanics. For some reason, I felt that doing so might make the game feel better for casual players, but worse off for experienced ones, and that that trade-off simply wasn't worth it. But on the advice from a few blind testers and early reviewers, I decided it was worth a shot.
And I was so glad I did. The game became a lot more interesting as a result, because now gaining power comes at an increased potential cost. The more you have, the more you stand to lose, so you have to consider carefully how you go about gaining power. Being able to snowball without much thought might give you a fleeting sense of power and invincibility, but it's nowhere compared to the intensity of having to watch your back. On the flip side — for weaker players — the less you have, the less you stand to lose, so you can be more proactive and fearless in pursuing opportunities, therefore giving you more agency to better your situation. I was so surprised at how much of a positive change a few catch-up mechanics brought.
You collaborated with a number of people to help create the look and feel of this game. Who was involved and what did they bring to Endogenesis?
For the creation of the Endogenesis myth, I worked with Ryan Mennen and Sathya Seth. Both of them are writers, and have unparalleled knowledge when it comes to pop culture and mythology. They're both also my closest friends and amongst the first few to try out Endogenesis, so it just made sense to work with them.
For the creation of the monsters from the Realm of Chaos, I worked with an illustrator named Yang Shao Xuan. These Monsters were inspired by Lovecraftian horror — they're creatures that emerged from the source of pure entropy, and are powerful enough to serve as threats to cosmic beings. Shao Xuan was a great fit for this, given his keen eye for detail and skill for portraying anthropomorphic characters. His monster illustrations were very flavourful and distinct, which was no easy task given that they're just silhouettes!
Lastly, being a project made in Singapore, I sought to work with as many Singaporean talents as possible for the needs of the project. Not that there's anything wrong with looking abroad for help — I just wanted an opportunity to showcase the works of local talent!
I think it's really important to support your local communities when you can. So what should people be doing to make them a part of their projects?
The best way to start is to definitely go out there and make connections. It's never too late to start, and it's incredibly easy to do so. Go to flea markets, artist alleys, youth events and meet people. Join groups on Facebook where artists gather and interact with them. Find out they care about, and see how you can help. Another thing you can do is to look up old friends, school mates and see what they're doing right now, and see how you can trade expertise with them.
Do you have any advice for people looking to launch a Kickstarter game?
I'm still in the midst of my first Kickstarter, so I kinda feel ill-equipped to give advice. I can, however, speak from personal experience and talk about the things I felt I could've done better.
While I did a great deal of preparation work for the campaign, the campaign went off in a direction I never dreamt of, which led to me feeling like I was in catch-up mode for the first week. Initially it made me wonder if I didn't do enough prep work, but looking back now, I think that it's just down to the simple fact that unexpected things happen. Especially if it's your first time — no amount of discussion with other creators or reading of articles can fully prepare you for how people will respond to your work. So I'd say do as much prep work as possible, but expect that the unexpected will happen.
Another thing would be to not underestimate how difficult it will be to say no. It's one thing to say no to a stranger, it's another to do so to someone who's investing in you and your vision. The latter takes a lot more out of you. Saying no is something I feel like I've been doing fine at so far, but I just never expected that it would be so difficult. In hindsight, I suppose I should've been more prepared (though, how does one really prepare for that?!)
That's all I have at the moment, I'm sure I'll have more thoughts and ideas once I'm further along the campaign.
Are there any artists and designers in the community whose work you’re inspired by?
This is probably something you hear a lot of, but I'm a big fan of Jamey Stegmaier. His approach to crowdfunding, customer engagement and competence as a game designer just wows me. I think it's safe to say that many board game designers (including myself) would not have found success on KS if it weren't for his articles.
I'm also just blown away by Daniel Aronson and the work he did for The Isle of El Dorado. I came across his campaign very late, but I was just wowed by the game's level of polish and how the campaign was designed. I've never seen anyone use pre-1900 art in such a way that looks so attractive and modern. And as someone who had to build most of the art in Endogenesis single-handedly, I'm amazed at the amount of resourcefulness Daniel had in conceptualizing his game's art direction.
Lastly, there's a game designer who frequents the game design forums on BGG by the name of Jeremy Lennert (Antistone). Every time I come across a post by him, I stop and take the time to read it carefully. He's so incredibly knowledgeable, insightful and eloquent, whenever I read his stuff for just 5 minutes, I feel as though I've squeezed in an hour of game design classes. Absolutely riveting.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I'm watching Psycho-Pass now, a cyberpunk anime that's mind-blowingly good! If you haven't guessed, I'm a big fan of sci-fi :D I'm also doing a playthrough of the entire Dark Souls series with my wife. Dark Souls is a huge source of cognitive dissonance for me — there are so many design choices I disagree with in the game, and at times I'm very frustrated by it... and yet, it's brought about some of the most memorable and enjoyable moments I've encountered in my life as a gamer. I recently played a game of Rise of Moloch too, and while I didn't enjoy the heavy usage of dice combat, I find the asymmetric gameplay to be very attractive. I'm hoping to get back to it soon (as soon as things with the campaign get less crazy!)
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
You can check out Endogenesis on Kickstarter.
My personal portfolio can be seen at http://www.awesome.sg and my illustrations at http://www.hyperlixir.com.
(All images supplied by David Goh)
Andrew Bosley: Art in Board Games #26
Never stop learning and practicing! As my professors used to tell me, it’s the mileage that matters. There are plenty of people with pure, raw, exceptional talent, that have their path laid out for them. But the rest of us just need to work hard. For both art and game design..
This week we have Andrew Bosley an illustrator, concept artist, and game designer who has worked on games such as Everdell, Mission: Red Planet, Citadels, and the upcoming Planecrafters and with companies such as Asmodee, Game Salute, and Ubisoft.
Hello Andrew, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure! I grew up in Southern California with a passion for drawing. Had very supportive parents that helped me follow that passion. Took a pretty typical art journey that led to studying illustration at San Jose State University, with my aim to become a visual development artist in feature animation. I interned at Hallmark Cards the summer before my senior year, finished up my BFA in 2006, and then changed directions a little and took a job in video game concept art. I worked in-house at Ubisoft for seven years and then decided to go freelance in 2013. Now I live in cool, northern Arizona with my wife and five kids.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
I always wanted to be an artist. For a long time, I thought that meant being a Disney animator. Then I decided I wanted to be a children’s book illustrator. I was only exposed to the type of work I ended up in after entering SJSU.
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
I have always loved board games! But it was never something on my radar when it came to work. It was just something I liked to do. After starting my first job as a concept artist in the video game industry, I looked for ways to scratch my illustration itch through freelance work. I got lots of RPG art commissions from the smaller companies. Then some of the bigger publishers took me on. By the time I went full-time freelance, I thought the only options for illustrators in tabletop games was in the RPG market. I went to a fantasy illustration convention looking for opportunities with the biggest publishers and failed miserably. But while there, I met an artist that would soon become a good friend named Bryan Fyffe and he pointed me away from the fantasy illustration rat race towards board games. It was the perfect fit for me and my style. I was fortunate to have established some good connections in the industry and board game jobs starting coming in. Also, when I moved to Arizona, I also started developing my own board game. That led me to GenCon, which led me to lots of new board game clients. While I still do a lot of video game concept art for work, I feel like board games will soon be my long-time home.
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
When it comes to creating the actual illustrations, the process has evolved as I’ve changed as an artist. The process of making the art itself is probably pretty boring to normal people. But I have always had a love of art direction, graphic design, and brand identity and that is probably the thing that I enjoy the most when it comes to creating art for games. Helping to form the overall look of a game/product. When I work of others, I rarely get to look at the big picture in that way. But for my own brands, whether they’re games or apps or stories, I love the process of creating meaningful, iconic themes in style and storytelling.
You were involved in the creation of Mission: Red Planet, so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
Yeah, I had the privilege of doing the cover art and all the character card art for the rebooted Mission: Red Planet. Mission: Red Planet is a great game with some history. Bruno Cathala and Bruno Faidutti created the original back in 2005 with a great artist named Christophe Madura. My job, ten years later, was to create a new look that had some of the influence of the previous version, but could hold up on it’s own and still represent the brand well. Asmodee was a publisher that I had worked with previously and they felt my style would be a good fit for their redesign. Though, I didn’t get to work with either designers during the process, I learned the game and tried to capture the themes and style of the game’s narrative. Then I got to have a lot of fun executing what I thought would make for a cool look!
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on Mission: Red Planet?
It was pretty serendipitous that I was on an Edgar Rice Burroughs binge at the time. I listened to most of the Barsoom audiobooks during the illustrating process. It didn’t necessarily inform the art directly, but it helped me get in the right frame of mind. It wasn’t hard to think about Mars colonization in 1888 with some early 1900’s adventure stories playing in my ears.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I really love to listen to audiobooks and podcasts while I work. I recently finished 1776 by David McCullough for the millionth time and I’m now starting the Lord of the Rings series for the millionth time. The podcasts on my regular list are Hardcore History, Trailblazers with Walter Isaacson, the Art of Manliness, and Ludology. Sometimes I throw in some bluegrass music, movie soundtracks, or Enya (that’s right!) when I’m in the mood.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
If it’s board game art, probably the same advice I’d give to any aspiring artist. Never stop learning and practicing! As my professors used to tell me, it’s the mileage that matters. There are plenty of people with pure, raw, exceptional talent, that have their path laid out for them. But the rest of us just need to work hard. For both art and game design, there are so many fantastic resources out there these days. Both are very generous communities. You just need to grab those resources, study, limit the pointless distractions in your life, and start making!
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
I just finished work on the upcoming game Everdell by Starling Games (Game Salute) which kindly showcased my work handsomely. It’s a great game centered around forest themes and woodland critters. When the publisher first pitched it to me, it reminded me of the Redwall book series I grew up reading and I fell in love. Starling Games was very trusting with the art and allowed me to run with it in fun directions. It’s turned out quite charming! On the personal side, my big project currently underway is a new game coming to Kickstarter this summer. It’s a card drafting, tableau building game set in a fantasy Golden Age of Aviation called Planecrafters. I created it with a good friend and we’ve been working on it for over 2 years now. It’s got a unique game style with a unique art style (that I had lots of fun designing) and it’s something I’m really proud of! Jump to our site www.paisleyboardgames.com for more info!
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
My portfolio site is www.bosleyart.com, but you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
(All images provided by and copyright of Andrew Bosley).
Todd Sanders: Art in Board Games #22
In taking apart another designer’s work and re-visioning it, you learn the inner workings of the mechanics and how the game is put together, thereby learning something about the design process. I suppose the best thing I have learned is to be open with my work [..]
This week we have Todd Sanders an artist and designer who has designed games such as IUNU, They Who Were 8 and Aether Captains with companies such as LudiCreations and MAGE Company. He’s created a variety of Print and Play (PnP) games, best known of which are: Mr. Cabbageheads Garden, Odin Quest and his Shadows Upon Lassadar series. He’s also provided graphic design for Trick of the Rails for Terra Nova Games and has done the artwork for many Age of Steam maps for Alban Viard of AV Game Studios.
Hello Todd, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in Pittsburgh where I work as a graphic designer, furniture maker and publisher. I have a degree in architecture but have worked as a graphic designer for over 25 years. My publishing company, Air and Nothingness Press (which is also the name I design games under - www.aanpress.com) publishes translations of French surrealist poetry, science fiction, and fantasy, and makes handmade artist books.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
From an early age I always wanted to be an architect. I was an architectural designer for a few years upon graduation but then moved into graphic design due to the work availability in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s.
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
I began by redesigning older games and I’m most known for my re-visions of Barbarian Prince (over 3000 downloads on BoardGameGeek.com) and for Hammer of Thor. Both of these were originally released in the early 1980s, long before computers or better printing techniques and there is a mystique about them, but both are long out of print and therefore inaccessible to most players.
Barbarian Prince is one a lot of people wish would be reprinted. You play a barbarian trying to find gold to save your kingdom, wandering a map of various terrain types, rolling dice to find events and encounters on various tables. It combines aspects of wargames, RPGs, and Choose-Your-Own Adventure style games. I completely redesigned the entire map, created new rule and events books and a series of player sheets and counters to give the game a better scope. It took me a couple of months to complete but I think the changes make it feel more like a modern game.
Hammer of Thor is a very strange game from around ‘83 that can apparently support between 1 and 65 players, although 1 or 2 players is probably best. You play Viking gods and visit locations throughout the nine realms encountering various types of creatures and humans. You combat these beings and in turn, can make them part of your clan. The game mainly uses cards (which were originally badly printed on construction paper) and a large map of Yggdrasil, the world tree of Viking myth. My work included redesigning (and correcting the errors of) over 720 cards, designing 1100 counters and I updated/redrew the map. On top of this, I completely rewrote the rulebook to remove a huge number of errors in the original text and updated the language for modern board gamers. It was over 6 months work and I really didn’t design anything for many months afterward because the task left me exhausted.
For both games what appealed to me was the challenge of taking older games and giving them a fresh modern look. As a graphic designer, I am attracted to projects where a design overhaul can give a value and prominence to games in our history that are overlooked by many. For Barbarian Prince I also wanted a copy to play and this was a fun way for me to make that happen.
From there I entered several of the designer contests that the Print and Play community sponsors and slowly began learning to process of design games. There are several of these contests every year on BGG. The Solitaire PnP contest (every summer), the PnP Wargame contest, the 18 card contest, and the Mint Tin contest where all components must fit inside of an Altoids tin. In the past there have also been game contests with constraints like only using dice, fitting the game on a single sheet of paper, or only being able to use 9 cards.
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
I tend to work on both the structure and mechanics of the game while doing the artwork. It’s a very organic process and both elements grow together. I am not an ‘artist’ artist, meaning I don’t really draw or illustrate anything by hand ever, I do all my work on the computer using InDesign and Photoshop, often using those applications as you would Adobe Illustrator (but I don’t own a copy of that).
Early on I tended to do redesigns of earlier games. In taking apart another designer’s work and re-visioning it, you learn the inner workings of the mechanics and how the game is put together, thereby learning something about the design process. I suppose the best thing I have learned is to be open with my work and let people interact with it as it is being designed. Everyone has different experiences and knowledge. Their input can only make a game stronger, especially since one tends to design in a bubble so you can quickly convince yourself that something works. This is because in your head it does, but you often find that once you write rules other people find holes in this logic as you didn’t impart that understanding within the framework of the game itself.
You were involved in the creation of IUNU, so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
IUNU, which made its debut at Essen 2017 is a game where the basic idea came very quickly: 9 types of cards where the point value of the card is the direct inverse of the number of cards in the deck. The game spent about a year of development with LudiCreations and I’m lucky in that I am the graphic design/artist for my own games with LC. Part of the appeal of these games is my minimalist artwork. LudiCreations staff and I work pretty well together after several years of my doing graphic design for other games in their catalog.
There were no real challenges but we ended up increasing the number of Afterlife cards and this meant doing a lot of research into Egyptian dynasties (which I found quite interesting) and then matching historical points in that timeline with bonus actions for the game. For example, one card gives bonus sets of bakers, merchants, and farmers in your tableaux. These are all lower ranking citizens and the dynasty of Amenhotep was one in which the people had more power and there was a golden age. Another example is that the bonus cards Peret, Akhet, and Shemu are seasons in ancient Egypt which cycle around the rise and fall of the Nile river, celebrating abundance and harvest times. This idea matched cards where you gain a bonus if you have a majority of one type of citizen at the game’s end. I like to, as much as I can, match real facts/events with the mechanics in my games to strengthen the game narrative and thematic elements
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on IUNU?
Often I find this is the case with my designs – the best and most elegant games come fully formed in under a half hour. As previously mentioned, I conceived of an idea where the kind of cards and their frequency in the deck had an inverse relationship to their value. So one Pharaoh is worth 9 points, 2 Scribes are each worth 8 points, three Nobles are each worth 7 points and so on down to nine Farmers each being worth 1 point.
The Egyptian theme for the game was suggested by this idea of 9 which is three 3s or the three main pyramids at Giza in Egypt. This tied nicely into three 4-sided dice, a great visual link to Ancient Egypt thematically. A quick bit of research led me to 9 types of citizens and their hierarchical order, and from there I was off and running. Each of these types of citizens then meant I could have a separate action for each, thematically tied into their caste when the cards are played in sets.
Also, the money in the game is labeled as ‘debts’. The ancient Egyptians didn’t have coins, instead, they used slugs of copper of various sizes as their monetary unit, equaling the weights to the worth of goods or services. So it wouldn’t have made sense to use coins as we know them. In my original PnP version, I sourced out small wooden ingots in a muddy brown and orange because the copper that was more refined was worth more and so the color difference suggests this.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I listen mostly to ambient electronica. I find the rhythm of the beat helps my design process. Currently I am reading Virconium by M. John Harrison that my friend, the author Steph Swainston, sent me a copy of. I read 2-3 books a week and this is a wide-ranging mix of fantasy, science fiction, books about landscape and nature, fairy tales and books on interesting ideas floating around in the world. All of this input does suggest game ideas to me as it all mixes together in the background.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
Read all the rulebooks you can get your hands on. Understand not only how a designer creates a game but also how the rules explain those ideas. Learn both from the success and mistakes in these texts. Finally, never feel afraid to share your work. No one is going to steal it. Share and receive back tenfold.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
I am currently working with Alban Viard and his AVGS imprint to bring my PnP game – Pulp Detective- to print. I am currently converting the artwork over to print-ready status while creating a 2 player variant and going back and forth, day to day, with Alban, as his team does playtests, to adjust and strengthen the game mechanics. This game has been under PnP development for over 2 years (one of my longest n the drawing board) and I am very happy to finally get it to the stage where it will be ready for players.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
I maintain a very large and rambling current projects thread on BGG. I also actively post on my blog. You can find some of my illustration work at http://locusgraphic.com/illustration and finally, I am on twitter at @lackriver.
(All images provided by Todd Sanders 2017).
Sami Laakso: Art in Board Games #21
As I do both the illustrations and graphic design for my games, I usually start with a crude layout for my prototype. While the first prototypes can be rough around the edges, I try to make them as user-friendly and clean as possible..
This week we have Sami Laakso an artist and designer who has worked on games such as Dale of Merchants 1 and 2, Days of Ire: Budapest 1956, Crisis, and Petrichor and with companies such as Snowdale Design (which he owns), Mighty Boards, and LudiCreations.
Hello Sami, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Absolutely! I’m the owner of Snowdale Design, my board game company. I focus on creating and publishing my own games in hopes of bringing happiness to people all over the world. And I have a cat named Eddie. He’s awesome.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
This is a tricky question. I didn’t have a single specific job that I dreamt off as a kid. As weird as it sounds, my goal for the longest time was to simply one day have a job in which I genuinely enjoy spending my time. It might be an unusual answer but I figured that if I have to work for roughly half of my waking time, why shouldn’t I aim to spend that time doing something I love?
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
I love playing board games with my friends and family as I would guess most of the readers do too. A few years ago I got a desire to create a game myself that I could enjoy with my close ones. It wasn’t meant to be a product to sell to a publisher or anything like that. Only after I had created this game (later known as Dale of Merchants) and could see how much everyone enjoyed it did I think about actually publishing it. One thing leads to another and now I work full time in my own board game company.
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
This has changed a lot and will certainly keep evolving as I continue to pursue honing my craft. As I do both the illustrations and graphic design for my games, I usually start with a crude layout for my prototype. While the first prototypes can be rough around the edges, I try to make them as user-friendly and clean as possible. Clarity is key at this stage. I jump into illustrating the art and details only after I’m satisfied with the layout and game design. Then I look for a lot of reference images, which is usually photos of animals as my games don’t have humans in them. I try to keep all the animals as close to their real-life counterparts as possible whilst giving them personality and character. This often means that I take a bit of artistic freedom when drawing their facial expressions.
You created Dawn of Peacemakers, so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
Dawn of Peacemakers was and still is a huge project. It wasn’t supposed to be as enormous as it eventually became. At first, I only wanted to make a game against war. Then I wanted to add scenarios to it. I figured scenarios would be even better if they were linked to each other. Then thought there should definitely be a story behind these events. Why not teach the game during the scenarios and have twists and turns during the campaign? Whoa, that got out of hand fast.
One of the biggest challenges was the plain act of dividing such a huge game into manageable chunks, tasks that can actually be achieved in days or better, hours. Bit by bit, I ticked to-do items and got the game ready. Or as close to ready as it needs to be for the launch of a crowdfunding project.
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on Dawn of Peacemakers?
I wanted to create something unique, a game that there isn’t anything else quite like yet. The idea I settled on was a war game where the players' mission was to end the war in peace, instead of crushing the opposing side. It wouldn’t make sense for players to directly control the bloodthirsty warring sides, not if they actually wanted to end the conflict so this choice lead to unique mechanisms as well.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
There isn’t any single one piece of work that I can name for that. I consume books, movies, podcasts etc, that I enjoy. Then parts of them influence my work, wanted or not. Still, to name at least one name, I adore Hayao Miyazaki’s movies. They don’t hammer their ideas and motives down your throat but are way more delicate with their approach. They make you think.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
Get involved! Being it drawing, designing, proofreading, volunteering at conventions, anything. Gathering experience and making contacts is generally the best thing you can do regarding any passion you might have. It doesn’t matter what your specific goal is. If you want to work in any industry you should start with small steps, and work your way through. Sooner or later an opportunity will appear. You have to be willing to do the legwork.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
Obviously Dawn of Peacemakers! But seriously, it has consumed my time for so long I haven’t been able to work much on anything else. That being said, I have managed to design parts of the next Dale of Merchants game a bit here and there. Rumour has it, that will come in a bigger collector friendly box and with never seen before goodies.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
By far the best way to stay up to date with my stuff is to subscribe to my email newsletter. Occasionally I’ll also post some sneak previews and other nonsense on Twitter. Finally, if you have any questions about any specific game of mine then a message on BoardGameGeek is the best place to ask those.
Dawn of the Peacemakers is available on Kickstarter until Sat, December 2nd, 2017.
(All images supplied by Sami Laakso, 2017)
Jade Shames and Ben Bronstein: Art in Board Games #20
I’ve had a lot of tragic experiences with mental illness, and I have a very dark sense of humor. Knowing that many of the drugs we’re prescribed to make us well also cause us to become sick in other ways, I started to develop a game where you were racing other players to treat a series of diseases...
This week we have Jade Shames and Ben Bronstein, game creators who are launching their first game, Side Effects.
Hello, Jade and Ben, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Jade: Sure. I’m 31, and I live in Brooklyn. Oh, also, I came up with the concept and most of the game mechanics for Side Effects, a mental-illness-themed card game. In my day job, I work as a copywriter. And I also write and play music.
Ben: I’m the illustrator and designer for our company pillbox games. Outside of that, I work as an illustrator, retoucher and production artist in advertising. I also like to cook and bake.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Jade: Superman.
Ben: Spiderman
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
Jade: As far back as I can remember, I’ve been making games. I used to find old boardgames in the trash and glue paper over them just so I could use the boards to make my own games. I remember working really hard on a game called Diamonds which had something to do with poker cards and a board, and I remember that I was obsessed with the idea that the whole board flips upside down during a portion of the game. I think I saw a commercial for a game that did this, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the universe. Sadly, I can't find any game that exists today with this feature. If you find one let me know.
Ben: I’ve always been a fan of a lot of game genres. Especially more artistic/experimental games like anything by Fumito Ueda, TiNYTOUCHTALES, Monument Valley plus the board game Secret Hitler and wanted to work on one, but this is my first proper project. Jade showed me and a few friends a test play deck he had made and I told him I’d love to do the art for it.
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
Jade: I was never a designer. Working with Ben Bronstein has been a real treat because he IS a real designer and his illustrations make the game. He approached me, asking if he could help design the cards, and when I looked through his portfolio I thought I had won the lottery. It was a perfect match.
Ben: The creative process started with some research on historical game design and also pharmaceutical packaging from the late 19th, early 20th century. During this research, I made some exploratory sketches, mostly comped together digitally. After I was happy with some of my designs we reviewed all the images as a group, made proofs and then playtested them, gradually refining the designs.
As the game started to mature, I weaned myself off looking at reference points, more focusing on refining the existing designs we had in a direction that revealed itself through play and testing. It was a really interesting process because I had to focus on keeping a consistent style through all the cards, all the while making sure the game was as clear and playable as possible
You were involved in the creation of Side Effects, so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
Jade: The biggest challenges were balancing the feedback we were getting with what we wanted the game to look and feel like. You can’t just ignore feedback, but it’s how you choose to solve the problems it presents that makes a successful project. For instance, I would often get suggestions for new cards. But to add new cards meant sacrificing the simplicity of the game mechanics, and they would add to the time it took to explain the rules. I knew from the get-go that the rules should be super easy to learn. On the other hand, I got feedback that said some of the copy was difficult to read—that’s an adjustment that made the game easier to play and didn’t sacrifice our overall vision. So, sometimes you have to say, “Ok, we’ll use this feedback to make changes.” And sometimes you have to say, “No, we have to preserve our original intention.” Knowing when to use which is tricky.
Ben: I completely agree with Jade here. We wanted to keep the game fairly casual which means refining the rules down to a certain level of simplicity which was not easy. If we did everything someone else suggested it would have been a mess. While making the art of the game, the biggest challenge we ended up having to let go of was making the cards be ambigrams. We thought it’d be great if the cards read both for the active player and the opponent. Though an interesting idea, in execution it became very limiting as the skeletons and words would always need to be symmetrical. What was preserved from that exercise is the text message on both sides of the cards and the design still being far more symmetrical than most games. The other interesting challenge was making the game functional for colorblind players. We played with a friend that was colorblind and that’s what inspired the symbols for each disease.
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on Side Effects?
Jade: I’ve had a lot of tragic experiences with mental illness, and I have a very dark sense of humor. Knowing that many of the drugs we’re prescribed to make us well also cause us to become sick in other ways, I started to develop a game where you were racing other players to treat a series of diseases. I think my decision to focus on mental illness was birthed from my frustration that people don’t like to talk—or even address—mental illness. So, I guess you can say it’s part satire, but mostly I wanted to make a fun game that looked cool and could be played at a bar.
Ben: For the art, we looked at a lot of apothecary/booze labels, art deco and nouveau poster design, and tarot cards. Initially, I made some variations of the two most common types of cards of the game, diseases, and medications, and eventually refined those into two hero designs that all the later cards matched. The art was mostly built in photoshop and some illustrator, and then very importantly we printed and playtested the cards numerous times (even rounding corners by hand) until we arrived on the design that we have now.
What are you currently reading, listening to, or looking at to fuel your work?
Jade: Hmm, that’s a difficult question. For Side Effects specifically? Maybe Miss Lonelyhearts, Tom Waits, Art Nouveau, old medicine and liquor bottles, medical textbooks. The game mechanics of Mille Bornes definitely inspired part of the mechanics of Side Effects.
Ben: Comics artists are a big influence for my artwork, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, David B, Winsor McCay are a few I looked at in the context of the game, along with the earlier mentioned inspiration. Also, I’ve recently discovered and been super inspired by Tinytouchtales iOS card games.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
Jade: Make the game you’d want to play.
Ben: Don’t worry about or try to compete with what other people are making.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
Jade: You can check out a short story I wrote for the X-Files expanded universe. It features me, as a character, having a bad weed experience with Mulder and Scully. The story is called Give Up the Ghost and you can read it in X-Files: Secret Agendas. My album, CONDUCTOR, is available online. I’m working on a short, animated film based my short story The Backward Astronomer, which appears in the 2013 Fall/Winter issue of HOW art and literary journal. And, of course, I’m really excited to debut the Side Effects expansion packs, which should be coming out sometime next year. But it really depends on if we can get the funding we need during our Kickstarter.
Ben: I’m always working on freelance illustration projects and sketchbook-ing, links for those things are below, and like Jade, I’m very excited to be working on future games.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
Side Effects and related game projects: Pillboxgames.com & twitter.com/pillboxgames
For Jade’s other work: Jadeshames.com & twitter.com/jadeshames
For Ben’s work: Benbronstein.com & instagram.com/benbron
And if you’re not into the whole internet thing, we all live in Brooklyn, NY.
Side Effects is available on Kickstarter until Thursday, December 7th, 2017 via this link.
(All images and illustrations supplied by Pillbox Games 2017)
Tristan Hall: Art in Board Games #18
I wanted to play a beautiful classical RPG adventure game that recaptured the feeling of playing Dungeons and Dragons in one evening, which meant epic adventures, meeting strange people, going on quests, exploring ancient places, enlisting allies and overcoming enemies and obstacles and finding great treasures, and no game I’ve played before..
This week we have Tristan Hall a designer who has developed games such as Gloom of Kilforth and is producing the forthcoming 1066, Tears to Many Mothers under his company Hall or Nothing Productions Ltd.
Hello Tristan thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a freelance creative producer - I shoot, edit, and produce videos by day, and I design board games by night. I also run a board gaming podcast called Board Chitless where we interview lots of other game designers too.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an author, and specifically to write stories. I wrote a book when I was 24 - it did not do well. So now I tell stories through board games instead. I’m obsessed with stories, and I always have been especially fantastical stories. I think a key moment in my life was watching Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings when I was 5 - I think it maybe had an even bigger impact on me than Star Wars. So as a kid I wanted to write stories, but when I was old enough to realise you could make those stories into movies I wanted to do that too. Which is how I ended up in the murky world of corporate video production!
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
I played board games and RPGs all the time growing up - my best Christmas ever was when I received HeroQuest and my tiny mind was blown by all the components and promise of adventure. I must have designed a hundred quests for that game. I took a hiatus from gaming in my late teens when I went out doing what young lads do but then rediscovered the hobby in my twenties once I was settled down with my now wife. Which I think is a similar trajectory to a lot of other gamers I’ve spoken to. I got into boardgamegeek in a big way (ninjadorg on BGG), looking for a game that recaptured my roleplaying days of yore, but I couldn’t find one so I started developing one instead. I was also contributing adventures and quests to the D&D games and the Lord of the Rings card games which earned tens of thousands of downloads - I had such positive feedback about them that when I talked about developing my own game people began asking where they could get it. After coercing play-testers worldwide to give it a go and getting great feedback I sent it to a game publishing company and they said they’d publish it. Two years later they’d done nothing with it and we parted ways. My play-testers then told me about Kickstarter, so I posted it up on there to see what would happen, after an incredible struggle we funded, and then I had to go ahead and make the game properly!
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
At first I would give lengthy and detailed descriptions of every individual image to the artists, including the pose, expression, clothing and description of every character, creature or landscape in the game, whilst also providing reference images and example art. As you work through hundreds of images together, this process becomes more and more streamlined until you develop a sort of shorthand of communication. I learned to hand over a huge amount of trust and responsibility for the outcome of the images to the artist. Nowadays, 90% of the time I make little or no changes to submitted art work.
You were involved in the creation of Gloom of Kilforth so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
Well, no one had really heard of it. We had no marketing, so it came from nowhere. People didn’t know who I was, and we had this high target of £48,000 so people weren’t really sure if we could deliver. But the word of mouth was incredible and the momentum just kept going. I think it helped that I’d contributed a lot of fanmade material as I mentioned above, and people who had enjoyed those threw in their support for our campaign.
Funny thing about Kickstarter is that people are less likely to support a project if it hasn’t already funded - even though no money exchanges hands if it doesn’t reach its goal. So you see a lot of projects with artificially low funding goals so that they can quickly get over that ‘100% funded’ hump, which is okay as long as you over-fund enough to cover your costs I suppose. We didn’t have that though, so it was a 27-day slog up to that 100% mark, but once we hit it, we suddenly shot up to 150% funded in the final 48 hours when people realised it was actually going to go into production and they could start getting stretch goals unlocked. It was a real underdog story and I think the backers really connected with that, so it went a bit crazy at the end as people started doubling or tripling their pledges just to get us over the next stretch goal!
I think there was some genuine disappointment when our second campaign for 1066, Tears to Many Mothers funded so quickly...
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on Gloom of Kilforth?
I wanted to play a beautiful classical RPG adventure game that recaptured the feeling of playing Dungeons and Dragons in one evening, which meant epic adventures, meeting strange people, going on quests, exploring ancient places, enlisting allies and overcoming enemies and obstacles and finding great treasures, and no game I’ve played before or since Gloom of Kilforth does that with simplistic mechanics and gorgeous art. Fantasy adventure games are all about combat and leveling up, and whilst we have elements of that, the key focus of the game is to have a great narrative adventure experience. It is interesting to witness the sea change in the industry now though, as companies like Fantasy Flight are evidently starting to release fantasy adventure games more focused on the stories rather than the fighting, and I really like what Ryan Laukat has done with Near and Far. I think this is a fantastic direction for gaming.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I’m reading a lot of history books to keep 1066, TtMM and its sequels boiling over, but also enjoying TV shows like Vikings and The Last Kingdom for a historical adventuring fix. I like to listen to movie and game soundtracks whilst I work - my wife Francesca is the daughter of a concert pianist and an incredible musician and pianist herself. Francesca composes epic musical soundtracks for my games and has created beautiful soundscapes for both Gloom of Kilforth and 1066, Tears to Many Mothers, so I often listen to her play whilst I work. I also love listening to Hans Zimmer and anything by Trent Reznor. The two other TV shows I’m working my way through that are genuinely blowing my mind right now are American Gods and the latest season of Game of Thrones.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
Go for it! It’s a great time for the industry right now, many are calling it the golden age, as people want to escape from screens and spend time with real people and real components around a real table, being sociable, having drinks and snacks and listening to music or whatever. (I also love solo gaming and play tons of games by myself to get away from the world for a little bit, or to test myself mentally, or to just learn the rules for when I introduce the game to my group, depending on the kind of game I’m playing.)
Make sure your game idea is fully fledged - play-test it a hundred times, and get people you don’t know to play it too. Take on all the feedback you can, and don’t be put off by too much negativity, there are games for everyone but some people simply will not like your game for any number of reasons.
Platforms like Kickstarter can be incredibly supportive and positive if you keep your backers updated and you are open and honest with them. But a badly handled campaign with a quiet creator and/or an unfinished game can quickly descend into toxicity. Stay on top of your project and ask for help when and where you need it.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
We have a small expansion for Gloom of Kilforth Kickstarting soon to coincide with the reprint of the game. 1066, TtMM is well under development and will be shipped out early next year. We are also producing the sci-fi horror masterpiece Lifeform by Mark Chaplin, which will be Kickstarting early next year. And we have a whole bunch of other projects we’d love to produce if we can continue to keep pace with the amazing support we’ve been getting from our backers.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
Follow us on all the social channels!
www.hallornothingproductions.co.uk
facebook.com/gloomofkilforth
twitter.com/ninjadorg
instagram.com/ninjadorg
youtube.com/tristanhallrocks
(All images supplied by Tristan Hall)
Gary Paitre and Natalie Dombois: Art in Board Games #15
The Canadian Woods and Nature in general were big inspirations but I also wanted to give the game a little “nordic” feeling, which shows in the characters that have warrior paintings and heads that looks a little like skulls. [..] KIWETIN should be mysterious and friendly without becoming too obviously magical...
This week we're lucky enough to have a joint interview with Gary Paitre (Art Director and Designer) and Natalie Dombois (illustrator) who worked together on KIWETIN by Flyos Games.
Hello Gary and Natalie thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Gary: I’m from Montreal, Canada. I’ve been working for advertising agencies for about a decade and I also had my own agency for a while but now I freelance. My best friend and I decided to create Flyos Games and create the games we wanted to play a year ago.
Natalie: I’m from Hamburg, Germany. I’ve worked in various different fields, e.g. Advertising, Books and Animation. KIWETIN was my first try at Board Game art and I immediately fell in love with this field.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
G: Like many children, I wanted to become an astronaut. But my father told me that I had to be fluent in Russian, so finally I changed my mind and decided to become a bus driver. Yep, kids.
N: I wanted to join Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. When I realized that this wasn’t possible I started to change my mind on a weekly basis. Police officer and Artist were on the same level for a long time. But the Artist direction definitely works better for me.
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
G: I played many RPGs, video games and board games when I was a teenager. The idea of making our own games started a couple of years ago with my best friend. I had a lot of stories to tell and we were finally mature enough. So we founded our own game company and benefit the Kickstarter tools.
N: My friends have held a Board Game night every Friday for several years now. The first time I thought that it would be cool to do the Artwork for board games was when I joined them once and saw all the amazing games. But in the end I didn’t until I was contacted by Gary who told me about KIWETIN and I promptly was head over heels.
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
G: When I work on a game aesthetic, my priority is to build a credible universe. I also focus a lot on finding the right illustrator for the right story to tell. It’s also very important for me to bring an original design to an industry that is used to Trolls, Dwarves, Orcs and Elves with a classical drawing style.
N: Like Gary I enjoy trying new things and while I appreciate the classic art a lot I’m all in for refreshing directions that haven’t been played with a lot. Usually I try to find the right feeling for a world and try to capture this feeling into the illustrations with little details. Nature and Culture inspires me a lot.
You were involved in the creation of KIWETIN, so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
G: The biggest challenge I had to face building Kiwetin was to keep the creative and visual focus all along the process. When you’re your own boss you are responsible for the choices you make, and it’s quite easy to scatter and lose the creative vision. Plus when you make a game for the first time you have to learn to accept a back and forth of changes and criticism because your game play has to evolve … a lot.
N: Gary and Thomas were really great to work with and I had fun working on the game all day long. They told me what was important to them, but also gave me a lot of free space. It was most challenging to understand the game in the first place when there was only a summary of how the game would work. Afterwards, they created a prototype with blank pieces and that helped a lot.
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on KIWETIN?
G: I wanted to cross two universes that were important to me. The first one was the native American. I immigrated to Canada almost 15 years ago and I wanted to explore and pay tribute to this culture. The second is the world of Ghibli’s studio approach. As a kid, I spent so many hours watching Miyazaki’s movies that my mind is full of its magic. It was a natural convergence to me.
N: The Canadian Woods and Nature in general were big inspirations but I also wanted to give the game a little “nordic” feeling, which shows in the characters that have warrior paintings and heads that looks a little like skulls. I also tried to capture the wind theme and the subtle magic in my paintings. KIWETIN should be mysterious and friendly without becoming too obviously magical.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
G: I spend a lot of time every day browsing portfolios on Behance. I’m also part of a famous website awards jury (Awwwards), so I’m aware of new tendencies in various domains. I’m very curious by nature, so i’m open to draw inspiration from any kind of creative field. I just finished reading the complete Foundation by Asimov and I’m moving on to Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. I’m listening a lot to old albums from Twin Shadow and some random playlists on Spotify. I cannot live without music
N: I like to listen to instrumental music (the original soundtracks of movies are my favorite). That inspires me a lot. Also impressive landscapes, culture and society in general blend into and fuel my work, not forgetting I have a thing for science, especially space.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
G: Work, work and work. Having ideas is one thing. I have thousands of ideas, but the real challenge is work. So stay focused on your objectives. Don’t let go and be original. Due to hard work, results will arrive.
N: I think it is important to try new things and to give your best during the project. Like Gary said it is important not to stop with the ideas but also to finish a project, so people can see and experience the result. You’ll learn from every step.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
G: We are currently working of 4 new productions. Our next game will be quite different from our first one. We are re-interpreting a classical game in a more strategic avenue with a great digital tool. Stay tuned ;)
N: I'm currently working with “Thundergryph” on a game called “Spirits of the Forest” which will be appearing soon on Kickstarter.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
G: My portfolio is available on Behance : www.behance.net/garypaitre
N: You can find my work on http://nataliedombois.de/ or https://www.behance.net/nataliedombois
(All images supplied by Gary Paitre and Natalie Dombois).