End Game: A Q&A with Kickstarter Creator Laurie Blake
I’m sitting down with Kickstarter creator Laurie Blake. Here in Colorado, it’s 1 in the afternoon. The sun shines bright in a cloudless azure sky, and Laurie tells me he is wiped. I can imagine. It’s 8 p.m. where he lives in Brighton, England, and his game, Earth Rising, has only 47 hours left until the Kickstarter campaign closes. The final stretch.
I discovered Earth Rising while researching sustainably-made Kickstarter campaigns. Constructed from 100% sustainable materials, one to six players work cooperatively to build a sustainable world in 20 years. Impressive.
But why 20 years? Why a board game?
I’m glad you asked. (I imagine Laurie is too).
Inspired by Damon Gameau’s documentary “2040,” Laurie had a vision that a sustainable planet really is possible. That we can replace our fear of a doomed world with hope for the future. That a board game could be both fun and educational.
That’s how we learn best. Make it fun, and I’ll remember it for sure!
To read more about Earth Rising’s origins and development, check out Laurie’s Dev Blog.
Not just “the brains behind the games” at Stop, Drop & Roll, Laurie hopes to unite “the environmental” and “the gamer” to inspire real change. In collaboration with forward-thinking companies like Hero Time and Tree Sisters, Laurie and his team are finally turning that dream into reality.
As we exchange pleasantries, Laurie asks how I’ve been doing. From my research and our pre-interview messaging, I can tell he is a kind person. The type of person that genuinely cares about people and inclusion and accessibility. The sort of person that puts a smiley emoji in all his communications. :)
The type of person that replies to all of his supporters’ comments.
And during a whirlwind campaign, Laurie is the kind of person that agrees to an interview at the end of a very long day yet offers thanks to me for my time.
I sat down with Laurie for a Q&A over Zoom about his journey as a Kickstarter creator, a new crowdsourcing platform, and how he hopes to challenge board game assumptions.
Disclaimer: This interview has been shortened and condensed.
Jaime Gorman (she/her): I read on your website, you described yourself as the “brains behind the games,” which I loved.
Laurie Blake (he or they): Yes [laughs]!
Jaime: Do you consider that your official title?
Laurie: My official title is CEO, but to be honest with you, I’ve always felt that’s a little too corporate for my liking. I’m the lead designer. I’m generally the person who runs the company. But everyone chips in. Everyone has equal say. We are a team of four people, so it’s not like one person makes the final decision on everything. When it comes down to arbitrator, I suppose that would be me.
Jaime: And last time I checked a few minutes ago — you are 210% funded with about 47 hours left until the campaign closes. How are you feeling right now?
Laurie: [Smiles] I mean, it’s phenomenal. We never expected such a fantastic response. Even our final stretch goal, which we just hit. [Earth Rising’s final stretch goal unlocked German translations and punchboard organizational inserts.] It was something we put in as a dare to dream kind of level of stretch goal.
We thought to ourselves — if we are really lucky, we might hit that! Lo and behold, we’re really lucky [laughs]. All I can do is thank everyone who has supported us and who’s gotten excited and passionate about our game. For sharing it and helping us get this far.
Learn more about Kickstarter stretch goals.
Jaime: Yes, community. I read on your blog you wanted the gamer community and the environmental community to merge and make a change in the world. Do you see that happening in the campaign comments?
Laurie: It’s actually really interesting because there’s been a very big and clear shift in the board game community over the last year, in a big way. Maybe even over the last two years. People are looking more at what a game contains, how a game affects our world. The fact that more people are looking at that as a thing has been really fantastic to see.
Prior to that, the message was — oh well, it’s mostly made out of cardboard, small amounts of plastic, they don’t really get thrown away, so what does it matter? That whole attitude has really changed over the last two years. It’s really fantastic.
Jaime: That’s awesome! What do you think the days following the campaign are going to look like? What’s going to happen next?
Laurie: Gosh, well, if normal Kickstarters are anything to go by, we will have a massive spike at the end. [And] the more people who are playing Earth Rising, the more people who are making those conversations about how we can personally make those changes. [About] how we can actually be empowered to make progress in our fight for sustainability.
We’ve had some researchers get in contact with us. They wanted to do a research study on how playing Earth Rising actually affects your viewpoint toward sustainability as a whole. We are hoping for more of that. It’s brilliant to have that kind of effect.
Jaime: Is that something you expected, or was that a complete surprise?
Laurie: We’re a small company. This is our second game. There’s no way we could have expected this. This is incredible! We’re pretty blown away; there’s no doubt about it.
Jaime: Yes, your second game. I was reading about Pugs in Mugs, which looks so fun.
Laurie: Yes!
Jaime: And now, with Earth Rising, you’ve created two successful campaigns. What attracted you to Kickstarter over other crowdsourcing platforms or traditional venues?
Laurie: So, traditional venues are really about going to other publishers and asking them if they would like to publish your game. You can’t really make too much headway until you’ve been published a few times. It’s really about building up that portfolio.
And when I met with Rob Ingle, our illustrator and art director, we were very enthusiastic about being able to make games like Pugs in Mugs, like Earth Rising, and get those out there. And literally, within a few months of setting up the company [Stop, Drop & Roll] and getting a handle on how we’re going to do it, the quarantine happened, and the world shut down. Which is terrible, and it was an awful time. But it gave us the time we needed to work out our way forward, to understand how Kickstarter works.
It paid off. We’ve now gone into doing Stop, Drop & Roll full-time. We’re looking to take this to be a long-term company. We’ve learned a phenomenal amount just from this launch. We’re gonna learn more next time.
Jaime: You plan to keep making more games? Are there going to be other editions of Earth Rising or other genres?
Laurie: This is obviously the first edition. From here, we hope to be doing additional prints, and continually selling the game, and getting that to continue. But at the same time, we are looking to continue making other games of varying genres and varying subjects.
We feel that sustainably made games shouldn’t be limited just to ones that have a powerful message to give. Whether it be ecologically focused or social rights-focused. Those should not be prerequisites or expectations for something to be made sustainably.
We think that any type of game can be made sustainably and so therefore should. We want to show that that can be done.
We’re very much looking forward to showing people that you don’t need a dip in quality. You don’t need a rise in price. You don’t need a specific subject matter for it to be worth it. All these things that people make these assumptions about today — we hope to challenge that.
Jaime: That’s awesome! What then was your favorite part about using the Kickstarter platform?
Laurie: Without a doubt connecting with passionate board gamers. There is nothing better than a crowdfunding platform to get you in touch directly with the very people who are passionate about your game.
That’s one of the things that makes me really glad I didn’t try to go through another publisher. When you go through a publisher, they handle all this stuff I’m doing now. Being a part of that discussion, being a part of that community is an incredibly motivating factor to me. I’m very pleased that I’m a part of all that. Being up that close with the people who are enjoying and playing our games is without a doubt the best part of all of it.
Jaime: Is there any way you think Kickstarter could be improved?
Laurie: So many ways, so many ways [laughs]. There are lots of things I don’t like about Kickstarter. However, I’m really looking forward to trying out Game Found. I don’t think it’s quite opened itself up fully yet, but it’s about time there was some proper [pauses], I guess competition. Because immediately as Game Found announced that they were becoming a thing, Kickstarter started tuning up and making things better.
It was quite shocking, actually. They [Kickstarter] haven’t really improved anything for about five, six years. Suddenly they’re bringing out actual stretch goal support. Actual fulfillment support. The ability to edit little bits that are behind the scenes that make things easier for creators.
My big question is — why didn’t they do that sooner? I hope that Game Found transforms the crowdfunding market. There needs to be a little bit of a firecracker under the butts of the people in charge of this stuff to make sure that it gets better and continues to innovate. Because that’s what crowdfunding is all about. It is about innovation and making exciting things happen.
Jaime: I’ve never heard of Game Found. Is that going to be a new crowdsourcing platform specifically for games?
Laurie: That’s correct, yeah. It’s specifically for board games, as far as I know. It may also be for video games, but nonetheless, it’s taking the indie board game scene by storm. They’ve already done very, very well with their trial runs with different games. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how they do on a wider scale when they open up.
Jaime: Sounds exciting!
Laurie: Yeah, it is [laughs]. It genuinely is. It’s so much easier to use. It's so much more [pauses]. Have you used Kickstarter very much?
Jaime: Yeah, I’ve backed quite a few different projects.
Laurie: Brilliant. I also have been using Kickstarter for a long time, and one of the things that the moment I saw it in Game Found and went — oh my God, why is this not just standard everywhere?
You know, in the story, you have to do the scrolling all the way down through all this information? (I nod. I know exactly what’s he’s talking about. Massive scrolling makes it difficult to find specific information).
Game Found has a little bit at the side where you can put in chapter markers so you can just click on them and drop immediately into that bit of information you needed. (Wow! I am genuinely impressed with that feature.)
It’s such a no-brainer, right?
Jaime: I know, right. I went through your campaign site as I was writing my first article. And I remembered you talking about the board game industry, and I was scrolling up and down trying to figure out where it was. Little chapters would be nice if you’re looking for stretch goals, or instructions or reviews.
Laurie: Absolutely, yeah! And you’d think it would be such a simple thing to implement. Things like that — which I feel make it such an easier and more streamlined experience — are what Game Found basically based themselves on. It has made such a difference. We don’t know how they’re gonna fare in the long run, but I’m super excited to see how they do.
Jaime: Yeah, me too! Would you recommend Kickstarter to other creators with sustainable products still? Or may that depend on Game Found now?
Laurie: I would! I would recommend Kickstarter to people for other sustainable products simply because crowdfunding, no matter what the avenue you’re using, is a fantastic way to connect with people who are excited about that sort of thing already.
The crowdfunding model allows you to not only engage people in the fact that we can make things better. It also allows you to engage them in the idea that they don’t need to rely upon already existing companies. We don’t need to rely upon [pauses] Nike in order to produce sustainable footwear. You can instead find out about people who are trying to do that very thing online through crowdfunding sources and help them begin! And that’s brilliant!
You can have lots of little investors who not just invest in your product but, on top of that, get to enjoy it afterward. I would recommend Kickstarter for people. What they provide to our world, in a way, the means through which they can allow small businesses just starting up to thrive, is fantastic.
Jaime: So, if you could pick one piece of advice you would give to a creator wanting to start a campaign on Kickstarter, what would that be?
Laurie: It would be — start talking to people about what you’re looking to make a year before you launch.
Jaime: Really?! That’s interesting.
Laurie: Yeah, you need to build a buzz. You need to start getting people’s opinions. Don’t sit on it and then do a big launch like you’re some big company. Start talking to people. Get their opinions. Get their feedback. You want to know what they want because that’s what you want to provide, ultimately.
Earth Rising would not have been what it is if we hadn’t been talking with people who are passionate about sustainability. It would have been a brilliant game, but it would not necessarily have been the level of sustainable brilliance if you don’t mind me saying, that it is now.
I completely put our success down to the fact that we have been talking to people and getting that buzz going, and getting people excited about the fact that we can make that happen way in advance.
Jaime: I read that hope is like the single word you want people to feel coming away from it, and I definitely want to feel hope. Kind of like Star Trek, where we can progress past ourselves.
Laurie: [Nods and laughs]. I got asked in an interview not too long ago, just as one of those sort of quick-fire joke questions — Star Wars or Star Trek?
It’s gonna have to be Star Trek.
Star Wars is a setting where we’re still making the same mistakes we're making today. Star Trek is one where we’ve gotten past that, and now we solved our problems. Now we’re looking to go and explore and find new ways to learn, and that’s brilliant! That’s the message we want.
Yes, indeed. I think that’s the message we all want.
As I thank Laurie for his time and wish his entire team luck for the coming days, I realize I, too, am filled with hope. Hope that through innovative game creators, such as Laurie Blake, we can all rethink our assumptions on what games can be. On what crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter and Game Found can do. And how, if we put our minds (and games) to it, we can make the change Laurie envisions. A sustainable world in 20 years. That’s a dare to dream stretch goal I can back.
Two days after our interview, I checked in on Earth Rising to see how they were doing. As Laurie predicted — there was a surge. Raising over £30,000 (≈$50,000) with the help of 790 backers, Earth Rising reached 256% funding. And an option for late pledges will be opening soon.
Well done, Stop, Drop & Roll. I can’t wait to get my own copy!
