Games with Narrative Heart: A Q&A with Storybrewers Roleplaying
Hayley Gordon and Vee Hendro are the creative minds behind Storybrewers Roleplaying, an independent publisher of unique RPGs. Their newest game, Good Society: A Jane Austen Roleplaying Game, blew through its Kickstarter goal in a day, and at press time, has raised more than $35K.
The Storybrewers say their games have a “narrative heart,” and it shows. Hendro and Gordon bring a new, fresh voice to RPG publishing, designing their own narratives and rulesets in genres not often explored in role-playing games. Planar Shift talked with Hendro and Gordon to learn more about why they love RPGs, how they find inspiration, and what it’s like to Kickstart a game.
Planar Shift: Tell me a bit about the origins of Storybrewers Roleplaying. What inspired you to begin writing role-play stories?
Hayley: I actually come from a playwriting background originally — but I was always interested in how to create more interactivity in my work. When I discovered there’s a whole activity dedicated to telling collaborative stories in a casual context I had to give it a go. Because I come from a literary background rather than a board gaming background, I think I have a strong interest in how stories are told and exploring narrative spaces that may be a bit more unusual in an RPG context.
Vee: For me, it came out of a desire to create something with another person — to work together in striving toward our shared interests and goals.
When creating a new RPG, how do you get started?
Hayley: For me, a new RPG starts with a burning desire to tell a particular kind of story — even if I’m not yet sure how I want to tell it. The first mechanics often emerge from the theme itself — and they don’t always make sense. I tend to start off a bit experimental and tone it down rather than the other way around.
“I think I have a strong interest in how stories are told and exploring narrative spaces that may be a bit more unusual in an RPG context.”
I’ve got to admit I watch and read a lot of media in this stage, trying to soak up what the stories I want to tell are all about so I can think about how to reflect them in game form.
Vee: In the early stages of production, we typically have many short brainstorm sessions. I find brainstorming is hard to do all in one go, it’s better to have 5–10 fifteen minute sessions, rather than a 3 hour block. This way, we get to develop our ideas as we go along and have time for them to properly gestate. At this stage I also like to set up an ‘Inspirations’ folder on my laptop where I save a wide variety of relevant or inspiring pictures/visual styles, poetry, tone, anything like that.
Continuing with that, what does your writing process typically look like? Do you have a go-to strategy, or does it change with every project?
Hayley: We test a lot. I’ll often test a game before it’s finished — just because I want to see what kind of effect it has at the table, which kind of stories people explore, and what mechanics are getting in the way. It’s pretty much a cycle of test, create, test, create.
Vee: Yeah, that’s pretty much it: test, have intense discussions of what worked and didn’t work, write down the new rules, edit, test again, etc. This is a great time for a shoutout to our gaming friends and local community who put aside time and effort to help us in this endeavour. We’re really indebted to those players willing to give new games a go!
“It’s pretty much a cycle of test, create, test, create.”
You just launched your Kickstarter for Good Society: A Jane Austen Roleplaying Game. What inspired this story?
Hayley: In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m a bit of a Jane Austen fan. Not only do I love her work, there’s something relatable about it that really captures your imagination. On top of that, Austen has some deeper themes such as obligation, repression, and longing, that are actually really interesting to explore.
Vee: … Kate Beckinsale in Love & Friendship? 😍
What is it like running a Kickstarter for an RPG? What are some benefits of doing this?
Hayley: It is the proverbial rollercoaster ride. It’s great to see people interested in your game, and wanting to give it a go. It’s also hugely nerve-racking and demanding. Your game receives a large amount of attention, which is definitely a plus — but you have to feel comfortable that it’s ready to stand up to scrutiny first.
Vee: It can be really rewarding but it’s also a bit crazy and hard work! You need a solid plan and you need to lay the groundwork well in advance. Try to get assets early and polish your game best you can… because when the launch happens, it’s probably too late. Crowdfunding is a unique platform because you can engage so directly with the people supporting your game or product. This is a great benefit and a wonderful opportunity to connect with others in the RPG community.
“[Kickstarting] can be really rewarding but it’s also a bit crazy and hard work! You need a solid plan and you need to lay the groundwork well in advance.”
How do you come up with the rulesets for your games?
Hayley: I find thinking theme first is the best starting point for most rulesets. So for example, with Good Society, I started by thinking about what the most important unspoken mechanics were within Austen’s world itself. Reputation, family background, rumour and scandal — these all became part of the game’s ruleset.
After that, testing tends to show what your ruleset is missing. In the case of Good Society, supporting characters are a really important part of Austen’s work. Originally these were always played by the Facilitator who runs the game. However, we found in playtesting that having the Facilitator play all the non-player characters eroded the collaborative aspect of the game. As a result we introduced new rules that allowed players to take on the role of important supporting characters. This improved game play a lot! It made it more chaotic but much more fun.
How does art and graphic design play a role in your stories?
Vee: Roleplaying gamebooks are so fun to create because they are inherently so focused on theme, tone and atmosphere that the presentation of the game is incredibly important. Art and graphic design can be one of the best ways to ignite the readers’ imagination, or impart the tone of the game, or bring to life the world and fantasy of the game. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Accessibility is also very important to us — we want our graphic design to make stories easier to tell, not to get in the way.
Art and graphic design can be one of the best ways to ignite the readers’ imagination, or impart the tone of the game, or bring to life the world and fantasy of the game.
How do you think RPGs embody “literature”? Meaning, do you follow any standard “literary” rules when crafting your narratives?
Hayley: I don’t view writing an RPG as writing a narrative itself, but rather as crafting the framework in which a story is created. That said, I think a good RPG does follow some literary rules in the way it sets up that framework, and the stories that are consequently created. For example, Checkov’s gun, the idea that if in the first act there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third act it has to go off. And the reverse, if a gun goes off it should have been on the wall since the first act. This is very important for RPG design, and I spend a lot of time making sure that the player’s creative energy is channeled into game elements that reoccur and become an important part of the story.
Another important element that carries over from literature is the need for an introduction, complication, climax and resolution. Most good RPGs with a decent play length will contain rules which help the players move from one to the next in a satisfying way.
“I think a good RPG does follow some literary rules in the way it sets up that framework, and the stories that are consequently created.”
What tips do you have for new writers?
Hayley: Make your game accessible. Include whichever rules and mechanics are necessary, and remove those which are not. To use a cliche, less is often more.
Also I’d say that when you first start out, it’s not good to sit on one project for too long — you will learn and improve at such a rapid rate that the project you start on will become outdated before you finalise it. Make, test, learn, and move on. Come back to it later if it still fills you with passion!
Vee: I would agree with that. Start with one-pagers! You will learn a lot. It’s also worth reflecting on your strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and actively put aside time to improve in areas you find difficult.
“Make, test, learn, and move on. Come back to it later if it still fills you with passion!”
Where can people find you and your RPGs?
You can find our work at storybrewersroleplaying.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. (Vee’s Twitter is here.) Come nerd it up with us about RPGs!
