Welcome to People Behind the Meeples, a series of interviews with indie game designers. Here you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the people who make the best games that you may or may not have heard of before. If you'd like to be featured, head over to http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html and fill out the questionnaire! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples.
| Name: | David Fulton |
|---|---|
| Email: | Dave@jacksmackgames.com |
| Location: | I just moved from the Chicago suburbs to the Orlando, FL area. |
| Day Job: | I work for a virtual meeting company that specializes in pharmaceutical research study training. |
| Designing: | Two to five years. |
| Webpage: | jacksmackgames.com/ |
| Facebook: | JacksmackGames |
| Twitter: | @JacksmackGames |
| Find my games at: | Your favorite game store! |
David Fulton
Interviewed on: 8/24/2016 14:16:56
The very first game I played at my very first Protospiel was a little game called You Dirty Rat by Jacksmack Games. It used a super interesting mechanic that they were calling ‘handbuilding’. Similar to deckbuilding, handbuilding has you building and managing your hand of cards throughout the game. I fell in love with the game and promised to back the Kickstarter, which I did. Then I backed the second attempt at the Kickstarter, stunned that it didn’t fund the first time. Then the second campaign was canceled because the game got picked up by a publisher. When Indie Boards & Cards announced they had changed the name of the game to Grifters and ran the new Kickstarter it was wildly successful. Almost two years after first playing the game as You Dirty Rat, I received Grifters and played it. It was just as awesome as I remembered and has quickly become one of my favorite games of 2016! Oh yeah, this was supposed to be about David Fulton… Well, he was one of the two designers of You Dirty Rat/Grifters that I got to meet at that first Protospiel. After that we crossed paths online quite a bit and he even attended one of the game design meetups that I host at my local game store (that was before he moved to Florida). There I got to play the sequel to Grifters (it uses similar mechanics, but with a different theme and some new features) and it’s shaping up to be just as awesome! David has been busy with his move to Florida and his new job there, but he took the time to answer some of my questions below. So read on to learn a bit more about David!
Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.
How long have you been designing tabletop games?
Two to five years.
Why did you start designing tabletop games?
I started off developing video games, it wasn't a huge leap to tabletop games.
What game or games are you currently working on?
Several, to many to list here. A family pirate themed game, an abstract battle game, a social deduction game, a deckbuilder, a dexterity game, and expansions for a game that has already been released. There of course are more than that currently.
Have you designed any games that have been published?
Grifters, I also had several popular web based video games that I have released over the years such as Primary and Build a robot 3
What is your day job?
I work for a virtual meeting company that specializes in pharmaceutical research study training.
Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.
What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Ascending Empires. It is my all time favorite game. It is a 4X Dexterity game, and is in an awkward space where dexterity players hate 4X and 4X players hate dexterity.
What styles of games do you play?
I like to play
Board Games, Card Games, RPG Games, Video Games
Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design
Board Games, Card Games, Video Games
OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
Only to appease groups of non gamers.
You as a Designer
OK, now the bit that sets you apart from the typical gamer. Let's find out about you as a game designer.
Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have:
Grifters
Currently looking for a publisher I have:
Several
I'm planning to crowdfund:
A couple
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are:
A couple
Games that I'm playtesting are:
3 prototypes
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are:
3 prototypes
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are:
10+ ideas in the hopper to be built.
And the oddly personal, but harmless stuff…
OK, enough of the game stuff, let's find out what really makes you tick! These are the questions that I’m sure are on everyone’s minds!
Star Trek or Star Wars? Coke or Pepsi? VHS or Betamax?
Wars, no sugar for me, VHS
What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Walking, Ketogenic cooking
What is something you learned in the last week?
Grifters doesn't easily translate to German.
Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Instrumental electrical. Think Lindsey Sterling. Dresden Files. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Princess Bride, Shawshank.
What was the last book you read?
Devil in the White City
Do you play any musical instruments?
Drums, but not for a while.
Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I've lost 120 pounds over the last year.
Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I once entered a crazy radio contest and won tickets to an AFC championship game.
Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
No good answer for this one.
Who is your idol?
Tim Roth is really awesome.
What would you do if you had a time machine?
Teach young me as much as possible.
Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Depends on the day and my roll in the place that I am at. I can be happy both ways.
If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
I would want to be Doctor Strange.
Have any pets?
Two dachshunds.
When the next asteroid hits Earth, causing the Yellowstone caldera to explode, California to fall into the ocean, the sea levels to rise, and the next ice age to set in, what current games or other pastimes do you think (or hope) will survive into the next era of human civilization? What do you hope is underneath that asteroid to be wiped out of the human consciousness forever?
I prefer not to think about that stuff.
Just a Bit More
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions!
Thank you for reading this People Behind the Meeples indie game designer interview! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples and if you'd like to be featured yourself, you can fill out the questionnaire here: http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html
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