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: | Adam Glass |
|---|---|
| Location: | Muncie, Indiana, USA |
| Day Job: | Graphic designer |
| Designing: | Two to five years. |
| Webpage: | www.lostagegames.com |
| BGG: | lostagegames |
| Facebook: | Lost Age Games |
| Twitter: | @lostagegames |
| Other: | Indie Game Alliance |
| Find my games at: | www.lostagegames.com |
Adam Glass
Interviewed on: 3/31/2017
Back in January Adam Glass and his wife Cassandra had a successful Kickstarter campaign for their first game, Life & Legend. They've just finished production on that and are excited to have the game on its way to distribution right now! Adam's game company, Lost Age Games has a few other projects that he's working on, too. If you'd like to learn more about Adam, read on!
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 love the art of blending theme and game mechanics.
Have you designed any games that have been published?
Life & Legend was successfully kickstarted and is currently moving into production for Lost Age Games
What is your day job?
Graphic designer
Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.
Where do you prefer to play games?
At game night with friends
Who do you normally game with?
Close friends
If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
I like co-op games in general. Elder Sign always sounds fun.
And what snacks would you eat?
I'm trying to eat healthy, so maybe a veggie tray.
Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
The score to the original Conan the Barbarian has become somewhat of a tradition.
What’s your favorite FLGS?
Wizards Keep in Muncie. I also like TCB Games which is nearby.
What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Biblios. Fluxx. I strongly dislike "edgy" games.
What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Action drafting/Worker placement. Take that!
What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Biblios
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, RPG Games
OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
Never played. Not that interested
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.
When you design games, do you come up with a theme first and build the mechanics around that? Or do you come up with mechanics and then add a theme? Or something else?
I think it needs to be done as close to the same time as possible.
Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
No
Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
I'm a fan of Brian Henk of Overworld Games. I find his videos very helpful.
How do you go about playtesting your games?
With a close group at first, and then fan outwards.
Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
I have a design partner but we don't usually get involved with each others ideas until we're both well on our way.
What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
The biggest challenge is growing a community.
If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
That's not really something I'm that interested in. If I had to choose, maybe Star Trek TNG.
What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
It requires a lot of time.
What advice would you like to share about designing games?
While no one wants to waste time working on a bad game, and some things have been done to death and won't work for various reasons, try to develop your idea/game a bit first before handing it over to criticism. Premature (negative) criticism can kill great ideas.
Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Games that will soon be published are:
Life & Legend
I'm planning to crowdfund:
I can't say at this point, but it's a board game.
Games that I'm playtesting are:
I can't say at this point, but it's a card game.
Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Gamers Kickstarter Group, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, several others
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?
Star Trek, Coke, and VHS
What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Music and writing.
What is something you learned in the last week?
Spider chords on the guitar
Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
I like heavier music. Specifically, I have an affinity for post-punk, post-hardcore, and metal. U2 is my favorite band of all time. I like heady books and films.
What was the last book you read?
A collection of Phillip K. Dick short stories.
Do you play any musical instruments?
I play guitar and occasionally bass, but I'm the most accomplished as a singer, if that counts.
Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I really like Abba
Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I started a game company and went live on kickstarter.
Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
Really don't believe in accidents so I can't say.
Who is your idol?
I admire a lot of great artists and thinkers.
What would you do if you had a time machine?
Travel through time!
Are you an extrovert or introvert?
I'm an Ambivert. It's an actual thing.
If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Probably Spiderman.
Have any pets?
I have a dog (Boo) and a cat (Mr. Bear).
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?
Chess is probably a good thing to keep around. As far as wiped out? I don't know. People seem to really hate Monopoly, so maybe that.
If you’d like to send a shout out to anyone, anyone at all, here’s your chance (I can’t guarantee they’ll read this though):
Hi Steve Jackson!
Just a Bit More
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions! Is there anything else you'd like to tell my readers?
Please check out Life & Legend on Indiegogo. Still time to preorder! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/life-legend-game--2/x/15965974#/
Thanks for giving me this opportunity! [GJJGames] You’re very welcome! Thanks for sharing!
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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