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.
Support me on Patreon!
| Name: | Peter Cricchiola |
|---|---|
| Email: | admin@Cstargames.com.au |
| Location: | Sydney, Australia |
| Day Job: | Backup software support for CommVault |
| Designing: | One to two years. |
| Webpage: | www.cstargames.com |
| Facebook: | CStar Games |
| Twitter: | @cstargames |
| Instagram: | @cstargames |
| Find my games at: | Tabletopia |
Peter Cricchiola
Interviewed on: 7/31/2017
Peter Cricchiola had Head Chef on Kickstarter last month, but unfortunately the campaign failed to gain the traction to fund the game. That's OK though, because he's working on getting more people familiar with Head Chef before he relaunches. Head Chef is a quick, light, action selection game that uses some unique mechanics. Peter has other games he's working on, too. Read on to learn more about Peter and what he's working on.
Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.
How long have you been designing tabletop games?
One to two years.
Why did you start designing tabletop games?
The love of the hobby
What game or games are you currently working on?
Head Chef - Coming back to Kickstarter soon!
Have you designed any games that have been published?
Not yet
What is your day job?
Backup software support for CommVault
Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.
Where do you prefer to play games?
Home with family or out at a club with a group of friends
Who do you normally game with?
Family and boardgame groups (friends)
If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Depending on their skill, CamelUp for new gamers and a worker placement like Lords of Waterdeep for more skilled players.
And what snacks would you eat?
Normally gummies/lollies, stuff that doesn't crumble or leave your hands dirty.
Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
no
What’s your favorite FLGS?
Games Empire
What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Favorite: Viticulture // Least Favorite: Innovation
What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Favorite: Worker placement. Least: Bidding
What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Power Grid
What styles of games do you play?
I like to play
Board Games, Card Games, Video Games
Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design
Board Games, Card Games
OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
No
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?
Some games I think of a theme and what makes that theme unique and build the mechanics around it. Others start with a mechanic and change theme a few times.
Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
No
Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
Phil-Harding Walker, Fellow Aussie who seems to hit the mark a lot.
Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
By playing other games you get ideas on mechanics
How do you go about playtesting your games?
Print and play with me, myself, and I. Then to board game groups and protospiels.
Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
No one person can do it all. Especially art you have to have a certain skill to be a good artist.
What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Exposure, there are a lot of board/card games out there now.
If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Something Sci-Fi from the Metroid series would be awesome!
What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
You can't please everyone, so don't change your game too much based on feedback.
What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Design for fun, don't over complicate and don't be disheartened by bad feedback, draw from it and evolve your game.
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:
Head Chef
I'm planning to crowdfund:
Head Chef
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are:
Royal, Loyals and the Underhanded
Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
TGDA (Tabletop Game Designers Australia)
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 Wars, Pepsi, VHS
What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Any Nintendo video game
What is something you learned in the last week?
Dogs use the underside of their tongue to drink!
Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Metal/Progressive Rock, Fantasy, Action
What was the last book you read?
David Eddings "The Elenium" series
Do you play any musical instruments?
No
Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I used to run a Guild in World of Warcraft of over 200 people.
Who is your idol?
Shigeru Miyamoto
What would you do if you had a time machine?
Go forward in time to see what the future holds!
Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Bit of both. When I'm out people know i'm there, but I do enjoy spending time at home.
If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Ironman, he has no special abilities, he is just rich, intelligent, and has a great sense of humor.
Have any pets?
A little Havanese pup called Bubu (Male)
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?
Dice, I think dice were the precursor to all boardgames, surely even dinosaurs used dice shaped rocks right?
We could use less reality tv shows... please stop!
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):
Nicolas Cage, I'm sure he is reading!
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
Did you like this interview? Pleasse show your support: Support me on Patreon! Or click the heart at Board Game Links
, like GJJ Games on Facebook 
, or follow on Twitter 
. And be sure to check out my games on Tabletop Generation.
No comments:
Post a Comment