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.
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| Name: | Kerry King |
|---|---|
| Email: | kerrybking@gmail.com |
| Location: | Athens GA |
| Day Job: | Registered Nurse, hospice nurse |
| Designing: | Two to five years. |
| Webpage: | www.samuraibros.com |
| BGG: | Samurai Brothers |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/samuraibrothersgame |
| Instagram: | @samuraibrothersgame |
| Other: | I'm on Indie Game Alliance. |
Kerry King
Interviewed on: 7/16/2020
Today we get to meet Kerry King, part of the team at Moon Rock Games that is working on Samurai Brothers, currently on Kickstarter. Read on to learn more about Kerry and the projects he is working 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?
As an expression of my creative drive.
What game or games are you currently working on?
Samurai Brothers, possibly Samurai Sisters and Exile
Have you designed any games that have been published?
Zero. Samurai Brothers is going to be our first.
What is your day job?
Registered Nurse, hospice nurse
Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.
Where do you prefer to play games?
Home
Who do you normally game with?
My kids
If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Pandemic, Azul, and any of the recently backed Kickstarter projects
And what snacks would you eat?
I'm strange. I only eat plant-based foods. Maybe pretzels and hummus.
Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
No. No music is necessary.
What’s your favorite FLGS?
We have one or two in town. I'm a homebody and don't venture out too much.
What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Favorite? Probably Azul. Least favorite? Unstable Unicorns. Worst game ever? I don't know. I must have blocked it from my memory.
What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
I'm new to this world. I'm interested in learning about all the different mechanics I've heard about. I'm not sure I like the idea of semi-cooperative. I might like it?
What’s your favorite game that you just can’t ever seem to get to the table?
Funny enough, Catan.
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
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?
THEME FIRST! Art and feel first. Mechanics come later. Well....that's why I need Craig Morris in my life. He's more mechanics and strategy. I'm big picture and build-the-world.
Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
No.
Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
I really like Jay Courmier from Mind Mgmt. I'm surprised he talked to me today. I was going all fan-boy. haha
Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
From my experiences...from what I loved as a kid. From the comics and toys and animations that I love / loved.
How do you go about playtesting your games?
UGH. Can we not talk about that? I don't know how to get people to playtest my ideas yet. I hope that if we successfully launch our Kickstarter, we will have an audience that would be interested in helping playtest and critique. I tried a paid service and that didn't pan out so well.
Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
TEAM for sure.
What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
So far...the biggest challenge is producing ideas fast enough.
If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
Maybe Indiana Jones.
What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
It's more difficult and time consuming and yet rewarding than you could ever imagine!
What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Don't get married to an idea. Be ready to throw it out and move on to a better one.
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:
Samurai Brothers, Samurai Sisters, and a new one about an Island.
This is what I have currently crowdfunding:
Samurai Brothers launched on KS August 1
Currently looking for a publisher I have:
We are self publishing with Moon Rock Games
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are:
Stuck on Samurai Brothers at the moment.
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are:
Samurai Sisters and the Island game
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are:
Samurai Sisters and we may revive Antvasion or Jocks vs Geeks
Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker’s Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
I'm a member of multiple FB groups.
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, but my latest love is Avatar the Last Airbender (not the movie) and the Legend of Korra. Also, Kung Fu Panda and most things TMNT / GI Joe.
What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
Piano, guitar, sing, paint, gym, would love to garden and live off grid
What is something you learned in the last week?
I learned how to make smoothies at home. Now I can stop going to Planet Smoothie or Smoothie King EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE! :D
Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Music: too varied to explain. Top five? Keith Green, Rich Mullins, U2, The Beatles, Bob Dylan. Books: the BIble, books about personality types: Myers-Briggs or Enneagram, books about finances. Movies: Marvel universe, but my favorite is still Incredibles. I mostly like Disney-Pixar and such. I'm a big kid at heart.
What was the last book you read?
Indistractable. Well, I bought it anyway. I am ready to read it, but I keep getting distracted with this Kickstarter. You can't make this stuff up.
Do you play any musical instruments?
Started off on drums when I was 6 yrs old. Then, piano in middle school. Finally, guitar in high school. Added singing in college (University of Georgia - Go Dawgs!) but now I mostly croon for myself. I'm divorced and have a lot of alone time.
Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I have never legally consumed alcohol. I was on parole as a kid.
Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
Well, I just told you I was on parole. Do I need to say more? Let's just say that the police don't take kindly to 15-yr old kids driving their parents car at night.
Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
I opened up a Jittery Joe's coffee shop in 2006. It had been my dream for many years. It was a flop. I guess you could call it an accident. It was a failure. That drove me to go back to school to become a nurse, which is awesome.
I would say that my frustration selling other peoples toys and games on Amazon for 3 years lead me to create my own comic book and board games. I was tired of selling other peoples stuff, especially when I had my own creativity that I liked better than what other people were doing.
I can't think of a direct answer to the question. An accident?
I burned down my best friends yard when I was in elementary school. A fort made out of pinestraw and branches doesn't need a fireplace inside of it. I decided to test it out with the help of the neighborhood kids WHILE MY FRIENDS WERE NOT HOME. Big fire! Big mess! Thankfully no one was hurt. What was awesome about that accident? Not much except I learned to face my fears and ask for forgiveness like a man.
Who is your idol?
Top choice: my brother-in-law and my sister. They're my heroes. For sure.
Second choice....hmmm...Walt Disney would among the top five. I love his creativity and business drive. I would love to produce animations one day based on our characters from Samurai Brothers. I have a massive drive to create characters and worlds and to bring people into that world for a moment in time. ...to tell stories with mystery, intrigue and humor.
What would you do if you had a time machine?
I would want to visit and observe Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Bach, Andy Warhol, Winston Churchill, Prince, Michael Jackson, Paul the Apostle, Queen Esther, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Noah, Methuselah, Adam & Eve. I would want to observe creation unfolding in real time. I would want to see the origin of the universe. Basically, I would want to see and experience our history in real time. If you could dip in and out of time, you could compare and contrast with your own five senses. Right now, we can only experience this moment in history and we have to rely on others to tell us what it was like before we were here.
Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Introvert. 100%. I am an INFP. The Dreamer. Enneagram 4.
If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Mr. Incredible is totally relatable and super cool, because we are both stuggling dads. Batman is relatable as well; I mostly work at night and sleep during the day. Spider-Man for many reasons. Wolverine was always my favorite as a kid. Hard to pick one. I like my superhero: Phantom Lion. He is me in superhero comic form.
Have any pets?
No. I want all the cats and dogs and farm animals, but for now, I am focused on paying down my student loans, so no, I cannot afford pets. ...even though my daughter is dying to have a cat and my son REALLY wants a puppy.
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?
Soccer. I hope that survives. I played soccer my whole childhood. UGA didn't have a men's soccer team, so my career was over. I'm sure things like chess and checkers would survive, because of the widespread knowledge of those games.
I doubt Samurai Brothers would survive the asteroid / new ice age. Especially, if our whole team dies in the asteroid. Who would carry on the game without us? haha
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 kids! I appreciate you being so patient as your "Top Pops" has worked on his dream! ...and to my great grandpappy for being so wise and knowledgeable about life.
Just a Bit More
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions! Is there anything else you'd like to tell my readers?
When you are frustrated with something about your life, use that frustration to figure out what else you could be doing instead. Use that as a signal to lead you down a different path. You will find that unique thing that only you can do. You will find that niche. Don't stay stuck in a rut for years wishing that your life would change. Plant seeds NOW that will be a blessing to you in 2 years. Make the 50 year old version of you really happy that you made good decisions at 30 and 40.
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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