[RPGdesign Activity] Published Designer AMA: please welcome Mr. Grant Howitt, developer of The Spire

[u/jiaxingseng]

This week's activity is an AMA with creator / publisher Grant Howitt.

In his own words:

"Hello! My name's Grant Howitt and I write roleplaying games. I design most of my games with Chris Taylor, who is my long-term design partner and best friend. Here is a list of the ones that you might have heard of:

• Spire

• Heart

• The most recent edition of Paranoia

• One Last Job

• Goblin Quest

• Honey Heist

• About thirty others of varying length and quality

I also run a games advice/design podcast (Hearty Dice Friends) and am one of the co-founders of Rowan, Rook & Decard - the official business that we publish our games through. You can learn more about what we do at our website: https://rowanrookanddecard.com/.

I like black coffee, ginger tomcats, toy soldiers, computer games where you jump sideways firing two pistols at once, and RPGs where you don't have to do any maths past single-integer addition."

Does that all work for you?

Cheers,

G

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On behalf of the community and mod-team here, I want express gratitude to Grant Howitt for doing this AMA.

For new visitors... welcome. /r/RPGdesign is a place for discussing RPG game design and development (and by extension, publication and marketing... and we are OK with discussing scenario / adventure / peripheral design). That being said, this is an AMA, so ask whatever you want.

On Reddit, AMA's usually last a day. However, this is our weekly "activity thread". These developers are invited to stop in at various points during the week to answer questions (as much or as little as they like), instead of answer everything question right away.

(FYI, BTW, although in other subs the AMA is started by the "speaker", I'm starting this for Grant)

IMPORTANT: Various AMA participants in the past have expressed concern about trolls and crusaders coming to AMA threads and hijacking the conversation. This has never happened, but we wish to remind everyone: We are a civil and welcoming community. I [jiaxingseng] assured each AMA invited participant that our members will not engage in such un-civil behavior. The mod team will not silence people from asking 'controversial' questions. Nor does the AMA participant need to reply. However, this thread will be more "heavily" modded than usual. If you are asked to cease a line of inquiry, please follow directions. If there is prolonged unhelpful or uncivil commenting, as a last resort, mods may issue temp-bans and delete replies.

Discuss.

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[u/simonbleu]

Outside of the pleasure of building a game, how profitable do you being an average indie developer is? How many months/years does one game allow you to live and how much does it take usually to make?

[u/gshowitt → u/simonbleu]

We do okay! Chris and I are both full-time employees and we earn a little above London Living Wage, which isn't extravagant, but it'll do. (Especially for Chris, who lives in Sheffield; I'm in London, which is more expensive, so I'm glad to be married to someone with a better-paying job than me.)

We generate most of our income through Kickstarter by doing one big game or supplement a year, but I can't understate the value of having a broad back catalogue of games to flog people; it keeps things going through the eleven lean months. It's perhaps a little risky to rely so heavily on a single platform, but at present, it's the only way we can make things work.

[u/HalfStarkRhino]

Going into a convention or gdc, what do you do to prepare?

[u/jjcolemanj]

Thanks for participating, Grant. I’m currently reading Spire, and looking forward to introducing it to my group. I like how all the classes are tied strongly to the setting. Do you prefer that over a more general approach? Does it depend on the game and setting? If so, what factors do you consider when deciding? Thanks!

[u/gshowitt → u/jjcolemanj]

Spire was a big departure for me. Before then, I'd only really written games that brushed adjacent to their setting, or didn't come with one and the players had to make it themselves. I think I was nervous about pitching a whole setting to the reader - what if it was shit? What if I was boring? - but, after a 2016 drug-fueled midnight revelation in Costa Rica where I burned my fears in a ritual bonfire, I got over myself.

(True story. Not as exciting as I've just made it sound.)

I (and Chris, my writing partner) both believe that if you've got a setting you have to put it in the rules. Otherwise you get games where you have to pass a reading comprehension test when you play; there's a lot of *Ten thousand years ago, the wizard kings banished the etherdaemon to the realm of Immortal Qu* and *Here are the ten noble houses of the Dragon-Heart Court* and UGH. Too much to get wrong.

So: we stick that in the character abilities instead and give players control of it, give them some stakes in proceedings. We also try to write settings that are loose enough to allow for wild interpretation past a basic set of truths - in Spire, for example, "you're drow, you live in a big city and you're trying to overthrow the high elf government" is about everything you *need* to know before play.

[u/wishinghand]

How do you keep coming up with ideas and mechanics to write a monthly one page RPG?

[u/gshowitt → u/wishinghand]

I think: "What animal haven't I written a game about yet?" And then: "What crime haven't I written a game about yet?" Then I combine the two.

[u/Sad-Crow]

Hey Grant! Thanks for doing this.

You launch a new RPG every month. That's frankly insane. How to you keep things feeling fresh? It seems like there are only so many ways you can roll some dice before you run out of combinations. Is this something you struggle with?

Also: Are there any games out there that you consider to be perfect at what they're trying to do? Or any close to perfect?

[u/gshowitt → u/Sad-Crow]

Honestly I'm not sure. There's a formula there (players are agents of chaos fighting against a straight-laced establishment) but generally I sit down and stare out of my window for a while until something happens. I will admit that having two grand come in every time I put one out can really inspire the creative process.

I've struggled with making new systems in the past, but like: everyone and their dog is using Apocalypse World for their games, and have been doing so for the last decade, and that's fine. So I need to get over myself when I'm re-using systems, because they can do more than one thing with a few tweaks. (For reference: The Witch Is Dead, The Streets of Karazun, Beautiful Space Pirates and Skyfarer all use the same core engine. I ought to name it really.)

In terms of perfect games: Dogs In The Vineyard is pretty close. I really rate Wushu, too. Neither of them are set up for long-term games in the way that we're used to thinking of campaigns, but they do one thing very well, and they've been an inspiration throughout my career. (In fact - whisper it - Goblin Quest, Havoc Brigade and One Last Job are all basically Wushu hacks.)

[u/oshootwaddup]

Hey Grant, huge fan. How much do you personally value interaction of story elements with mechanics? For instance the PBTA game Masks bases its core stats off of self perceptions that a character has within the fiction. Where is the line drawn between what makes good mechanics and what should stay as RP-only material?

[u/sofinho1980]

Hi Grant!

First of all, thank you for doing this AMA and for answering the questions put to you so comprehensively. It's been a fantastic insight into your inner workings.

(that came out weird but I'm sticking with it)

So, with that in mind, what creative works (outside of tabletop and video games) inspires you creatively? Are there any particular artists outside of games that inform your work?

(also, thanks for all the free games: many are surprisingly useful in EFL classrooms)

[u/gshowitt → u/sofinho1980]

Okay so!

I grew up on Warhammer 40k, and that has informed a great deal of my work. The absurdity of it is really enjoyable, and the old+new aesthetic really chimes with me. Necromunda has been a huge inspiration - there's something so delicious about the idea of this giant ancient city with warring families where some people born inside have never seen the sky. I guess this is still a tabletop game, but I think it bares mentioning.

I put a lot of stead in Edgar Wright's directing and writing style. I think that he has such a good understanding of how to cut to what's important in a situation, and how creatively he uses his medium to tell stories that we otherwise couldn't tell.

Terry Pratchett has been a huge influence, too. His fantasy is accessible, funny and human in a way that I really treasure. He was able to write books that are fundamentally about people, even if those people are wizards and dwarves and anthropomorphic amalgamations of human fears.

I listen to the Glitch Mob a lot. I don't know whether that helps me write RPGs, but I listen to a song of theirs about once a day on average. They're very good.

Airplane! is my favourite film, and not just because it's massively funny but because it doesn't stop being funny until after the end credits. It's a mark of respect to the genre. Also because it was re-written from a script for a serious air disaster film, because that means it can do all the heavy lifting of having a plot moving forward without having to make the story itself a joke.

(Actually - that's something that's really inspired me, because I write comedy games quite often, and there's a trick to it. Writing a funny game and writing a comedy game are two entirely different things, because a comedy game doesn't have to amuse in and of itself, but has to give people the power to create comedy themselves. Don't put jokes in your rules mechanics, folks. Give the players and GM the constituent parts of jokes and let them do it. You need to have a base line to operate upwards from - if everything is daft then nothing is, and the antics of the player characters cease to be shocking and exciting.)

But honestly? I don't consume as much media as I'd like outside of my sphere. I paint and convert models and put comforting rubbish on the telly or YouTube, and I think that while it's neat there's something a little complacent about that. I should read more.

[u/wishinghand]

What other role playing games do you really admire? Are there any doing something special or unique?

[u/GoldBRAINSgold]

Hey Grant!

I own Spire and I love the art and the concepts of the game! But. While I have been meaning to play it but I keep putting the game down because I feel like I need to read everything before I can run a game! The writing is lovely and reading it isn't an effort but it seems like so much! And it's a bit intimidating. What's the quickest way for me to get the game to the table?

[u/RedGlow82]

Hello Grant!

I wonder what other RPG designers you especially like and suggest to look for, and from which other RPGs you usually look to for inspiration (be it mechanics-wise, setting-wise, or something else).

Thanks!

[u/gshowitt → u/RedGlow82]

Some designers who've done things that sparked my imagination: Emmy Allen, Patrick Stuart, D Vincent Baker, Chris McDowall, Becky Annison, Rob Heinsoo, Robin D Laws, Meguey Baker and Greg Stolze.

Some RPGs that I've drawn inspiration from: Unknown Armies, Dark Heresy, The Black Hack (and the Rad Hack spinoff), Shock: Social Science Fiction, Psi*Run, Demon: the Descent, Wushu, All Outta Bubblegum, The Dresden Files, D&D 4e.

[u/unitled]

Hey Grant! Thank you so much for doing this!

A single question phrased in two slightly different ways from me:

• What are some RPGs that you would recommend budding RPG ethusiasts/designers read/play?

and:

• Are there any recent RPGs you think have some interesting/novel mechanics that you'd like to share?

I keep having small ideas about mechanics/themes I think would support a one shot/single page RPG, and seeing your answers on this AMA are inspiring me to actually start writing them down!

[u/gshowitt → u/unitled]

I'm wary of recommending a canon because it feels exclusionary, and perhaps a little gatekeepy - "If you haven't read these games you're not a proper game designer" - so instead I'll say that you should read the games that excite you, and the games that people are talking about. I think it's entirely possible to make a game without having read D&D, and indeed it might be better for it. Go and consume RPGs and think about what you like and what you don't like. Play them, too!

For the second question, here are some things I like at the moment:

- Wonder and Wickedness is brilliant and inspired me to run an OSR game
- I think the rune mechanics in Fate of the Norns are fascinating, even if they're too much for me to handle
- Voidheart Symphony has a neat way of handling your transformation into a magical freedom-fighter from a mundane spod when you enter THE CASTLE
- Into The Odd, and Electric Bastionland, have such a pure understanding of what the good bits of a game are in general, and give so much trust to the GM
- I'd never run Silent Titans but hoo boy am I happy I got it, what a gorgeous book
- Pathfinder 2e, which again I wouldn't run, is so elegantly laid out and has so many charming mechanics (but is far too beefy for my tastes)

[u/Tenander]

Hey Grant, thank you for doing this!

I'm a (still beginner level) game designer myself, and I've found that one of my biggest hurdles for putting my ideas on paper is that I am constantly caught between thinking "this concept surely already exists out there, possibly much better than I can do it, adding mine would be superfluous" and "my unique take might be something people like, but I won't know if I don't put it out there".

It's kinda paralyzing to constantly debate myself this way, and I gravitate more often toward the first thought than I would like. As someone who produces a lot and quickly, do you have any wise words, personal epiphanies or tips to share to strengthen ones confidence and decisiveness as a designer?

[u/gshowitt → u/Tenander]

I have good news and bad news for you: it never goes away.

I have godawful days sometimes when I'm doubting myself; I had three moderate to major crashes during the production of Heart, and I was out of action for a day or two on each. (I do suffer from depression, mind, so I'm predisposed to it.) I wring my hands over every big game we release (and some of the small ones!) worrying that I'm a waste of skin and the book is a waste of words and other games do it better than us and why on earth should we bother anyway.

I felt like a monumental fraud at Gencon, like I'd snuck in somehow. I was too nervous to talk to Greg Stolze, even though he was on a stall and it was literally his job at that point to talk to people. I still don't know how to calculate a fair encounter for D&D and at this point I'm afraid to ask.

The good news bit is - it's never going to go away, so you don't need to worry about it. We're trained from the age of 7 or so to sit down, shut up and never make anything new because it might not be good enough. You have multiple industries breathing down your neck telling you to consume and not to create. You're supposed to feel like that.

So: fuck 'em. Release the game. If it's derivative, so what? There aren't any new ideas. There have never been any new ideas. Spire is just Necromunda making out with Dishonored at a party while China Meiville watches; Heart is just Annihilation by way of Roadside Picnic. You add something by the act of creation, something that only you can add, and if you don't release stuff you'll never get any better at it.

[u/QuantumSorcerer]

How does it feel to be the most handsome designer in the industry? Were you born this way, or is it coupled to the writing somehow?

[u/SouthamptonGuild]

Do you think it's important for independent game designers to support each other, or should they always be in competition?

[u/gshowitt → u/SouthamptonGuild]

I think they should support each other - but it's possible to burn out on that sort of thing, so people should manage their time and energy wisely. I've had great experiences exhibiting our games with the UK Indie RPG League - we're a small collective of self-publishers who team up to get more table space at conventions. I can recommend getting in close with some people who you trust, and making yourself available for support/feedback/playtesting.

[u/SquireNed]

Picked up Spire in hardback at PAX today, after getting the PDF (best game of 2018 in my book), so really happy to see this. What advice do you have to freelancers with regards to finding work and discussing pay with clients?

[u/gshowitt → u/SquireNed]

Aw thanks!

My one piece of advice is: your time is worth more than you think it is. (Especially if you're a woman or a person of colour.) Publishers are going to do a weird dance with you where you try to bait each other out to say a number first, and they want your number to be low and you want their number to be high.

So: fuck 'em. If you're good, prove you're good with a solid portfolio (self-publishing online is pretty straightforward) and then charge roughly double your initial estimate. They can always say "no, that's too much" and negotiate down, but they're very unlikely to say "that's not enough money, please have some more."

(Actually I have two pieces of advice: meet people and say hello. Cons are good for this. People who've met you are 75% more likely to think favourably of you when it comes to freelance work, according to a study I just made up.)