Hey it's me interviewing myself! I almost forgot to fill out my own designer spotlight until I went back to the Kickstarter page this morning and realized there was a big gap in the spotlights. Anyway, here I go!
1. What inspired your Pamphlets?
WONDERLAND was inspired by my love of electronic music and festivals of all kind. The plotlines within are inspired by a number real life and fictional figures, from Insomniac Music founder Pasquale Rotella (the biggest EDM promoter in the world) to Paris Hilton (a well known stable in the raving scene) and Avicii, the tragic world renowned DJ who passed away at the age of 27.
DARK CITY was inspired by dystopian battle royale fiction like Battle Royale, Smash TV, The Purge, and The Running Man, though it most closely resembles the last piece of media in its aesthetic.
2. Describe your Pamphlet in three words, then explain why you chose them.
WONDERLAND - YOU AREN'T SPECIAL, because in that scenario the whole conceit is that there is more going on in the setting of a massive rave than just the Runners, and by the end of it they should feel like bit players in the bigger sscene.
DARK CITY -RUN BABY RUN, because the goal is to get the heck out of this terrible situataion.
3. What’s a design element - either as part of your Pamphlet or otherwise - that you’re particularly proud of?
The general structure of WONDERLAND, and DARK CITY to a lesser extent, is that there are three plotlines happening, and no matter which one the Runners choose to pursue, the other plotlines will interject because at a massive festival there is just so much happening.
I took this structure from playing CYBERPUNK 2077 and the feeling in that game that you are but just a cog in the machine, with so much happening around in the city around you. I wanted players to have that same feeling of dissonance in WONDERLAND, to realize that even though they think they are hot shit they are just two bit players in a much bigger world.
4. Do you have any advice for someone designing their first TTRPG or module?
You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Reverse-engineering is totally legitimate! Taking a look at Lasers & Feelings or Honey Heist and hacking those micro-games will give you an immense foundational understanding of what is and isn't necessary in a game.
5. What’s your signature drink in the CBR+PNK universe—and what’s in it?
My CBR+PNK is powered by SMILEY, a proprietary blend of gasses and chemicals that leaves you numb, disassociated, and slightly euphoric. Gas up, baby!
6. Any other projects or thing’s you’d like to plug?
If you haven't heard, we're running a CBR+PNK megagame for Gen Con called SCIRE! It's inspired by +WEIRD and co-designed by myself and Mythworks Play and Culture Lead Graham Gentz.
I wanted to explore +WEIRD because I could never quite get my head around the idea of fantasy in my cyberpunk, so had to figure out what the heck that looked like. SCIRE takes place during the Day Zero event of a +WEIRD and traps Runners in the midst of a Self-Contained Industrial Residential Environment (SCIRE). Should be fun!
7. Where can people find you?
You're here! But in all seriousness, I tend to check the Mythworks Tik Tok and Bluesky the most, so find me there.
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Don''t forget, CBR+PNK: OVERLOAD runs through the month of June 2025!