Design Notes - Q&A #1
I struggle to put down thoughts sometimes, so I thought i’d kick it off with some Q & A. Submit a question here.
What made you say, "I need to make a tabletop game about the 5 Stages of Grief" instead of just writing a story or creating an art piece?
The idea was originally put together as a graphic novel premise: travelers play a game to go through the phases of grief. I've seen stories/movies like that where the whole story is a game, so I guess it went from there. Then, the idea to put together a graphic novel and board game combo started to lean heavier into the board game. I'm also working on a short graphic novel prologue that I'm very excited about.
I'm a multimedia artist, and my focus starts with the story first. I figure out the story, and then decide on the medium. This time, there were several interesting mediums that converged into one concept.
Why did you choose to use the card suppression mechanic?
I don’t remember exactly where/how this idea came up, I believe it was when I started designing the Travelers. The Polished Mask was the first character that I fleshed out completely and I thought about the concept of hiding things, and hiding them for different reasons- purposefully or subconsciously, and how either way, they can come back to affect your life as you move through trauma/grief/hardship/emotional processing.
When a table sits down to play ESKELETOS for the first time, what is the single specific emotion or tension you want them to feel by the end of the first round?
More than anything, I want people to approach the game and the choices in front of them with curiosity. I want people to think through the game mechanics without feeling real weight or fear.
What thought process was behind the styles and colors used in the game design?
Originally, the idea was to have the entire thing be grayscale/monochromatic, but after some feedback, I decided to add a little color. The color was difficult, as I thought too colorful and it would read too whimsical, so I tried different colors until I landed on the silver, purple, and indigo color scheme, which fit the mood and the idea perfectly - mysterious, magical, royal, ethereal, etc.
