AMA with Monte Cook (Numenera, D&D, Monte Cook Games, Malhavoc Press)

[Monte At Home]

Monte,

Similar congratulations on all the successes of MCG! Look forward to seeing your products grow for years to come. With that in mind, I have two questions:

1) (Seconding GrissTheGnome) Does MCG intend to produce modular game settings to complement the Cypher System Rulebook? Something like extended Genre Guidebooks (~90pg?) for "Steampunk," "Fantasy," etc.. I've really enjoyed the amount of customization and tweaking that the CSR allows for/encourages, but I can see how that degree of interpretability could be daunting to a newer GM wanting to pick it up to run a particular style of game. These Genre Guidebooks could provide things like accessible descriptor+foci lists, full type+flavour ability options for that settings' "types" (Pilot, War-Mage, etc.), as well as extended equipment lists and expanded discussions of GM tips for that genre.

2) Would you be interested/available for a written interview (via e-mail correspondence)? I would love to discuss the new CSR with you and share our discussion!

Thanks in advance for your time!

Mitch at dLinear

1. There will be some kind of support products for CSR. We're still working out the details.

2. Sure thing.

 

[Monte At Home]

I always find it fascinating to learn about how people work, especially for creative endeavors such as design and writing. I'm not sure I've ever read about how RPG game designers actually work.

1) What tools do you use to craft a game? Word, Markdown, Scrivener? (Mac or Windows? )
2) How do you get inspired? Do you have to be in a specific place to design/write? Or do you find the distraction of a coffee shop/others working in your studio a spark? Group discussions with notes sprawling a page or whiteboard?
3) Do you outline, or just spew words on a page and then clean up until what's left is your game?
4) Considering your books arguably have the highest production quality in the industry, how long does layout take? What tool(s) do you use for such things? Outsourced or do you oversee every illustration and punctuation detail? Someone else on staff who oversees that?
5) Probably goes without saying that it's awesome that Bruce, a childhood friend, is working with you, but how do you guys handle disagreements in game design?
6) While it's certainly in the purview of MCG to charge for 3rd party licenses, why charge for fan created items since you undoubtedly don't make that much money from that channel? To keep the barrier of entry and therefore production values higher? (This is arguably the strategy that Apple uses for apps.)

I've definitely used up my allotment. Love the games so far. One regret is not backing the box. Any chance of a French version similar to the Italian version?

1. I work on a Mac and writing in Scrivener. But my team uses a lot of different tools--Google Docs, InDesign, etc.
2. I don't ever really feel uninspired, to be honest. I used to be the kind of writer who had to have a specific environment to work, but those days are long gone. I can work anywhere. We do have a huge whiteboard in the house, with a giant picture that covers it when we're not using it. (And actually, we have five other whiteboards... I'm a fan of whiteboards.)
3. There's a lot of preliminary concept, thought, and planning that goes into each product--and in particular a whole new game--so that when it's time to write I can just sit down and write.
4. Layout is a bit arduous for our books. I don't do it myself, so I can't give you a lot of details. We use InDesign. Numenera and some of the early products were done by graphic designer Sarah Robinson, but now everything is done by our full-time, in-house artist Bear Weiter. All our illustrators are out of house (and spread out literally across the globe). Bear is also our art director so he works with them, but I do approve every illustration and every page in our books. One thing that makes our books much more difficult to make are all the callout columns (the margins of our books where we give page references and other information). Those are a pain in the ass, but they make using the books a lot easier. I don't think I could, in good conscience, release big rpg tomes without that kind of internal (and sometimes external) reference.
5. It happens so rarely that I don't even know how to answer that, actually. We're all fans of discussion and working things out on our team, so I think we reach a point where we're all happy.
6. Fan stuff has no charge. The only licensing charge (and it's very nominal for the limited license) is for people who are selling stuff, so by definition, they're now doing it professionally. The licensing charge is really there so that we know they're serious and are going to do something quality. So far, it's worked beautifully, and the stuff our limited licensees have put out is really cool.

 

[Monte At Home]

Hey Monte,

1) Where are the jobs in the table-top gaming industry?
2) If somebody wants to get into game design/writing, how does one get involved with an established publishing company/studio?
3) Where do you see the industry in 10 years?

1. Frankly, where you make them. Today, the best way to work in table-top games is to create and publish something on your own. That said, you're a lot better off getting work as a good editor than a good designer, because editors are more in demand. Same might be true of graphic designers.

2. Make a name for yourself on your own. Create a blog that thousands of people read. Create your own game or supplements that make people take notice.

3. In the small picture, probably with lots of differences. In the big picture, not very different. If we look backward to 2005, lots of new companies were popping up to put out d20 products while some had established themselves and D&D was unequivocally on top. Today, we have new companies popping up to put out cool new games, but there are plenty of established voices too. D&D is on top again. The names have changed, but the story is still the same. I think the biggest change in ten years is where D&D will be. Will it only exist as a movie franchise and licensed computer games and whatnot? That will be interesting to watch.

 

[Monte At Home]

Monte, one of the things that attracted me to Ptolus was your website with its write-ups of your session reports.

I was wondering, what campaigns are you currently running and/or playing in for fun (as opposed to simply for playtesting purposes)? I'm just looking for the quick elevator pitches, if you will.

Best wishes for the continued success of Numenera, the Cypher system etc...; they're great games.

We've been doing a whole bunch of different Cypher System games in different genres. My friend Chris Sims just ran a Dark Sun Cypher System game, for example. I am about to run a fantasy Cypher game using all the minis and Dwarven Forge and whatnot that I still have from my 3E/d20 days. I also run an OD&D campaign, but that's been on hiatus for the summer.

 

[DragonMasterDean]

Hi Monte!

Long time fan of your D&D work and have looked at some of the new stuff. I think the Book of Vile Darkness was inspired and did you have a lot of input on the Fiendish Codex? And Ghostwalk is one of my favorite settings. On Retro stuff, trying to do Paladin in Hell in 3.5. Any suggestions?

 

[Monte At Home]

Hello there!

How did you get into the games and the game industry?

What is your favorite mechanic?

What is your least favorite commonly used mechanic?

Do you prefer to come up with an interesting idea first, then work it into a rule? Or do you like to come up with a nifty rule, then build an idea around it?

Which idea gave you the most trouble when translating it into a game rule?

If you couldn't use dice (or a dice app I suppose), what would you use in their place?

What do you feel is the biggest hurdle you face when you design games?

Do you prefer hot coffee or cold coffee?

1. I first heard about D&D in sunday school. Two brothers were talking about maps on graph paper, traps, and a magical crown. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I knew I wanted in.
I got started professionally when I was in college, and found out that the company that published the game I was currently playing, Rolemaster, was looking for freelance design help. I ended up writing a book called Creatures and Treasures II. This was a foothold in doing more writing for the company, Iron Crown Enterprises, and eventually working there full time.

2. Probably the sanity mechanic in Call of Cthulhu. It's fun, easy, and reflects the dark nature of the game.

3. Hmm. Tough, because there's a lot to choose from. I'm tempted to say initiative, but I'm going to go with anything that requires a succession of die rolls from one player (including the GM) because that can really slow the game down. People can sometimes forget how much time comes from rolling a die, registering the result (particularly if you're adding dice results to get a total result), and interpreting that result. Each instance may be short, but when you do it over and over session after session, that's a lot of time. I'm always looking for ways of designing around it--but at the same time not doing away with it entirely because rolling dice is fun and a core activity in the hobby. So it's a balancing act.

4. Idea first almost always.

5. Probably some of the more complex activities we tried to simulate in 3E (grapple, jumping, etc.), in some cases with mixed results.

6. Cards, I suppose.

7. The biggest hurdle is probably communicating a new mechanic to existing players. It's human nature to equate new things to what you already know ("so this is like hit points, and this other thing is like Armor Class") but sometimes that can be really counterproductive. Interestingly, you obviously don't have this problem with new players.

8. I don't drink coffee.

 

[Monte At Home]

Would you consider adding anything to Numenera or The Strange from your Ptolus book?

I haven't got a chance to look at the Cypher System Rulebook. Do you consider it to be almost required reading for those who are already using Cyper for Numerera or The Strange?

I was one of the many who helped you achieve as much as you did (fantabulous!) for the Numenera Boxed Set. Are there any books that you've done for Numenera that I should consider for adding to it?


BTW, just for giggles, do you own any pets?

Bruce Gray
gurpsgm

1. Probably not. I enjoy creating new things rather than looking backward.

2. Nothing's required reading. If you're already playing Numenera and having fun, you don't need it. Much of it would be repetitive. But if you want to run a Steampunk game or a modern horror game and you're liking the system in Numenera, CSR is what you want.

3. Thanks. Obviously, I think all of them, but I'm biased. If I was going to choose one, I'd probably say the Ninth World Bestiary because the creatures are freaky and weird and everyone needs more creatures. You might also try the adventure collection, Weird Discoveries. I put a lot of work into creating a new way to present adventures that require little or no prep on the GM's part.

4. I have a black lab (mixed with something we don't know--she's a shelter rescue) named Ampersand. She's asleep at my feet as I type this.

 

[kahnjl]

3. Going back to WotC to work on 5e.

I'm not trying to get you in trouble, but since this is an amA...

Can you expand on this a little bit? What made it so rueful?

 

[Monte At Home]

Love your work, and I'm now running a second campaign in Ptolus, 100 years after the first one with the descendants of the Heroes from the first campaign. Ptolus has been really valuable to me. I've also been throwing in some "cyphers" into that game, as my players love powerful one-shot stuff.

My question has to do with the Cypher system, specifically Effort. I've been playing around with eliminating it, so that players can spend however many points they want to succeed at a task. I thought that if they want something badly enough, they can get it, though it might leave them without points for something else further down the line.

(I replaced the Effort part of leveling to the next tier with spending 4 XP to create a long-term benefit/story hook.)

I was wondering if this could lead to unintended consequences, however, so I would value your thoughts on the Effort mechanic. Is it just something to simulate a less-experienced hero at the start of their career, or is there more to it?

Here's what will likely happen, unless your players are atypical. Your players will succeed at most everything they try by expending everything right away, and then they'll want to rest so that they can recover, and then do it all again. Unlimited effort is like carrying around a gun that shoots all your bullets at once--it makes you really tough, for one shot.

I'm exaggerating/oversimplifying a bit, but it's what you'd need to worry about. Or not--if that doesn't seem problematic, then cool. You should play the way you want.

As a general rule, players are typically EXTREMELY conservative with uncertain resources and EXTREMELY liberal with resources they know they can count on renewing easily.

 

[Monte At Home]

When will MCG be releasing more glimmers and fractals?

We have a bunch in the hopper. First up will probably be an adventure for both lines (the ones we ran at GenCon). Bruce wrote a cool set of new character options for The Strange and Shanna and I are putting together another glimmer similar to Sex and Love in the Ninth World, but dealing with a different topic.