It's been a spell since the last iteration of Developer Dialogues and we return to the series with a very special entry. MoonQuake Escape was the very first game to venture into our Playtesting Lab and we've been gleefully watching its development in the nearly two years since. We'd sit here gushing about the mechanics, the artwork, and that board all day, but it's assuredly better if we turn this over to Jeff, the mind behind MoonQuake Escape, and Michael, the man behind its distinctive art.
Tell us a little about yourself.
What prompted you to want to become a developer?
HI, Kel! I’m Jeff Johnston (@PairOfJacksGame) and
I’ve been designing games as a hobby for the last few years. I started shortly after a friend at work
mentioned that writing a book was on his bucket list. It got me thinking about what I’d want to do
and I started thinking about all the fun I’d had when younger playing games
with friends and family. I decided my
goal was to see a game that I’d created on a store shelf. Within about six months I had a fun little
game about toasting marshmallows, Toasted or Roasted, and about six years later I walked into an EMS store and said
“Look what I made!” to anyone within earshot.
Once
you decided to put on the developer’s hat, what made you choose this specific
type of game? Why did you feel this style was a particularly good fit for your
vision of MoonQuake Escape?
I really enjoy making games for families with
younger children. Like a Disney film,
something focused on the youngest but enjoyable by the whole family. My second game, Flashlights & Fireflies, is about playing flashlight freeze tag
and catching fireflies. I mention F&F
in particular because its core fun was a “hide and seek” mechanic (a la 3-Card Monte) with players traveling a straight four-step track. My son was taking an entrepreneurial course
during his college studies and I suggested we develop a game together and
KickStart it—not sure I’ve ever a heard a faster “No” in my life! But, my wheels were already turning. I thought it would be a lot of fun to take F&F and add a bluffing mechanic:
what if each player could protect (or shield) one face down card—would they
protect their one key card, or would they try to lure you away? I also thought it would be interesting to have
a way to bring players together on the board unexpectedly for some interesting
interaction and I started to picture a set of concentric circular boards to
create those situations, and inspired the look of a planet. The space-aged theme on a prison was simply to
aim at an older audience and keep it a competitive setting. And thus “Monsters & Moonbeams” was
born! The name MoonQuake Escape came about six names later…
The game is touted as being
extremely easy to learn, but a highly satisfying overall play experience. How
long would you say it takes people to pick up Moonquake Escape and what
demographics do you think would most enjoy the game?
I think I’d like to meet these touters! At first brush, MoonQuake Escape takes some
explaining. You do have to convey an
entire world—its dangers, how you move, how it moves, how its moon moves!—how
you interact with the other players, and your goals in the race to the only remaining
escape rocket. Hard core gamers jump
right in without issue, but lighter gamers are often initially skeptical about
the level of complexity. But after a
round or two, they start to get that there are only a few but rewardingly deep
decisions to make in each round. I was
challenged by my fellow game designers to make it as simple as possible and so
I created a Basic rule set that feeds you a healthy portion of the MQE world before introducing the rest in
Advanced rules. Those extra rules aren’t
hard or complex, just less to absorb in an initial sit down.
I’ve been playing MQE with people from all walks for more than two years now of many
ages and demographics. The box will say
ages 10+ and its extremely engaging for families. I’ve had kids chasing down parents to join in
a second or third demo game. But, I’ve
been extremely pleased with how adults playing adults enjoy the game and the
constant playful interaction each round creates.
The board game market is
pretty competitive with both major publishers and indie developers in the
field. What would you say makes MoonQuake Escape distinctive?
It’s amazing the quality, variety and creativity in
the market today. That really means that
your project has to have something special about it. I didn’t really know where MQE would go—I just followed its
lead. It needed rotating rings and an
orbiting & revolving Moon, and I was foolish enough to craft it. In 2014 at PAX East, I accidentally
“kidnapped” Shari Spiro (@AdMagic/@Breaking Games) and showed her an MQE prototype. At first sight, she immediately said “I want
to make that!” and I knew MQE had the
ally it needed to make it real.
The visual appeal of MQE on the table is amazing, but, it couldn’t be a gimmick. The game play on the board, with the cards, and between the cards and
the board needed to be compelling all around.
Working through this was my key focus, even more so than the visual aspects
of the game. I’ve developed a saying:
“The board brings them to the table, the game brings them back.” OK, sometimes a Moon Pie brought them to the
table.
The artwork and overall aesthetic
of the game is very visually striking. What was your inspiration for the look
and feel of the game?
After a great reception of the game at Boston Festival of Indie Games (@BostonFIG) in Sep 2014, I found Michael’s vector superhero
art style and started collaborating with him on the art and design. I quickly realized what value he was bringing
to the entire process and decided that partnering on this project would be the
most rewarding. I think Michael can best
speak to the overall art. Michael?
Hello, I’m Michael Parla (@Michael_Parla) the art
director for MQE and I’ll field this question. After working in the pharmaceutical industry as a graphic designer/art director
for 15+ years, I felt called to scratch a creative itch I’ve been carrying
since starting my career. This project
seemed just the ticket!
When I was first
introduced to MQE I felt it was an ambitious project offering a creative challenge.
Initially Jeff was using an illustration for the cover that looked like something
out of a Flash Gordon strip. Although the image fit the game’s genre, I didn’t
feel it matched with the feel I got when Jeff would demo his games. Much like a
1950 serial film poster, MQE needed to feel loud and exciting, and that
inspiration crystalized the art concept.
To capture the feel of these posters I found a bold display font for the
main titles (thanks blambot.com) and a condensed
secondary font similar to that of poster movie credits.
To me the cards
were the most exciting to work on. I was able to display my illustration as a main
focal point and add value to the gameplay. I saw early on that I could help
clarify card type with colors (green = good, red=bad), making sure players
could focus on enjoying the game play and not translating icons or inferring
details from the text. Might not sound like much but in a game designed as complex
as this it was a nice break.
Color was
also missing from the board. In the early stages, Jeff wanted a stark prison
world, so for that reason the colors of the board were a boring and drab color.
It wasn’t until Shari Spiro (Ad Magic/Breaking Games) insisted that the surface
include “MORE COLOR!” I wanted something that people could relate to as alien while
contrasting off the dark blue background so it was pretty much set in stone that
from here on Zartaclaton would be a bright orange planet. After that everything
else fell into place.
What do you feel was the
most enjoyable part of developing MoonQuake Escape and, conversely, what would
you say was your biggest challenge?
The most enjoyable part was listening to the
feedback from fellow designers, playtesters and observations, and then creatively
solving the issues. For example, players
were having trouble remembering whose turn it was—that was the problem that an
orbiting moon component solves for the game!
Early in the process I discovered the Game Makers Guild here in the
Boston area and it’s been an incredible resource—game design expertise, playing
testing, and most importantly, honest frank feedback. I was confidently done with MQE at least three times before
receiving that one additional comment that made me iron out one more crease. And, of course, sharing the game with
hundreds of people the last year and a half at conventions across the country
has been a blast. We try to keep the
interaction going—our fans are creating the backstories of our alien criminals
on the MQE FaceBook page!
The biggest challenge: the rulebook, no doubt. I must have tackled the approach to tell the
whole MQE story in rule form five
ways to Sunday with different reactions to each. Some players wanting information in this
order, others in that order. But, I
worked with some really sharp editors—Jim White (@twwombat) in particular—and many
savvy play testers to iron out a rule book that tells the MQE story very well. A long
process, but I’m very pleased with the final version (you can check it out on
the MQE BGG page if you’re curious).
Let’s say MoonQuake Escape
is received particularly well by the gaming community at large. Would you be
open to continuing to develop it? Would you pursue any expansions or other
additional content?
Which designers haven’t already mentally built an
expansion to their game?! Yes, we have
some exciting ideas we’d like to add to MQE. More dangers on the planet’s surface. A new set of board rings that lets you play a
“prequel”: you start in the center of the board deep under the surface in the high
security dentention cells and have to make your way through the prison to the
surface (the moon will be replaced by a security camera with a different game
play effect). And, I think there’s a
more card focused game that focuses on the final battle on the Launch Pad. And each of these add to the others allowing
you to revisit with new options. But,
let’s sell the first copy of MQE
before I get too excited!
Is there anything else that
you think potential players should know about MoonQuake Escape?
If it looks like I’m having fun telling you about MQE, it’s only because I know how much
fun you’ll have playing it. Many moons
ago I had to admit that this project is officially my mid-life crisis (of my
possible choices, my wife has approved this one!). It’s been quite a ride and we hope you escape
with us!
