At Role, we believe in the power of independent creators & publishers in the RPG community. More games, more worlds, and more voices mean better stories for everyone. To that end, we’re excited to highlight a few of the creators we’re working with as we gear up to launch the Role platform later this year. Each of these creators will also be part of our Kickstarter campaign, which you can follow here!
In our first Creators Spotlight, we’re featuring the work Skullfungus – an illustrator, map-maker, and OSR designer from Sweden! Read on below for our full interview:
For those who are new to your work, can you give us an overview of your projects? What are your game supplements all about?
I’m really into drawing all sorts of dungeons and maps, so that’s what I tend to spend most of my time on. If I can add some sort of crazy element to it, like an ongoing mutant apocalypse or huge insect infestations, slime monsters – basically stuff most 12 year olds would like, then I’m even more into it. The game supplements I’ve been working on so far have had an element of a crazy post apocalypse, strange mushrooms, animated church-mechas going on a rampage, stuff like that. I prefer things to be fun and cool to run and play, instead of overly realistic and grounded.
What got you started as a writer & designer?
I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, mostly monsters, knights, stuff like that, and haven’t really moved on to be honest. I took up drawing again 4-5 years ago after a long dry spell, and have been at it since then. I haven’t been playing RPGs regularly for more than maybe 8 years, but it’s always appealed to me a lot, which made me finally get into writing and designing. I’m still fairly new to the writing part, and to be honest it’s the area I struggle the most with, but I try to write as an excuse to get to draw cool stuff that goes along with the text, as a way of tricking myself into getting stuff done. But it’s hard!
How long have you been working on RPGs? What inspired you to get started?
As I mentioned above, I haven’t really been working on RPG materials for too long, but I think it’s always been something I’ve been wanting to do. If not writing then playing, if not playing then running games, if not running games then at least thinking about them, and so on. One of the first RPGs I bought was a Swedish game called Mutant. It’s basically Gamma World with a Swedish paint job. I think that was the game that got me thinking about all the possibilities that you can have both when playing and running RPGs, but also when creating for them.
What’s your favorite thing about being an RPG creator? What are some of the best things you’ve seen come from your work?
The freedom of it all. Unlike when you make video games for example, where coding, modelling, animation etc is a huge part, paper-and-pen RPGs pretty much boils down to “Got a cool idea? Write it down!”. You can just kind of think of a cool idea, jot down a few notes, maybe draw a fitting image and then you’re pretty much good to go, at least on a basic level. Sure, you can attempt to write rules that cover every given situation, but that was never my jam.
In RPGs, your only limit as a creator, and this goes for more than just illustrating and writing, is pretty much your own creativity. That’s why it’s so hard when you go through periods of creator’s block. At least you know that it’ll eventually pass, and that you can power through it.
I think one of the best things to come from doing this kind of stuff is when you’re done with a project and look back at it and think “Hold on, did I just make this thing?”.
Often when you’re in the middle of a creative process things tend to just flow (at least if you’re having a good day), but when you start with a blank paper so to speak, it can be a little intimidating. I try to start small and add more things as I go along, so that I can stay sane, but that’s another challenge in itself. Cool ideas just keep coming, you know.
What are some of the most interesting and unexpected things you’ve seen your community do with your work? How has that changed the way you create?
Whenever someone writes to me or posts somewhere that they’ve played one of my games or run one of my adventures, I tend to do a kind of double take where I go “Huh. Someone’s actually enjoying what I do. That’s really cool!” Now, I don’t mean to be fake humble here or anything like that, but the thought that something you put out is bringing other people joy and inspiration is always a really, really good feeling.
I remember this one time a guy sent me a photo of his son holding a wooden sword they had made based on one of my drawings. They had basically made one of my silly, wonky drawings into a physical object made out of wood, painted and all. That was such a cool thing to see.
What makes role playing special to you?
I tend to be the game master, and I really enjoy when the players come up with really far out ways of overcoming obstacles. I read somewhere that if you put the player characters in a jail cell and prepare ten ways for them to be able to break out, they’ll come up with an eleventh way out, and that is so true to me. That’s why I’ve kind of stopped coming up with solutions to challenges and problems I present to the players. I know that they’ll be able to come up with a solution.
In fact, that’s the most special thing about role playing games: the creative space people tend to get into, adding to each other’s ideas. That’s such an important part of the creative process too, and one that I tend to forget. Sometimes when you’re stuck on something, all you need to do is ask someone for advice or suggestions. Usually they will approach the problem from an angle you haven’t even thought about, and when that kind of angle “hits” you, something unlocks in your brain and you go “aaaahhhh, of COURSE”. I love that!
Where is Skullfungus going next? What’s on the horizon for you and your projects?
Currently I’m working on a few different exciting projects, while at the same time trying to manage to have some time for myself and those around me. I tend to forget about the “give yourself some time to just relax” part of life, but I’m lucky to have people around me that can remind me of that every now and then. But yeah, I’ll definitely be making more maps and maybe a few short games and adventures in the foreseeable future.
