We’re passionate about independent creators and publishers here at Role. More stories from more people means more great games for everyone!
In today’s Creator Spotlight, we’re talking to Magpie Games – publishers behind popular games such as Masks, Zombie World, the Root RPG, and more. Magpie Games is also creating a brand-new original Masks supplement as part of our Role Kickstarter, which you can check out here!
For those who are new to Magpie Games, can you give us an overview of your work? What kind of games does your team create?
We have been publishing games since 2011. Though we have published a variety of games for the past decade, we are best known for creating games in the Powered by the Apocalypse system: some of our better known titles include Masks, Bluebeard’s Bride, and Urban Shadows. We focus on creating innovative, boundary-pushing, and high-quality games that come from designers with a wide variety of backgrounds.
What got you started as game creators? How did Magpie Games begin?
Magpie Games was started by Mark Diaz Truman and Marissa Kelly in 2011, initially intended to be a side project borne out of their joint love of roleplaying games. Since then, the team has grown to ten full or part time employees, with a core design team consisting of Brendan Conway, Sarah Doombringer, Marissa Kelly, and Mark Diaz Truman. We sought out team members who wouldn’t be afraid to question norms and boundaries, hoping to explore RPGs as an art form to their fullest extent while also paying people fairly for their work
What’s your favorite thing about being an RPG publisher? What are some of the best things you’ve seen come from your work?
We love bringing new and interesting ideas to life. We developed our ashcan program specifically so that we could work with designers who were new to the industry and guide them through the publication process. We’ve worked with these designers to create games that capture Latinx telenovelas, 70s teenage girls gans, and swashbuckling pirate adventure.
We also love nurturing great work when our designers work together. It’s been amazing to see the things that have emerged through collaboration—our game Bluebeard’s Bride, won the 2018 Indiecade Grand Jury Award, the first time a tabletop game has ever received such an honor. Bluebeard’s Bride was the product of three different designers’ brilliance, and we had the chance to commission art for it from some really amazing visual artists to fulfill the vision the team had for the project.
Finally, we love forming connections and building community with the artists we work with, our staff, our fans, and our convention GMs. We get to see fans come back year after year to conventions to play our games with the same GMs, and it’s been amazing to see the response to our new Curated Play Program. The program facilitates Magpie Games fans playing our games online and there’s been such a positive response! It’s heartwarming to have that sense of community and feel that support, especially in such difficult times.
What are some of the most interesting and unexpected things you’ve seen the RPG community do with your games? How has that changed the way you create?
People can get really excited to create their own content based off of our games, and each time, it’s a wonderful surprise, like a collaboration that we didn’t expect to happen. Especially with games like Urban Shadows and Masks, we’ve seen people in the community take the initiative to create their own moves or playbooks, or even put together entire campaign-long streams of our games.
Seeing the way people have taken our games and created new and amazing things with them has really reinforced our desire to keep our audience at the forefront of our minds when designing. Above all, we want to make sure folks have the tools they need to tell great stories at the table.
What makes role playing special to you?
The best thing about tabletop roleplaying games is the community they foster. It’s a type of gaming that allows the people at the table to create a world together and inhabit that world. In some ways, being an RPG publisher is all about building communities that are an extension of that drive. Our games aren’t just about playing games, they’re about building those relationships and exploring them, whether through the teamwork of a group of teenage superheroes, or through the catharsis of horror.
Where is Magpie Games going next? What’s on the horizon for you and your games?
As we move forward, we are wanting to broaden our scopes to enter into the board and card game industry, while continuing to make RPGs that investigate new creative paths. We have a few games coming out in the next few months exploring Latinx culture, identity, and community: Cartel, a game of Mexican narcofiction by Mark Diaz Truman, and Pasión de las Pasiones, by Brandon Leon-Gambetta. We’re also excited to fulfill our Kickstarter for Root: The Tabletop Roleplaying Game, our first licensed product based on Leder Game’s Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right board game!
Magpie Games is currently one of 6 creators featured in the Role Kickstarter! Check it out here.
