One of the things I have enjoyed the most about diving into the Indie TTRPG community has been discovering Indie design communities around the world. There is a wonderful shift happening and many of these international communities are making their presence known on Itch as well as social media. One such community, #RPGSEA, has received well-deserved attention and praise for the innovative games growing out of their community. I was lucky enough to talk with one such creator, momatoes, to talk about their new game ARC RPG and what the TTRPG community is like in the Philippines.
Thank you so much for agreeing to talk with me today, momatoes! For our readers who may not be familiar with you or your work, could you tell me a bit about yourself?
Hi Brent! I’m momatoes, a Filipina game and graphic designer. I like making games and exploring story ideas, but what I love even more is seeing people get excited to make their own tales.
What originally drew you into the tabletop roleplaying game hobby? At what point did you decide it was more than a hobby and you needed to make your own games?
Well, when I was around 11 years old, I discovered my brother’s battered copy of Dragonlance, the original trilogy. Old, musty, honestly near disintegration. But reading just the very few pages hooked me into its fantasy world and introduced me to the notion that maybe I could make these worlds and stories too. So I began seeking out RPGs, playing, and having a blast.
And much, much later, I even discovered a local group called Gamers and Gaming Meets (G&G) that organized regular tabletop RPG events. I found new friends, discovered even more games, and in 2019, heard that many among these friends were starting to make their own games. Which blew my mind! It seemed fun and, as someone who’s always wanted to pursue more ways to express ideas, stories and experiences, I dove right into game design.
We’re seeing a surge of excellent TTRPG material coming from South East Asia, especially if one follows the Twitter tag #RPGSEA. Is there a reason that surge is happening now?
I’d like to think that even years back, that surge was already beginning. The wider adoption of easy, seamless game-sharing platforms like Itch.io around 2019 meant that making games and sharing it to people, even worldwide, was suddenly within easy reach. And locally, the efforts of G&G to promote indie RPGs as well as local storytellers meant that in the Philippines, at least, there was an increasing desire to expand this network, explore more possibilities within the region, reach out and connect to creative minds beyond the communities we know.
So, you have Itch.io, you have this growing diversity plus a desire to reach out…and when you add Twitter to that, threads of connection will begin rapidly building and accelerating between passionate indie creators, such as designers like Samuel Mui, Aaron Lim, Shao Han alongside the Curious Chimeras, and so many others. And the great thing that happens with these connections is that the collective energies amplify each other; so since then we’ve been individually doing our best to shine the spotlight on works from the region, and in January 2021, even setting up an #RPGSEA convention called Session Zero Online.
I attended Session Zero Online and it was amazing! What was your experience with it? Do you hope it will influence other online conventions?
I had so much fun with it! I met designers from across the region, and saw many visitors all over the world – I think at one point we had about 500, 600 users?
Absolutely, I want to see more cons like it! It was the largest SEAsian RPG event as far as I know, but what I really loved was the positive energy buzzing all throughout. There was love and passion for the games alongside a strong sense of community and support. I’d really love to see it in other events.
What do you feel are the differences, if any, between the indie TTRPG community in the Philippines, compared to North America?
It’s difficult for me because I’m not quite so exposed to the…say, structure, habits, trends in the North American indie RPG community. In fact, I’d like to ask you the question about what you think are the most interesting and unique parts of the western community!
In the Philippines, I do sense a lot of creative interest in exploring different, non-Western narratives; for example, @makapatag’s Gubat Banwa evokes a distinctive Philippine setting set in a fantastic alterworld where colonization was never a thing. Many of the more active Philippine game designers I know have that defiant streak. Having been, well, inundated with traditional “industry norms”, there’s a real thirst to prove and establish that there are actually compelling alternatives out there.
Is that the same as in North America? I don’t know yet – and I’m interested to find out too.
Please tell me and our readers about the ARC Doom Tabletop RPG. How did it come about?
ARC is a fantasy tabletop RPG with a unique blend of real-time and in-story mechanics for high-tension adventures pitting players against an apocalypse. Literally, a timer counts you down to the doom!
It’s my passion project. I’ve written, designed, drawn and laid out every page, with some artwork even dating years back yet still reflecting a darkly beautiful aesthetic that fits ARC’s motif so well. I began writing it late 2019, quickly producing “ashcan” versions that were hand-stapled…and somehow some of those landed on Exalted Funeral’s hands!
Exalted Funeral is a publisher of truly evocative indie RPGs, such as the Ultraviolet Grasslands and the recent Old School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy. That ARC would be included in this illustrious company…gives me shivers. But yes, they saw ARC, were intrigued and wanted to partner with me in sharing the game to the world.
Right from the start the game has a sense of urgency and high stakes. What led you to the idea of using time as an active component of the game?
I encountered the RPG concept of clocks early on, which immediately opened a world of possibilities for me. Clocks, for example, are useful visual and mechanical indicators of progress and what remains to be done. But what if that clock moves on its own – without player intervention?
Of course, a timer that just ticks down wouldn’t make sense unless it’s tied to something that matters…something the players would care about. What more could that be than a cataclysmic doom that upends the world completely? And so the Doomsday Clock was born – which the rest of the game integrates subtly all throughout, such as with rules for Omens or story fronts, the resolution of which could help slow down the Doom…or speed it even faster.
Many TTRPGs take their time getting to the Big Bad Guy or the Major Threat. Why was it important for ARC RPG to connect with that threat right from the start? What do you feel that brings to the play experience?
ARC is unique in that, at the onset, players know on a meta level that something wrong will happen. However, from the hero’s perspective, they still do need to be introduced organically to the Major Threat through story fronts and Omens.
However, having that meta knowledge at the start changes things a little: in playtests we found players who became more invested and felt higher urgency the closer the Doomsday Clock got to completion. The threat of a cataclysmic event made the quest more real somehow – suddenly, there were real stakes involved.
The Kickstarter for ARC Doom Tabletop RPG begins tomorrow. Is there anything you would like to tease our readers with to maybe encourage them to back on Day One?
Absolutely. We have a beautiful, even haunting trailer available now on YouTube. And the ARC Kickstarter aims to produce a high-quality print of the game… and when I say high-quality, I mean it: just these two covers hint at the depth of care, love, and quality that went into this game. I hope everyone visits and supports the campaign!
There is an entire team of skilled, talented creators that will unlock as stretch goals during the Kickstarter. Can you tell our readers a bit about them?
Our stretch goals hope to unlock three digital adventures from extraordinary people:
Pam Punzalan, whose past projects included work for World of Darkness, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Gun&Slinger, and more, and whose personal works explore queerness and intimacy.
BJ Recio, whose approach to storytelling emphasizes living worlds and story arcs, and whose game design chops appeared in games, books for D&D and Pathfinder.
Shao Han, a game designer who’s worked for Paizo, Pelgrane Press and others, and whose deep love and knowledge of history and culture shines bright in his every work.
And lastly we have three illustrators from my country: Danielle Florendo, Nina Martinez, and Benedict Reyna, award-winning artists who’ve drawn for books, video games and more for clients both international and local.
They’re also all members of Ang INK, the Philippines’ first and only guild for illustration for children’s art! I sought the group because artists for children’s literature, I find, have unique ways of interpreting concept to art. And among themselves, their diverse styles mean they can bring life to Shao’s, BJ’s, and Pam’s adventures in new ways.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me! Best of luck with the Kickstarter, I know I’ll be there Day One!
Thank you so much! See you there! 😀
You can sign up to be notified about ARC Doom Tabletop RPG on launch so you don’t miss out. Thank you again to momatoes for talking with me!
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