04-14-2008, 06:48 AM
1. How did you guys come up with the name Tremorworks for your company?
Sean: We actually went through several other company titles before settling on Tremorworks, due to overlap with existing company names (or company abbreviations), or simply for not conveying the right message. We really are striving to be innovative, and not run-of-the-mill, so we wanted a really "earth-shattering" title, something that really would imply we were "shaking things up" so to speak. Tremorworks was just the result of a long brainstorming session on that subject.
2. When did Tremorworks come into business, and what made that the right year for Tremorworks to come onto the gaming scene?
Sean: While we officially opened our doors in January of 2006, we were in sort of a pre-company state for about 2 years prior, developing a plan and working on our first round of products. By January of 06, we felt we had a solid plan, solid products, and, most importantly, the funding necessary to get started. Also, at that time, role-playing games and "euro-style" board games were getting more and more focus, at least in the States, and it seemed like a good period to push our line of products.
3. What are some of the game products that Tremorworks has produced so far, and what makes them stand out from other gaming products offered by competitors?
Sean: So far, we've got the HDL role-playing system which includes 2 settings, Demongate High and Perfect Horizon, both of which are very unique, unlike any other role-playing settings out there. The HDL system itself was designed to stand out with its simplicity, realism, and adaptability. We also have ElementaliS, a quick dice-based game, with elements of strategy, but a quick pace unlike other games we'd seen in the genre.
4. What was the inspiration for the game ElementaliS?
Rob: I wanted to design something quick, fun, and not too expensive to produce. I had decided to design a game with just 5 dice, that's it. The original design had 1 die of each element, and a sun die. Of course, it grew into something bigger than that, but nothing really stays the same through the design process.
5. What kind of game is ElementaliS? Is it a board game? A card game? Or something else?
Rob: ElementaliS is a dice game, yet more than a dice game. While the dice are important to the game, the real game takes place when players start casting spells and interacting.
6. Why the capital letter "S" at the end of ElementaliS?
Rob: This was mostly a design choice when it came time to layout the cover of the box. As you may have noticed, the box is very minimal in it's design. Sean designed all the elemental symbols and the cards in the game, and I wanted to make use of just those images, while keeping the box mostly white. The only problem was that the name of the game just didn't look right. I consulted a good friend of mine, Jacob Pellegren, about what the best way to lay out the cover was. After trying a few things, we found the capital "S" at the end just looked better. I tend to swap between a capitol "S" and a lowercase "s," but I try my best to stay consistent.
7. What are ElementaliS: Creationists and Elitists and ElementaliS: Chaotica and Cultists, and what do they bring to the mix that wasn't there previously?
Rob: First off, each expansion allows you to play the game with an extra player. So if you're playing with both, you can play with up to 6 players. Each expansion also adds a set of Arcana cards. Creationists and Elitists adds the Ether set, while Chaotica and Cultists adds the Sun set. These new Arcana cards allow the players to play as different types of Mages that score, and cast spells, differently than the Mages in the base set.
8. What's the big deal about Flux and Mana?
Rob: They're the meat of the game. The Flux is the pool of Mana that players will be pulling from. Mana is both what you use to cast spells, and what you need to win the game. The terms, themselves, are just that, terms used to fit the theme of the game.
9. What is your personal favorite part of the design of ElementaliS?
Rob: I love the different spells and how they can be used in different situations. You'll find that Earth and Water spells are more defensive, while Fire and Air spells are more offensive. That isn't to say that you can't play them the other way around. There's many ways to use all the spells, and I'm even surprised, sometimes, when I get feedback from a player letting me know how they used a spell in a certain situation!
10. Hey, who are you, anyway? Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourselves?
Rob: I'm me. I'm a husband to a fantastic woman, and a father to the two most adorable children on the planet. I'm a geek, and I'm proud of that. I enjoy many things, including board games, RPGs, video games, reading, writing, music, geocaching, and cooking.
Sean: That sure is a loaded question! I'll just say that I consider myself to be a creative person, through and through. I've been writing, drawing, and designing games for as long as I can remember. My brain never shuts off, and new ideas come to me all the time. I'd like to say I like to do lots of things, but it seems gaming has consumed most of my free time these days, thanks to development and playtesting, although I still find time to work on other projects like my ongoing webcomic, as well as my day job.
11. What's the name of your ongoing webcomic, and what's it about?
Sean: The comic's name is Darkbolt. It's a weekly manga/anime-inspired, superhero-esque story of Japanese high school students who have come into possession of the powers of ancient Demons. They use these powers to protect their home from various threats, while dealing with the issues of having powers stemming from sources of evil. The comic has evolved quite a bit over time, and has been running since July of 1999. Early on in my game design career, I used it as a springboard for my first role-playing game, and I'm just now finally getting around to updating the game to the HDL system.
12. What do you think is the key to designing a good game?
Rob: Passion. If you don't have it, then I think it'll be really hard to design a good game. I think if you're passionate about anything, it'll show.
Sean: I agree, and I think you also need experience. You need to know what else is out there, not so you can copy it, but so you can be different. Having a good source of inspiration doesn't hurt either!
13. If you had it to do all over again, is there anything about ElementaliS that you would change?
Rob: Of course! I don't think there's a day that goes by where I don't think about how I could have done this, or that, better. I've already updated the rules a bit, with some minor changes that players have recommended, and that I feel make the game better. I always maintain updated copies of the rules on our website.
14. MythicArena is billed on the Tremorworks website as a multi-player fantasy card battling game. What, exactly, is that?
Sean: MythicArena is actually the end result of the evolution of the first game I ever made, just before Magic: The Gathering was released. It was just a simple little non-collectible, stand alone card game, where players could choose a party of fantasy characters and fight it out in an open arena. Once Magic and the whole CCG craze hit, I came to learn that I really didn't like CCGs. They require far too much money to build the right "deck," and in the end, the winner is most often the person who spent the most money to get the best cards. So, I really wanted to stick to a non-CCG, standalone game.
15. Who did the artwork for the MythicArena cards?
Sean: A great guy I met while putting together the HDL rules named Jason Troxell (you can find his gallery here: (http://jason-troxell.deviantart.com/).
He did some work for the HDL Basic Rules and Perfect Horizon, and his style has really undergone a lot of evolution, since we first started these projects. I thought he could bring a good sense of style to the game that I couldn't quite get through my own artwork.
16. Is MythicArena already available, and if not, when will it be available?
Sean: At the moment, MythicArena is still in pre-production. We've got most of the final colored artwork, and it's undergone literally over a decade of playtesting. We hope to go into production soon, but we can't make any promises at this stage. I can say our plan is to get it out this year.
17. How much do Tremorworks' games cost, and where does one get a copy, if they are interested?
Sean: ElementaliS is $15, which is a great price for a quick, fun game that really has a lot of strategy behind it. The HDL Basic Rules, the "core" of the HDL role-playing game, is $20, the HDL Cards are $5, and each setting is $25. Our goal, there, was to keep book prices low, so people didn't feel they were investing their savings to play a game!
All our products are available for purchase on our website, http://www.tremorworks.com, and lots of stores already carry them, too. If you want to see the game, I'd suggest going to a store and looking for it; at least with the HDL books, you can flip through them. If the store doesn't carry our games, you can certainly ask them to do so.
18. What is this thing called an HDL system?
Sean: The HDL system is our role-playing system, developed over several years and based on 3 ideas: 1, to be as realistic as possible; 2, to be as simple as possible; and 3, to incorporate elements from all the various gaming experiences I've had that I liked (cards, point-based character creation, and freeform experience progression), while eliminating all the things I hate (levels, hit points, and classes).
19. What are some of the more innovative parts of the HDL system?
Sean: That's an interesting question, because it seems every game out there overlaps with every other game, and there are established "staples" of RPGs. When building the system, I tried to be as innovative as I could. I guess my favorite aspect is the Energy system. Too many games out there just have you roll a die, and you either fail or succeed; there's no allowance for extra effort or over-exertion. In the HDL system, every character has Energy, which he can spend to try harder or even power special abilities. We also include ESPers (powerful psychics) in the Basic Rules, with just about any psychic ability you can think of. There's also the focus on realism, including extensive skill sets and a wider than typical array of stats. I could go on and on, but I guess I have to stop at some point!
And, of course, there are the settings: Perfect Horizon and Demongate High, the likes of which I still haven't seen elsewhere.
20. What kind of learning curve is there for someone who has never played any Tremorworks games to get hang of them?
Sean: The key word here is "simple." We want all our games to be simple enough to just pick up and play. With any game, there's always a learning curve, but we tried to make it as gentle as possible. Of course, having experience with similar games is always helpful, but I think any of our games could serve as a great first experience to either board or role-playing games.
21. Of all of the games out there, what is your personal favorite other than one of the games that Tremorworks publishes, and why do you like it so much?
Rob: At the moment I really enjoy Twilight Struggle, Battlelore, Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, and Hive. There's plenty more, but those are some of my favorites. These are just some fantastic games, and I hope one day to design games as great as these.
Sean: In terms of role-playing games, most other games have really fallen off my radar. There are just so many things about them that I don't like. In terms of board games, though, like Rob I have a real fondness for euro-games. A couple of my favorites are King of the Elves, M, and Corsairs. Strategy elements and unique game mechanics are what really get me going.
22. What advice can you offer to someone thinking of designing and publishing their own game?
Sean: I would say the number one rule is testing. Make sure people like to play it, and for heaven's sake, take their suggestions seriously! It's very easy to get mired in your vision of the game, and not want to change the way something works. However, you're not making the game for yourself, you're making it for other players. If they don't like the way it works, you need to listen to them.
Second, image is very important. People see the theme of a game first, the rules and mechanics second. So you need to draw people in with a theme.
And, of course, there's the whole publishing aspect. Not many people realize the costs and time involved in actually bringing a game to print. Both Rob and I have gotten invaluable advice from other experienced designers and business people in the industry, so be willing to listen to experience.
23. Are there any other games in the works at Tremorworks that you can spill the beans about?
Sean: Well, there's MythicArena, which we're both really excited about, and also another board game what was supposed to be a launch title, called Star Venture. It's a pretty big board game, involving elements of negotiation, economics, strategy, and combat. Hopefully, we'll be finalizing it soon, which would also be really exciting.
We also have some more Elementalis expansion material coming soon, so you can check our website for updates on that. There are also a few more HDL books coming: the HDL Options Guide, which adds a ton of new optional rules, skills, backgrounds, and also rules for magic; and a pretty big Demongate High expansion with plenty of new powers, demons, and maybe even some other stuff that I'd like to keep a surprise.
We've also got two new HDL settings: Darkbolt, a super-powered anime-inspired setting based on my webcomic, which will be available for free, and LUCID: Dreamscape Reality, a modern setting based on Dreamers, who are able to step into reality and control it through their dreams.
And finally, we have another board-game based on the Demongate High role-playing game called Demongate High: Summoners' Studies. We hope to release all of these within the next twelve months.
24. Will Tremorworks be at any upcoming game fair or convention?
Sean: We try to hit conventions when we can, particularly in the Northeast US, but day-jobs tend to get in the way of that from time to time. We're planning on attending Connecticon, and also Nekocon in November. We'd like to make it to Origins and Gencon next year.
25. What is the most difficult thing about designing and bringing a game to market?
Sean: Getting the word out is really the hardest thing to do. We know we have good products, and we both firmly believe in everything we've created. The problem is getting other people, the players, to recognize that, let alone know we even exist. With all the big game companies out there dominating the market, a small company like Tremorworks has to really shout to be heard.
26. For someone considering buying one of Tremorworks' games, but who might be on the fence about making the purchase, what would you say to them to convince them to go ahead and buy the game?
Rob: If you can, play the game first. There's no better way to know if you'll like it or not, until you play it, yourself. Other than that, find some reviews online, and read both one that praises the game, and one that doesn't. This way, you'll get both sides of the story.
27. What were some of the things about the ElementaliS' design that were changed during playtesting?
Rob: A lot! Like I said, before, the game started off as a very simple game with just 5 dice. Through playtesting, the game evolved into what it is. , Without the hard work of my play testers, the game wouldn't be what it is. Actually, it was Justin Fitzgerald, one of my play testers, who was very influential on how the game is currently structured.
28. What do you think is the biggest challenge for Tremorworks going forward?
Sean: I would say our biggest challenge is two-fold: We need to keep getting the word out, make sure people know we're here to stay. But, doing that means keeping up with demand once things get going. We need to push out expansions and new games, or we may just fall off gamers' radar. But we aren't going away any time soon!
Sean: We actually went through several other company titles before settling on Tremorworks, due to overlap with existing company names (or company abbreviations), or simply for not conveying the right message. We really are striving to be innovative, and not run-of-the-mill, so we wanted a really "earth-shattering" title, something that really would imply we were "shaking things up" so to speak. Tremorworks was just the result of a long brainstorming session on that subject.
2. When did Tremorworks come into business, and what made that the right year for Tremorworks to come onto the gaming scene?
Sean: While we officially opened our doors in January of 2006, we were in sort of a pre-company state for about 2 years prior, developing a plan and working on our first round of products. By January of 06, we felt we had a solid plan, solid products, and, most importantly, the funding necessary to get started. Also, at that time, role-playing games and "euro-style" board games were getting more and more focus, at least in the States, and it seemed like a good period to push our line of products.
3. What are some of the game products that Tremorworks has produced so far, and what makes them stand out from other gaming products offered by competitors?
Sean: So far, we've got the HDL role-playing system which includes 2 settings, Demongate High and Perfect Horizon, both of which are very unique, unlike any other role-playing settings out there. The HDL system itself was designed to stand out with its simplicity, realism, and adaptability. We also have ElementaliS, a quick dice-based game, with elements of strategy, but a quick pace unlike other games we'd seen in the genre.
4. What was the inspiration for the game ElementaliS?
Rob: I wanted to design something quick, fun, and not too expensive to produce. I had decided to design a game with just 5 dice, that's it. The original design had 1 die of each element, and a sun die. Of course, it grew into something bigger than that, but nothing really stays the same through the design process.
5. What kind of game is ElementaliS? Is it a board game? A card game? Or something else?
Rob: ElementaliS is a dice game, yet more than a dice game. While the dice are important to the game, the real game takes place when players start casting spells and interacting.
6. Why the capital letter "S" at the end of ElementaliS?
Rob: This was mostly a design choice when it came time to layout the cover of the box. As you may have noticed, the box is very minimal in it's design. Sean designed all the elemental symbols and the cards in the game, and I wanted to make use of just those images, while keeping the box mostly white. The only problem was that the name of the game just didn't look right. I consulted a good friend of mine, Jacob Pellegren, about what the best way to lay out the cover was. After trying a few things, we found the capital "S" at the end just looked better. I tend to swap between a capitol "S" and a lowercase "s," but I try my best to stay consistent.
7. What are ElementaliS: Creationists and Elitists and ElementaliS: Chaotica and Cultists, and what do they bring to the mix that wasn't there previously?
Rob: First off, each expansion allows you to play the game with an extra player. So if you're playing with both, you can play with up to 6 players. Each expansion also adds a set of Arcana cards. Creationists and Elitists adds the Ether set, while Chaotica and Cultists adds the Sun set. These new Arcana cards allow the players to play as different types of Mages that score, and cast spells, differently than the Mages in the base set.
8. What's the big deal about Flux and Mana?
Rob: They're the meat of the game. The Flux is the pool of Mana that players will be pulling from. Mana is both what you use to cast spells, and what you need to win the game. The terms, themselves, are just that, terms used to fit the theme of the game.
9. What is your personal favorite part of the design of ElementaliS?
Rob: I love the different spells and how they can be used in different situations. You'll find that Earth and Water spells are more defensive, while Fire and Air spells are more offensive. That isn't to say that you can't play them the other way around. There's many ways to use all the spells, and I'm even surprised, sometimes, when I get feedback from a player letting me know how they used a spell in a certain situation!
10. Hey, who are you, anyway? Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourselves?
Rob: I'm me. I'm a husband to a fantastic woman, and a father to the two most adorable children on the planet. I'm a geek, and I'm proud of that. I enjoy many things, including board games, RPGs, video games, reading, writing, music, geocaching, and cooking.
Sean: That sure is a loaded question! I'll just say that I consider myself to be a creative person, through and through. I've been writing, drawing, and designing games for as long as I can remember. My brain never shuts off, and new ideas come to me all the time. I'd like to say I like to do lots of things, but it seems gaming has consumed most of my free time these days, thanks to development and playtesting, although I still find time to work on other projects like my ongoing webcomic, as well as my day job.
11. What's the name of your ongoing webcomic, and what's it about?
Sean: The comic's name is Darkbolt. It's a weekly manga/anime-inspired, superhero-esque story of Japanese high school students who have come into possession of the powers of ancient Demons. They use these powers to protect their home from various threats, while dealing with the issues of having powers stemming from sources of evil. The comic has evolved quite a bit over time, and has been running since July of 1999. Early on in my game design career, I used it as a springboard for my first role-playing game, and I'm just now finally getting around to updating the game to the HDL system.
12. What do you think is the key to designing a good game?
Rob: Passion. If you don't have it, then I think it'll be really hard to design a good game. I think if you're passionate about anything, it'll show.
Sean: I agree, and I think you also need experience. You need to know what else is out there, not so you can copy it, but so you can be different. Having a good source of inspiration doesn't hurt either!
13. If you had it to do all over again, is there anything about ElementaliS that you would change?
Rob: Of course! I don't think there's a day that goes by where I don't think about how I could have done this, or that, better. I've already updated the rules a bit, with some minor changes that players have recommended, and that I feel make the game better. I always maintain updated copies of the rules on our website.
14. MythicArena is billed on the Tremorworks website as a multi-player fantasy card battling game. What, exactly, is that?
Sean: MythicArena is actually the end result of the evolution of the first game I ever made, just before Magic: The Gathering was released. It was just a simple little non-collectible, stand alone card game, where players could choose a party of fantasy characters and fight it out in an open arena. Once Magic and the whole CCG craze hit, I came to learn that I really didn't like CCGs. They require far too much money to build the right "deck," and in the end, the winner is most often the person who spent the most money to get the best cards. So, I really wanted to stick to a non-CCG, standalone game.
15. Who did the artwork for the MythicArena cards?
Sean: A great guy I met while putting together the HDL rules named Jason Troxell (you can find his gallery here: (http://jason-troxell.deviantart.com/).
He did some work for the HDL Basic Rules and Perfect Horizon, and his style has really undergone a lot of evolution, since we first started these projects. I thought he could bring a good sense of style to the game that I couldn't quite get through my own artwork.
16. Is MythicArena already available, and if not, when will it be available?
Sean: At the moment, MythicArena is still in pre-production. We've got most of the final colored artwork, and it's undergone literally over a decade of playtesting. We hope to go into production soon, but we can't make any promises at this stage. I can say our plan is to get it out this year.
17. How much do Tremorworks' games cost, and where does one get a copy, if they are interested?
Sean: ElementaliS is $15, which is a great price for a quick, fun game that really has a lot of strategy behind it. The HDL Basic Rules, the "core" of the HDL role-playing game, is $20, the HDL Cards are $5, and each setting is $25. Our goal, there, was to keep book prices low, so people didn't feel they were investing their savings to play a game!
All our products are available for purchase on our website, http://www.tremorworks.com, and lots of stores already carry them, too. If you want to see the game, I'd suggest going to a store and looking for it; at least with the HDL books, you can flip through them. If the store doesn't carry our games, you can certainly ask them to do so.
18. What is this thing called an HDL system?
Sean: The HDL system is our role-playing system, developed over several years and based on 3 ideas: 1, to be as realistic as possible; 2, to be as simple as possible; and 3, to incorporate elements from all the various gaming experiences I've had that I liked (cards, point-based character creation, and freeform experience progression), while eliminating all the things I hate (levels, hit points, and classes).
19. What are some of the more innovative parts of the HDL system?
Sean: That's an interesting question, because it seems every game out there overlaps with every other game, and there are established "staples" of RPGs. When building the system, I tried to be as innovative as I could. I guess my favorite aspect is the Energy system. Too many games out there just have you roll a die, and you either fail or succeed; there's no allowance for extra effort or over-exertion. In the HDL system, every character has Energy, which he can spend to try harder or even power special abilities. We also include ESPers (powerful psychics) in the Basic Rules, with just about any psychic ability you can think of. There's also the focus on realism, including extensive skill sets and a wider than typical array of stats. I could go on and on, but I guess I have to stop at some point!
And, of course, there are the settings: Perfect Horizon and Demongate High, the likes of which I still haven't seen elsewhere.
20. What kind of learning curve is there for someone who has never played any Tremorworks games to get hang of them?
Sean: The key word here is "simple." We want all our games to be simple enough to just pick up and play. With any game, there's always a learning curve, but we tried to make it as gentle as possible. Of course, having experience with similar games is always helpful, but I think any of our games could serve as a great first experience to either board or role-playing games.
21. Of all of the games out there, what is your personal favorite other than one of the games that Tremorworks publishes, and why do you like it so much?
Rob: At the moment I really enjoy Twilight Struggle, Battlelore, Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, and Hive. There's plenty more, but those are some of my favorites. These are just some fantastic games, and I hope one day to design games as great as these.
Sean: In terms of role-playing games, most other games have really fallen off my radar. There are just so many things about them that I don't like. In terms of board games, though, like Rob I have a real fondness for euro-games. A couple of my favorites are King of the Elves, M, and Corsairs. Strategy elements and unique game mechanics are what really get me going.
22. What advice can you offer to someone thinking of designing and publishing their own game?
Sean: I would say the number one rule is testing. Make sure people like to play it, and for heaven's sake, take their suggestions seriously! It's very easy to get mired in your vision of the game, and not want to change the way something works. However, you're not making the game for yourself, you're making it for other players. If they don't like the way it works, you need to listen to them.
Second, image is very important. People see the theme of a game first, the rules and mechanics second. So you need to draw people in with a theme.
And, of course, there's the whole publishing aspect. Not many people realize the costs and time involved in actually bringing a game to print. Both Rob and I have gotten invaluable advice from other experienced designers and business people in the industry, so be willing to listen to experience.
23. Are there any other games in the works at Tremorworks that you can spill the beans about?
Sean: Well, there's MythicArena, which we're both really excited about, and also another board game what was supposed to be a launch title, called Star Venture. It's a pretty big board game, involving elements of negotiation, economics, strategy, and combat. Hopefully, we'll be finalizing it soon, which would also be really exciting.
We also have some more Elementalis expansion material coming soon, so you can check our website for updates on that. There are also a few more HDL books coming: the HDL Options Guide, which adds a ton of new optional rules, skills, backgrounds, and also rules for magic; and a pretty big Demongate High expansion with plenty of new powers, demons, and maybe even some other stuff that I'd like to keep a surprise.
We've also got two new HDL settings: Darkbolt, a super-powered anime-inspired setting based on my webcomic, which will be available for free, and LUCID: Dreamscape Reality, a modern setting based on Dreamers, who are able to step into reality and control it through their dreams.
And finally, we have another board-game based on the Demongate High role-playing game called Demongate High: Summoners' Studies. We hope to release all of these within the next twelve months.
24. Will Tremorworks be at any upcoming game fair or convention?
Sean: We try to hit conventions when we can, particularly in the Northeast US, but day-jobs tend to get in the way of that from time to time. We're planning on attending Connecticon, and also Nekocon in November. We'd like to make it to Origins and Gencon next year.
25. What is the most difficult thing about designing and bringing a game to market?
Sean: Getting the word out is really the hardest thing to do. We know we have good products, and we both firmly believe in everything we've created. The problem is getting other people, the players, to recognize that, let alone know we even exist. With all the big game companies out there dominating the market, a small company like Tremorworks has to really shout to be heard.
26. For someone considering buying one of Tremorworks' games, but who might be on the fence about making the purchase, what would you say to them to convince them to go ahead and buy the game?
Rob: If you can, play the game first. There's no better way to know if you'll like it or not, until you play it, yourself. Other than that, find some reviews online, and read both one that praises the game, and one that doesn't. This way, you'll get both sides of the story.
27. What were some of the things about the ElementaliS' design that were changed during playtesting?
Rob: A lot! Like I said, before, the game started off as a very simple game with just 5 dice. Through playtesting, the game evolved into what it is. , Without the hard work of my play testers, the game wouldn't be what it is. Actually, it was Justin Fitzgerald, one of my play testers, who was very influential on how the game is currently structured.
28. What do you think is the biggest challenge for Tremorworks going forward?
Sean: I would say our biggest challenge is two-fold: We need to keep getting the word out, make sure people know we're here to stay. But, doing that means keeping up with demand once things get going. We need to push out expansions and new games, or we may just fall off gamers' radar. But we aren't going away any time soon!