60 Second Interview: Grant Howitt
If you're a fan of Critical Role then you're probably familiar with Trinket's Honey Heist, a one-shot run by Marisha Ray. The un-bear-ably great mind behind Honey Heist is that of Grant Howitt who wrote the RPG as part of his One Page Games series. Grant, along with Chris Taylor and Maz Hamilton, founded Rowan, Rook and Decard, the publisher of Eat The Reich, Die, Heart, Spire, Unbound, Goblin Quest, and many other tabletop games. This month, we wanted to get inside the mind that created the one TTRPG to rule them all... Sean Bean Quest.
Was there a specific game or type of game that inspired you to get into game creation?
Warhammer, I think. Every British man plays Warhammer at some point in his life. I’ve been involved with the hobby in one way or another for 25 years now, and I’m continually impressed by their attention to detail and their big, daft, over-the-top worlds. Necromunda especially caught my imagination, which is why I wrote Spire, which basically Necromunda but with clerics instead of plasma guns.
What’s the thing you love most about being a game designer?
I set my own hours, so I work whenever I want. Now: that usually ends up being from about 10am to 6pm because I’m not terribly imaginative, but I can just tuck and roll out of a day if I’m not feeling it and I don’t get in trouble with anyone.
Also I guess I love writing down words in the right order, so it’s good for that too.
What has been your most challenging project and why?
Heart was very difficult, because we had to follow Spire - our first big game - with another game in the same world using a similar rules-set. Luckily we worked our arses off and it was really well-received to the extent where it’s overtaken Spire in popularity.
If you could have been responsible for any game, what would it have been?
Unknown Armies, probably. Love that game. Informed more about tone and subject in my work than I care to mention. Tremendous work and woefully underrepresented in the modern field.
And, from a profit point of view, probably D&D.
Are there any upcoming or new releases that you are excited about?
I’ve got Wilderfeast coming in the post soon, so I’m excited about that. I love the idea of game where cooking and eating are at the forefront, and it handles the mix of genres well judging by the brief flick I took through the PDF. I’ve also been reading through the new Arkham Horror RPG starter set called Hungering Shadows or Ravenous Phantoms (it's Hungering Abyss, Grant!) or something like that, which is very slick and it seems to have a lovely system attached to it as well.
What snack should always be by the gaming table?
I don’t snack much when I game, because I’m usually GMing and that takes up all my attention, plus I don’t like getting greasy fingers on my books. Bananas are good - they’re actual food, too - but I’ll never say no to pretzels. Love a pretzel.
Are you a Dungeon Crawler, Resource Hoarder or a Deck Builder?
Looking at my office, it seems like I’m a Resource Hoarder. When I’m not designing games or cooking I make toy soldiers to pass the time and do something creative that I don’t have to be profitable or even very good at, and my favourite part of that hobby is kitbashing, so I have a habit of collecting any and all interesting miniatures I can find on the off-chance I’ll use them in a conversion at some point in the future.
What was your favourite game growing up?
I always had a soft spot for Sonic 2; anything with the blue lad in, I think. I found them so immediately fascinating and engaging. I can’t remember if I ever completed one of them; I am, fundamentally, not very good at games.
Which game brings out your competitiveness the most?
I’m really not very competitive: I’m not good at the sort of things you can compete in. I can get a bit arsey when I play Necromunda, so that, I guess. I try to hide my little guys as best I can and sometimes they fall off gantries and I get upset.
If you got stuck on a desert island with a few friends, what’s the one game you’d love to wash up on shore?
Probably Sleeping Gods, even though it’s about shipwrecks (which is a bit close to the bone). I enjoyed it, but it’s so long and involved that being isolated from every other facet of society might be the only way I could get a campaign done.