Colostle is an award-winning solo RPG named as one of Tabletop Gaming Magazine’s Best Games of 2021. In addition, it also won Best Rules - Gold 2022 at the ENNIES Tabletop RPG Awards. One of the founders of Big Punch Studios and Colostle’s creator, Nich Angell, is also a talented illustrator and writer of several comic series including 'Cat & Meringue' (a silly, but cute, story about a Cat and a Meringue at sea in a Catamaran) and '7STRING' (a badass action/adventure comic about a dude with a guitar sword). This month, we put Nich in the 60 second interview hotseat.
Was there a specific game or type of game that inspired you to get into game creation?
Although I’m a huge board gamer and love tabletop RPGs, I think it was ‘The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening’ that really inspired me to get into game creation and design. I loved its concise and elegant compression of everything that made a world feel alive into a delightful, small package. I’m a huge fan of keeping things simple and accessible. I also love world-building and creating a bright and colourful fantasy world.
I wanted to pull from that and some of my other favourite exploration and adventure games, and make tabletop games that embody the feelings those games gave me.
What’s the thing you love most about being a game designer?
World-building. For me, games are an opportunity to get lost in another world and the gameplay, mechanics and processes are all ways the designer can make the world feel alive – and the player can lose themselves in it while they play.
That, and I also get to play! It’s incredibly fulfilling both creatively and mechanically to work on something that is designed to create enjoyment in others. The pursuit of ‘what is fun’ is fun in itself!
What has been your most challenging project and why?
I am working on another solo RPG at the moment – it’s a long way out and I can’t say much about it at this point – but it’s particularly challenging because I want to create a very real sense of discovery in a game where as a solo player, you are in charge of everything. In video games it’s easy because you can just hide the discoveries away until the player fulfils what is required to unlock them. In table-top games it is much harder as they can just skip ahead in the book! So, the question is, how do I stop the player and preserve that sense of discovery! That’s what I’m working on!
If you could have been responsible for any game, what would it have been?
Although I don’t really play it anymore these days, Magic: The Gathering would probably be my answer. I love how much it achieves with a simple deck of cards and how it created an entire genre with its mechanics. Its ruleset has a low skill floor but a decently high skill ceiling and its cards can be downright stunning sometimes. Every TCG owes something to Magic and I imagine Richard Garfield is immensely proud of what he started with it.
Are there any upcoming or new releases that you are excited about?
I play a lot of Flesh and Blood and I’m really excited for their PvE edition which they keep promising! I’m not sure when it’s due but I think it will really change the TCG world if they can master it and bring FAB to life even more. The idea of adventuring out in a party with your mates, but with decks of cards instead of minis and boards is so cool!
What snack should always be by the gaming table?
For me, it’s a cup of tea and a few madeleines, those little French cakes – can’t beat that!
Are you a Dungeon Crawler, Resource Hoarder or a Deck Builder?
Probably a Deck Builder, as I’m quite into cards, both as a player and a designer! They just feel so good in your hand!
What was your favourite game growing up?
As a family we would play this game where we drew maps on graph paper and then guided each other through our labyrinths with puzzles and battles and multiple routes. It wasn’t until much later that I realised we were basically playing our own (much simpler) version of DnD! I loved playing that when we were young and I think that evolved into my love of RPGs and my career as a game designer later in life!
Which game brings out your competitiveness the most?
Funnily enough I think it’s one of the games I co-designed – ‘Sandwich Masters’ – a stupid card game where you’re competing to make disgusting sandwiches! Maybe it’s partly because I worked on it, but I’m so keen to prove that I can win in that game (sadly I always lose)!
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?
That’s a tricky one, there’s a lot of games I love, but this one has to be one you are happy to play over and over in the face of having nothing else!! So, I think it would have to be a massive treasure chest filled with Flesh and Blood cards so I can make countless decks and battle over and over! Maybe then I’d finally start winning some games!!