I cannot believe it is November. This year has been a strange one for me, dragging with interminable slowness for large portions, only for me to blink and find that months have passed. Today, I want to give an update on the state of projects and what has been happening behind the scenes here at the fortress of solitude.

Mental health and the creative process

Anxiety sucks. That is about as eloquent as I can state it. And unfortunately, this year my anxiety and mental health has been rubbish at times, with me constantly over-thinking, second-guessing and questioning things around me. I have a lot of stuff going on – a full time job, a family, kids with disabilities, aging parents, a publishing side-hustle, and a irrepressible need to please people. It is hard to switch the brain off sometimes. When I’m all caught up in my own head it is extremely difficult to channel the creativity necessary to make games, finish projects, or follow up on things that probably should be followed up on. Thankfully, I have a great support network, and have made looking after myself a priority. This has meant not working on games for long stretches, accepting that I cannot do everything, and acknowledging I must put my wellbeing first. I am really, really grateful for the love, care and support of my wife, family, and friends.

The fans and community that have grown to support my games have also been a source of encouragement, and I have enjoyed the positive interactions I have had with many of you. Reading positive reviews, watching actual plays, and answering questions from eager players have all been highlights. Thanks to all of you.

Before I move on, let me urge anyone who is struggling with anxiety, depression, or just feeling a little off to talk to someone, seek help, and look after themselves. Games are cool, but not always the thing we need at a specific moment. There are lots of free mental health care services – in person and online – that can provide help and advice if needed.

So where are we at?

I don’t think I have published any games this year. No, that’s not true; Tomorrow City came out in January and I am super pleased at how well it has been received. I am really proud of that game and the particular iteration of the Action Tales rules. The world is interesting and fun and filled with adventure seeds. However, the game is still flexible enough for people to put their own stamp on it or use it for playing games in other popular video games or film worlds.

Though January was the last time anything was released, I have worked on stuff. Let’s break it down.

Conventions and Demos

Did you know running convention games takes a lot of time, and energy, pre-and-post event? It has been years since I ran a game at a convention, but this year, I did it several times, and it was exhausting! It was also really rewarding, and I had a lot of fun, met a bunch of great people, and loved being out and about in a community of like-minded, enthusiastic gamers. It helped to recharge my enthusiasm for the roleplaying game hobby, and reaffirm my desire to continue writing and publishing games, but it also took up a lot of my time.

I primarily ran Tomorrow City and Hard City, as they are games available in brick-and-mortar retailers, and they were well received each time. I was also able to sell hard copies of Neon City Overdrive and Star Scoundrels at PAX Aus this year (thank you, Tabletop Game Designers of Australia), which was another valuable experience in learning about margins, marketing, supply chains and more. Plenty of food for thought, and I am currently considering what conventions I might attend in 2025.

Strangeville

My supernatural monster-hunting game was on track to be released in the first quarter of 2024. Then I ran a few more playtests, and the wheels fell off. Elements of the rules did not work as expected, and I was unhappy with some of the rules explanations I had written. I realised I needed to write a bunch more stuff to make the game what I had originally envisioned, and it all felt quite insurmountable. This all hit me pretty hard, and I didn’t work on Strangeville for a long while. I would come back to it periodically and adjust things, but progress was extremely slow.

I am back to working on Strangeville now, though. I have fixed most of the elements I was not happy with and added a bunch more stuff – it is going to be close to a 200-page book when done. I need to rewrite the adventures and a clearer explanation of how combat works. While there are only these small elements left to finish, I am not willing to give a release window. But it is coming.

Action Tales! RPGs

Last year, in between other projects (particularly finishing the manuscript for Tomorrow City), I wrote the outlines for several “mini RPGs”. These were originally 12-20 page documents that covered several niche genres that I was interested in playing in. I had toyed with starting a Patreon and releasing one a month (but I wanted to have several ready in advance). When I went to clean up the first of these for release, I decided to repackage it as a complete stand-alone game. This was Star Scoundrels. I am super pleased that it has been selling well and having good reviews. Over the last few months I have gone back and repackaged another of these mini games, which is now ready for release. Cavemen Vs. Aliens is even more niche than Star Scoundrels, letting players take on the roles of primitive hunters, explorers and shaman fighting a battle for Earth against invading aliens! It is all a little bit silly, in the tradition of the worst of B-grade films and fiction. Expect dinosaurs, ray guns, and a need to make fire. I will post more about this game soon, and I will also send a discount link to newsletter subscribers (so subscribe!).

I will continue to make these mini-RPGs in between other projects. They are a great creative ‘release valve” that gives me a break between larger, longer projects. I know what genre I will work on next, but would love to hear what you think would make a fun mini Action Tales game.

Foreign Language Editions

I have had lots of requests over the years for translations of my games, particularly Neon City Overdrive. Up until now, I have not pursued these as I just haven’t had the mental “bandwidth” to deal with the additional stress of contracts and the other arrangements that go along with such things. I am pleased to announce, however, that Pro Indie will be producing German-language editions of Neon City Overdrive, Dungeon Blitz and Dungeon Crawlers. Not only do Pro Indie produce amazing RPGs, Carsten Damm has been a huge supporter of my work since the first release of Freeform Universal, almost fifteen years ago. A little known fact – Vagrant Workshop / Pro Indie’s desire to use Freeform Universal as the core of their Earthdawn: Age of Legends game was why I made the FU rules CC-By. I am really excited to be taking the first steps into licensing my games with the fine folk at Pro Indie.

Hopefully, if all goes well, we will see some other translations in the not-too-distant future.

Another Osprey Game

I have signed with Osprey Games for another RPG. I won’t say much more about it at this stage, but I am really excited about this particular pitch – it is a setting/genre that has not been well represented in tabletop games but is quite popular in fiction. The manuscript is not due until late next year, which means the release date is a couple of years away. Stay tuned for more info!

Freeform Universal 2nd Ed

Okay, okay….. I have struggled with this one. I released the 2nd Ed beta back in 2019, and it is huuuuuuge. 100+ pages and unfinished. That is quite intimidating to revisit, edit and prepare a new edition. To complicate matters, I have come to feel such a large book loses much of the concise simplicity of the original FU rules (it was, after all, 24 pages with an adventure!). I love that the original game could be picked up, read, and on the table in less than half an hour. I have found myself conflicted between offering a comprehensive toolbox for people to work with, and sticking to the original format. So, here’s the plan: I am going to write two versions.

1. An “essential” edition, a bit like FATE Accelerated or FATE Condensed. It will be stand-alone, cutting close to the original FU game with a strict “this is how you play”. The nature of the rules makes the system very flexible, but it won’t have lots of bells and whistles or options attached. Maybe I will call it Freeform Universal Narrative. Maybe I won’t.
2. A “complete” edition, much closer to the current FU 2nd Ed beta. This will be a toolbox full of options, a bit like the Cortex Prime RPG. Much of what I have done with the Action Tales games will be included in this. I have no idea what I will call it, but it won’t have a word like “core”, “complete” or the like – we don’t want that abbreviation! Leave a comment with a name suggestion.

I know lots of you are waiting for the second edition of FU, and I genuinely feel guilty for not having made more progress. I don’t have a timeline for getting this done, but it is on my list of things to do.

Where next?

Okay, let’s wrap this up with a rough thumbnail sketch of what is happening next. First, I will be releasing Cavemen Vs. Aliens in the next week – stay tuned for that. It is done and ready to go. My most pressing goal is to get Strangeville done because it has been weighing on me for too long, and I just need it off the table. I am hoping this will not take long. When that complete, I will begin drafting the new Osprey Games book. I am already deep into research (i.e. reading!). In the moments between, when I need a creative break, I will work on something smaller – perhaps the smaller FU game, perhaps not. After these two things are completed, I will turn my attention to FU 2nd Ed. That might be 2025, it might not.

It is all pretty broad, I know. The thing is, I have learned from my experiences over the last year or so. I had grand plans for 2024, but my brain had other ideas. My goal for 2025 is to continue being creative in a manner that sustains my enjoyment of the process and ensures I can keep making games for a long time. I will be looking after myself (and my family) first, but making small gains in my creative pursuits. I really hope you join me on the journey.

Thanks,

Nathan