Interviewing Tanya Floaker
By Alex White
- 3 minutes read - 623 wordsPlease tell me a bit about yourself
Sure thing! By day, I'm a 43 year old queer mum and pupil support assistant. By night, I design roleplay games, complete freelance writing and consultation jobs, and occasionally sleep (but never enough). I also try and make space for helping organise activities at my local games club, the Edinburgh Indie Gamers.
What do you like best about designing games?
The best thing, to my mind, is when I manage to catch lightning in a bottle and create a game which evokes the mood or emotion I was hoping for. Tabletop roleplay games are a place where we can suspend our daily lives and explore an emotional landscape of another perspective. I've found this a great tool for allowing myself to be open to forging empathic connections, both with others but also in respect to reflection on my own life. The moments where I've designed the game, it helps others to sit in that emotion, then open up vulnerable connection where it wasn't before... wow.
What are you working on at the moment, and what excites you about it?
Well, there are a lot of things being working on at the moment - an occult action thriller inspired by ancient gnostic poetry, editing a club zine, reworking one of my previous games to run enturely on a deck of tarot-sized cards, the list goes on. However, the next project I plan to crowdfund and release is Mum Chums. I'm excited because every time I've playtested it, it hits the emotional mood that I was going for. You see, you all play adults who care for children who are roughly the same age as they start school. While the slice-of-life drama of it is based from my own view of parenting, I hope it can be cathartic and informative for parents and non-parents alike. All of the playtesting as been with people who don't have kids, and seeing how they have reacted and talking over how they felt while playing the game has been quite the experience.
I see that you are reworking an existing game to run entirely on a deck of cards; what benefits (and costs) do you anticipate from taking the card based approach?
The benefit is that every part of it will be better, top to bottom. The actual play experience is smoother. Getting a grasp of the rules is simpler. It looks better. I'm really hype for it. The cost is that is is a lot more money to make a deck of cards. I'm also concerned that, in the eyes of the law, a dech of cards moves me from making books into making toys & games, which comes with a bunch more admin and cost.
Is there anything you would like to promote right now?
As well as the Kickstarter for Mum Chums launching on Feb 1st, there is loads of amazing games coming out of Scotland right now. Wise Women has had a few supplements come out for this game of Slavic folklore and witches, with a winter-based expansion due soon. Wraithlands is a glorious blend of gaming traditions with a healthy dose of Scottish history and Iron Maiden thrown in to the mix. Handiwork Games are going to be reviving both Cold City and Hot War this year, so a return of some indie classics. Finally, for a more trad game but with a community created experience, Embers of Humanity looks like a good collective world for new writers to cut their teeth alongside some older hats.
- Mum Chums Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/floaker/mum-chums/
Where should people go to follow you, and to find your products?
Follow my monthly mailing list. It will direct you to all my other endeavours!