Interviewing Mikhail Malkin

By Alex White

- 4 minutes read - 660 words
Mikhail is arranging a prison break for you!

Please tell me a bit about yourself

Sure thing! I'm Mikhail Malkin - I was born in Crimea, where the warm Black Sea caresses the shoreline, mountains are peaking through the beech and oak forests and caves, palaces and ancient ruins are calling you for adventure.

Like a veteran Team Fortress 2 player, I prefer to wear almost all the hats I can see. I'm an illustrator, game artist, narrative designer, voice actor and LARP game master. My flagship personal project is the Fishbone Archipelago - a swashbuckling campaign setting set in the fantasy world that survived two apocalyptic deluges

What do you like best about designing games?

I think what I like best is the perspective our players can have. Like, when I was designing the Ash Nocktem's Travelling Companions my plan was simple - make all the NPCs in the deck easy to use and fun to play with. But after showing this system-agnostic deck at my first convention I was surprised that a couple of folks told me that they're going to use cards as player character inspirations instead! Our products and games came alive in the hands of our players and I absolutely adore the synergy of creativity in this intersection!

What are you working on at the moment, and what excites you about it?

At the moment I am in the middle of writing my second Fishbone Archipelago adventure about a prison break from the Tower of Dusk - an ancient prison-fort, controlled by the Iron Brotherhood - a religious faction of lawbringers. In this Solo RPG you will have the option to turn inmates to allies or enemies, obtain hidden items and plot your daring escape avoiding or facing your nemesis. And what's most important you will have to choose what awaits you beyond the prison walls and what drives you forward. Should be tons of fun and I hope to start crowdfunding it during 2025's ZineQuest.

Four pictures for Escape from the Tower of Dusk

How are you going to make this a solo RPG? It sounds like the kind of thing where you really need a GM!

At the start of your game you will be able to choose two playbooks: a Bane (person who put you behind the bars) and a Benefactor (someone who wants you out). Both narratively and mechanically they have different styles, different strengths and weaknesses. Instead of a GM we'll going to use a schedule of Bane's Obstacles on your way and Benefactor Actions needed to perform your escape plan. By changing playbooks you will get different experiences every playthrough. At the moment I have two Bane options and two Benefactor options, but if this crowdfunding will go as planned, we will have more cool playbooks for both Banes and Benefactors. Stay tuned!

What experiences are you trying to give to players?

Among core mechanics is a concept of personal virtues. Three qualities that keep our incarcerated protagonists motivated, humane and balanced. Main storyline will guide my players to assemble tools and allies to attempt a prison break. To succeed in the attempt they will need to use their Iron, Shadow and Blaze - a spectrum of qualities and traits without compromising their virtues. Choose who you can trust and outmaneuver your Nemesis to regain your lost freedom.

Is there anything you would like to promote right now?

For upcoming Kickstarter campaign, my page is: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sandstonedistrict/fishbone-archipelago-escape-from-the-tower-of-dusk

Please, join my daring attempt to break out of fantastical prison and TTRPG obscurity!

Banner for Escape from the Tower of Dusk

Where should people go to follow you, and to find your products?

Oh, everywhere, really. I post sketches on my Instagram, I share artistic references form my travels on Threads, I have a growing library of free battlemaps on my Patreon, I am relatively active on Bluesky and Twitter and if you would like to see what I do every day as videogame artist or you would like to work with me - I also have a LinkedIn.