Industry Practice: Role Research

Role Model Research: Brian Richmond and Soulmuppet:
The production of tabletop games, particularly tabletop role playing games, is an area of the creative games industry that I seek to work within in the future, with the wants and needs of the sector being broad enough so that work within both large industry veterans and smaller independent companies is plausible. Freelance contract work for illustration sees part-time work integrated into the norm (Stonemaier Games 2021). This is due to the nature of the production pipeline in such projects, which do not require continuous art creation.
Looking within the indie tabletop games industry, a publishing company local to the Nottingham area - Soulmuppet Publishing - serves to be an excellent example for my personal aspirations for the future. Soulmuppet Publishing acts as a company that "develops and publishes a range of roleplaying games by writers and artists from all around the world." (Soulmuppet Publishing 2024), bearing a large catalogue of role-playing game material for purchase. This includes a large repertoire of material produced by queer creators who may have otherwise had poor access to the industry and market.
 
Brian Richmond (pen name Brian Yaksha) is an author, game designer and graphic designer who has worked with Soulmuppet Publishing on a variety of projects. This includes illustrations for Paint the Town Red (Soulmuppet Publishing 2024) as well as writing for Spoils of the Gorgon Coast (Soulmuppet Publishing 2022) and Thrones of Avarice (Soulmuppet Publishing 2022). They have similarly worked on other projects, including as a development editor for PUTRESCENCE REGNANT, a module for tabletop roleplaying game MORK BORG. Richmond has also worked as a Writer, working on a comic known as 'The Sisters' with the assistance of artist Peter Violini (Richmond 2024).

Cover art for Spoils of the Gorgon Coast and Throne of Avarice. (Ben Brown 2022) 

Richmond describes much of the illustrative work he has produced for these projects as "collages of public domain works and personal manipulations" (Richmond 2022), effectively being illustrative photobashes set in dim greyscale and bathed in atmospheric fog. This artwork, evocative, shows a technique that I additionally wish to further experiment with in my future work: photobashing, and the use of photos to add texture and atmosphere to a scene. This creates a strong impression of tone and theme, with Richmond using said illustrations in both personal and freelance work. For instance, Thrones of Avarice (Soulmuppet Publishing 2022) contains many instances of such illustrations in supplement to Richmond's writing. This mixture of writing and illustrative talent has allowed Richmond to fit into a variety of roles, from being a Graphic Designer to a writer. These job roles require a variety of different skills in their function: writers, even in works that are not necessarily narrative, require an understand of storytelling and imagination (Screenskills 2024) in order to capture the attention of the reader. This can be seen distinctly in Richmond's work, with them writing prose that flows in a unique and almost poetic manner. In an application such as is seen in Thrones of Avarice (Soulmuppet Publishing 2022), a collection of fictional history made to spark the imagination of a role-playing game player, this unique storytelling style is a strong skill and of genuine importance to the success and usefulness of the product. In this context, the graphic design role fits more into an illustrative sense, with appropriate job listings describing the role as requiring the ability to create characters and environments that fit with the overall theme and style of a project (Indeed 2024). It could be said that Richmond's duality in these roles assists in the production of both, as differences in communication or interpretation are not worries in such a circumstance. However, it is noted that taking on both job roles significantly increases the amount of work produced. 

Internal illustrations made for Thrones of Avarice (Brian Richmond 2022)

I find Richmond's work to be a personal inspiration for me, with their writing and illustration incredibly evocative and unique. Based on the tabletop role playing game format of the work they have produced, this unique presentation allows for strong use of the source material, the books they have produced being based around the concept of idea generation: they make a basis, illustrated and explained, that is to spark interest and intrigue in the reader. This is a quality of Richmond's work that excels. Beyond an industry standpoint, I am a personal fan of Richmond and have used many of his products, these being some of the key pieces of inspiration that pointed my interest towards a job role in tabletop games. 

To develop a career in tabletop games, I will continue to create personal projects to practice my abilities in creating tabletop game zines, which I will upload to Itch.Io. This will create a functional portfolio of ttrpg work. In the future, I may apply to a variety of roles as such. 

Bibliography:
Images:
Ben Brown, 2022. Cover for Spoils of the Gorgon Coast [online]. Available via: https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/best-left-buried-spoils-of-the-gorgon-coast [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Ben Brown, 2022. Cover for Throne of Avarice [online]. Available via: https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/best-left-buried-throne-of-avarice [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Brian Richmond, 2022. Internal artwork for Throne of Avarice [online]. Available via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-richmond-6a61097a/?profileId=ACoAABC-7J4BnNKwnoCxF9TQf7g4QZJ9lfhrcGA [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Websites:
Brian Richmond, 2024. Brian Richmond [online]. Linkedin. Available via: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-richmond-6a61097a/?profileId=ACoAABC-7J4BnNKwnoCxF9TQf7g4QZJ9lfhrcGA [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Screenskills, 2024. Writer (creative industries) [online]. Screenskills. Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/creative-industries/crossover-roles/writer-creative-industries/ [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Soulmuppet Publishing, 2024. About Us [online]. Soulmuppet Publishing. Available at: https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/pages/about-us [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Soulmuppet Publishing, 2022. Best Left Buried: Spoils of the Gorgon Coast [online]. Soulmuppet Publishing. Available at: https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/best-left-buried-spoils-of-the-gorgon-coast [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Soulmuppet Publishing, 2022. Best Left Buried: Thrones of Avarice  [online]. Soulmuppet Publishing. Available at: https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/products/best-left-buried-throne-of-avarice [Accessed 3 December 2024]

Stonemaier Games, 2021. Jobs and Careers in the Tabletop Game Industry [online]. Stonemaier Games. Available at: https://stonemaiergames.com/jobs-and-careers-in-the-tabletop-game-industry/ [Accessed 3 December 2024]