Industry Practice + 2D Toolkit: Critical Hits Zine fair

Critical Hits Zine Fair
On saturday the 22nd of March, me and Ken went to the "Critical Hits Zine Fair", a tabletop games fair that launched alongside the Bonnington Gallery's new exhibition "Weird Hope Engines", which examines the effects that role playing games have on those who play them, as well as how our culture and personal experiences influence role playing game design. Though primarily we went to this event for recreation, as we both enjoy role-playing games greatly, we took the time to speak to those who were presenting there to gain insight for as to what it is like working in the role-playing games industry. We also handed out some Zines that we had produced and connected with those at the fair on social media networks and Itch.Io, which is a primary platform in which role-playing game producers host their work.

As the fair was focused on Zines, small booklets largely produced by independent publishers and solo writers, we found that much of what was shown came from the indie RPG crowd, with both producers and publishers hosting stalls. I myself recognised many of those who were at the event, and even spoke to people whos work I was familiar with.

Among them was Chris Bisette, who has written numerous Solo RPGs and adventures for the game MORK BORG (Fria Ligan 2020). I knew them from their solo RPG The Wretched (Loot The Room 2020). We spoke extensively, and I asked Bisette about their experience in the RPG industry as an independent creator. They explained that producing RPGs is, effectively, their full-time job and that they earn a livable wage off of it, it being constant work that they genuinely love and enjoy. They produce their own games as well as working as a freelance writer for other companies and for other games, such as Pathfinder (Paizo 2018). Additionally, Bisette mentioned that there are projects they have produced that, though they believe of being great personal achievements, did not perform exceptionally well, and that such eventualities should not dissuade us from creating. On creating, they said to create, ultimately, what we wanted to create, especially when getting our name out into the RPG ecosystem, as authenticity is looked-for and valuable, both from the perspective of a consumer and hirer: though following trends could sometimes be considered an easier or more straightforward way into other industries, in their experience the same cannot be said for the RPG sphere, and would ultimately be harmful to personal branding. 

Bisette also explained their own journey into the RPG sphere, having been going to and giving zines out at conventions since they were 8 years old (humorously, they mentioned that they now think these zines were "terrible" and hopes that none survived). Regardless, their major point of advice boiled down to that: keep creating, keep pushing the envelope and seeing what can be made next; challenge yourself with every project and try to learn something new, and work on something - even just for a tiny bit - every day.

Blurb of "The Wretched" (Loot The Room 2020)

During the event, several panels were held in which figures in the RPG industry were able to speak about their work and about how working in the RPG industry has developed. Me and Ken listened to one of these panels in their entirety, which was focused on art in RPGs. The panel contained prominent indie RPG artists Andrew Walter, Amanda Lee Franck and Scrap Princess. Though, at the time, I was not familiar with these names, I have since discovered that I already knew of their work, which populated some zines I have read in the past. Even before knowing of these artists, I found the work they produced interesting and evocative, a key part of what I personally look for in RPG design. This is a desire that I share with the artists who went on the panel: though all of their work might not necessarily be the most realistic or rendered in a technical sense, it comes together to create incredibly evocative and impressionistic designs that rapidly convey meaning, emotion and theme seen within the RPGs they represent. As RPGs are, effectively, an exercise in imagination, such pieces of artwork can help to - as Amanda Lee Franck put it in the panel, "Bring everyone playing into the scene... solidify the world and put everyone on the same page.".

Art of the "Hatchetman", seen in Mothership's "Unconfirmed Contact Reports" (Tuesday Knight Games 2024). Scrap Princess, 2024.

Additionally, we learned several other interesting facts about the RPG industry. The printing website "Mixam" is often used to print paperback zines, with hardcover printing often being outsourced to print companies based in Lithuania; such companies are reported to have good prices and excellent quality control, as well as having comparatively cheaper shipping rates. Creating RPG zines is definitely an area of the industry that I would like to enter: me and Ken have already produced several, and these have been uploaded to Itch.Io under a collaborative page of ours known as "Hearthvalley". I have both written, edited and in some cases illustrated these zines, and the experience of going to the zine fair has put a lot of confidence in me to continue with this passion. Their insight has made me less afraid of making "mistakes" when creating art and writing for my own RPG projects, and going ahead, I will continue to work on these and upload them to my digital portfolio on Itch.Io.

Mine and Ken's Itch.Io page.

Reflecting on this experience, I can say that I now feel a bit more confident about going in to the tabletop games industry. The talks on art and artistic styles in articular have inspired confidence in me, and to continuously hone my experience and employability in this region I will continue to practice. This is because I am somewhat unsure about how exactly I wish to enter the industry: in personal projects I have written, illustrated and edited zines, though this by no means reflects experience in any of these elements. I feel I both have passions for illustration and writing, and want to use personal projects as a demonstration for my abilities in both; having spoken to people in the industry at the Zine Fair, being able to work in multiple capacities (or "wear several hats") is a valuable skill that I would like to work on.