Anything But Small Talk!
2023
Game designer/Graphic designer
Summary
Anything But Small Talk! (ABST!) was the first game I designed solo back in 2015 and it was a personal favourite. It was inspired namely by three things; an old YouTube series called 'Table Talk', Apollo Robbins' TED Talk on 'The Art of Misdirection' and introversion.
I had just come across the quote:
Introverts do not hate small talk because we dislike people. We hate small talk because we hate the barrier it creates between people.
Something about that resonated with me so much at the time that I wanted to design a game that broke that barrier. I wanted to design something that allowed people to share their stories and encouraged us to listen more.
Many years later, I found myself working for Launch Tabletop and decided to dust off the game and makes some prints. The gameplay has changed since the original but the goal of the game remains unchanged.
Gameplay
ABST! isn't really a game you sit down just to play. Think of it more as an accompaniment to game night or a dinner party. It's something that can be played and experienced throughout the night; encouraging conversation & getting to know each other.
The deck of cards contains a number of discussion topics to be shared throughout the night and questions relating to those topics in regards to other players. As you converse and learn about everyone you are encouraged to really listen to each other.
Experience
Like I said, ABST! was the first game I designed solo and it's one that I have a soft spot for. The game is far from being fully developed and there are still many creases that can be ironed out but it was a game that really triggered my passion and interest for game design.
That's why, despite the fact that it needs polishing, I wanted ABST! to be the first game of mine to be printed. Going back, after so many years, to re-examine the game design, work on the details and complete the graphics for the game was a great learning experience and I can't wait to work on more games.
Credit
When I decided to print ABST!, having Chinese translations was something that was vital to me. Struggling to communicate between the two languages is something that I am far too familiar with and as a game that is suppose to encourage communication and conversation; being able to have both languages in the game is something that means a lot to me.
That would not have been possible without the help of Margaux who translated the entirety of ABST!. So, a massive thank you goes out to her for making that happen.