Interview: Jason Blair, Creator of Little Fears

• Jason so what would you say is your geek cred?

I write and design video and tabletop games for a living. I’ve been a video gamer for over a quarter of a century and a tabletop gamer for twenty years. While I’m not big into a lot of geek properties, I do keep up with a few genre shows such as Supernatural and Fringe.

• How did you get involved in gaming?

My older brother dragged me into it. His group was looking for more players so I eventually agreed. First game was Justifiers. I played an anthropomorphic bighorn sheep. From there, I went on to Marvel FASERIP and Palladium before I ventured into my own group where we played Cyberpunk 2020, Vampire: the Masquerade, AD&D Second Edition, and the like.

• Why don’t you tell our readers just what it is you do.

I make up stuff for a living.

• What made you want to start developing games?

I hit a point in my early twenties where I realized, in order to live the life I wanted, I needed to take a risk. I needed to do something big that could potentially boost me into a new life. I decided that making a tabletop RPG was the most sensible, lowest-risk option I had. It was an unbelievably naive move but it paid off. I kept at it from there, eventually moving into other pen-and-paper games as well as video games.

• So what projects have you worked on in the past?

Little Fears was my first. I also designed the urban fantasy RPG Wyrd is Bond and was lead developer on a (sadly-unpublished) B-Movie game called Normal, Texas. I recently released a new version of Little Fears, called the Nightmare Edition, and am busy supporting that. I’m also working on some new lines for other people.
As far as video games, I did some script revision on Human Head’s game PREY, was lead designer on a couple canceled games, and recently did story development and the script for High Voltage’s upcoming CONDUIT 2.

• What are you working on now?

The first big supplement for Little Fears Nightmare Edition, called Among the Missing, and corebook work for an unannounced property by a well-known publisher. This summer, I’m releasing the 10th anniversary edition of my first game, titled Happy Birthday, Little Fears.

• Let’s talk a little about Little Fears, what was your inspiration to write a game in this setting?

Kids fighting werewolves. I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before. A lot of genres were covered but there were no games where you played little kids. And horror seemed a natural fit for that. When I sat down to make a tabletop game, I looked at a lot of options. I spread them all out before me on a table–the three top contenders anyway–and Little Fears is the one that called to me.
For external inspiration, for the original game, I did a lot of research into real world horror. All the bad stuff that affects kids. That’s a big part of why the original Little Fears is such a dark game. Because the real world truth is pretty ugly and the game reflects that. Little Fears Nightmare Edition is a completely different take, inspired more by Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark? Oddly, and sadly, pure invention made for a much lighter game.

• What were some challenges when developing the game fluff?

For the original? Not crossing the line in terms of taste and appropriateness. Not making light of abuse and neglect and kids overcoming horrific monsters was very important to me. I got feedback from child psychologists, social workers, and even well-known child advocate and author Andrew Vachss that approved of the game and thought the material was handled well. So, I think I managed the challenges overall.

• What about with the new Nightmare Edition?

Nightmare Edition was so much easier and, honestly, a lot more enjoyable. I looked at middle grade horror novels, Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark like I mentioned earlier, and other shows like Eerie, Indiana and The Twilight Zone. The biggest challenges came when building bridges between the original Little Fears and the Nightmare Edition. The new game is a vastly different take on the same core premise–kids fighting monsters–but I didn’t want to pretend the first edition never happened. So I brought over the Bogeyman, Baba Yaga, Titania, some of the basic concepts. I took a poll on LittleFears.com to see which monster folks wanted to bring over from the original. That’s how Patchwork made his way into the new edition.
I haven’t announced it yet but I have a big surprise for fans that want more of the old edition in the new one.

• What process went into developing the game mechanism?

I struggled with that system but eventually turned to board games instead of other RPGs and that made all the difference. The core mechanic of the original Little Fears is dead simple and that’s because it stems from a family board game mindset.

• Why did you settle on that system?

It did everything I wanted it to do with little fuss.

• On that note, how do you feel about RPG systems that are rules intensive, versus a lighter ruleset?  Do you feel one is more preferable in gaming than another?

I just want systems that do what they need to do. Good rules are built on solid premises. They ask questions and the systems explore the answers to those questions. The best rules do that with elegance and cohesion.
Personally, though, I prefer systems that are tightly focused. I have no interest in rules that model reality. I like ideas, ephemera, internal consistency over external consistency.

• Now I know you’re also a writer.  What projects are you working on there?

The Little Fears screenplay takes up most of my writing time but I’m also working on articles for game websites. I’ve written short- and long-form fiction as well though only some of it has been published. I harbor novelist aspirations but it’s not in my cards right now.

• You did some work on the Borderlands video game didn’t you?

Prior to the reimagining, yes. When the game was first shown, it had a different art style, tone, and only had three playable characters, not four. I did the full script and battle dialogue for that iteration of the game. Nothing I did made it into the final, alas, as the game was rebuilt pretty much from the ground up.

• How is it different writing for a video game vs. a RPG?

Video game writing is largely narrative. You’re telling a story. In a tabletop game, you’re creating a fiction that allows other people to tell their own stories. Even video games that grant a lot of player influence are dealing with a set amount of paths and options. Tabletop RPGs have no limits beyond the imagination of the group playing the game. One’s a storyteller; the other is a toolmaker.

• Where do you draw your inspiration from as a writer and creator?

I try to look in places other genre folks ignore. I’m not big into Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and such. No offense to those properties, of course. I just don’t have a lot of free time and  have to fit in work and hobbies and television and movies into only a few hours a day. Unless it’s something appropriate for my kids, or something my wife would also enjoy, any shows I watch are after 10 o’clock at night. So I look at the elements common to all shows, the drama, the personalities, the struggles, the obstacles. The genre stuff, for the most part, is pure invention. Or composed from so many sources any direct influence is obscured.

• On a personal note, do you do much gaming these days?

Trying to, more and more. I went through a long dry spell where I didn’t play anything for years. The only gaming I would do was playtesting but I’m fitting in more tabletop time, both RPGs and board games. Video gaming is the easiest to do since I don’t have to worry about other folks being available at 10 o’clock at night.

• What are you playing and why?

I’m starting up a Pathfinder group because the game is incredibly inspiring. I just love the stuff Paizo is doing. On the board game front, I’m trying out a lot of new stuff. A friend is running a monthly Gamma World 4e game. Most of it is just for fun, or to attune with the gaming zeitgeist, but some is research. I have a couple board game ideas I plan to pitch this summer so I’m checking out the state of the art.

• What are some of the boardgames you’ve been enjoying?

I’m a big fan of family board games which makes me a bit of an outcast in the hardcore board gamer community. Still I like to try out a variety of games. I recently enjoyed Small World, Word on the Street, Pandemic, Claustrophobia, Witch of Salem, and Eric Torres’ indie effort Iconica.

• Ok, one last question.  Perhaps the most important one of all, if you can only take three things\people into a dungeon, what would they be?

An enchanted sword, one with limitless spell slots which are full of incantations that make water, food, cure disease, turn undead, shield against attacks, and has a high crit ratio. My phone, if the dungeon has wi-fi. if not, some dice, some pencils, and a stack of paper or, y’know, some really long scrolls. And a Keurig coffeemaker. Also I’d make sure that sword has a spell that creates K-cups. Keurig wouldn’t be any good without those.

We appreciate Jason coming by to hang out with us and chat about role playing and game development.  If you want to find out more about what he’s up to you can find him at www.JasonLBlair.com or check out the official Little Fears website at www.LittleFears.com. You can catch up with him on Twitter @jasonlblair.