Updates and Interviews

The Panel Playing with Knives at Pax East

Been some time since I've posted, and that by no means indicates I've been inactive. Quite the contrary. For the purposes of this blog, I've hit most of my big applied rpg general education milestones- indicated by the fact that when someone came to me, asking a bunch of general questions about getting into applied RPGs, I was able to just send him 4 posts and tell him that while the answers to those questions was complex, those posts answer them well.

So that leaves me at an impasse. A lot of what I've wanted to talk about, I've posted here. There's always random things to bring up about table management, neurodiversity at the table, and the direction the applied RPG field is going, but a lot of these conversations are either very esoteric, or better suited to twitter threads and individualized conversations, which is what a lot of my work has been lately. People reach out to me wanting guidance in the applied RPG arena, and I'm generally able to either give them the answers, or more often, point them in the direction of someone who is better suited.

And that's been my goal for a long time, to become a one stop shop for all your applied RPG knowledge, someone who might not know everything, but can at least point you in the direction of someone who does.

However, this last PAX East, I was in a conversation with one of the founders of Game to Grow, and he told me that instead of being a black box of applied RPG who's who, I should be interviewing people so that my knowledge around experts in the field and what they're doing is publicly facing. That way, it saves them the time of reaching out to me, and I can also help people doing cool work in the field get publicity. I was blown away by the idea. (Thanks Adam J, if you're reading this I hope you know you're the best.)

So, I've decided to pivot Roll for Kindness into more of a news site where I interview people in the therapeutic, educational, and applied RPG arena and showcase amazing work they're doing.

These interviews would be text based, as I personally am not a fan of live interviews. But over time, I want to start building up game reviews, interviews, and think pieces about the state of applied RPGs. It's a new direction, and I'm excited to be going in it.

In other news, I recently was on a panel by Games Unbound at PAX East on sensitive topics at the RPG table. I'm particularly proud of this panel, and will link it once the stream is available. I'm also in talks with a graphic designer for the last phase of The Caravan Endures, and once that's completed, I'll be publishing it online. I'm very excited to be putting out my first major RPG, and there's been a lot more work on Speaking with Monsters.

Well, that's not quite true. Speaking with Monsters is no more. I went to Atlanta, GA, and did a game jam with a friend who works as a therapist to rework Speaking with Monsters as a therapeutic game, and so the game known as Speaking with Monsters no longer carries that title, or any of the mechanics. I can't really state any details publicly until we have a beta, but I'm very excited about the new form as it is wildly different than anything out there, and I think it will change the way a therapists look at therapeutic application of RPGs. It's the first time I've ever significantly collaborated on a TTRPG, and the state of the alpha has me very excited.

In personal news, I quit my job in crisis mental health, and took on a job working for the Arc of King County as an information and resource coordinator, helping people with developmental disabilities navigate systems and find resources for stuff like getting DDA/SSI, finding supports, and connect with resources. It's a lot less stressful, and I'm having a lot more free time and spoons now that I'm not on call all the time. I'm also doing a lot more presentations and education around my lived experience of autism, gaming, and disability in general. I'll also be helping run some Summer D&D games with them as well. It's a fantastic organization, and I consider myself very lucky to be working with them.

There's also a few other projects I'm keeping quite close to my chest, as there will be a big announcement when they're ready to go public. But in the mean time, I'm excited to be writing more, and hopefully next PAX I'll be showing up with a Media badge and some interview requests. If you'd be interested in showcasing your game or the work you do in applied RPGs, please reach out to me via twitter @rollforkindness or at [email protected].

Thanks for all the support. These last few months have been a wild ride for me, but I'm very excited for all the big changes.