ZineMonth24 Interview: Deep Dark Games and Home

Deep Dark Games is Kickstarting Home, a game that is half 'Mechs beating up alien Kaiju and half map-making and exploration.

Question: Easy question first: Give us the elevator pitch of your project. Tell us about it in two sentences or less.

Answer: HOME is a Mech vs Kaiju mapmaking TTRPG for 1 to 4 players. You build a mech, explore an alien realm, fight Kaiju, and try to save your home.

Q: Is this your first ZineMonth project or have you done it before? If it's your first, talk a bit about what inspired you to give it a shot this year. If you've done it before, what's something you've learned from previous crowdfunding projects that you may be doing differently this time, or, if you're not doing anything differently, talk a bit about your previous projects.

A: Yes, this is my first Zine Month project (and first TTRPG too!). I've always wanted to design a game and so last year I asked myself "why am I not doing it?" I started with a game jam for the motivation: made a game, playtested, iterated, got feedback, and learned some really good lessons. HOME arose from the ashes of that game. 

Q: Finally, tell us something about your current project that really excites you but the average backer may not be aware of. Maybe a twist to an old trope, a new way of presenting something, or maybe just something you've never tried before that you're using this as an opportunity to try out.

A: There is a lot that excites me about HOME (I love mechs, maps, Kaiju, and TTRPGs, so weaving them together was so much fun). But an exciting thing that I don't normally talk about is how it's fun whether you love to roleplay or not.

HOME is predominantly a narrative or story focused game but a simple dice mechanic drives the story: build up to fight the Kaiju, then deteriorate throughout the final fight. The dice are the backbone of the game and create great rising tension and payoff, even if you choose not to roleplay at all. But if you enjoy roleplaying and storytelling there is lots of opportunities to embellish on what happens. Both are fine, and both are fun!