Welcome to an interview for the series Game Credits Who’s Who (#GameCreditsWW). Ever read the credits page of a game you enjoy and wonder about the various positions listed? Would you like to work in the game industry someday but are not sure how some of the positions work? This Monday series will take a personal look into those positions and introduce you to real people doing those very jobs in the game industry. This week, let me introduce you to Brian Berg, RPG Publisher.
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do as a RPG publisher.
Well, as a publisher, I come up with many of the project ideas. I assign writers, make up design teams, follow up with freelancers (a.k.a., cat herding), direct the art, content edit and do the layout design. Sounds like fun, eh?
How did you become a RPG publisher?
Let me preface this question with don’t do this first… As Robert Schwalb once said, with a lot of time and effort, you too can literally make hundreds of dollars! Of course, with tenacity and no small amount of ambition, you can be successful at publishing. I recently quit my day job to pursue this career. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend others attempt being a publisher from scratch like I did. If I could go back, I would definitely have gone the route of Paizo’s RPG Superstar platform and even become a freelancer for other publishers while learning the ropes.
The real story, though, should be blamed on Owen K. C. Stephens. My business partner and I were sitting around talking character options and sharing our ideas. We had just downloaded one of Super Genius Games’ products. We sort of had a eureka moment and decided that we had a particular vision and brand of dark fantasy that people would like.
Share with us some of your recent projects.
Our most recent release is Wardens of the Wild. It is an elven lorebook, compiling existing elven rules and expanding upon them greatly. Not only does this 214 page sourcebook have everything you need to play elves, but it does so as a dual-stat product for both Pathfinder and 5th Edition D&D. I think it’s going to be a big hit and resonate with fans of fantasy gaming.
We also just branched out into card games. Our first project, Geeks vs. Harsh Reality, plays like Cards Against Humanity and Apples to Apples, but is a stand-alone game that makes fun of the entirety of geek culture.
What is your greatest frustration or pet peeve as a RPG publisher?
At some point, the internet turned into a place for people to be completely horrible to each other. Gaming used to be about camaraderie and sharing the hobby. Today there is so much hate and vitriol that I stay away from forums. Geeks Against Humanity expresses some of those frustrations with extreme amounts of sarcasm.
How can readers learn more about you or contact you?
I’m available on Facebook here [https://www.facebook.com/bbberg75].
Website? www.tpkgames.com
Blog? http://www.vacuous-grimoire.com/.
Twitter? @tpkgames
Public Facebook? http://www.facebook.com/tpkgames
Email? necro@tpkgames.com