I was a very satisfied backer of Nibiru, a sci-fi rpg of lost memories, which I have already talked about in my previous article. A few weeks ago, while we were preparing to publish the news of the future publication of Dishonored RPG, I read with pleasure that the Dishonored project at Modiphius was in the hands of Federico Sohns. The author of Nibiru. So I decided to contact Federico Sohns to offer him a written interview on both games and indies in general. Here is the result of our chat.
What ignited you the spark that gave birth to Nibiru? How long did it take you to write the first full version?
I wanted to make a game about memories, and at the same time I wanted to design an experience that took advantage of the medium’s strengths. I think one of those strengths is how character-driven TTRPGs are, and how often players will willingly step outside of the gaming space to develop their characters. With this I mean… they’ll draw, they’ll write pages upon pages of background, they’ll even go and write stories about them! However, I’ve not known many games that actually encourage and empower those types of players. The MEMOs system is simply that: a basic mechanic that gives an in-game effect to whatever you come up with. Revelations (the other big Memory-tied mechanic I wrote) serves to expand that creative space, rewarding you for writing in rhyme, drawing, telling longer story arcs, etc.
The mechanics didn’t really take long. Maybe a couple of weeks? The bulk of the work was worldbuilding; there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it, a lot of which didn’t even make the book because it’s more “dry” content that is there to support what you see on the surface. Plus, a big chunk of the more structural part of the material was developed alongside Joaquin G. De La Cruz, our astrophysics advisor, given the emphasys placed on getting some of the science right! It took on-and-off, about a year and a half.
Nibiru, despite being an indie, as you defined it yourself, has a very high level of quality [so beautiful images!]. How hard was it to get such a result? How satisfied are you with it? Did you expect that you would get the support of over 500 backers?
It took money, long shifts and 7 day workweeks, and working two jobs at the same time. Which is one of the reasons why (despite many indies vastly outperforming big companies when it comes to art direction chops and aesthetic vision), you don’t see indie games aiming for AAA production values. It took about three years or so to save up and make enough to pay for the art, as well as the editing and the consultancy on topics like mental health and physics, at decent rates. Regarding satisfaction, I think I’m half and half on it. On the one hand, I’m happy with the final product and the reception, and having been able to pair a fair wage, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t recommend other people go through the same for their games.
Large companies get away with putting out big, pseudo-coffe-table books (while charging pennies for them), because they pay freelancers breadcrumbs, which makes it nigh impossible for indies and marginalized folk to reach those competitive standards. I expected to at least fund, but it was nice that we got a healthy margin over that target. It helped make the book all the more striking.
Will other publications follow on Nibiru? What kind?
I’d like to release something more for Nibiru, probably a story book to run a longer game with, paired with new locales and advice for the more “traditionalist” players out there. Nibiru is pretty free form, which means that folk used to a much more structured approach could use help integrating to that sort of gameplay. At the same time, three years is a long time (in my opinion) to dwell within a single world, as complex as it might be. I’ve been working on a fantasy setting as of late, so I’ll be prioritizing creating new stuff. Ideally, I’d like to have the means to dedicate myself to this new setting while expanding Nibiru on the side.
Given the quality of your works, Federico Sohns, how did your passion for role-playing games come about? And your most exciting experiences lived thanks to it?
I started playing RPGs when I was 15 or so, with WHFRP (WarHammer Fantasy RolePlaying) 1st ed. I think that like many designers, I had that “instant realization” upon first playing; the one that’s like “woah, this RPG thing has so much potential for storytelling”. If I’d have to speak about quality though, I’d say that has probably little to do with RPGs and everything to do with engaging with a wide range of artistic mediums (both my parents are musicians), and creating and studying art within those mediums.
As for exciting experiences, well, those are probably linked to the people I met through games. I think independently of how great an individual moment can be, those stem from playing with cool folk, and meeting nice people is what I cherish the most from my time playing RPGs.
Which role-playing games do you prefer and which have inspired you the most?
Inspiration for Nibiru has come from basically everywhere except other RPGs. There are small bits and bobs, mostly when it comes to writing style, that you might see in the New World of Darkness games. There’s some FATE school of design similes too. But overall, the game has been much more influenced by music, books and visual mediums. The Blame! manga series from Tsutomu Nihei was a big inspiration when it comes to scale and vision of the world.
A lot of the narratives of colonialism come from my own personal experience (I’m from Argentina, so that’s a big topic back home in school), and a lot of it also comes from music (Splendor and Misery from Clipping is a great example, and an influence I forgot to mention in the book!). The Expanse is a big one, as well as the usual suspects, like Philip K Dick, Asimov, Larry Niven, etc. are also part of it. I think one of the problems with new ideas in mainstream RPGs is that a lot of inspiration comes from within the medium, which is largely dominated by D&D, and that sort of creative feedback loop results in a retread of the same imperialist, war-driven narratives baked into every layer of mainstream RPG design.
What other indie games would Federico Sohns recommend trying?
100% try #iHunt. It’s a game about millenials hunting monsters in the gig economy through this UBER-like app, and it plays with a lot of great thematic parallels that refer to the economic woes of our era. The prose is *chef kiss* and it was written by Nibiru’s editor, Olivia Hill, so fans of Nibiru will probably find a lot to like in it.
I’d also recommend Dialect, by Thorny Games, since it’s probably at the top when it comes to indie games I played last year. It’s a game about language, how it develops and ultimately dies out, and should be a pretty great experience for folk who maybe come from more mainstream games, wanting to delve into a vastly different but approachable indie game.
If you haven’t tried them yet, I’d also recommend some classics like Dread and Ten Candles, which are bang-on on how mechanics should drive the main themes and ideas of the game.
Coincidentally, in these years a game called Le Notti di Nibiru has been published in Italy. Have you heard of it?
I have! Though I can’t say I’m familiar with the game’s theme and content, sadly.
You has been moving from creating a game in total freedom to coordinating the creation of a game with a very precise lore, guiding the team that developed the Dishonored RPG. Is it something easier or more difficult? In what spirit do you approach?
The two experiences couldn’t be more different from one another. I think that while creating your own game is much more complex and requires a lot more hard work, it’s vastly more fulfilling and enriching. In a way, it’s a bit like the difference between being a composer and an interpreter. Some people will prefer one to the other. Nibiru is an original setting with tailor-made mechanics, while Dishonored is an existing IP using a proprietary system. For the latter, there’s far less agency across the board to do what you will from a conceptual point of view. It mostly comes down to communication, interpretation, and having a clear idea of what other people’s vision is – and to clearly establish what is it that you can bring to the table with your input.
Thanks for the interview, Federico Sohns! We can’t wait to try your next works.