For the Queen’s creator on the new edition, her many copycats, and her balloon-kink RPG

If imitation actually is the sincerest type of flattery, Alex Roberts’ For the Queen is perhaps the most lavishly complimented recreation in indie role-playing recreation historical past. First revealed in 2019 by Evil Hat Productions, the firm behind Destiny, Blades in the Darkish, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Monster of the Week, and Apocalypse Keys, amongst many different video games, For the Queen was a direct sensation amongst indie tabletop followers. It’s a no-prep, no-GM storytelling recreation that’s designed to construct excessive drama and deep emotion shortly: Gamers create their characters via play by drawing from a deck of narrative immediate playing cards that allow them construct a fraught, conflicted relationship with the enigmatic queen they love and serve. The very best proof that Roberts’ design is interesting and inviting? It’s impressed a huge wave of independent, self-published copycat games.

Roberts, additionally the creator of Star Crossed and many other indie RPGs, revealed For the Queen underneath a Inventive Commons license, giving different creators the proper to make their very own structurally related RPGs underneath the label Descended From the Queen. These video games fluctuate immensely in tone, content material, and intent, however all of them credit score Roberts’ work as their inspiration, which has simply bolstered For the Queen’s repute additional.

For the Queen now has an expanded, updated second edition that was launched by Vital Function’s publishing home, Darrington Press. Polygon caught up with Roberts through Zoom to speak about what the new version of For the Queen provides and modifications, why she needs to do an specific adults-only model of the recreation, how she feels about the dozens of RPGs she’s impressed (and which of them she recommends), and why the spotlight of her profession was designing a LARP about kinky balloon fetishists.

This interview has been edited for concision and readability.

Polygon: Why did you progress For the Queen from Evil Hat to Darrington Press?

Alex Roberts: For the Queen was the final boxed recreation Evil Hat put out. Since then, they’ve been doing completely books. Once they made that change, For the Queen was 80% completed, in order that they completed it, which was good — but it surely was virtually on the chopping block, really. Some folks inside the firm advocated for it, so I used to be very blissful that they put it out in any respect. It has been just a little indie success, or vital success, or one thing, in order that’s been very nice, however clearly, over the years — I feel they weren’t displeased after I was like, “I’ve been chatting with other publishers about the possibility of someone else putting it out.”

There was loads of love for the recreation internally, however — I don’t wish to say they didn’t know what to do with it, but it surely was simply not likely in-line with the place they put their efforts. You may get it in specialty recreation outlets, however you couldn’t get it extra broadly. And it’s form of a role-playing recreation, but it surely’s additionally form of not. So it was in a bizarre part of their web site. Principally, I had been eager to do a second version or an growth, and I form of thought Evil Hat wasn’t going to be down for that.

A buddy of mine at Darrington stated “Hey, we’re looking to publish more games, do you maybe want to do something with us?” In the summer time of 2022, they’d tagged me into work on Till the Last Gasp, a two-player recreation I did some design work on. So I’d had a very good expertise working with them. When Darcy Ross, their advertising supervisor, reached out to me and stated “You want to do something else? Maybe we could publish an Alex Roberts game?” I used to be like, “I’ve actually been looking for maybe a new publisher for a second edition of For the Queen.” And [Darrington head] Ivan Van Norman emails me immediately. Principally, the response was, “Yes. We are huge fans.” I do know a few the Vital Function people are large followers of For the Queen, and they jumped on it. There was simply a lot enthusiasm for the recreation on their facet that it was very simple to be like, “Okay, great, let’s go!”

Picture: Darrington Press

What did you wish to tackle with a second version? What wanted altering or increasing?

For the most half, it was about increasing. I wished to jot down extra playing cards. I wished to jot down new prompts. Folks inform me the recreation has loads of replayability — there’s sufficient randomization and sufficient ambiguity in the questions that no one ever solutions a query the similar means twice. However I’ve been enjoying that recreation quite a bit because it was a pile of notecards in just a little purse. I might write new playing cards and take some out — I performed it a lot in playtesting and selling it, enjoying it with totally different folks. I knew I wished new issues in it. My private copy had new, handwritten playing cards in it. So I principally wished so as to add to it.

However there have been additionally sure issues in the guidelines — the means the “pass” mechanic is phrased all the time appears to trigger stumbles, usually sufficient that I don’t prefer it. There have been one or two playing cards — they’re presupposed to be ambiguous and interpretive, however one or two typically made gamers scratch their heads, or cease play for a second. And I do know it’s completely regular for folks enjoying a board recreation to be studying via the guidelines and need to cease and go, “Wait, what does that mean?” and perhaps Google it or one thing. I do know that’s completely advantageous. However I hate it! Not in my recreation. I wished it to be clean as silk; I simply need it to movement.

So there have been a couple of little issues I wished to alter, and there was a lot so as to add. After which on high of that, Darrington was like, “We want twice as many queen illustrations in the second edition.” There are like 25 queens in the new version. The primary one, I feel, had 12 or 15. And that’s so thrilling to me, particularly as a result of everybody who has the first version will nonetheless have all of their unique queens that they love, and they get so as to add extra.

Picture: Darrington Press

Does the new version have extra immediate playing cards, or simply tweaked, totally different prompts?

Extra. I feel there have been solely two questions I took out, and then there are 10 new ones that I added. And a few of them have been rephrased.

You’ve talked about eager to do expansions of the recreation as nicely. What did you take note of?

That’s undoubtedly one thing I nonetheless wish to do. For the Queen followers can purchase this recreation quite a bit, in order that there’s each financial purpose to let me merely write immediate playing cards for the remainder of my life. There are a few expansions I would love to do. In my thoughts, I simply wish to do extra prompts, but when I actually considered it, I’m positive I might additionally introduce new mechanics to the recreation. Theoretically, you might make a special setup — think about the similar questions on the queen, however as a substitute of being on a journey to a distant energy to dealer an alliance in a time of peril, you’d be doing one thing else.

I’d like to do an adults-only growth that actually emphasizes your extra intimate relationship with the queen, the place playing cards might be fairly specific. Clearly, there’s all the time an intense energy dynamic between participant characters and the queen, and folks, for lack of a greater time period, get sexy about that! So folks deliver that to the recreation. However I additionally know folks play with their children. Youngsters perceive profound energy dynamics another way — they perceive it, and they’ll play with it, let me inform you — however I might love to have the ability to write playing cards that aren’t for youths. [Laughs] And that discover that extra explicitly.

I additionally assume it will be attention-grabbing to jot down questions that had been particularly about riot — say, that assume a few of you’re planning to betray the queen, and perhaps you’ll be able to have ambiguous emotions about that. Or ones particularly suited to a selected setting — like ones that assume you’re in area, and she’s a spaceship queen.

I might like to make extra Descended from the Queen video games, and do sequels to For the Queen. I have already got some sequels in progress. However a part of me simply needs to launch booster packs, like Pokémon playing cards.

Picture: Darrington Press

Each editions of For the Queen are so constructed round aesthetics, significantly the smooth customized recreation containers. Should you began releasing booster packs, wouldn’t it’s a must to rethink how the recreation is boxed and packaged?

In the alternate universe the place For the Queen is as standard as Magic: the Gathering or one thing, [I imagine] individuals are deck-building, and they’ve their customized decks, and their very own containers for them. Each time I’m working on a prompt-based recreation, I wish to put [the working copy] in a cute little purse or make-up bag. So everybody might have their very own little pet deck. However that’s actually pie-in-the-sky considering. I might simply love to have the ability to write extra for this recreation, and give folks the choice to broaden on the expertise and take it in new instructions.

The Descended from the Queen phenomenon is such a novel side of this recreation, with so many different folks utilizing this engine to create their very own video games. What was the unique dialog like when it comes to placing the recreation out underneath a Inventive Commons license?

To me, there was no purpose to not do it, or not help it. The factor is, no one wants my permission to make a recreation that’s functionally Descended from the Queen. It’s only a bunch of playing cards. And it’s not like For the Queen is the first recreation to make use of that format. For lots of people, it’s the first one they’ve encountered. However there’s fairly a convention to have a recreation in a deck of playing cards. There’s a game called 183 Days; my gosh, it’s a incredible recreation. It’s lovely. It’s just a little extra advanced than For the Queen, as a result of finally, the deck will get break up into two, and it’s all very procedural.

And one in every of my favourite live-action role-playing video games of all time, the one I like to recommend to first-time LARPers, is Jason Morningstar’s Juggernaut. You simply pull the first card and it tells you what to do, however then a few of these playing cards find yourself belonging to a machine that tells the future. It’s an awesome piece of tech.

The obvious antecedent of For the Queen is Aleksandra Sontowska’s The Beast, a one-player RPG the place principally, you discover a monster and deliver it dwelling, and slowly, over the course of the recreation, you develop a sexual relationship with it. It’s very totally different content material than For the Queen, and it’s about journal prompts relatively than questions and follow-up questions and For the Queen’s group dynamic. However I performed it and liked it, and it was a giant affect on me.

So encouraging folks to make video games impressed by For the Queen — individuals are gonna do it. I really like that they do it. Why not help it? If there’s some form of industrial or enterprise side to that call, I’m positive it exists. I simply know I’m stoked when folks method me and say, “I made a game because of your game.” So I actually simply genuinely wish to encourage that.

Picture: Darrington Press

I’ve seen authors equally say they love fanfic impressed by their work — however additionally they usually say they’ll’t learn it, whether or not for authorized causes, or as a result of they’ll’t have another person’s model of their characters taking on area of their heads. Have you ever performed many Descended from the Queen video games?

I embrace it in concept. The primary Descended from the Queen recreation — which was a bit like Monsterhearts was to Apocalypse World — I feel that began earlier than For the Queen was even out. It’s known as Reunion, by Jenn Martin, Andy Munich, and Yoshi Creelman. All three of them are For the Queen followers, and I feel Reunion was initially conceived as “the retinue of For the Queen is coming back, years later.” The prompts are all in the sense of “Do you remember that time? Remember how this used to happen?” I’ve gotten to play that, and I actually find it irresistible. Partially as a result of it innovates on the format in attention-grabbing methods — you really pull questions and ask them of another person, relatively than answering them your self. It has a really distinct relationship with time, the place For the Queen has an ambiguous relationship with time. In order that one’s nice.

So is Keepers of the Cards. That one’s form of a Cardcaptor Sakura fan recreation, which is sensible, [given the importance of] the clow cards, proper? And there’s one known as Descending the Stairs a couple of venue that’s closing, and you’re there on its final night time, so that you’re having this very particular relationship with time. So in concept, I’m all about it. In apply… I’ve a once-a-month RPG meetup, and after I’m there, I wish to play one thing very new. I play just a little bit exterior of that. Sometime I’ll go to a gaming conference once more. So I’d like to play extra Descended from the Queen video games, however my precedence is to play one thing that feels actually new to me. All of us have our white-whale video games. Sometime I’d like to play West End’s Star Wars game, simply as soon as.

What’s the standing of your spinoff recreation For the Dice?

[Laughs] For the Dice is a recreation that 75% of the time, works like magic and folks find it irresistible, and then the remainder of the time, it doesn’t fairly hit proper. So it’s nonetheless in playtesting. Once more, if For the Queen does actually, rather well, perhaps Darrington will put it on the market and kick me to complete it. However it’s in progress. It’s occurring. I might not be shocked if it exists as a viable product in the subsequent yr or two. It’s coming down the pipe, but it surely’s taking its time.

Picture: Lara Georgia Carson/Darrington Press

You’re recognized most for For the Queen and Star Crossed, however you may have so many smaller video games on the market, many of them independently revealed. What are you proudest of? Or what would you level a For the Queen fan to if they need one thing very totally different that also has your sensibility?

Okay, so I’ve two solutions. The sport folks most likely wish to play is Our Time on Earth, a two-player recreation that you simply play asynchronously, in six days or six weeks or six months. You message one another, or write letters, no matter, that form of epistolary format. And also you fake that the two of you’re aliens visiting Earth for a restricted time, for six days or six weeks or six months. And also you ship one another messages about what you’re experiencing in the world.

It’s a really candy recreation that takes place in these very small moments. If you wish to hear an precise play, I used to be on Party of One with Jeff Stormer, and we performed it over audio messages to one another. It’s very comfortable. It’s an understated recreation, and it takes place in these tiny little experiences with one individual. It’s very simple to play, as a result of all you want is a buddy who lives distant, and I feel all of us have a buddy who lives distant, who we don’t see as usually as we wish.

In order that’s my palatable reply that’s most likely correct to what folks need. However right here’s the factor: The very best recreation I’ve ever made is Pop! It’s a live-action recreation a couple of group of balloon fetishists. It’s in the Honey and Hot Wax anthology of live-action video games, though I don’t assume this recreation is erotic. I feel it’s nearly intercourse, form of. It got here out in March 2020, when no one was enjoying video games that concerned intimate contact.

Pop! is the greatest recreation I’ve ever made. I’m so pleased with it. Everybody who’s performed it has had a phenomenal expertise. It’s performed in individual — you set up a bunch of paper on the partitions and you write on it with markers, since you’re enjoying a web based group. So that you’re in the room with different folks, however you’re not really interacting face-to-face with them till the final act of the recreation, which is just a little half-hour in-person meetup, the place you meet all your pals and enemies from on-line in individual. And folks all the time act in a different way on-line than they do in individual, and that carries over to role-play as nicely.

Some folks like to pop balloons, and that’s enjoyable and scorching. Some folks have a phobic response to popping. And all these individuals are attempting to get alongside in a group collectively. I considered that recreation for years. I by no means thought I might really make it, as a result of I believed No one needs to play my recreation about balloon kinksters. However I went to an artist residency in Corvallis, Oregon, and I used to be like, Okay, that is my one likelihood, so we did it and ran it, and it was so enjoyable and so nice. I want extra folks would play it.

If you may get 10 to 12 folks right into a room with loads of paper and pens, and everybody’s prepared to play about the issues we didn’t assume we might ever have in widespread with different folks — it’s a recreation about want and discovering belonging, and then having that belonging challenged, and how we get together with folks. How our insecurities and peculiarities can get in the means of that. And feeling like a freak, and then feeling like a member of a gaggle. That’s my actual reply. I want everybody would play Pop!

Picture: Pelgrane Press

Looping again to For the Queen — it’s such a versatile recreation. I’ve seen it performed virtually comedically, or for prime drama. It may be a recreation about loyalty, or longing, or about vengeance in opposition to somebody who dares to make you’re feeling want you’ll be able to’t act on. Do you may have a favourite playthrough expertise?

I’ve had a couple of. I performed it with a buddy of mine on a highway journey. They had been driving, and I used to be in the passenger seat. One thing about that format gave us a lot alternative to reply questions, and then actually sit and replicate on them, and stare out the window and speak about relationships.

However actually, one thing that’s actually memorable, that actually stays with me, was playtesting the recreation with my dad and sister. My dad had by no means performed a role-playing recreation earlier than. In that recreation — I gained’t go into an excessive amount of element, however I realized quite a bit about how my father feels about his navy service. For no matter purpose, there was a method to study that via this recreation, and via his fictional character, who was a soldier in service of the queen. For no matter purpose, I hadn’t realized about that earlier than, and I don’t know if there would have been one other method to perceive that facet of him. In order that one undoubtedly stands proud for me.