Tales From The Tape Deck
An interview with J Yamil
Y’all remember Yamil from When The Sky Comes Looking For You and my interview with him? Well, he’s back again with his own game: Tales from the Tape Deck! It’s a rules-lite, fast-paced game that aims for 2-hour long game sessions. Speaking as someone who has trouble scheduling his own time so that he can play games, that sounds pretty good to me. Anyway, I’ll stop jabbering and let Yamil tell you more!
The setting is Mad Max meets Sentai style mecha, right? Give me some details on that!
The Mad Max vs Kaiju is just one setting from Tales from the Tape Deck. TTD is more about the music inspiring and affecting the adventure. You can play Mad Max style ripping down the highway strapped to your war rig and fight off mechanical kaiju while blasting 80s rock, but we have three volumes set for this release. The Quick start volume will be expanded upon with GM-facing tables and more player options. Volumes 2-3 include: Androids fleeing their factory set to 80s synth, Vampires fighting pirates in 1700s New Orleans set to jazz, and Cthulhu nightmares meets The Shining in a reverse heist hotel set to eerie 1920’s music. We really want GMs to use music in a different way at their tables.
You mention compatibility with Mork Borg and OSR systems. Can you share a bit more about the general resolution mechanic of the game and the “crunch” level?
The music playlist is the game’s timer so the mechanics needed to be fast-paced and easy to learn. Mork Borg, DCC and Shadowdark were influential in our decision to keep encounters short yet supporting a player-driven narrative. TTD is a d20 based with attributes and no skill list. It is a lower crunch level in order to empower everyone at the game table since they are racing the clock.
You’re fitting the game in a cassette tape box, not a cassette tape. About how “big” is this game, compared to some with a more traditional form factor?
We are aiming for fast-play and pickup-game opportunities. Imagine, walking into a convention center with 2 hours until your next event, you can sit down at a table, open up your case, and grab a character sheet or adventure and play right then and there. The cassette tape box feels like a relic from the game world, like something left behind and helps to create a vibe. Also, we are working on a limited release of an actual cassette tape with original and licensed music.
Yamil, you’re partnered with Ahmed Suffety on this. What’s the collaboration process like for you two?
Our partnership has been very complimentary to our strengths. Ahmed handles layout and overall project management while I take the lead on art, music and marketing. I like to think of it as a drawing. One of us will make the initial sketch and send it to the other who shapes it further and sends it back for more edits until we are both happy. Without Ahmed, this project would not have happened.
Check out Tales From The Tape Deck!
What do y’all think about 2-hour game sessions, as opposed to the more traditional 4-hour sessions?
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