Randy Flynn
Today we are featuring Randy Flynn, designer of Cascadia, and all around lovely human. His game Cascadia is being published by Flatout Games in 2020. Randy is a software engineer by education and trade. He has worked at Microsoft in the Seattle area for over 25 years.This will be Randy’s first Stumptown Game Summit and we are looking forward to him joining us in Designer Alley.
THREE RANDOM FACTS ABOUT RANDY:
Randy Received detention once in high school because he was in class instead of my driver’s ed. training.
He took an Introduction to Graduate English course after undergrad as he was considering writing novels.
Randy lived in Iran for 2½ years as a child and it definitely impacted the person he is in lots of ways.
Questions by Kimberly Revia (KR), answers by Randy Flynn (RF).
THREE BOARD GAME RELATED QUESTIONS:
KR: How does the design process begin for you?
RF: It usually begins with a mechanic or game category I’d like to explore. Sometimes the inspiring mechanic is removed by the time the game is a game. For example, for Tabriz I was trying to make a game where worker movement slowly exposed the available shops. But the exploration part was the first thing dropped from the design.
KR: What would a game design dream team look like for you?
RF: This would be collaborating with the friends who have been with me on the journey into game design. I’ve got a couple of collaborative efforts of different kinds going on right now. Cascadia (nee Lands & Creatures) is being published by my friends at Flatout Games and working with them in the CoLab has been a lot of fun and very productive.
KR: Have there been any surprising hurdles or challenges you’ve come across in designing? What have you done to navigate them?
RF: I dabbled in game design and struggled with it more than I’d like to admit until I found Twitter and joined design communities both online and in person. As a pretty staunch introvert who likes and needs to focus, I never would have guessed how important this would be to me.
THREE QUESTIONS JUST FOR FUN:
KR: What hobbies do you enjoy outside of board games?
RF: I play basketball regularly and I realized a long time ago how important this exercise was for me. It’s the only regular physical exercise I get and I'm not happy when I don’t make it happen.
KR: Do you have any con survival tips for people just getting into the hobby?
RF: I handle cons pretty easily, but I know they are challenging for many people. From what I see, it’s important to understand that everyone has different needs and you shouldn’t be afraid to carve your own path. Do you need time alone to recharge? Take it! Do you need a cohort of friends to hang out with from start to finish? Make it happen.
KR: Are there any represented themes that you would like to see more of in game design?
RF: I like a lot of the themes we have, but I want to see an improvement in inclusivity within those themes. Say you are making a game set in medieval times with people in it. There is no excuse for not having women, people of color, and people of non-binary gender respectfully drawn. And put these characters in positions of interest or power rather than supporting roles.
If you would like to find out more about Randy or what he is currently working on. Follow the links below!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rf_seattle
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/randy_flynn/
The Tabriz Games being published by Crafty Games: https://www.crafty-games.com/
Cascadia being published by Flatout Games: https://www.flatout.games/
