Chris Hopper is the layout and graphic designer for Burnaway, as well as for several other ttrpgs in the indie scene. We talk about working as a freelance layout designer, working within this community, tips for working with your designers, and making your games and layouts more accessible. I learned so much from Chris, and I know y’all will too!
This episode is actually going to be the first in a short series in which I chat with some of my own project team members. What does that mean? Well, some of you may remember that last year, I mentioned I am the project manager for a new indie ttrpg called Burnaway. The game is launching on Kickstarter on February 7th, and I wanted to introduce you all to some of the awesome people behind the scenes! Be sure to check out the show notes for a link to the pre-launch page on Kickstarter, and the Arnamantle website, where you can grab an interactive story primer to get an idea of the game’s setting.
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Time Stamps
- 00:00:00 Introduction, life updates
- 00:04:24 Chris Introduction
- 00:09:19 How Chris got into game design
- 00:13:36 How Chris got into freelance layout design
- 00:18:23 Chris’ typical ttrpg layout design process
- 00:27:45 What writers can do to help make layout design easier
- 00:31:35 Commons mistakes in ttrpg layout design
- 00:34:11 Making your layouts more accessible
- 00:39:53 What has been the most challenging part?
- 00:44:04 What has been the most rewarding part?
- 00:47:08 Upcoming Projects
- 00:49:06 Where can people find you?
- 00:50:10 Wrap-up
Find Chris
Find Burnaway
Show Affiliates / Some of Courtney's favorite things
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- Buzzsprout is my fabulous podcast host! Try it for free & receive a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up.
Transcript
Intro
Part 1
Part 2
Thanks for dropping by! We would love to know who would like us to interview, so please drop a comment here on the blog, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Discord to let us know who your favorite creators are! If you’d like access to more maps and content, including downloadable PDFs of our adventures, check out our Maps Patreon or Podcast Patreon. We’re able to do what we do because of all our amazing Patrons!
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